Italy And Other Countries In The Eu example essay topic

Italy a Forgotten Market With a large population of over 57 million Italy is an untapped market that on it's own is having trouble supplying enough food to feed the consumers. Italian consumers have found it acceptable to eat non-traditional foods, which indicates the need for imported food items. Therefore, exporting food items to Italy from the United States has become a very lucrative business. One of the emerging trends in Italy is prepared foods and ready to eat snacks. The traditional meals have been disappearing from the tables and being replaced with many types of frozen foods that can be purchased in some of the large supermarket chains throughout Italy. With the economy increasing year after year in Italy more families have found it easier and cheaper to buy the non-traditional meals for consumption.

Also, the patterns indicate more active life styles and the ability to eat snacks along with the lack of home cooked meals. Market trends indicate that the consumers of the imported products are becoming not only the younger generation but the more established generation as well. Even though Italy has problems attracting foreign investment, the country does provide ample opportunities for investment. The governmental requirements can be a burden at times, but the government will work with foreign investors by providing some assistance in dealing with the various, and sometimes confusing, regulations. Europe was not been one of the markets that has seen must globalization in business for a while. Many United State's companies have look at other parts of the world in order to grab the market edge.

With this the stable eastern European countries have experienced a decrease in new foreign companies showing an interest in developing on emerging markets in their region. The surrounding areas in Europe have become quite stable since the years of World War II. They have a moderate economy to support the emerging of a new product with in them. However, in contract many of the surrounding nations still have held onto their own customs and traditions of doing thing. Italy has had an account surplus since 1993.

However, in 1999 the surplus reached 6.4 billion, which was down from the surplus, amount of 21.8 billion in 1998. Over the last three years the surplus has been decreasing but the national debt has also been decreasing, as the government is highly concentrated on reducing the debt. The Italian government has sold off some companies, which is also a factor in the depleting surplus. Italy inflation has been slowed recently but still remains sixth in the world in the Industrial Economy. The factor that is responsible for the decline to inflation is the decrease in exports and the increase in imports. Italy is still within the norms indicated by the (EMU) which is an amazing achievement for this historical inflation prone country.

The inflation rate for Italy has been consistently around 2% for 97, 98 and 99. As the price of oil has increased over the past two years it is projected that the inflation rate for 2002 will be right around 3%. A major contributor to the inflation rate going up is the wage pact that was signed in 1993 and renewed in 1998 and runs through 2002. The pact has created a cost cut in labor and includes incentives for investments and other working training activities. Currently Italy has no restrictions on the amount of foreign exchange brought into the country via checks, currency.

Just like almost every country the amount of money brought into the country and declared may be re-exported. "The Italian exchange regulations are issued by the Italian Exchange Office under the authority of the ministry of Foreign Trade". (U.S. Department of State, pg. 86) The Bank of Italy is the main bank to handle Foreign exchange problems. The growth rate in Italy is very slow but the country still needs to import many food items in order to feed the population of 57 million. Italy has the GDP of approximately 2.8 to 3%. "U.S. firms exporting to Italy are confronted with both national and EU standards for many products.

Further, these regulations occasionally change to meet new technology and more stringent demands". (Trade Regulations) Additionally, as part of the unification program to establish common standards for all member countries, certain products are being regulated by the EU. Mandatory requirements to protect the health of consumers are constantly being developed and implemented. Italy, as a member of the EU, applies the products standards and certification, but there is frequently a long lag in implementing these directives at a national level. Another issue for all products that are exported to Italy and other countries in the EU are labeling requirements for all products. To indicate conformance to the mandatory EU requirements, a CE mark must be placed on all regulated products by the manufacturer or a representative before they can be sold on the EU market.

Also, according to the State Department, imports of certain commodities, including packaged foods, are subject to special regulations regarding the manner in which they must be labeled to show manufacturer, composition, content (in metric units), and country of origin. (Trade Regulations) In addition to the regular customs duties that accompany all exports, there is also a value-added tax (VAT) and / or excise tax on products from countries outside of the EU. Generally, businesses can expect anywhere from a 4% VAT for basic goods, such as bread and fruits, to a 20% VAT. For the packaged foods that Stouffers intends on exporting to Italy, a 10-20% VAT may be expected. According to the last census, on July 1998, the population of Italy was estimated at 56,782,748.

This increase stemmed from natural growth in which the birth rate was higher than the death rate. Census shows that 51.4 percent of the total population is female and 48.6 percent is male. 14 percent of the population are 0-14 years old, 68 percent is 15-64 years old, 18 percent are 65 years or over. (Kindersley) The ethnic groups that make up the population of Italy consist Italian (including small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north an Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south). (Kindersley) The job market in Italy is not very dynamic. Which is the reason why many Italians have left the country to find jobs abroad.

Italy has one of the lowest employment rates in the European Union, although Italy is one of one of the most industrialized and prosperous countries in the world. Northern Italy has some of the wealthiest regions of Europe, although Southern Italy is lagging behind. One of the reasons why in Italy it's difficult to get a job is due to the country's long tradition of nepotism, which is widespread and permeates deeply almost every field, public and private. After many years employment in Italy finally recorded a sizable increase: between 1997 and 1998 it grew by 228,000 and further expectations of growth were forecast for 1999, together with a downward trend on the number of job seekers. Although employment increased by 1.1% in 1997-98, GDP grew in the same period by a mere 1.3%. An analysis done in 1997 of the type of employment breakdown shows that, out of 228,000 new jobs, 109,000 were full-time and 120,000 part-time, i.e. +0.6% (full time) and +8.7% (part time) compared to the previous year.

Also, 177,000 new recruits were salaried workers - 54,000 with open-term contracts and 83,000 with fixed-term. In two years, the increase was of 0.04%. New self-employed people or entrepreneurs numbered 51,000. In the '90's the different types of workers in Italy underwent some change and is likely to change further in the future towards a gradual increase in high-profile skills. Compared to other industrialized countries, this process is still rather limited, largely due to a slowly developing service sector, which is where well-qualified workers should find employment. Stouffers has many competitors within the frozen food industry.

We will be competing with not only the US industries but also the local market and fresh food products provided to the public. Stouffers has a strong financial backing from its owner Nestle'. Italy now has major supermarkets, which welcome imported foods that seem to be in demand in Northern Italy. Stouffers will share the market with most of the other brands that have started to establish themselves in Italy. We will not depend on the Nestle name that has already been established in Italy.

Instead we will introduce the subdivision of Nestle called Stouffers into the market. There is a large portion of the market that still is undiscovered by the food companies and Stouffers will capitalize on this frozen food market. In order to place a food product inside of the Italian supermarkets you must obtain acceptance at Foreign Trade shows. During the conventions numerous companies will be competing against each other to try and get the Italian supermarkets to purchase their individual products.

Another option for Stouffers is to introduce the frozen food products to the younger generations through MTV International along with concert and sporting event promotions. It would be feasible to tap into the interest of the 64 percent of the population of 18-64 year olds in the advertising campaigns. Once the product is accepted into the supermarkets then we will discuss the packaging, displays, coupons and contests that you can win by purchasing the frozen food products. Conclusion In conclusion Eastern European countries although vastly different culture have economic stability in common.

For the frozen food market to be tapped into there are many factors that where considered above. One of the main fractures in the age demographics and the changing lifestyle of the people of Italy. They have become more Americanized by way of a faster paced lifestyle.

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