Political
The industry in Belgium is concentrated in the northern Flemish area although the government is encouraging business into the south of Belgium which is good news for new investors like ourselves. Belgium has few natural resources and imports substantial quantities of raw materials, again good news for importers. After the discovery of a cancer causing substance in animal feed BSE the market though decreased for beef etc. is playing in the fishing industries favour making demand higher for seafood etc.
Technological
It has a highly developed transport network and has a diversified industrial and commercial base.
Belgium has a highly developed, technologically advanced and completely telephone system with a nationwide cellular telephone system mostly using extensive cable networks. It has 87 radio stations, 24 TV stations and 57 Internet service providers.
This makes marketing the product very accessible.
Transportation in Belgium is very easy, as there are very well developed railways, highways/expressways and well-used waterways for commercial use. It has many ports and harbour including Antwerp (one of the world’s busiest). It has 42 airports and 1 heliports. This gives a massive availability for transportation of goods and has countless advantages such as close proximity to the UK and a well-developed transportation network.
S.L.E.P.T. Factors for France
Social
Population: - 59,329,691
Languages: - 100% French with fastly declining regional dialects and languages. One language is understood by the whole French population, although this would cost in the short term it would only need translation to one language.
Religion:- 90% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 1% Muslim and 6% other. The largest majority is Roman Catholic which has no religious needs for foods etc. thus a large potential market place exists.
Education:- The population of France is 99% literate. As with other European Countries there exists a well established education system including pre-school, primary, secondary and higher education including Universities. As a well-educated country France would probably have preference for high quality premium products.
Social Organisation:-
France is a country containing many different types and races of people such as Celtic, Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese and Basque Minorities. This gives the country a wide and diverse cuisine and therefore demands are made to meet this e.g. Moroccans etc. eat a lot of fish, as do most Mediterranean countries. This means that there is a potential demand for fish and seafood in France.
France already has a well-developed fishing industry and market and a well saturated market but with the recent BSE scare a lot of people could demand more fish. Luxury fish and food items such as Scottish Smoked Salmon are also rare and as such a marketplace could exist.
Legal
France is a member of the European Union and therefore no tariffs are charged between European Union member states. As a member of the EU rules and standards are the same throughout the European Union member states.
Economic
France is part of an economically integrated Europe and became a member of the Euro, which was started In January 1999. As the UK is a member of the European Union it is of benefit that there are no trading tariffs. The UK is not currently a member of the Euro, which offers the usual expense of money exchange and makes it more difficult to see actual cost of goods. This could pose a problem when trading with France and any other European Country.
France has a consistently high unemployment rate of 11% this therefore reduces disposable income of the country and as a result spending would be reduced and high quality products.
Political
In France although it is a member of the European Union and as such should follow their guidelines it still maintains a large amount of Government control. It has been slowly reducing this control on sectors such as railway, electricity, aircraft and telecommunications since early in the 1990s. This means that France still has a lot of Government investment to its industries including agriculture and fisheries.
Technological
As with all European Countries France has a very well developed transportation system particularly due to the Government support, which it still receives. The train network is known to be one of the best providing double Decker trains, which travel at tremendously high speeds. It has no unpaved highways as all are paved and well routed. It has also a system of waterways, which are well travelled and expansive. It also has 16 ports and harbours offering even more ways of transporting goods to France. France has a large air travel structure offering 474 airports and 3 heliports. This offers massive choice and availability of infrastructure choices and therefore a cheap option is more likely to be available.
France also has a well-advanced telecommunications and media structure possibly due to investment from the Government. This means that advertising has endless potential via. The Internet, television, radios newspapers and of course word of mouth.
S.L.E.P.T. Factors for Germany
Social
Population: - 82,797,408
Languages: - 100% German. Would only need translation to one language.
Religion: - 34% Roman Catholic, 38% Protestant, 1.7% Muslim and 26.3% other. The largest majority is protestant which has no religious needs for foods etc. thus a large potential market place exists.
