Bulgarian Furniture in Belgium
By selecting a Bulgarian product of your choice discuss the issues and implementations of exporting it in an EU country of your choice. (Areas to consider likely barriers of entry, product, price issues, etc.)
ABSTRACT
There are not so many Bulgarian products that might easily penetrate the EU Market even with a good marketing strategy. One of those, which I think might be successful is the Bulgarian furniture, as Bulgaria has traditions in this branch of the industry, and there are at least 10 factories which have been privatized and are already exporting their production to overseas markets like USA, Canada and the Middle East.
On the other hand, because of different factors, which I will briefly mention below, it is considered that if a product can be successfully launched in Belgium, it has a good chance of being successful in other EU countries.
For these two reasons I have chosen to present a brief overview of the Belgium market for office furniture as a potential market for Bulgarian firms willing to specialize in the production of office furniture for exports to the European Union.
COUNTRY OVERVIEW
Belgium is one of the smallest countries in the European Union (EU) but its small size does not reflect its relative importance in commercial or economic terms. With only 10 million inhabitants, Belgium accounts for some 3.2% of international trade, and it is the sixth largest importer in the EU. Situated between Germany and France, Belgium is located in one of the world's most industrialized and most competitive regions.
Belgium's imports of goods and services is approximately 74% and exports - 77% of its GDP, the highest figures in the EU apart from Luxembourg, w...
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...her price if the relation between quality and price is justified.
Belgium is a very open and easily accessible market. The import duties imposed on general metal or wooden office furniture are less than 3%, and the VAT is 21%.
BEST MARKET PROSPECTS AND RECOMMENDED MARKET APPROACH FOR BULGARIAN FIRMS
Since the outlook for the facility management and systems furniture markets offer the most promising growth potential, Bulgarian manufacturers should seek to concentrate on those specific markets. They should keep in mind that the services associated with these markets are of prime importance and that a local presence is crucial.
Bulgarian manufacturers wishing to penetrate the Belgian office furniture market should focus on the private sector and consider the linguistic and political factors in Belgium in order to determine where and how to enter the market.
...choices for executives, and gaining rapport with local suppliers, the corporation stands a good chance of achieving success in their foreign expansion.
Zemanek, H. 2010. Competitiveness within the euro area: the problem that still needs to be solved.Economic Affairs, 30 (3), pp. 42--47.
Brussels is the national capital of Belgium, Brussels is located in the middle of Belgium. The city was established in the 13th century and is a federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy which means that each province has the ability to make their own laws or rules for their province. The people of Belgium have ultimate power, and the king has to follow the same rules the people do. These are the similarities and differences between Belgium's government and the U.S.A.’s.
Traditionally, Dansk Designs followed a strategy of differentiation. When a firm follows this strategy, they create differences in the firm’s product or service by creating something that is perceived as unique and valued by customers. Differentiation can take many forms, including prestige or brand image, which Dansk decided to implement. Their product line consists of eight product categories, which include flatware, china, linen, glass, decorator cookware, and wooden bowls and trays. Their products are of high quality and are highly priced. Dansk was able to achieve a differentiation advantage because their price premiums exceeded the extra costs of being unique. Dansk is able to create these unique products because of the talented designers they employ, including Jens Quisrgaard, Niels Refsgaard, and Gunnar Cyren. Another competitive advantage of a strategy of differentiation is the ability to deal with supplier power. There is a certain amount of status associated with being the supplier to a producer of differentiated products. Dansk’s principal supplier, Richard Nissen, has enjoyed working with Dansk because he believes they have been able to “preserve the handcrafted nature of the products”.
- VAT & Duty rates vary across Europe- VAT ranges from 15% in Luxembourg to 22% in Finland , while UK duty levels are seven times higher than those in France .
1. What were the sources of IKEA’s successful entry in furniture retail business in Sweden?
Each category will be analyzed using IKEA student info website, IKEA group corporate website, resources from University of Phoenix library and articles from magazines. The key questions that the author will address are
U.S. furniture exports are also showing a steady increase in revenue with 4% growth in both 2012 and 2013. Total exports were valued at $1.1 billion in 2013 with the largest foreign consumers of U.S. furniture being China, Canada and Mexico. Some companies focused on manufacturing for the export market have reported gains w...
Belgium became a nation around the start of the 19th Century because it was the first time that they struggled together to be free of people who did not have the same beliefs and history as them. They might not speak the same language, French and Flemish, but they had the feeling that they belonged together and as the Belgian motto says: l'Union fait la Force (Unity makes Strength).
DataMonitor, 2007. IKEA major retail competition in the US are: Furniture Brands International Inc., Office Depot Inc., Sauder Woodworking Co., Stanley Furniture Company, Inc., and Staples , Inc. This paper will identify the key macroeconomic variables that affect IKEA and the retail industry as a whole. To better understand the effects of such variables upon the industry, two specific variables will be developed further.
With one of the highest GDP per capita of around $80,000, you could imagine the amount of luxurious items owned by individuals of Luxembourg. They have a stable market system governed lightly with freedom of interest and business. With steel accounting for most of the markets exports, rubber, plastics and agriculture. Traveler’s come in every year to experience the vast banking and economical services used by the government of Luxembourg, which is another reason for the big amount of income by Luxembourg. The country is a small populated area but as you can tell has a well fluctuated economy with many things to offer for foreigners looking for business and partners in trade and
In advertising its products, the IKEA catalogs played a primary role as they were attractive and easy to use. The efficiency of IKEA products and quality of design were emphasized in the catalogs. Every household in the area surrounding a new store received a copy of the catalog during the busy years of expansion. Although direct mail-order sales usually represented a very small portion of the total sales. The whole IKEA range was not offered by the catalogs. To attract new customers to the stores, they were always a key factor. Throughout the world, IKEA continued to open stores in different locations and attracted various customers. It was interesting to look at a company offering the same basic products at all stores and do well in many different cultures with different tastes. Lastly, the IKEA’s current number of employees in retail and expansion functions is 116,500 as of 2015. Thus, the total sum of employee worldwide in 2015 was 155, 000. Literally, the rate of employee would be increased in terms of business development in the future. (Brammer, Jackson, and Matten,
All the data for this report was taken from the leading provider of high quality statistics on Europe - Eurostat. Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions (Eurostat).
According to this situation, we found out the various essential elements of “Your Choice Furniture”.
IKEA is more than a furniture store they are a company driven by values (IKEA, 2014). The company seeks to make their consumers lives easier by providing them with modern, innovative, inexpensive products which they use to tackle daily home activities. IKEA Group has 298 stores in 26 different countries (IKEA, 2014). The company’s vision is “to create a better everyday life for the many people” (IKEA, 2014, para 1). Using innovative techniques for creating, producing, and marketing their products IKEA can provide consumers with durable products for reason...