- Università: Bocconi
- Docenti:
Fabrizio Zerbini
- Studenti:
Antonio Anchini, Klara Baboyan, Laura Anne Marie Cohendet, Elena Milazzo, Felix Ochsenkuehn
Terra Nostra is the name of our innovative retail concept centred around sustainability, social responsibility and well being, located in Milan. After conducting a micro and macro analysis, the idea of creating a space for wellbeing at 360º came to us because of two critical environmental and societal issues faced in Italy: the first is that the North of Italy is among the worst areas in Europe for polluted air; the second is that 60% of Italians do not get the recommended amount of exercise.
We target those who share a common passion for sustainability and fitness, are eco-conscious and willing to pay more for eco-friendly goods.
Our idea benefits people, producers and the planet. People gain the convenience of having local sustainable goods available in a single location and the ability to make an environmental and social impact with every purchase. Every purchase contributes to planting trees around Milan to fight air pollution with 5% of annual proceeds going to Forestami. A loyalty program rewards consumers with points for small green actions, e.g. coming by public transportation. Moreover, with the purchase of every yoga & pilates membership, consumers contribute to funding 20 free student gym subscriptions a year, delivering social impact to those who cannot afford exercise classes. Producers will gain visibility and brand exposure, all while benefiting from our advertising efforts.
Finally, the planet will benefit from reduced carbon emission and the planting of new trees. The main commercial service is the retail activity: all products would be axed around wellness and will be sustainably made. Sales will be available both offline and online, through our e-commerce platform. The retail mix will consist of sportswear, outdoor wear, shoes, accessories, beauty products, yoga equipment, health and food. The brands we want to collaborate with implement green production processes and are all local enterprises, relatively small. WOMSH, for instance, produces eco-friendly sneakers using apple skin technology. The retail space will be structured like that of a department store, designed to make customers feel like they are entering a natural environment in which they want to get lost, finding relaxing spots like our vertical garden walls. It will be located in proximity to bike lanes and subway stations and will be open from Monday to Saturday from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm.
Terra Nostra will be hosted in an abandoned space, like the Innocenti Lambretta Factory near Città Studi, to give it a new life. It will be renovated and turned into an eco-friendly space made of sustainable materials like recycled wood floors. Green energy sources like solar panels will be used and vertical garden walls will be created.
The peripheral services consist of a studio for Yoga and Pilates sessions, a food & rest hall and an informational kiosk. The studio is located in a loft space above the store and is meant to look and feel like a tree. It can be accessed by stairs from the ground level and has a capacity of around twenty-five people. Kinetic tiles on the floor generate energy during workouts. At the food hall, people can enjoy a coffee or an organic snack. To encourage eco-friendly behaviours, consumers pay less if they bring a reusable cup. An informational kiosk will also allow people to find out more about the local brands and our subscription fees. Service provided by salespeople will be limited. Consumers will be prompted to order the clothes they want to try on via iPads available throughout the store; selections will be directly brought to their changing room, thanks to a back service in the warehouse feeding into the dressing rooms.
While promoting the new opening, we want to include people in the renovation process. A YouTube series with Jakidale will show the evolution of the eco-renovation and demonstrate how the Yoga tree is taking form. Social media activities will be crucial to involve people and eco-friendly informative content will be posted on Instagram and Facebook. Magazines will be used to raise awareness among the older segment. We will organise open air yoga events in collaboration with some of the brands presented in our store. A recycled pop-up box will be displayed around Milan, to raise interest and awareness of our storytelling and offer. It will be a first touchpoint with our potential customers and partners where they can get to know some of our unique products.
We expect the revenue from the retail activity to be about €6,8 Mio. per year, with a gross profit of €2.3 Mio. and a net income of €16.093,32. The retail space accounts to roughly 265 square metres, meaning we have a offline revenue of about € 14.975,78 per square metre of retail space. We assume that sales revenue of our online store is 50% of the brick-and-mortar store sales revenue, as the concept of the retail store is designed to be physically visited.
