It will be aimed at people of all ages who participate in cricket and use sporting equipment. It will also be aimed at mostly men as there is a wider market for this. Location: I will sell the equipment on the internet but the warehouse will be located in Slough as the business will be promoted in Slough mainly because the warehouse will allow people to pick up their goods themselves. USP:

The USP of the business will be providing quality cricket bats at a lower price than competitors, and to provide a variety of cricket bats from around the world from countries such as Pakistan and Australia who are leading manufacturers in the field of cricket bats. This would be appropriate as a cricket bat is a vital apparatus for playing cricket and I believe that most people would want to purchase cricket bats anyway. Another part of the USP is that the customers will not have to wait for delivery because they will be able to come and collect the products from the warehouse themselves if they wish.

Competition: In Slough there is a major store on named MB Malik, which also specialises in cricket bats. The problem with them is that they only sell bats of their label and bats that are made in England. They are located in Slough but away from the high street. The evidence it will work is based on the fact that Slough is a large cricketing town that has many teams playing in leagues (see appendix A). There are even teams for children hence this shows that there is a market for it in the area.

It will also be successful because at the moment there are only two major stores selling cricket bats but they don’t have a variety and are also very expensive, hence I will promote the business in Slough and will provide a variety of products. But the business will operate world wide as it will be based on the Internet and will be accessible to people around the world. Secondary Research: ; Internet access throughout Britain: ; Internet Access: Regional

The Internet across the whole world is used for many reasons, and many people around the world have access to the Internet around the world. Below is a graph showing how many people have Internet access throughout Britain. This information is significant to me, as I will be selling goods on the Internet. “64 per cent of adults in Great Britain (29 million) had accessed the Internet in October 2005. This represents 92 per cent of the adults who have ever accessed the Internet” Adults who have used the Internet in the 3 months prior to interview in October 2005 (GB)

Source: statistics. gov. uk This shows that more than half of the UK’s population has access to the Internet. , And 61% had bought or ordered goods, tickets or services on-line. This shows that there is a market for selling products online. Also the facts that people aged 25-44 were most likely to buy on-line (67 per cent) is also significant as most of my target market would come under this age group. There will also be people under and over that age who will shop online also but this shows that 67% of adults are likely to buy online.

Adults who have used the Internet in the last 3 months: by Government Office Region and GB country Source: statistics. gov. uk This graph shows regional Internet access. It shows that the south east of England has the highest rate of internet access, this is good news as my business will be set up from Slough which is in the south east and will also have its warehouse in the same location. “Internet use also varies by age. It is highest in the 16 to 44 age group (83 per cent) and lowest in the 65 and older age group (15 per cent)”.

This shows that 83% of all 16-44 year olds access the Internet, which is highly relevant for my business, as it will attract customers from that group as there are many kids playing Colts cricket. Overall this information shows to me that usage of internet has increased especially for shopping online. This is highly relevant to me as it provides a rough idea of whether the business will be successful or not as my business will be based on selling on the net.

It also gives me information on the age group that younger users use the internet most hence I can target this audience in a different approach to targeting older people. Cricket Interest: During that fourth Test, the BBC Sport website had its best-ever Saturday of 1. 2m unique users. With many people clicking in while at work, 2. 2m users on the Thursday and 2m on the Friday looked at the site, compared to the normal weekday average of 1. 5m. Source: bbc. co. uk/sport This piece of data shows me how popular cricket has become recently. It shows how people logged onto the BBC website to visit cricket related pages.

It means there is a high interest in cricket and the fact that many of the people went on the internet, is of high relevance to me as it shows many people have an interest in cricket use the internet and the fact that my business will run off the internet shows that there is scope for selling cricket goods online. It also goes to prove that demand for cricket has risen considerably since the past year due to England’s success over their arch rivals Australia in the ashes. This victory has been excellent for cricket as it has increased demand in cricket.