Kasi Kicks Business Plan — Implementation Roadmap

The phases from first store to four, warehouse and planning build, dependencies, and the gate at each stage.

Implementation Roadmap

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12.1 Development programme
12.2 Critical dependencies
12.3 Conditions precedent to drawdown
12.4 What each phase costs and what is recoverable

Figure 24. Implementation roadmap — sign the brand agreements before any lease.

12.1 Development programme

Phase	Months	Activities	Gate — do not proceed without
1. Brand accounts	1 to 5	Authorised retailer applications to the major brands; store concept presentation and account assessment; appoint the buyer and merchandise planner	Three signed brand agreements, with indicative allocation, before any lease
2. Sites and the first buy	5 to 12	Secure the two launch sites and negotiate turnover clauses; fit out store one and the central warehouse; build the merchandise planning system with a size curve by style; commit the first seasonal buy to the sell-through curve	Opening stock received; the size curve verified style by style against the buy
3. Trade and measure	12 to 22	Open store one and measure density and sell-through by size; fit out and open store two; build the e-commerce platform and integrate the stock file	Trading density above R60 000 per m²; full-price sell-through above 65%
4. Add channel and store	Years 2 to 3	Launch online and introduce click and collect; open store three once forward density supports it	Debt service cover above 1.30x; stock cover under 90 days
5. Reach maturity	Years 4 to 5	Open store four and extend the stock facility as the range grows; drive online to 18% of units and hold markdown below 27% of units	49 239 pairs a year at a trading density of R83 358 per m²

The sequencing rule for this business: sign the brand agreements before any lease

A retail lease is a five-year commitment and a mall landlord will want it signed before the trading concept is proven. A brand supply agreement is granted at the brand’s discretion and can be refused after the lease is signed. Taking those two in the wrong order produces the worst outcome available in this industry: a fitted-out sneaker store with no sneakers to sell, holding a lease it cannot exit. The roadmap therefore places the brand applications first, at a cost of four months and a buyer’s salary, and gates the site search on three signed agreements. The four months are not lost time — they are when the merchandise planning system is built and the first size curves are constructed, so that the opening buy is right the first time.

12.2 Critical dependencies

Dependency	What it gates	Why it cannot be accelerated
Three signed brand agreements	Everything	The range is granted, not bought. A store without allocation has nothing to sell
The buyer and merchandise planner	The size curve and the allocation relationships	Both sit with one person, and both determine the margin from the first buy onward
Two strong mall sites	Trading density	Break-even is R33 387 per m² against a mature R83 358; a merely acceptable site does not clear the central cost
Merchandise planning system with size reporting	The 20.5% size-curve advantage	The curve cannot be managed before sell-through by size can be measured
Opening stock committed to the curve	The first season’s margin	Seasonal buys are committed months ahead at the retailer’s risk and cannot be revised
An accurate stock file	The online channel	Selling online from an inaccurate file strands inventory and disappoints customers; online waits for Year 2
The R6 500 000 stock facility committed at drawdown	Trading through the growth years	Stock exceeds the facility from Year 4 and the balance comes from retained cash
Two seasons of sell-through history	Improved allocation	The brands allocate on history. It cannot be bought, only earned

12.3 Conditions precedent to drawdown

12.4 What each phase costs and what is recoverable

Phase	Cash committed	Cumulative	What is recoverable if the venture stops here
1. Brand accounts	R720 000	R720 000	Nothing tangible. This phase buys three signed agreements and a buyer’s salary, and the agreements do not transfer
2. Sites and the first buy	R9 890 000	R10 610 000	The opening stock is realisable through the trade at a discount; the fit-out in a leased mall unit is not
3. Trade and measure	R3 480 000	R14 090 000	Store two’s fit-out and a second stock tranche. This is the point at which the chain becomes a commitment
4. Add channel and store	R1 950 000	R16 040 000	Store three’s fit-out against a diary of proven density; the e-commerce build has little resale value
5. Reach maturity	Funded from cash flow	R16 130 000	A four-store chain with brand accounts, sell-through history and R9 670 100 of realisable stock

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