Naledi Threads Business Plan

Investor-ready clothing boutique business plan: R1.04m funding, 45 m2 selling floor in Soweto, Year 5 revenue R2.90m at a 52.2% gross margin.

Naledi Threads — size-inclusive womenswear boutique interior, Soweto

Business Plan & Investment Proposal · Protea Glen Square, Soweto

Clothing Boutique Business Plan — South Africa

Naledi Threads · A Job First, An Investment Second.

Size-inclusive mid-market womenswear at Protea Glen Square, Soweto — 55 m² gross
lettable with a 45 m² selling floor, trading seven days and opening 1 September 2026. Total funding
requirement of R1 036 030: R600,000 founder equity at 58 per cent and a R440,000 term loan at
13.50 per cent, with a R150,000 standby overdraft left undrawn.

R1.04mTotal funding

45 m²Selling floor

R2.90mYear 5 revenue

52.2%Year 5 gross margin

Read the executive summary →

This plan makes a claim most small-retail proposals avoid: it is a job first and an
investment second. The owner draws R168,000 in Year 1 rising to R327,906 by Year 5, and that salary — not the
R202,071 of residual EBITDA on R1.04 million deployed — is the dependable return. Saying so on the cover is
a more useful disclosure than a flattering IRR would be. The operating question underneath is narrow and
measurable, because 45 square metres of selling floor is all there is: trading density has to climb from
R32,958 per square metre to R52,773, which takes the shop from 76 per cent of the national benchmark for its
category to 104 per cent. Everything else — the size-inclusive range, the buying discipline, the markdown
control — exists to move that one number.

The plan at a glance

Six measures that determine whether this shop and its funding stand up.

R1 036 030Total funding requirementR600,000 founder equity at 58% and a R440,000 term loan at 13.50%, with a R150,000 standby overdraft left undrawn.

45 m²Selling floorWithin 55 m² gross lettable at Protea Glen Square. Everything in the plan is measured against that small footprint.

R52 773Year 5 trading density per m²Up from R32,958 — from 76% of the national benchmark for the category to 104% of it.

52.2%Year 5 gross marginRising from 48.5% as buying discipline improves and markdowns are contained.

R202 071Year 5 EBITDA after owner payAgainst R529,977 before it. That difference is the owner’s salary, and it is the real return.

1.54xYear 5 debt service coverThin through the middle years — 1.25x in Year 3 — which is where a lender should focus.

What this actually is

The distinction the plan draws on its own cover — and why stating it plainly is more useful to a funder than a flattering return.

A jobFirstThe owner draws R168,000 a year rising to R327,906. That salary is the dependable return, and the plan says so on its own cover rather than dressing it as an investment.

and only then

An investmentSecondR202,071 of Year 5 EBITDA after paying that salary, on R1.04m deployed. Real, but modest — and honestly presented as the lesser half.

Five years of trading

Revenue and EBITDA on the base case. Trading density and gross margin are the two assumptions that matter most, and both are stressed in Section 15.

Revenue build, against the national trading-density benchmark

Trading density rises from R32,958 per square metre to R52,773 — from 76% of the national benchmark for this retail category to 104% of it by Year 5.

Year 1

R1.81m · 76% of benchmark

Year 2

R2.28m · 92%

Year 3

R2.54m · 98%

Year 4

R2.73m · 102%

Year 5

R2.90m · 104%

EBITDA after owner remuneration, Year 2 onward

Year 1 is slightly negative at minus R7,636 once the owner is paid. Before owner remuneration EBITDA is positive from Year 1 at R160,364 — the gap between those two figures is the owner’s salary.

Year 2

R185k · 8.1%

Year 3

R164k · 6.5%

Year 4

R189k · 6.9%

Year 5

R202k · 7.0%

Why this plan works

The salary is the returnOwner remuneration rises from R168,000 to R327,906 a year. On R1.04 million deployed, that draw is worth more to the founder than the residual profit — and the plan leads with it rather than burying it.

Trading density is the scoreboardForty-five square metres is all there is. Revenue per square metre climbing from 76% of the national benchmark to 104% is the single measure that says whether the shop is working.

Size-inclusive is the positionMid-market womenswear in Soweto is well served at standard sizes and poorly served beyond them. The range architecture is built around that gap rather than around a broader fashion claim.

Stock is where the money sitsIn a boutique, working capital is inventory. Open-to-buy discipline and markdown control decide whether gross margin reaches 52.2% or drowns in unsold season.

Trigger points are written in advanceThe plan names the thresholds at which the owner must act and what each response is. Deciding that before opening is worth more than any contingency line in the budget.

Financial snapshot

Four charts from the plan. The full set of twenty-four appears throughout the sections below.

Figure 2. EBITDA before and after owner remuneration. The gap between the two bars is the founder's salary.

Figure 6. Target segments by share of revenue and average transaction value.

Figure 14. Capital expenditure by category.

Figure 17. Year 1 month-end cash. The balance never recovers to its opening level.

Twenty-two sections and five appendices. Every page carries full navigation, a section outline and links to the sections either side of it.

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Important Notice and Basis of PreparationBasis of preparation, data sources, forward-looking statement caveats and confidentiality terms. Please read first.

Appendices

Confidential. This document has been prepared in support of a funding proposal by
Naledi Threads and may not be reproduced or distributed without written consent. Projections are forward-looking
statements based on the assumptions registered in Appendix C and are not guarantees of future performance.