Strategic Business Plan

Mandatory Cover Page for Assignments

Assignment number: 1

Team number: 6a

Company: 's Zomers

Tutor: Nazly El Raham

Percentage of participation

Student name & number Assignm. 1 Assignm. 2 Assignm. 3 Assignm. 4

1. Chiara Gavazzi Rodriguez (595199cr) 20%

2. Larissa Loureiro de Moraes (600435ll) 20%

3. Chloe Rufrancos Luna (591746cr) 20%

4. Noor Kanaan (599829nk) 20%

5. Mariana de Melo Roberto (591872md) 20%

100% 100% 100% 100%

WS 1- Key facts
The following worksheet presents an introduction in which the company’s current
products and customers are mentioned, as well as basic financial information.
 's Zomers Bloemen is a concept store located in Rotterdam that sells decorations, all
kinds of flowers (fresh and silk), trees, accessories and skincare products. Therefore, it sheds
light on the natural and colourful aspect of its products. 's Zomers targets customers based in
Rotterdam, especially women aged between 25 and 55 who like buying flowers and beauty
products.
Nevertheless, the company attracts a specific kind of buyers during Holidays such as
Valentine’s day and Mothers/Father’s day. Also, since it has an online page, the firm targets
young people.
Unfortunately, the company could not provide its balance sheet and income statement
on time, therefore it will not be included in this worksheet.

S’ Zomers Bloemen Reference date: December 2021

Standard Industry classification: florist Legal status: VOF (general partnership)

Standaard Bedrijfsindeling: detailandel

Year of foundation: 1993 Sales: Not provided

Founders: Michael Swier and Rene Net profit: € 147 951

Jongeneel

Headquarter: Rotterdam, Netherlands Balance sheet total: Not provided

(Boekhorststraat 44-54)

No other locations Number of employees: 17

After analysing the data provided, it is possible to say that the business has a
fluctuating gross profit throughout the year, which is expected given the industry it is in.
Although ‘s Zomers is already a rather established brand, it still has a great potential to grow.

WS2 - History

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 In order to further understand 's Zomers and be able to formulate a strategy, it is
important to look at the company's history. This worksheet focuses on the foundation of the
company and key historical events that made 's Zomers the company that it is today.
's Zomers was founded by René Jongeneel and Michael Swier on June 14th, 1993. At
that time René had finished his education in flower design, got financial support to start the
shop, and met Michael within the first year. The main concept of the store was a flower shop,
where customers could get personalised flower bouquets. Thus, their first available product
was flowers.
The first major occurrence was an increase in revenue due to the high demand of
flowers and increase of customers. This allowed sales to go up, as well as expand the list of
available products from flowers to silk trees, flower subscriptions, accessories, furniture,
skincare, fragrances, styling, and landscaping.
The former event led to the second major occurrence in 2019, which was a change in
location from V. Oldenbarneveltstraat to Boekhorststraat. Throughout the moving process
there were not many obstacles, since the two locations were pretty close, the customers were
loyal, and different marketing strategies were implemented, which assured that customers
were aware of this change. However, the opening of the current location took longer than
expected, due to the industrial looking interior and lack of decorations. Thus, for almost two
months 's Zomers had to sell the collections outside, until the space was ready.
To sum up, after almost 30 years, 's Zomers has become a business with a large range
of available products within and outside the flower design industry, and throughout its
history, the store has overcome challenges that allowed it to grow, and be where it is today.

WS3 - Products and Customers

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 This worksheet will focus on the description of the product range offered by 's
Zomers, as well as the analysis of its customers and target group, thus better understanding
the focus of the business and its operating areas.
Firstly, even though 's Zomers was initially a flower’s shop, it is currently a much
more complex business that offers products related to floristry, and to the home decor
industry, as well as services, such as monthly flowers subscriptions and garden designing.
Depending on the season, different flowers are delivered by suppliers; thus every two weeks
the bouquet catalogue available at the website is updated to meet the stock at the physical
store. Additionally, in person, customers have the option to personalise their own bouquets.
Furthermore, the store also offers fragrances and skin care products, which are mostly
body sprays and perfumes from other brands, with no original fragrances or other products of
this kind.
Another major group of products are candles, in which candle holders and scented
candles are included. Scented candles are the most varied subgroup, with more than 67
options, none of those produced by ‘s Zomers.
In addition, 's Zomers also sells home decor accessories, including carpets, decorative
jars, silk flowers, cutlery, diffusers and furniture. Such a group of products is still not
accountable for considerable profit.
Finally, the business also offers services of styling, which require synthetic
decoration, and landscaping; both dealt in a studio separated from the store. Among those, the
business supplies flowers and decorations to weddings, funerals and other types of events, as
well as designing gardens and open spaces (landscaping).
As for the customers, 's Zomers physical store has loyal clients that come every week
to buy flowers. However, the majority of regulars have subscriptions, which guarantee a fixed
amount of flowers to be delivered every week to both residential homes and businesses, such
as restaurants or offices. Nevertheless, the store also counts with people passing by, due to
the busy location of the store near Rotterdam Centraal.
Hence, it is concluded that ‘s Zomers has a plural range of products, which could both
enable the brand to be more appealing to a wider target audience, but also hinder the process
of defining potential customers.