Education: - The population of Germany is 99% literate. As with other European Countries there exists a well established education system including pre-primary, primary, secondary separated as follows: - First stage, second stage and special and higher education such as college and Universities. As a well-educated country Germany would probably have preference for high quality premium products.
Social Organisation: -
Germany contains many different types and races of people along with the 91.5% Germans there are 2.4% Turkish and 6.1% other (consisting mainly of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish and Spanish). This gives the country a wide and diverse cuisine and therefore demands are made to meet this.
Germany has a small fishing industry compared to other European Countries due to the recent BSE and Foot and Mouth problems Fish etc could become a safer and easier to obtain option and as a result a lot of people could demand more fish. Luxury fish and food items such as Scottish Smoked Salmon are also rare and as such a marketplace could exist.
Legal
Germany is a member of the European Union and therefore no tariffs are charged between European Union member states. As a member of the EU rules and standards are the same throughout the European Union member states.
Economic
Germany is part of an economically integrated Europe and became a member of the Euro, which was started In January 1999. As the UK is a member of the European Union it is of benefit that there are no trading tariffs. The UK is not currently a member of the Euro, which offers the usual expense of money exchange and makes it more difficult to see actual cost of goods. This could pose a problem when trading with Germany and any other European Country.
Germany has a high unemployment rate of 10.5% possibly related to the fall of the Berlin Wall and an influx of East Germans when the country was united as one. This therefore reduces disposable income of the country and as a result spending would be reduced and high quality products may not sell so well.
Political
Germany is a member of the European Union and as such should follow their guidelines laid down by European Law. The adoption of the Single European Currency and the Political and Economic Integration of the European Union offers an area of stability in the Politics of Germany. This offers an understanding of the basis of other European Union members when doing business between member states.
Technological
Germany is described as the third most technologically powerful countries. As with all European Countries Germany has a very well developed transportation system. The train network is known to be one of the best providing double Decker trains, which travel at tremendously high speeds. Highways are mostly paved and well routed. It has also a system of waterways, which are well travelled and expansive. It also has 17 ports and harbours offering even more ways of transporting goods to and from Germany. Germany has a large air travel structure offering 615 airports and 59 heliports. This offers massive choice and availability of infrastructure choices and therefore a cheap option is more likely to be available for transportation of goods.
Germany is known as having one of the world’s most technologically advanced telecommunications due to massive capital expenditure since reunification. This means that advertising has endless potential via. The Internet, television, radios newspapers and of course word of mouth.
S.L.E.P.T. Factors for Luxembourg
Social
Population: - 437,389
Languages: - Luxembourgian, German, French and English. The broad variety of languages particularly Luxembourgian would pose potential translation problems. This could result in a percentage of people not being reached via. Advertising and marketing pushes.
Religion: - 97% Roman Catholic, 3% Protestant and Jewish. The largest majority is Roman Catholic which has no religious needs for foods etc. thus a large potential market place exists. You would however have to tae into consideration Jewish religious beliefs and understand the common practices of all religions within the country as with all.
Education: - The population of Luxembourg is 100% literate. As with other European Countries there exists a well-established education system including Nursery, Primary, Secondary and higher education known as Middle, Vocational and Technical. There also exists a Higher Institute of Technology and Teacher Training as well as University although 4,021 students out of 5,600 study at universities abroad. These factors display a very opportunistic educational system for such a small country. As a well-educated country Luxembourg would probably have preference for high quality premium products.
Social Organisation: -
France is a country containing many different types and races of people such as Celtic base (French and German Mix), Portuguese, Italian and European (guest and workers residents). This gives the country a wide and diverse cuisine and therefore demands are made to meet this e.g. Europeans etc. eat a lot of fish, as do most Mediterranean countries. This means that there is a potential demand for fish and seafood in Luxembourg.
Luxembourg is a completely landlocked country and as such has no fishing industry of its own. This offers a virtually unsaturated market and would mean it is totally dependent upon supply from abroad. As with other countries due to recent the recent BSE scare and Foot and Mouth there exists a scarcity of agricultural meats etc. causing a price increase especially from the UK and as a result a lot of people could demand more fish. Luxury fish and food items such as Scottish Smoked Salmon are also rare and as such a marketplace could exist.
