Sale of Clothing Manufactured in U.S.A - Research Proposal Example

 Introduction The aim of this report by South Pacific Development (SPD) is to build on the results of previous primary and secondary marketing research in the Australia area for the sale of clothing manufactured in U.S.A especially, in south-western USA (California). This research will focus on the sale of T-shirt, particularly those of South Western Surf Range, manufactured by Mojado Brothers. This report will try to identify marketing trends and recommendation of opportunity in these areas for the next five years. This will include possible areas for high sales and the most popular items for sale. Marketing Research Information which is based on a issue which already defined and it is directly related to the firm decision-making processes regarding new product introduction , diversification, promotion ect. According to Burns & Bush(2009) Marketing research is a method which interconnects the consumer, client and public to the marketer by means of information ; this information is utilized to categorize and classify marketing opportunities and issues; to create, improve and assess marketing actions; to observe marketing performance; and to develop understanding of the entire marketing procedure. It is basically a procedure to conduct research and to test a certain assumption, to find out if it is valid or not. Secondary Data Secondary data collection seems to be a great deal of data about organizations can be found in existing records. It is also advisable to determine whether you can answer your research question with data previously collected by other researchers. Secondary data consists of two kinds of data quantitative as well as qualitative data, and may be utilized in both kinds of research descriptive and explanatory. Many researchers have designed a number of classifications for secondary data. ; Saunders et al (2006) designed 3 types of secondary data: documentary data, survey-based data, those collected from numerous sources. The main advantage of using secondary data in this article is the enormous saving in resources, in particular authors' time and money, usually it is much less costly to utilize this secondary data than to gather the data by yourself. Consequently, the researchers may be able to have more time to consider all possible hypothetical aims and substantive problems, and subsequently spend more time and effort analyzing and interpreting the data. Secondly, it can be useful to compare data that have collected with secondary data. This means that can place researchers own findings within a more general context or triangulate findings. Finally, this secondary data provide a source of data that is both permanent and available in a form that it will be checked relatively easily by others. This means that the data and research findings are more open to public scrutiny. Primary Data “Primary data is based on data that does not exist but that should be provided by the work of the researcher." Primary data on the other hand, are originated by the researcher for the precise problem being researched, for example survey data. Primary data, on the other hand, are data specific to the area, e.g. data about the recreational preferences of the inhabitants. They are gathered through communication and observation. "Communication involves questioning respondents either verbally or in writing." While "Observation involves the recording of actions and is performed by either a person or some mechanical or electronic device (marketing research 2007)." Research to Be Followed The report aims at providing both qualitative and quantitative data which is a necessary basis for future business growth. Existing strategies and marketing plans will have to be examined in order to make these future plans. The purpose of this report is to build on previous research on T-shirt sales in the Australian market; it has already carried out by South Pacific Development (SPD). Other products such as hooded sweatshirts, wool and leather jackets and baseball hats will be considered at a future date. South Pacific Development (SPD) is a small privately owned company, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it specializes in identifying opportunities in the Australian market. It especially looks for opportunities of clothes from California, Arizona and Nevada and regularly monitors consumer behaviour in Australia. It aims to identify outlets for the innovative T-shirts of Mojado Brothers. The company will also identify competitors in this market. The company proposes to do this in the following way: 1. To rely on the first-hand knowledge of Australia of the owner of SPD who lived in Australia and New Zealand for several years, and who has a thorough understanding of the Australia marketing environment. 2. To monitor consumer behaviours with regard to the sales of T-shirts over a period of three months and look at sales, areas of opportunity, targets market and details of garments sold such as colours, style and size. The company will do this by referring to government data on the Internet from the Commonwealth Bureau of Statistics and the New Zealand government about retail sales which represents quantitative data. Questionnaires to individual retailers in various districts will also be issued and other questionnaire to consumers will provide feedback. The Steps of Operation Step One Ask the Mojado Company for a comprehensive report on their existing structure and method of operation as well as their current capabilities and resources. This will include existing strategic and marketing plans. Step Two Collect a report from primary and secondary sources of the external environment of Australia providing such details as population, population density and stability of government. This is necessary to establish that is a good area in general for business expansion and which the best individual areas are Up-to-date government data will be used as well as library