3.  Mission Statement

To set up a profitable e-business that offers total customer relationship management.

4.  Core Values

Adaptable, Efficient, Knowledgeable, and Courteous Service.

5.  Business Overview

There is an advantage to use a simple and direct trade name so that people can easily remember. This is especially true in the global market where customer from anywhere in the world is able to recognize the name. Although “ZiWatch” in one word has no particular meaning, people can somehow associate it to watches business by the look of the name.  It is also easy to pronounce, and the prefix “Zi” is now a very popular name in the Cyber-world, such as ZiNet, ZiTec and ZiWorld etc. Therefore “ZiWatch” is a very suitable name for an online watch shop selling trendy watches.

ZiWatches mainly deal with the trading of fashionable watches to the global market. It is a sole proprietorship operation located at 6/F, 33 Hoi Wan Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. It aims to become a profitable online watch shop with persistent sales growth for at least 30-50% annually in the first three years.

6.  Products/ Services Offered

ZiWatches trade the medium to low priced trendy watches internationally. At the set up stage, the core brand of this shop is the basic range by Swatch. It mainly carries a wide range of Swatch watches from the price of US$50 onwards.

Swatch watches were able to maintain the high-quality standards associated with Swiss brands, but at a retail price competitive with Asian manufacturers. Its strategy is to use extremely low cost to produce quartz movements that were often built into the back of the plastic watch case to save money. The design was also improved to an accurate quartz analog product that required only 51 parts, compared to the typical 90 to 150 parts found in conventional watches. This not only dramatically cut production costs and allows automated assembly, but also enhanced performance reliability.

Another strategy was the use of plastic as much as possible in the watch case in contrast to the much more expensive stainless steel cases prevalent at that time. The problem with this approach of course would be that the product would be regarded as cheap and disposable. Swatch counteracted this by offering this product in as many different styles as possible, often endorsed and designed by well-known celebrities. Each watch is a limited edition and its distribution is usually confined to certain countries.

Swatch watches ticks along at the pace of modern life. With its trend-setting colorful design, its cheerful outlook, and its unconventional appearance, the Swatch message strikes a nerve in our time. It is a message that is understood and accepted all over the world. Not long ago, people bought watch the way they purchased dinnerware - one for everyday use and one for formal occasions. Swatch watches changed all that by revolutionizing the reason we wear watches. Much more than a timepiece, a Swatch is an inexpensive fashion accessory that we can change according to our mood and activities. This plastic watch, which ticked for the first time in the early 1980s, has developed into an internationally recognized brand name product with an unmistakable profile. Swatch has sold more than 250 million watches and it is the only low-cost brand of watches with a large collector base.

That message is being conveyed through design and marketing savvy. The company attributes its success largely "to the communications specialists - advertising consultants, art directors, PR and promotion specialists - who have devised one original idea after another to put Swatch in the spotlight."

At Swatch design labs in Milan and New York, an ever-changing cadre of graphic artists, architects and industrial designers from a wide range of countries create about 140 different styles annually. Collections introduced twice a year address five basic Swatch lines: formal, active sports, casual leisure, fashion and art. Each model is part of a collection, and each has its own name. The company never uses one-off designs for a single watch, but develops seasonal lines around theme concepts to gain greater promotional and sales presence. In every category, Swatch claims to stand for "provocation and unlimited imagination." The exceptional models- Specials and Limited Editions- became a must for any collection. Besides the Swatch watches design, the packaging along with each series is also very unique and attractive, making it a desirable gift to friend.

Followed by Swatch watches, collection from other brands with definite fashion statements will be added at the expansion stage, such as Citizen Spoon Watch, Casio G-shock, Xemex, Nomos and Ikepod etc. It can create an image that ZiWatches is a cyberstore that carries stylist watches and accessories exclusively.

Other than selling products, equal effort will be spent on value-added services, a membership based ‘Swatch’ interest group will be set up to attract Swatch collectors to the site. Other services may include sending periodical newsletter to its members with news of new products and discounts, running an auction site, and running a discussion forum where members can post threads, voice their opinions or seeking advice. This is a kind of soft-selling method because it was proved by previous experience that if customers satisfy your services, they would repeatedly order or recommend others to buy from you or even spread their word on other message board on the Internet. Moreover, this is a means of generating self-perpetuating traffic because people will be drawn to your site again and again even if they do not have any intention to buy anything at that moment. Hopefully they will eventually buy something from the site. Running a forum or interest group will also help sales in the long run as it shows potential customers that you are passionately interested in what you sell.