Swirl Case Study

I. CHANNELS Swirl will operate a retail location and an online store. The store will be at Square One Shopping Centre, a premier mall that operates in Mississauga, Ontario. An 800 square foot unit will be leased for C$2,238.00 per month. Additionally, an online store will be created using Shopify, an e-commerce business that makes operating online safe and easy. Mississauga is the sixth largest city in Canada. Square One is the eleventh on the list of Canada’s Most Productive Shopping Centres, with C$910 in sales per square foot for its 1.7 million square feet and attracts over twenty-one million people annually.
Square One is the best location for Swirl to operate within because of the mall’s variety of brand name stores and location within

The product itself costs $13 while duty is approximately 13%, so $1.69. After delivery, the product needs to packaged appropriately. Swirl will be purchasing a label maker for $119, ribbon for $6.70 per 100 yards, and using clear macaroon containers that cost $0.70. Assuming that $0.25 of each purchase goes towards labelling and that half a yard of ribbon ($0.03) will be used on each box, total cost for one small box before markup is $4.65. After a 41.9% markup, sale price is $8. Using the same calculations for a large box, the breakeven price would be $8.33 and sale price would be $15 on a 44.45%

This includes $11,418 in monthly operating costs and $50,200.33 in start-up costs.
IV. KEY METRICS For Swirl to succeed, a heavy emphasis must be placed on finances. Distribution costs is one of Swirl’s highest costs and can be reduced over time, as the company grows and has more negotiating power. There is also concern over shipping prices for consumers and if Swirl needs to subsidize the cost for larger purchases. Distribution will be crucial in opening Swirl’s profit margin and giving customers greater reason to shop online. Also, development of 3D printing candy flavours are also key in retaining customers and keeping consumers interested in the product after initial purchase. Google AdWords is a powerful tool that Swirl plans on increasing use of as revenues increase. Currently, the monthly advertising budget $1,000 and 90% of it goes towards AdWords. This is because Swirl understands that in an age of technology, a first instinct in the 21st century is to Google what is needed.

V. COMPETITIVE