ABSTRACT Background: The current condition of the U.S. housing market has created a possible shift in the way people are purchasing homes today. U.S. housing statistics show that the average person moves every five years, but now with a cooling market people are no longer making quick capital gains off of their property. This means that people are now becoming more conscious of what they buy and why they are buying. People are realizing that home ownership may be moving towards a long term investment rather than a quick flip. Housing is the Seattle, Washington area is expensive. Environmentalists are urging U.S. residents to research ways they can make their homes more efficient and friendlier to the environment. However, the problem really lies in the construction techniques of the U.S. housing industry. People pay enough for their poorly constructed homes as it is, most families are unwilling to pay the extra expense that is necessary to increase the efficiency of their home. StålbroHouse noticed this gap in the U.S. market and wants to bring Swedish prefabricated homes that are superior in construction and design elements. They also require a fraction of the energy U.S. homes consume and are affordable for the average middle class family. Before beginning operations, to get some initial knowledge about the industry, trends, customers etc., we contacted the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. In addition, an informal interview was conducted to enhance our knowledge on the typical customer and what customers commonly base their purchasing decisions on. In order to get an even better understanding about the customers, we visited the annual Home Show at the Seattle Convention Center in January of 2008. We distributed feasibility surveys to get an even better understanding for what people want in a home. This enabled us to get closer to the target group. To get a better idea of competitors and in particular their marketing efforts, we called a couple of them directly. In some cases, we spoke with their marketing managers. Purpose: The purpose of this Thesis/Business Plan is to outline the direction StålbroHouse plans to take in its first years of operation as well as explain why we think this is a viable business. This document will also serve to communicate the companies ideas and projections to future investors and (or) so that we can obtain a bank loan to assist in the capital necessary to begin operations. Method: We used a combination of relevant theory that was applicable to the desired outcomes of the Thesis/Business Plan. Relevant industry statistics, charts, and information was incorporated with the theory that enabled us to produce a business plan that was backed up by academic findings as well as market research. This aided in the creation of a Businesss Plan that would allow StålbroHouse to demonstrate their projections for the first years of operations. However, as with any business plan, it is important to remember that outside factors, market changes etc. can mean the need to deviate from the initial plan. Sonna Stålbro & Yanko Todorov
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hj-1367 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Todorov, Yanko, Stålbro, Sonna |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Jönköping, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, Internationella Handelshögskolan |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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