Legal
Luxembourg is a member of the European Union and therefore no tariffs are charged between European Union member states. As a member of the EU rules and standards are the same throughout the European Union member states.
Economic
Luxembourg is part of an economically integrated Europe and became a member of the Euro, which was started In January 1999. As the UK is a member of the European Union it is of benefit that there are no trading tariffs. The UK is not currently a member of the Euro, which offers the usual expense of money exchange and makes it more difficult to see actual cost of goods. This could pose a problem when trading with Luxembourg and any other European Country. Then again the UK may eventually join the Single European Currency.
Luxembourg has a consistently low unemployment rate of 2.7% this therefore increases the disposable income of the country and as a result spending would be increased and high quality products a possible option for many. The features of Luxembourg as a potential are a stable, high-income economy with moderate growth, low inflation and low unemployment. A dream to anyone considering marketing any type of products let alone high quality items.
Political
Luxembourg is a member of the European Union and as such should follow their guidelines. The adoption of the Single European Currency and the Political and Economic Integration of the European Union offers an area of stability in the Politics of Luxembourg as does the long existing links tot he EEC as a founding member of the Benelux Customs Union. This offers an understanding of the basis of the law of other European Union members when doing business between member states.
Technological
As with all European Countries Luxembourg has a very well developed transportation system. The train network consists of 242km electrified track and 178km double tracks. It has no unpaved highways as all are paved and well routed and includes 118 km of expressways. It has only one waterway; this is not a problem however as for the size of the country it is sufficient to offer one port/harbour (Mertert). Luxembourg has a small air travel structure offering 1 paved and 1 unpaved but again this is more than sufficient for the size of the country (2,586 sq. km). This offers a plentiful choice of and therefore a cheap option is more likely to be available.
Luxembourg has a small but well-advanced telecommunications and media structure. This means that advertising has endless potential via. The Internet, television, radios newspapers and of course word of mouth. It also means that there would be very little cost to market here because with only 3 TV Stations and 9 FM Stations it would cost very little to advertise via TV and Radio and reach the whole country and as such a simple procedure.
S.L.E.P.T. Factors for Netherlands
Social
Population: - 15,892,237
Languages: - 100% Dutch. Would only need translation to one language.
Religion: - 34% Roman Catholic, 25% Protestant, 3% Muslim and 2% other and 36% unaffiliated. The largest majority is unaffiliated which has no particular religious needs for foods etc. thus a large potential market place exists. It also displays a very different type of society exists in the Netherlands compared to the other European Countries looked at i.e. less of a religious background.
Education: - The population of the Netherlands is 99% literate. As with other European Countries there exists a well-established education system including pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education such as college and Universities. As a well-educated country the Netherlands would perhaps show a preference for high quality premium products.
Social Organisation: -
The Netherlands contains many different types and races of people along with the 91% Dutch there are 9% Turkish, Moroccan and other. In comparison to some other European Countries this shows a more definite pattern of European and Muslim tastes existing. This would mean allowing for the Religious beliefs of the Muslim, Catholic and Protestant religions. The Turkish and Moroccans eat a lot of fish and seafood in their diet and as such there is the potential for a decent market in this section of the population along with the Dutch themselves.
The Netherlands has a relatively small fishing industry compared to other European Countries and due to the recent BSE and Foot and Mouth problems Fish etc could become a safer and easier to obtain option and as a result a lot of people could demand more fish. Luxury fish and food items such as Scottish Smoked Salmon are also rare and as such a marketplace could exist.
Legal
The Netherlands is a member of the European Union and therefore no tariffs are charged between European Union member states. As a member of the EU rules and standards are the same throughout the European Union member states.
Economic
The Netherlands is part of an economically integrated Europe and became a member of the Euro, which was started In January 1999. As the UK is a member of the European Union it is of benefit that there are no trading tariffs. The UK is not currently a member of the Euro, which offers the usual expense of money exchange and makes it more difficult to see actual cost of goods. This could pose a problem when trading with the Netherlands and any other European Country.
