Development of a Business Plan for the Clothing Brand Launch

New normality - this is how the stage of development of the Russian fashion market, which began in 2022, is characterized. This graduate qualification work was written for development in this area, and the purpose of it is to develop a detailed business plan for the opening of a clothing brand with an assessment of the effectiveness of the proposed business model. The main objectives of the thesis are: 1. To analyze the main market trends and identify of market features; 2. To benchmark the best practices of competitors and identify key success factors; 3. Conduct Customer Development to identify uncovered consumer needs; 4. Analyze the peculiarities of promoting start-up brands in the Russian market; 5. Develop a marketing strategy; 6. Develop a short-term and long-term brand development strategy; 7. Create a financial plan and determine the required amount of investment. Consequently, the attractiveness and relevance of creating a new business in the fashion sector was identified due to the vacated niches and the lack of established rules of competition for the formation of standards. However, it is particularly important to note the need to develop an online sales channel and establish a unique concept. Based on the academic literature, a methodology for creating a business plan was developed, the important aspects of which are the principles of Lean Startup, i.e. the development of a business model based on the results of hypothesis testing in Customer Development, as well as branding and marketing strategy, including e-commerce. Further, through benchmarking, it was found that exclusive products resonate with customers in different segments due to a proper branding strategy and creation an emotional connection with consumers through content and value broadcasting in online channels through Influencers and brand pages. These aspects are taken as the basis for the brand development strategy. The result of the final qualification work is a full-fledged business plan of a clothing brand. A business model was developed on the basis of confirmed hypotheses about the pains of the potential target audience, focusing on the sale of exclusive and basic elements of women's closet, developed by talented designers with the help of artificial intelligence technologies and made of high quality materials. This provides a solution to consumers' pains in the absence of offers with an attractive price-quality-uniqueness ratio. Providing a high-level customer experience, emotions as the basis of marketing and supplier diversification are also important aspects. This will level out the risks of the external environment, develop brand recognition and ensure multiple growth of the business. With the help of a financial forecast, the prospectivity of the proposed concept and marketing strategy was evaluated and hypotheses about the effectiveness of the proposed chain of operational processes were confirmed. An investment of 8.5 million rubles is planned for the initial operations and losses, which will pay off in 10 months of operation. Thus, based on the project performance indicators (NPV, IRR, ROI), it is worth noting that the proposed business model is more than viable and has the potential for development in the Russian clothing market. In addition, the project is accepted due to the prospect of high return on investment.