Assignment – Chapter 7

1. Go to Lynn Library’s Databases: Business (Links to an external site.)

Select the database Passport by Euromonitor International (you will find it under the letter “P”). In the “country Reports Datagraphics” section of the main page or dashboard, choose any industry except for consumer finance. Within the industry, choose a category and then a geography or country. A report is generated but we will keep it aside for now, you do not have to read it yet. . Open a new browser page without closing the report.

1. On the new browser page, conduct general research on the category selected in step one and answer the following questions to the best of your abilities ( do not concentrate on the country you selected in step as you answer these general questions.) These questions are also in chapter seven.
   

   Questions

   Basic Issues	Examples
   What is the product ?Who uses the product (the end user)? Who supplies the product to the end user?	Sunglasses, Apparel accesories, Deodorants.Companies, institutions, individuals (children, men, women, anyone, etc).Retail stores, catalogs, direct from the distributor
   Why is the product used? What are the benefits?	Health benefits, manufacturing needs. Cost savings, access to technology
   Would the use of the product vary by the market?	Sunglasses can be beachwear in resorts, ski accessory in winter areas, fashion in urban areas
   What triggers the purchase of the product? Do other events or conditions need to be present?	Products linked to technology may or may not be used in that country
   Will cultural differences limit sales?	Cosmetics may not do well in markets where society does not place a value on the benefits of cosmetics
   What infrastructure is needed for this product to success?	Telephone, internet, cheap natural distribution, human resource requirements
   Is the market growing, decreasing or stagnant?	You may have a product that only tends to do well in a maturing market, where you primarily compete based on low cost. This would mean searching only for mature markets.

2. Return to the report from step 1. The report opens up automatically in the “Datagraphics” tab but notice that there are other tabs like “Analysis” and “Context”. Read the content in these three tabs and write an essay summarizing the important information an international marketer should know about the specific category in that particular market. I do not like to impose a word limit because I am more interested in the quality of your essay. Do make sure your essay is orgainzed using the three subtitles: Datagraphics, Analysis and Context.

Here is a sample assignment from a previous class.

Note: Please double check your work before submission. Submission of empty files, corrupted files or wrong assignments (from other courses) are considered late until you submit the right file. The instructor usually takes three days to grade an assignment but under no circumstances it will take more than one week.