Luxembourg has a low unemployment rate of 3.5%. As a result the disposable income of the population is increased. In the Netherlands the generous welfare benefits mean that the unemployed even have a fair amount of disposable income. This would therefore mean that potentially a market place for high quality goods could exist.
Political
The Netherlands is a member of the European Union and as such should follow their guidelines. The adoption of the Single European Currency and the Political and Economic Integration of the European Union offers an area of stability in the Politics of Luxembourg as does the long existing links to t he EEC as a founding member of the Benelux Customs Union. This offers an understanding of the basis of the law of other European Union members when doing business between member states.
Technological
The Netherlands has a very well developed transportation system. The train network is made up of 2,739 km of which 1,991 km is electrified. Highways are mostly paved and well routed. It has also has a large system of waterways, which are well travelled and expansive. This waterways system offers 11 ports and harbours offering even more ways of transporting goods to and from the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a good air travel structure offering 28 airports and 1 heliport. This offers massive choice and availability of infrastructure choices and therefore a cheap option is more likely to be available for transportation of goods.
The Netherlands has a very widespread Television and Radio networks made up of around 20 TV Broadcast Stations and 58 FM Radio Stations. This offers massive advertising potential for marketing. It also has a fairly advanced telecommunications meaning that advertising has endless potential via. The Internet as well as television, radio, newspapers and of course word of mouth.
S.L.E.P.T. Factors for Portugal
Social
Population: - 10,048,232
Languages: - 100% Portuguese. Would only need translation to one language.
Religion: - 94% Roman Catholic, 6% Protestant. The largest majority is Roman Catholic which has no particular religious needs for foods etc. thus a large potential market place exists. It also displays a very strong religious background as there are no other groups or unaffiliated. This would mean to always be considerate of religion when marketing in Portugal.
Education: - The population of Portugal is 87.4% literate. This would display that the education system in Portugal is not as well established as in other European Countries. Although the system is similar consisting of pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education such as college and Universities. As Portugal is not as well educated a country as some other European countries it would perhaps mean there are less professional high earners with a preference for high quality premium products.
Social Organisation: -
Portugal is made up mainly of homogeneous Mediterranean stock although there exists less than 100,000 black Africans who immigrated during decolonization. Portugal has a high population who eat seafood etc. as part of their traditional cuisine and cooking is still a large part of the Portuguese very traditional society. In this case a demand could exist for seafood although not necessarily high quality premium foods as Portugal still remains one of the poorer countries in the European Union.
Legal
Portugal is a member of the European Union and therefore no tariffs are charged between European Union member states. As a member of the EU rules and standards are the same throughout the European Union member states.
Economic
Portugal is part of an economically integrated Europe and became a member of the Euro, which was started In January 1999. As the UK is a member of the European Union it is of benefit that there are no trading tariffs. The UK is not currently a member of the Euro, which offers the usual expense of money exchange and makes it more difficult to see actual cost of goods. This could pose a problem when trading with Portugal and any other European Country.
Portugal has a fairly low unemployment rate of 4.6%. As a result the disposable income of the population is increased. In Portugal there potentially exists a market place for high quality goods.
Political
Portugal is a member of the European Union and as such should follow their guidelines. The adoption of the Single European Currency and the Political and Economic Integration of the European Union offers an area of stability in the Politics of Portugal which has had a fairly turbulent history before joining the EU. Being a member state of the European Union offers an understanding of the basis of the law of other European Union members when doing business between member states.
Technological
Portugal has a fairly well developed transportation system. The train network is made up of 2,850 km track of which 2,576 km is broad gauge and 274 km are narrow gauge. Highways are mostly paved and well routed. It has a very insignificant waterways system. Portugal has a fair air travel structure offering 66 airports, which could be better considering the size of Portugal 92,391 sq. km but is none the less sufficient for needs. This offers a fair amount of infrastructure choices for transportation but excludes the waterways as a transport option and along with the location of Portugal being in Southwest Europe and a further distance could end up being fairly costly.
