THE BANGLADESH

Business Services

Our Business Structure

Mercy Lurton Rice Store®, LLC do not intend to start a rice retail store business like the usual mom and pop business around the street corner; our intention of starting a rice retail store business is to build a standard and one stop rice retail store outlet in Charleston – West Virginia.

We will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers). As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more.

In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
• Store Manager
• Human Resources and Admin Manager
• Merchandize Manager
• Sales and Marketing Manager
• Information Technologist
• Accountants / Cashiers
• Sales Agents / Customer Services Executive
• Cleaners

Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Reports to the board

Admin and HR Manager

• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.

Store Manager:

• Responsible for managing the daily activities in the store
• Ensures that proper records of bags of rice are kept and warehouse does not run out of products
• Ensures that the store facility is in tip top shape and goods are properly arranged and easy to locate
• Interfaces with third – party suppliers (vendors)
• Controls rice distribution and supply inventory
• Supervises the workforce in the rice sales floor.

Merchandize Manager

• Manages vendor relations, market visits, and the ongoing education and development of the organizations’ buying teams
• Helps to ensure consistent quality of well processed rice from different manufacturers are purchased and retailed in good price that will ensure we make good profit
• Responsible for planning sales, monitoring inventory, selecting the merchandise, and writing and pricing orders to vendors
• Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.

Sales and Marketing Manager

• Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represent the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the company

Information Technologist

• Manages the organization website
• Handles ecommerce aspect of the business
• Responsible for installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
• Manages logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
• Manages the organization’s CCTV
• Handles any other technological and IT related duties.

Accountant / Cashier:

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the organization
• Serves as internal auditor for the organization

Client Service Executive

• Ensures that all contacts with customers (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with customers on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the human resources and admin manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to customers when they make enquiries (answer customer queries regarding the store and the merchandise)
• Finds out the customer’s needs, recommend, select and help locate the right merchandise, describe a product’s features and benefits.
• makes suggestions and encourage purchase of products
• Provides information about merchandise and delivery options
• Bags or packages purchases made

Cleaners:

• Responsible for cleaning all the store facility at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the store facility
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the store manager.

SWOT Analysis

Our intention to start just one outlet of our rice retail store in Charleston – West Virginia is to test run the business for a period of 2 to 5 years to know if we will invest more money, expand the business and then open other rice retail outlets all over major towns in West Virginia and key cities in the United States and Canada.

We are quite aware that there are several rice retail stores all over Charleston and even in the same location where we intend locating ours, which is why we are following the due process of establishing a business.

We know that if a proper SWOT analysis is conducted for our business, we will be able to position our business to maximize our strength, leverage on the opportunities that will be available to us, mitigate our risks and be welled equipped to confront our threats.

Mercy Lurton Rice Store®, LLC employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Mercy Lurton Rice Store®, LLC;

• Strength:

Our location, the business model we will be operating on (physical store and online store), varieties of payment options, wide range of well processed and well – bagged rice from different rice production companies from within the United States and other parts of the world and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for Mercy Lurton Rice Store®, LLC.

So also our management team members are people who have what it takes to grow a business from start – up to profitability with a record time.

• Weakness:

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new rice retail outlet and we don’t have the financial capacity to engage in the kind of publicity that we intend giving the business.

• Opportunities:

The fact that we are going to be operating our rice retail store in one of the busiest streets in Charleston – West Virginia provides us with unlimited opportunities to sell our rice to a large number of individuals and businesses (hotels and restaurants).

We have been able to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we know what our potential customers will be looking for when they visit our rice store outlets; we are well positioned to take on the opportunities that will come our way.

• Threat:

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing / spending power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new rice retail outlet in same location where ours is located. So also, unfavorable government policies may also pose a threat for businesses such as ours.

MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

If you are conversant with the Rice Retail Stores Industry, you will quite agree that the changes in disposable income, consumer sentiment, and ever changing eating habits are major growth drivers for sales in this industry.

No doubt, a massive rise in consumer confidence has also contributed in helping the industry experience remarkable growth, but uneven performance in these drivers has led to slightly constrained revenue growth for the Rice Retail Stores industry. So also, the rising demand for organic rice, as a result of increasing disposable income and consumer sentiment, will result in revenue growth.

Rice retail store business has been in existence for as long as human started trading goods, but one thing is certain, the rice retail store industry is still evolving. The introduction of technology and subsequently homed delivery options, online grocery cum rice retail store has indeed helped in reshaping the industry.

It is now a common phenomenon for rice retail stores and grocery outlets to leverage on technology to effectively predict consumer demand patterns and to strategically position their store to meet their needs; in essence, the use of technology helps retailers to maximize supply chain efficiencies. No doubt data collected from customers goes a long way to help rice retail stores and grocery stores serve them better.

Our Target Market

Possibly it will be safe to submit that the rice retail stores industry has the widest range of customers; almost everybody on planet earth consume rice; rice is indeed one of the most popular staple food in the world.

In view of that, we have positioned our rice retail store to service the residence of Charleston – West Virginia and every other location where franchise cum outlets of our rice retail stores will be located all over key cities in the United States of America and Canada.

We have conducted our market research and feasibility studies and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. We are in business to retail well processed and bagged rice from different rice production brands to the following groups of people and corporate organizations;

• Households
• Hotels
• Restaurants

Our Competitive Advantage

A close study of the rice retail stores industry reveals that the market has become much more intensely competitive over the last decade. As a matter of fact, you have to be highly creative, customer centric and proactive if you must survive in this industry. We are aware of the stiffer competition and we are well prepared to compete favorably with other leading rice retail stores in Charleston – West Virginia and throughout the United States and Canada.

Mercy Lurton Rice Store®, LLC is launching a standard one stop rice retail store that will indeed become the preferred choice of residence of Charleston – West Virginia and every other location where our outlets will be opened.

Our rice retail store is located in a corner piece property on a busy road directly opposite one of the largest residential estates in Charleston – West Virginia. We have enough parking spaces that can accommodate well over 10 cars per time.

One thing is certain; we will ensure that we have a wide range of well – processed and well bagged rice from leading rice production companies available in our store at all times. It will be difficult for customers to visit our rice store and not see the type of rice they are looking for.

One of our business goals is to make Mercy Lurton Rice Store®, LLC a one stop rice shop for both household and businesses (hotels and restaurants et al) our excellent customer service culture, online store, various payment options and highly secured facility will serve as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be amongst the best within our category (startups rice retail stores) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives. We will also give good working conditions and commissions to freelance sales agents that we will recruit from time to time