WS4 - Ownership & Management

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 This worksheet will introduce the main top decision makers behind the strategic
choices of 's Zomers, as well as its owners and shareholders. The reason behind this is
because by acknowledging who the main decision makers are, 's Zomers current proposal as a
firm will be better understood.
The team involved behind the strategic judgments of the company consists of 7
members, all of which are owners and managers. Said managers are the Operational
Manager, Finance Manager, Shop Manager and Store Manager. Meanwhile the owners, who
also make up the top management of 's Zomers, are Micheal, René and Maurice, who is a
small shareholder of the firm. Although all of them partake in and influence major decisions
made for the company, the managers are able to make small store and day-to-day decisions
without contacting its owners. However, big and long-term decisions need to be discussed
amongst the owners as well as the managers before being put into action.
René Jongeneel is one of the owners and founders of the company, and as such, has
been with the company since its founding year in 1993. He operates as the creative director of
the firm, henceforth, works in imaginative areas of the company, such as developing new
arrangements for the bouquets.
Micheal Swier is also a founder and owner of 's Zomers, which he has been a part of
for 29 years. He is the business director of the firm and is more engaged with the strategic
and business management aspects of the business. Despite both founders being very engaged
with the firm, they do not participate in the daily dealings that take place in the company.
Maurice van den Berg has been a recent addition to the company, as he has been a
small shareholder since 2021. He occupies the position of Chief Studio and creative director.
Moreover, Maurice is more active in the firm's daily dealings than its founders.
All in all, the management team has an extremely harmonic and easygoing dynamic,
and even though both founders are not really engaged in all of the everyday activities of the
company, they are still attuned about everything that occurs in it.

WS 5- Organisation chart

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 This worksheet illustrates the hierarchical levels of the firm and the departments that
work together, thus providing a broad perspective of the dynamics of the business.

Figure 5.1: Organisation Chart

Business Director Creative Director

In this company, 17 employees work together in order to offer their products to the
customers. The firm uses a functional structure since several departments are well separated
based on areas of expertise. Furthermore, every department has employees who work on
specific tasks with the manager in a stable environment. At the moment, for example, the
bike delivery job is vacant whereas the car delivery service is assured. Even though each
department is separated into different categories, all of them work towards the same common
goals.
This structure enables each department to have more independence, while each sector
cooperates in order to deliver the best quality of products and services.

6
WS6 - Resources
Depending on the industry, when it comes to developing a successful and future
oriented company, some resources can be of more importance than others. Thus, this
worksheet deals with what is owned by the company, both physical and human related.
Firstly, it is relevant to clarify that 's Zomers has two rented properties: a Warehouse,
where the shop is located, and a Studio, that serves as storage and office. The Warehouse,
being the main physical resource of the company, is intentionally located in Rotterdam’s city
centre, near the central station, where many potential customers pass by on a daily basis.
Consequently, the main source of revenue also comes from in person appearances and sales
in this same store. This is due not only to its location but also to the customer experience
provided by visiting 's Zomers Warehouse. Furthermore, despite being likewise a rented area,
the Studio serves a whole different purpose to the firm, which is mainly a storage space for
all synthetic decorations used when preparing events (e.g. weddings, restaurants).
Nevertheless, it also serves as an office space to discuss bigger projects.
Even though the largest amount of sales is still done in a face-to-face interaction with
clients, 's Zomers is present in various social media platforms, and have developed an online
store that makes buying its home decor and flowers possible, when visiting the store is
inconvenient or impractical. These tools enable the flower company to access its target group
in a more efficient way considering daily obstacles, such as the weather. In addition, both
online resources have a structure that is befitting to the company’s high standard products.
Regardless of not offering a specialised training for new employees, 's Zomers
evaluate potential entrants on some fundamental personal skills considered valuable to the
company. These include creativity, flexibility and passion for the work.
To sum up, although all kinds of resources owned by the company are of extreme
importance for its success in the market, the competitive advantage of 's Zomers can be
considered to be its differentiated product compared to other home decor and flower shops in
Rotterdam. 's Zomers has little focus on cost leadership, while giving a special attention on
the quality and experience delivered to its customers.