resources. Representatives of Chambers of Commerce will be interviewed as well (primary source and Qualitative information). Step Three Compile a short report about Mojado Brothers and their products obtained from their own data. These will make the company worry about the type of product constantly, the quality and the innovative designs as well, the suitability of the T-shirt for the Australia climate, especially for Queensland, and areas like the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Step Four Compile a questionnaire to be put to retailers with questions about the sales of T-shirts; these questions are aimed at finding out the quantity or percentage of clothing sales that are T-shirts and other factors, such as preferred colours and designs. It could also find out the sex and age of consumers. The questionnaire would be put a large percentage of retailers in various areas of both countries to find out current trends. It will pin-point the best areas to position new outlets. It will also ask if there is a market for the innovative T-shirt designs of the Mojado Brothers, and find out what percentage of the market that Mojado Brothers hold at present. Step Five These retailers will be given a copy of the report about the Mojado Brothers organisation and products. This is to inform them and also give an opportunity to suggest any improvements that necessary which they can see. Step Six A questionnaire will be given to consumers in the street about preferences concerning T-shirts and buying habits. They will be asked about their current knowledge of Mojado Brothers designs and any problems they have found. These questionnaires will need to be handed to the managers of retail outlets and collected the next day. The company will take care to follow up on these procedures quickly. Questionnaires to the people in the street on the other hand can be filled in immediately and data also checked quickly. Step Seven: South Pacific Development (SPD) will report back its findings in detail to Mojado Brothers in a formal report, which will assess whether the company’s present directions or goals for the Australia market are viable. This report will then suggest possible ways to improve both procedures and products if this is seen to be necessary. Step Eight All of this information and the report will be stored in the computer of South Pacific Development (SPD) so that it can accessed at any time and plans up-dated if necessary. South Pacific Development (SPD) employees will carry out this research and then gather the data and analyse it for results. They will take care to get a cross section of the community represented in these results; for example, different age groups or different genders. From this data obtained, South Pacific Development (SPD) will draw conclusions and make recommendations to Mojado Brothers for future developments. This will be presented in a formal written report, which will include estimates of costs and be illustrated with graphs and charts. Question to be Asked Questionnaires are able to be presented in a flexible way. They can be distributed and filled out at a convenient time. The retailer does not have to do fill it in immediately and can give a thoughtful reply. South Pacific Development (SPD) has found this a useful tool for research in the past. Questionnaires enable the retailers and the consumers to express what they like about products that they can buy at present as well as what they would like to be able to buy in the future and in what quantities. South Pacific Development (SPD) will write out a number of initial questions to be answered fully. These questionnaires will have a blank page at the end where retailers or consumers can add other concerns. They can give feedback on products and also company structure and procedures that they like or dislike already. The questions are as follows: 1. Have you used Mojado Brothers t- shirts before? 2. Do you wear extra bright colours? 3. How much would you pay for a t –shirt? 4. Do you purchase according to quality or price? 5. Which retailer do you usually purchase your t -shirts from? 6. What style t- shirts do you usually purchase? 7. Do you like unique Latin style t- shirts? Marketing Research Consideration Every company which enters a new market like Mojado Brothers needs to consider a few things while doing their research. And when the market is as big as the t-shirt market it becomes a compulsion to do so. The other marketing research consideration facing Mojado Brothers and south pacific development is that they have to first make sure that if this is a niche market for them or not. Another consideration foe them could be fast entry of other competitors in the market. Old well known companies may cause a hindrance in their success. Thus they should also research how many companies already exist and what they offer. Another consideration for them is that the fact that the market is big it may act as a benefit for them, however this also could mean that fewer people will buy their product , thus they should also research what prices are most prevailing in this market. Conclusion Marketing research is important for every company which wants to enter a new market with a product. However successful they were in other markets they still need to collect data on the new market as well as the buying behaviour of the consumers there. Mojado Brothers did the exact same thing, they were wise is selecting south pacific development to help them out in their research. And thus they used secondary research method. This research will provide Mojado Brothers will a better platform to enter the market. Work Cited Burns C.Alvin & Bush F. Ronald; Marketing Research Prentice Hall; 6 editions 2009 Marketing research (2007), retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/research/ on November 18 2009 Saunders Mark, Thornhill Adrian, and Lewis Philip; Research Methods for Business Students, 4th Edition, FT Prentice Hall, London 2006 Read More