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CANADIAN KENNEL CLUB
CLUB CANIN CANADIEN
Request for Proposal to Provide
Promotional Merchandising Services for
The Canadian Kennel Club
April 2015
ISSUE DATE:
April 10, 2015
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: May 15, 2015 - Noon EDT
LOCATION:
The Canadian Kennel Club
400 - 200 Ronson Drive, Etobicoke ON M9W 5Z9
ATTENTION:
Tara Merrimen, Special Projects Officer
[email protected]
INTRODUCTION:
The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) is seeking third party resources to execute on its plan
to offer promotional merchandise through an efficient and profitable distribution model.
This request for proposal is designed to understand and investigate innovative models
and to procure a service agreement.
The over-arching objective is to increase awareness of CKC, promote pride in
membership as well as participation in CKC events and to generate a new and
profitable revenue stream through a low risk alliance.
1. General Information
Request for Proposal - The CKC invites you to submit a proposal outlining your plan to
provide services to support CKC’s goals as outlined in this Request for Proposal
(“RFP”). Proposals will be considered for models that are effective, simple to implement
and maintain, and financially rewarding.
Timelines, Budget & Place – Our intent is to complete negotiations in May/June and to
implement this initiative between June and August 31, 2015. It is expected that the
successful vendor for this initiative will work closely with the CKC management team
located in Toronto near Pearson International Airport.
It is expected that the need for an upfront budget investment will be minimal or nil.
We are generally working to the following timelines:
• May 15, 2015 – Deadline for initial submissions.
• May - June, 2015 - Discovery and contract negotiation.
• June – August 31, 2015 - Program development and execution.
• September - December 31, 2015 - Program launch and review.
April 2015 RFP
CONFIDENTIAL to CKC and Invited Respondents
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Subcontracting – The use of any subcontractors or partners to perform any of the
tactical work is permitted and CKC’s relationship will be with the vendor.
Award Provisions - The award shall be made to the vendor that submitted a proposal
that was most advantageous to the CKC, as determined by the CKC in accordance with
the Evaluation Criteria set out below. Acceptance of the RFP shall not be interpreted as
a contract. A formal contract will be created between the CKC and the successful
winning vendor.
Questions - If you have any questions and/or clarifications regarding this RFP please
contact the Project Manager, Tara Merrimen in writing – [email protected] . Your
questions and associated answers may be shared with the other bidders. Deadline for
questions is May 1, 2015, 17:00 EDT.
Proposals shall be e-mailed to: [email protected].
2. Background and Target Market
Background - The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) is the primary registry body for
purebred dogs in Canada and currently recognizes 175 breeds. As a non-profit
organization, the CKC is dedicated to encouraging, guiding, and advancing the interests
of purebred dogs and their responsible owners and breeders in Canada and promoting
the knowledge and understanding of the benefits which dogs can bring to Canadian
society.
The organization includes approximately 18,000 individual members and over 700
breed clubs across Canada. The Club registers purebred dogs, regulates dog shows
and performance events, and speaks out on major issues concerning dog ownership
and the health & welfare of dogs across Canada.
During general discussion at the January 2015 Board meeting, there was support for
staff to investigate a merchandising plan particularly for the sale of CKC branded items.
E.g. apparel.
Rationale in support of the concept:
 The 2013-2015 Strategic Plan includes an objective to pursue a merchandising plan.
 Products sales are currently one area of growth in the CKC revenue model. It is
currently limited primarily to items related to dog identification and show supplies.
 Anecdotal evidence make Board members feel that CKC branded items would be
popular to demonstrate support for a preferred event, activity and/or dog breed.
 Logistical challenges have eased significantly since the last time CKC had an inhouse store due to the evolution of third party providers that specialize in these
services.
April 2015 RFP
CONFIDENTIAL to CKC and Invited Respondents
Page 3
Please take the following into account in your proposal as applicable:
 The first phase of a website upgrade and redesign launched in 2014 to provide
members and the public with more engaging content and options for self-serve and
to increase overall traffic.
 CKC is expected to introduce new modules for the website in the first half of 2015
including an online store to support the sale of other products such as dog
microchips, rule books and forms. Currently, these products are sold through a
manual order desk during regular business hours.
 A consolidated online payment strategy with single vendor, Chase.
Target Markets – Listed below are potential market categories. It is common that
someone may fall into multiple categories, e.g. a member may be a breeder.




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Existing CKC members (approximately 18,000)
Purebred dog breeders
Dog Clubs and their members
Judges
Events participants (e.g. Conformation shows, agility trials, obedience trials, rally
and various field trials, etc.)
 Pet enthusiasts from the general public (e.g. Existing and/or prospective dog
owners).
Other relevant demographic information for the existing membership includes:
 53% of members have been with the Club 15 to 30 years
 Members aged 45 to 64 made up 64% of membership
 82% of the Club membership is female
 70% of our members consider themselves Breeders
 82% are Canadian
 The breakdown for Canada is as follows: Ontario 41.69%, Quebec 16.36%, British
Columbia 15.03%, Alberta 12.67%, Nova Scotia 3.71%, Manitoba 2.90%,
Saskatchewan 2.83%, New Brunswick 2.29%, Newfoundland and Labrador 1.63%,
Prince Edward Island 0.64%, Yukon Territory 0.15%, Northwest Territories 0.06%
 High percentage of online and mobile users – 16% conduct business with mobile
devices with the majority being Apple products (76%)
3. Approach
We are looking for alliances with vendors experienced in: project management and plan
execution, superior customer service, and a commitment to quality. The chosen vendor
will take the lead to recommend a solution that will sell and fulfil products with minimal
involvement and intervention from CKC staff. This may be achieved through a
seamless service executed flawlessly by a third party unbeknownst to the purchaser or
by a declared and effective hand off from CKC to the vendor.
April 2015 RFP
CONFIDENTIAL to CKC and Invited Respondents
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4. Proposal Format:
We are anticipating the following deliverables to be included within each proposal:
Company Background - Outline of your company, its history, lines of business,
capabilities, staffing, etc.
Experience and Qualifications - Please provide evidence of:
 Experience in promotional merchandise design, production, sale and delivery.
 Project development and management experience.
 Experience with CKC and/or the Canadian Dog Fancy is a plus.
Approach - Please highlight your implementation plan:
 Key Activities
 Timing
 Roles and Responsibilities
 Outcomes and benefits
 Outline the perceived challenges, risks or conflicts inherent in this opportunity.
Financial Projections - Provide an outline of financial assumptions and projections
including any upfront investment requirements, revenue and/or volume projections and
profit sharing models with scenarios.
Evaluation Criteria - The following are the evaluation criteria that will be used by the
CKC in the evaluation of proposals. The CKC reserves the right to select suppliers
outside of these criteria if it is off significant benefit to the CKC.
Criteria
Weighting
Experience, Qualifications
10
Approach
30
Alignment to objectives including budget and revenue models
50
General fit to project
10
Total
April 2015 RFP
CONFIDENTIAL to CKC and Invited Respondents
100
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