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WS7 - Current Strategy
This worksheet focuses on the current strategy of 's Zomers and the formulation of the
strategy statement, which are relevant to guide the company's future goals and objectives.
‘s Zomers stands out from its competitors due to the uniqueness of its products. In
other words, the firm uses a differentiation strategy since its flowers and fragrance products
are distinctive. It focuses on premium value and not on having low costs. Hence, the
company is not a cost leader in the industry it operates in but it has a clear competitive
advantage since it provides high quality services. The company, by offering a wide range of
flowers and products, is able to provide unique options that are rarely available elsewhere and
assemble more complex bouquets. Also, it has an online platform to facilitate the customer’s
choice and purchase procedures.
Additionally, the in person purchasing experience can also be considered a distinctive
characteristic, which counts with coffee, champagne, snacks, a personal approach and
professional advising. All of these emphasise even more to the personalised service,
appealing to the wellbeing of the client. Moreover, the carefully-displayed luxurious layout of
the store can be considered a part of the exclusive experience offered to its customers.
Based on the former information and interview, the strategy statement of 's Zomers is
to increase revenue as much as 10% per year by 2023. At the moment, based on online data,
it will be done by mainly targeting women between 25 and 55 years old in Rotterdam that
want flower bouquets, flower subscriptions, skincare and fragrance products. This will be
done through the competitive advantage of offering personalised flower arrangements, as
well as a small and fine selected collection of products by means of picking high quality
flowers and products from suppliers.
To summarise, 's Zomers is focused on the differentiation strategy, by delivering a
highly customised range of services and products, while not focusing on being a cost leader.
As such, the company’s brand image is reinforced as being a high quality concept store.

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WS8 - Strategic Objectives
This worksheet will focus on the strategic objectives directly based on the current
strategy. These help understand time-bounded specific goals 's Zomers has and provide a
guide for everyday decision making.
's Zomers first priority is to increase revenue by 10% in the year 2022, which relates
to the strategy previously stated (worksheet 7). This will be done mainly through the Studio,
working more on projects from businesses to do flower arrangements and from private
residences to do gardening landscapes. This strategic objective will be measured through the
revenue growth rate, that takes into account the current period revenue and the former,
allowing to focus more on the timebound nature of the goal, and helping to keep on track
with the strategy statement. Unfortunately, 's Zomers did not give access to data of previous
years, therefore it was not possible to calculate the revenue growth.
The second strategic objective, similarly to the first one, is to increase 10% of the
gross profit margin in 2022. Although 's Zomers current value is considered good, there is an
area of improvement, such as the orders data management. 's Zomers makes sure to sell the
products at the right price, depending on how much was charged by suppliers. The
differences in price are normally checked daily due to how fluctuating the industry is.
However, there were a few errors in the previous year's records because of the market
unpredictability and the lack of protocol for data storage (e.g using post-it’s or hard notes).
Thus, this year, 's Zomers plans to improve the orders data management, making sure it sells
the products at the right price, allowing also an increase in revenue.
Finally, the last strategic objective is to increase followers in social media,
specifically Instagram. However, no specific goal has been established regarding growth in
social media in 2022. Since the goal of 2021 of obtaining 12K was not reached, 's Zomers
expects to exceed that amount this year. The number of followers is relevant because it gives
an outlook of the company's marketing reach, while attracting more potential clients to the
business.

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 Table 8.1: Strategic Objectives

Priority Objective Indicator Required Current value Period

value

1 Increase in Revenue Growth 10% - 2022

revenue Rate

2 Increase in Gross Profit 65% Approximate 2022

gross profit Margin 55%
margin

3 Increase in Instagram´s > 12K 11.9K 2022

followers account follower
count

To summarise, the three main strategic objectives are increasing revenue, gross profit
margin and followers. These are directly connected towards the 's Zomers strategy statement,
as it also aligns with the company's current strategy to differentiate and not to be a cost
leader.

