Preliminary Market Research (PMR) Service

Whether you are looking to purchase a business in Canada or establish a new one, a good market research is indispensable. It gives you the information and intelligence required to make a better-informed decision. Especially, since you are dealing with an economy that may not be familiar to you.

 When it comes to purchasing a business in Canada or establish a new business, Owlspriority Immigration’s market research team offers market research services that can help the person make a well-informed decision. Often, a variety of factors contribute to the person’s decision making, and not just the ledger and cash flow statements. The market research services we provide is divided into 2 stages for better understanding:

• Preliminary Market Research (PMR) – 1st stage
• Comprehensive Market Research (CMR) – 2nd stage

Preliminary Market Research (For purchasing or acquiring existing businesses in Canada)

When it comes to purchasing or acquiring existing businesses in Canada, the PMR starts with the person (the buyer) identifying certain criteria. These would include, but not limited to:

• Budget (Example: C$50,000 to C$5,000,000)
• Geographic preferences (Example: Metro Vancouver, Toronto South)
• Nature/Type of the business (Example: restaurant, gas station, convenience store, grocery shop, etc.)
• Accessibility Factors (Example: airport, accommodation, sky train station, etc.)

Once the criteria for the research has been identified, the market research team engages with our realtor network in the identified area (geography). The person (the buyer) is then provided with the Pool of Business Entities (PBE) listing. The PBE listing will list out the most promising and relevant available businesses that are for sale in the specific area/geography the person (the buyer) had shown interest in.  As per the requirement of the person (the buyer), various information pertaining to the business are collected for the 2nd stage of the research. That is, Comprehensive Market Research (CMR). These would include certified accounting information pertaining to the businesses provided by a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) in Canada. These would include:

• Annual sales
• Owner Income
• EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)
• Rent/Lease information
• Vendor Details
• Inventory/Stock Information
• Equity Details
• Realistic Asking Prices
• Seller Information (with background)
• Ledger Statements
• Cash Flow Statements
• Access to the database of customers/clients of the business
• Training Guides and/or Training Arrangements (as applicable)

At each stage of the research, the person (the buyer) will be guided by our market research team. Also, as per the person’s (the buyer) interest, additional research will be carried out (if required) to gather more data or information. This is applicable in the case of businesses like restaurants, take-away food stores, convenience stores, gas stations, etc. Some of these would be:

• Volume of customers visiting the business at different times of the day (weekdays and/or weekends)
• Volume of customers visiting the business on a typical weekday/weekend
• Major selling items in the business
• Hot deals that attracts decent volume of customers/clients
• Opportunities of improvement
• Identifying hidden potential
• Strategies to expand the business, etc.

The Preliminary Market Research Stage is often followed quickly by an “Exploratory Visit”. An exploratory visit not only strengthens the application, it plays a crucial role in the person’s (the buyer) final decision making also.

Preliminary Market Research (For establishing a new business in Canada)

When it comes establishing a new business in Canada, the PMR starts with the person (the buyer) identifying certain criteria. These would include, but not limited to:

• Budget (Example: C$500,000 to C$2,000,000)
• Geographic preferences (Example: Metro Vancouver, Toronto South)
• Nature/Type of the business (Example: restaurant, gas station, convenience store, grocery shop, etc.)
• Regulatory/Licensure Requirement(s) (Example: businesses that deal with highly inflammable material)
• Compliance factors (Example: safety standards, health standards, cleanliness standards, etc.)
• Major Market Competitors, etc.

Preliminary Market Research (PMR) stage is unique for each application because the circumstances, tastes and industry differ from one application to the other.