Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

The opportunity at hand is a lack of functional rain gear that is designed to keep both you, and your stuff, dry. The products that are currently on the market usually meet customer needs to stay dry, but there are only a few products on the market that are designed to keep your stuff dry, which is where the opportunity lies.

The market for these products will always be there because the force that is creating the opportunity will always be there – weather. Weather is an unavoidable part of our daily lives, and as such there will always be a need for products that can functionally be used for various parts of our daily lives.

The market is defined geographically by weather, as there is a larger market in areas that receive more rainfall annually. Demographically the market appeals towards people who are regularly exposed to the elements, such as hikers or people who walk/bike to work/class.

The most common way that customers are trying to satisfy this need is by using multiple different products in ways that they were not intended to be used. An example of this would be using two raincoats, one for the customer to wear and one to wrap around whatever it is that you are trying to keep dry. Another way is by using one of the few products that are currently on the market designed just for this, but many are very use-specific and as a result still fail to completely meet the customer’s needs. Because of this, the customer loyalty is not very strong.

The opportunity here is tremendous. The market for waterproof textiles is expected to reach $2.18 billion by 2022, and I believe that the window of opportunity will be open for a while. This need is often overlooked because people have been coping with it for so long that they don’t even think about how to solve it.

Innovation

The PackSaver Raincoat is a raincoat for you and your backpack. An added area in the back of the raincoat allows customers to wear the raincoat over their backpack. When not in use, the pleated sides of the backpack area can be folded in and Velcro-ed shut so that it lies flat with the rest of the raincoat. The backpack area also includes as an interior pocket flap, allowing wearers to keep items dry even when they are not carrying a backpack. The Quick-Dry interior lining helps to wick away moisture for those times when you didn’t get your raincoat on fast enough before it started raining. This feature also helps to decrease overall coat drying time by absorbing some of the leftover water from the outer shell if you roll the coat up after use.

Additional Features include:

• Waterproof breathable outer shell
• Quick-Dry interior lining
• Reinforced seams
• Flexible, detachable visor at the top of the hood to help keep your face from getting wet
• Hidden drawcord system on hood
• Velcro flap over zipper
• 2 zippered front pockets
• 1 interior front chest pocket
• Adjustable Velcro cuff tabs

There are many different color options available to best fit the customer’s wants and needs. The PackSaver would also be available in an insulated option if they are looking for something with added warmth for cold rainy days. The regular PackSaver raincoat retails for $70, and the insulated version retails for $90.

Venture Concept

The PackSaver raincoat addresses the lack of functional rain gear available that keeps both you and your stuff dry. I think that customers will want to buy this because many people have experienced this problem before and have been in a situation in which they end up having to sacrifice themselves or their stuff to keep the other dry. I think customers will be willing to switch because PackSaver can be converted into a normal raincoat, so there is only added benefit with this product. Because of this I think that it will be fairly easy to get customers to switch.

The main competitors would probably be North Face and Columbia. I think their biggest weakness or vulnerability would be their prices. Both sell high quality outdoor wear but at a very high price, and while I want my product to be on the same level of quality as theirs, I think that there are cost saving methods that I could employ in various aspects of business that would allow me to sell my product at a more reasonable price, giving me an advantage. Another competitor would be the Packa, which is a product similar to mine but is designed specifically for hikers with very large hiking backpacks, however it too is very expensive and it does not have any of the design features that my product will have.

Minor Elements

I think the most important resource for PackSaver will be design. It is a completely new design for a raincoat and because there is nothing out there that has even a remotely similar design, I will probably look into getting a design patent. This will make it a lot more difficult for competitors to copy my success.

I think the next thing for this venture would be expanding the product line as well as continuous innovation as feedback from actual customers comes in. If I were to actually launch this, I would like to see it become a household name for outdoor gear and have several other products on the shelves within the next 5 years. I think starting something like this on the side would definitely help me achieve my vision as it would prove that I can take one of the many ideas in my head and turn it into a successful product and company, which would give me extremely valuable experience that I can apply elsewhere in my life. The problem with doing this however is juggling the management of the company while still in school. Because of this, another option that I might consider doing is pitching my product idea to a larger company after I obtain design patents. This would allow me the time to focus on my schoolwork while still getting my product out there on the shelves so that it can benefit others.

Feedback

All of the feedback that I received was positive. People really liked the concept and the features that I plan to offer. They thought that my product was reasonably priced as well, so that feedback was really nice to hear. I had one person mention that I should consider pitching my idea to a larger company such as NorthFace, which I added as an option I might consider for the future.