10
WS9- Strategic issues
Having a clear and specific goal to follow is crucial for a company to grow and
maintain itself in the market. Hence, success can be easily measured when future oriented
firms achieve its objectives while dealing with external and internal changes. However, in
spite of growing and surviving for almost three decades, 's Zomers is currently lacking a long
term business strategy. This worksheet will deal with strategic issues noticed after analysing
the current situation of the firm.
It is likely that the flower shop would still manage to be profitable and keep current
customers, while remaining as it is today. Nevertheless, growing into a more profitable and
efficient business would depend on forming a structured and reasonable plan for the near
future. Thus, the main goal should include dealing with 's Zomers’ unsteady margins and high
costs, which are currently in the way of increasing profits.
Furthermore, these unsteady expenditures are caused by many different factors that
prevent clients from visiting the store and have the desired experience provided by 's Zomers
offline sales. Internally, this can be explained by the lack of a more personalised experience
when buying the products online, which is less appealing than the in-person one. Since the
flower and home decor industry cannot be considered part of the essential-stores sector, some
external factors can be easily identified as responsible for the issue of unsteady sales (e.g.
unattractive weather conditions, clients personal priorities setting).
In addition, high costs are also an issue to be targeted by its forthcoming business
plan. As a consequence of 's Zomers main product being living flowers that have a limited
life, the company has to pay special attention to ordering only what is needed from its
suppliers and selling the great majority of its stock in time. Nowadays, because of the
previously mentioned issue of unstable sales margins, 's Zomers occasionally deals with an
undesirable waste of unused flowers. Moreover, disregarding flower subscriptions, the
company lacks more sources of fixed income, such as contracts with restaurants, event firms,
etc. Hence, the Studio rented as a storage space and office, does not provide its potential
revenue margin.
Therefore, even though 's Zomers could potentially preserve its current profit without
formulating a clear and innovative strategy of business, some internal and external issues can

11
be detected and resolved within a couple of years. A fitting goal would lead the company to a
more stable and profitable future.

WS10- SEPTEmber
This worksheet will cover the SEPTEmber analysis that defines which factors could
impact the operations of businesses such as ‘s Zomers. Both risks and opportunities of the
industry will be considered, in order to present a realistic perspective of what can be expected
in the future of the industry.
Firstly, it is relevant to consider that flowers are a temporary good that even when
treated with the utmost care, are not expected to last more than 2 weeks. Thus, in order to
always maintain a fresh stock, ‘s Zomers receives multiple deliveries a week with new
flowers. Nevertheless, considering the unstable weather of the Netherlands, and the fragility
of the product, the business cannot always count with the Availability of Natural
Resources, a risk that belongs to the Ecological Segment of the SEPTEmber Analysis. Such
a risk should also be a concern to other businesses in the industry that work with natural
goods. According to a 2012 study done by David van der Weiden about the dutch floriculture
industry, Weather Conditions are one of the main factors that could impact this sector in the
country. It is stated that a change in quality and quantity of the supply is directly related to a
change in strategy, sales and operations.
Nonetheless, there are also opportunities to be considered in the industry. The first
one is New/alternative technology regarding natural waste of floriculture; this topic belongs
to the Technological segment of the SEPTEmber analysis.
A study made in 2016 showed that approximately 40% of flowers received by florists
go to waste without being sold (Waghmode et. al, 2016). On the other hand, the study also
suggests how floral waste can be reused and converted into value-added products with
multiple applications. Such waste could be used for compost/soil conditioner, biofuels,
Organic Acids, Dyes, Pigments and even medically-valuable products (essential oils, extracts,
teas, ...). The technologies to put these transformations into practice already exist. Perhaps
florists themselves will not be interested in being the ones to perform those processes, but can
form partnerships with companies that already have said technology and even gain money
back or get products to be sold in their stores.

12
 Furthermore, new technologies could, among other things, decrease both costs of
production and environmental impacts of the industry, as well as improve flowers’ durability.
Fortunately, the Netherlands is already heavily investing in technology for agriculture in
general. Multiple studies have been developed to implement Artificial Intelligence in
harvesting processes, as well as highly connected data systems, which are capable of
supporting better decision making.
Ultimately, concerning the wellness and decor industry, which is also an area of
operation of ‘s Zomers, Demography of Society, which belongs to the Sociocultural
Segment of the SEPTEmber Analysis, should also be considered as an opportunity.
According to the Marketing Company WSL, Generation Z (those born between 1997 and
2012) was born into a world of wellness, being more aware of what would be better for them
as individuals, both physically and mentally. These individuals started a now worldwide
spread way of thinking that values quality products, as well as the concept of self-care in a
variety of products. Consequently, this kind of wellness and decor industry becomes more
and more appealing not only to the youth, but also to the market in general.
To conclude, all of the factors mentioned should be taken into account when planning
any strategy inside this industry. Nevertheless, the investment in new technologies is
indispensable for maintaining a sustainable and more profitable industry; from the
production, to shipping and also inside the shops themselves.