Portugal has a fairly widespread Television and Radio networks made up of around 36 TV Broadcast Stations and 172 FM Radio Transmitters. This offers massive advertising potential for marketing. It also has a fairly advanced telecommunications meaning that advertising has endless potential via. The Internet as well as television, radio, newspapers and of course word of mouth.
S.L.E.P.T. Factors for Spain
Social
Population: - 39,996,671
Languages: - Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%. Would possibly only need translation to the official language of the country.
Religion: - 99% Roman Catholic, 1% Other. The largest majority is Roman Catholic which has no particular religious needs for foods etc. thus a large potential market place exists. As with Portugal there is a very strong religious background as there are 99% Roman Catholic. This would mean to always be considerate of religion when marketing in Spain as it is an important aspect of almost everyone’s lives.
Education: - The population of Spain is 97% literate. This shows that the education system in Spain is fairly well established as in other European Countries. It is made up as follows: - pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education such as college and Universities. A good education level indicates that there is potential for high earners with a preference for high quality premium products and this would present a potential market.
Social Organisation: -
Spain is made up mainly of Mediterranean and Nordic types. Spain has a high consumption of fish and seafood as part of their traditional cuisine e.g. Paella and cooking still plays an important role in Spain’s traditional society. In this case a demand could exist for seafood although not necessarily high quality premium foods although they potential still exists.
Legal
Spain is a member of the European Union and therefore no tariffs are charged between European Union member states. As a member of the EU rules and standards are the same throughout the European Union member states.
Economic
Spain is along with many other countries in Europe part of an economically integrated Europe and became a member of the Euro, which was started In January 1999. As the UK is a member of the European Union it is of benefit that there are no trading tariffs. The UK is not currently a member of the Euro, which means there exists the expense of money exchange and makes it more difficult to see actual cost of goods. This could pose a problem when trading with Spain or any other EU Country.
Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the EU at 16%. As a result the disposable income of the population is decreased. In Spain there potentially exists a market place for seafood and fish although not necessarily high quality goods due to the low disposable incomes available.
Political
Spain as a member of the EU follow their laws and guidelines whenever possible. The Political and Economic Integration of the European Union offers an area of stability and continuity in the Politics between Spain and other EU Countries. This offers a mutual understanding of the basis of the law of other European Union members when doing business between member states.
Technological
Spain has a very well developed transportation system. The train network is made up of 13,950 km track of which 12,781 km is broad gauge and 644 km are narrow gauge and 525 km standard gauge. Highways are mostly paved and well routed. It has a very insignificant waterways system and is viewed of no economical importance. Spain has a fair air travel structure offering 105 airports, which could be better for the size of Spain 504,782 sq. km and compare this to the UK which has 498, Spain also offers 2 Heliports. This offers a fair amount of infrastructure choices for transportation although the waterways are not a possible transport option.
Spain has a very widespread Television and Radio network consisting of around 228 TV Broadcast Stations and 715 FM Radio Transmitters. This offers massive advertising potential for marketing and is a gateway in to the homes all around Spain. This is of course alongside its advanced telecommunications system via. The Internet as well as television, radio, newspapers and of course word of mouth.
Selection Criteria Method
Initial stage
In order to choose potential Countries to perform our Marketing within, it has to be narrowed down to four from eight for the initial process of deducement. For the initial stage it has been decided that the Selection Criteria would be the most practical to use for detailing the best from eight.
