Light Helmets for the City

Author

Paraira Puchal, Mònica
Uberni Julià, Clàudia Heidarizadeh, Saeideh

Abstract

Light Helmets for the City (LHC) is a start-up based in Barcelona founded by three master students. The startup is in the early stages elaborating its business plan in order to develop, design and sell through digital platforms a helmet specialized for electric scooters with an incorporated red light that thanks to an accelerometer intensifies when braking. This feature in the helmet is the main competitive advantage of the product. Therefore, the main aim of LHC is to have product-quality leadership and offer safety, comfort and up to date technology to its consumers with a helmet that is unlike any other in the market.
The strategy of the company is a differentiated one aiming towards a niche segment in a market landscape with a lot of potential, as the electric scooters are a big trend nowadays and new regulations are constantly being implemented regarding the use of helmets. LHC will address first to the Catalan market, especially in Barcelona and the cities nearby. If all goes according to plan, it could be increase to the Spanish market in the following years. The market penetration of the product is low as it is aimed towards a niche market, with low level of sales but high margins.
LHC will purchase the different material in order to assembly and design the final product. The facility will be located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, a town near Barcelona and it is owned by the founders. In the first years, the unit price per helmet will be 90 €/helmet and the average cost of sales 50€ /helmet. Therefore, LHC will have a high margin in order to deal with fix costs, interests and taxes.
The company needs an investment of approximately 100.000,00 € the first year in order to develop the project, purchase the materials and launch the product. The 50% of this investment will be provided by the three founder members and the other part will be financed through a grant from Generalitat de Catalunya. It is expected to achieve profits in Year 4, taking into account that the product launches in Year 2.

 

Director

Ramírez Roma, Xavier  

Degree

IQS SM - Master’s Degree in Industrial Business Management

Date

2020-06-25