Business Description
Five years ago while out of work with a borrowed $10 and two weeks standing in front of a computer learning Zencart, I started SouthernNewRocks.com. Today we are the only independent retailer of the entire New Rock footwear line in the US.
Getting out to our customers has always been our biggest challenge. As an online only retailer we’ve fought the SEO and social media battle for six years. It’s time to go out in the world. We’ve been in the convention scene before thanks to the gracious help of some friends, and when we’ve been a guest there has been a large spike in our sales. This year we want our own booth at Dragoncon, springboarding us into a larger event calendar in the future.
New Rock has been an excellent partner for us. Based in Spain they have been making footwear for nearly a century. New Rock’s old world quality and modern styling have made them a mainstay in the European music industry and multiple sub-cultures. There has been a small trickling recently of exposure in North America. By going to conventions and other events we can directly target those who would most enjoy and benefit from the style and quality of New Rocks.
Currently New Rock’s catalogue totals over 1500 styles allowing us to cater to customers looking for everything from sneakers and dress shoes to cowboy boots and kneehigh spiked platforms. We’re able to do this thanks to the ability to dropship directly to the customer from the factory. We’ve actually become known for our shipping speed, 4 days is our normal order to doorstep time for styles ready at the factory. Comparatively most retailers in Europe take up to 60 days for in stock styles and almost half a year for custom orders.
What is the purpose of this loan?
The primary plan for the loan is to purchase around $1700 of sample New Rocks and Hades shoes, and $1,800 of additional inventory from other sources for our convention booth. The remaining $1500 will be used for auxiliary booth costs, shipping, and a small buffer fund for unplanned expenses .
We intend our sales from both our online and convention venues to still be predominantly new footwear shipped directly to the customer’s home from the factory until we build an inventory. The accessories and fashion inventory will also be sold directly from the booth, with the majority of profit going immediately towards the loan. Sample/Sizing New Rocks and Hades will also be offered at a discount at the end of the convention to ensure fresh samples at every event.
The mass exposure and capital growth will rapidly propel Southern New Rocks forward from a part-time endeavor to a full time career. Our main plans for the increase in capital is to build up an inventory stateside of the most popular sizes and pairs. Currently our shipping overhead on a dropshipped pair is around 30% of our retail price, ordering high sellers in large quantities and reshipping domestically cuts that cost in half, and on-site sales can half that once again. Effectively this will mean a 50%-75% increase in our profit for all New Rock products stocked here in the US. Ultimately this means stocking enough inventory for one or more year-round walk-in stores here in Georgia.
In the unfortunate event of an exit stratagem being required: Total retail value of all inventory as planned is ~$6200 with a gross profit of just under $3000 once all inventory sells.