The Selection Criteria to be met are listed below with marking ranging from 4 for the highest and 0 being the lowest score (i.e. doesn’t meet the criteria at all): -
Criteria 1
Literacy/Education – For this criteria we shall say 97% literacy is preferred to meet the criteria e.g. 97% = 1 point and goes up in points as percentage increases. This should be a good indication for education levels in a country as it tends to be educated countries who have the population who prefer high quality goods. The Scores were worked out as follows: -
Andorra = 100% literate = 4 points
Belgium = 98% literate = 2 points
France = 99% literate = 3 points
Germany = 99% literate = 3 points
Luxembourg = 100% literate = 4 points
Netherlands = 99% literate = 3 points
Portugal = 87.4% literate = 0 points
Spain = 97% literate = 1 point
Criteria 2
Fishing Industry – In this criteria the country would score the highest mark of 4 for having no fishing industry and would score 0 for having a large fishing industry. The reason for this being that if the country has no fishing industry in its own right there is a less saturated market place if not unsaturated market. The Scores are explained below: -
Andorra = No Industry (landlocked) = 4 points
Belgium = No Industry = 4 points
France = Very Large Industry = 0 points
Germany = Large Industry = 1 points
Luxembourg = No Industry (landlocked) = 4 points
Netherlands = Large Industry = 1 point
Portugal = Medium canned fish Industry = 2 points
Spain = Large Industry = 1 point
Criteria 3
Population Density – The country that would score the highest mark of 4 would be the country which has the largest population per Sq. km e.g. 350+ = 4 then 300 – 349 = 3, 200 – 299 = 2 points, 100 – 199 = 1 point and below 100 scores 0. These Scores are shown for each country below: -
Population/Area sq.km
Andorra 66,824 / 468 = 143 per sq. km = 1 points
Belgium 10,241,506 / 30,510 = 336 per sq. km = 3 points
France 59,329,691 / 547,030 = 108 per sq. km = 1 point
Germany 82,797,408 / 357,021 = 232 per sq. km = 2 points
Luxembourg 437,389 / 2,586 = 169 per sq. km = 1 point
Netherlands 15,892,237 / 41,532 = 383 per sq. km = 4 points
Portugal 10,048,232 / 92,391 = 109 per sq. km = 1 point
Spain 39,996,671 / 504,782 = 79 per sq. km = 0 points
Criteria 4
Language – Does the country use one main language? If there is only need for translation to one language or none is need then it scores 4 points and for each additional language the score is reduced by a point per language e.g. 2 languages scores only 3 points. This is listed below: -
Andorra = 3 languages = 2 points
Belgium = 3 languages = 2 points
France = 1 language = 4 points
Germany = 1 language = 4 points
Luxembourg = 3 languages = 2 points
Netherlands = 1 language = 4 points
Portugal = 1 language = 4 points
Spain = 4 languages = 1 point
Selection Criteria Score Table
* THE TOP FOUR ARE UNDERLINED IN TOTAL COLUMN*
The Boston Matrix Graph
For the final selection process we have to narrow the four remaining countries down to two. In order to do this we have to use the Boston Matrix Graph using the questionnaire for each country. This should give us a good idea of market attractiveness and competitive strength.
40
30 20 10 0
Conclusion
After going through our selection methods Belgium and the Netherlands have come out on top. They both have a high population density and therefore good sales potential. Although they are not the largest countries in Europe they are potentially easier to meet demand for because they have an average overall population and therefore a good starting choice before expanding into other countries. The market is also a little less competitive than say in France or Spain.
Luxembourg and Andorra also had potential although there were not enough secondary statistics available to offer a clearer picture for risks etc. It would have been necessary to collect primary statistics and therefore too costly.
Belgium and the Netherlands have great potential for Tayside Quality Foods as their product life cycle would be extended and as well as this their market will increase thus creating more opportunity and profit. They can both be reached quickly and easily via. Ferry from the UK and transportation costs etc. will be less than say transportation to Portugal. There would generally be less market risks to take in Belgium or the Netherlands.
Marketing will have to approached using different languages and also taking into account for the different cultural and religious practices. In the Netherlands religion is perhaps less of an issue as the higher percentage is unaffiliated although they should still be respected and considered in order not to offend the potential market place. We shall also still have to examine any legal and political codes of practice to be followed. The next stage is now to assess how to enter the new market and cross the next hurdle.
Bibliography
Class Handouts
Class Notes
Euromonitor. European Marketing Data and Statistics 2000. 35th Edition. Great Britain. BPC Wheatons