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14
WS11 - Industry Life Cycle
Lastly, worksheet 11 will focus on defining an appropriate industry which encompasses all
of 's Zomers products, analysing which stage of the industry life cycle this industry falls into, and
determining when and if the industries will progress to the next stage of the cycle. This information
will be relevant when conducting and developing a business strategy.
s´Zomers is a company that offers a very diverse range of products. Hence, an industry that
englobes all of its products is the Wellness and Decor industry. It encompasses products like
flowers and bouquets because buying these products is also a form of personal-care; as it brings
forth emotions like contentment and joyfulness. Consequently, although floristry seems to be the
main focus of the store, the company also sells a variety of other products, such as furnishings and
fragrances, that collaborate with 's Zomers style of wellness and self-care. With that in mind, the
geographical boundaries of the industry analysis will be focused on the Netherlands as a whole.
Even with flowers having a stringent expiry date, the Netherlands is a relatively small country, so
this will not be a huge nuisance. Moreover, there are many other competitors outside of Rotterdam
regarding furnishing and cosmetics.
Given further research, it was deemed that the data available found for the Wellness and
Decor industry does not encompass everything that we designated this industry to be. Thus, data
from three separate industries will be utilised to generate a final conclusion about the life cycle of
the Wellness and Decor industry: floristry, home decor/retail and cosmetic industry.
The floristry industry is extremely prevalent in the Netherlands, being considered "one of
the lucrative industries in [the country]" (Mordor Intelligence, 2021). As such, it is an industry that
has long been existent in the market. According to data from Statistics Netherlands (2017),
throughout the extent of 10 years the land used for the production of flowers has more than halved,
and "the cut flower production under glass" has reduced by 40%. This shows that the demand for
cut flowers has stopped increasing, the industry has already undergone its peak phase in the industry
life cycle and the major growth of the industry is already behind it. Moreover, as seen by Figure
11.1, it is safe to assume that there has not been a considerable growth over the last years. Hence,
by looking at the industry life cycle, the floristry industry seems to fit into the characteristics of the
maturity phase.
The second industry chosen is the home decor/retail industry. Given the data seen in Figure
11.2, it can be assumed that this industry has just recently entered the growth phase. Although these
fluctuations might potentially not be an indication of growth, there are new consumer trends being
perceived, which do give an indicator that the industry shifted the phase in which it occupied, thus
settling into the growth stage. An example is that consumers are now frequently substituting their

15
old furniture for new ones. This is due to the "increasing standards of living and a steady increase in
disposable income across the board" (Statista 1, 2022).
Finally, the cosmetic industry seems to have achieved a state of maturity, as indicated from
Figure 11.3 and 11.4; where revenue has a small-scale growth throughout the time span of 12 years.
Moreover, the revenue growth of the sales of domestic products decreased from 2019 to 2020.
Although this might not be a prominent sign of any big changes in the industry, especially because
the pandemic initiated at that time, it still can be considered as an indication that the fast growth in
the industry has reached a stop. Thus the idea that the cosmetic industry is in the mature stage of
the industry life cycle is validated.
Consequently, it can be presumed that the Wellness and Decor industry is still in its growth
stage. The reasoning behind this is that, despite two out of the three industries analysed are in the
maturity stage, the concept behind the Wellness and Decor industry is still relatively new. As such,
consumers might have only come to an understanding of the value behind this industry recently.
That being so, there are still many customers that can be targeted. Additionally, although the
floristry industry is in the maturity stage, there are still signs of small-scale growth in the market,
especially in recent years. So, even if that does not give enough of an indication that a shift in stage
for the floristry industry can occur, it is still helpful to specify it. Henceforth, it is safe to assume
that the industry is going to stay in the growth stage for some years before reaching the next stage
of the cycle, however, it is still too early to specify when it will occur.
To conclude, as the industry is in the growth stage, there are plenty of opportunities that can
be explored by the firms operating in this market, as those of worksheet 10, especially due to the
fact that the industry offers a variety of products. Thus, the high demand can be highly exploited if
the firms possess a good long-term and short-term strategy for their businesses.

16
Figure 11.1 (Statista (2), 2021)

17
Figure 11.2 - (Statista (3), 2022)

18
 Figure 11.3 (Statista (4), 2022)

23 23 23 2 24 24 23 23 23 23 24 23
07. 97 51. 41. 94 22
59 4
72 62 36 67. 08. 87.
8 .6 .7 4 2 4 .9 4 3 9
. .1
2

19
Figure 11.4 (Statista (5), 2022)

20
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