Global Marketing in Albania - Assignment Example

Introduction Global Marketing requires extensive research on the marketing environments of the country to which a particular company proposes to newly enter or to expand its existing business. Most multinational companies have recently adopted various entry strategies to invest in business or to market their goods and services in foreign countries along with efforts to study the market environments in terms of population and demographics, economic forces, infrastructures, consumer behaviours and so on. This paper attempts to present the marketing environments existing in Albania with a view to evaluate and analyze the marketing feasibility in that country. Population and Demographics of Albania As of July 2014, the population of Albania is 3,020,209, of which 19.3 percent belongs to 0 to 14 age groups, 19.2 percent belongs to 15- to 24 age group, 19.2 percent belongs to 25 to 54 age group, 10.5 percent to 55 belongs to 64 age group and 11.1 percent belongs to 65 years and over age group. Population growth rate is 0.3 % whereas birthrate is 12.73 births per 1000 population (Index Mundi, 2014). Knowing about the population, the demographics, the trends and related statistics of a specific country or region is critically important while planning for marketing of certain goods or services to that market mainly to design and develop the marketing strategies by considering customer requirements and preferences. Albania is small mountainous country with long Adriatic coastline. The country has Muslim majority (BBC News, 2014). Basically, Albanians are divided in to two, the Northern Albanians or Ghegs, and the Southern Albanians or generally termed as Tosks. Shkumbin River plays significant role in dividing the southern and northern Albanians. According to Albania’s official figures, Muslims are 59 percent of Albanian population, Catholic amounts to 10 percent of Albania’s population and Orthodox Christian below 10 percent (Semini and Winfield, 2014). Economic Environments of Albania For a global marketer, it is very important to see where the economy stands and how it stays in comparison with other economies either nearby or with those the company proposes to expand its marketing. Albania is ranked 68, in relation to business environment and ease of business. The figure given below shows the ranks of Albania and other comparator economies on the ease of doing business. Albania was previously a closed economy. But, the country has recently transitioned to more modernized open-market economy. It has been successfully managing the challenges of global financial crisis in 2008-2008, despite the fact that the impacts of global financial crisis have out some pressures on Albanian economy (Index Mundi, 2015). In order to make it an easy-business environment, the Albanian government has focused on favorable business climate by simplifying licensing requirements and tax codes. The country has planned to enter in to agreements with International Monetary Fund and with other authoritative bodies for further financial assistances and for technical guidance. The GDP of Albania is accounted as $12.92 million and the upper middle income is accounted as 2.7774 million. The GDP of Albania was $ 11.92 million, $12.89 million and $12.34 million in 2010, 2011 and 2013 respectively (World Databank, 2015). Amore detailed GDP growth rate of Albania is outlined below. According to the figure outlined above, the GDP of Albania was experiencing continuous growth in 2014. GNI Per capita, which is formerly described as GNP per capita, represents the gross national income, in US dollars using World Bank Atlas method. It is the sum total of value added by all residents producers in a particular country, plus any product taxes. The GNI of Albania was accounted as 10,400 US dollars as of 2013. Albania’s GNI per capita between 1990 and 2014 is outlined with the help of figure above. The real annual growth rate of Albania’s GNI was accounted as 4.5 in 2010, 3.7 in 2011, 0.9 in 2012, and 2.8 in 2013 (World Databank, 2015). The inflation rate in Albania has been accounted as 1.30 percent in 2015 January. It was found to maintain an average of 3.25 percent from 1995 until 2015, reaching the highest of 42.08 percent in 1997 and the all time low of -2.11 in 2000 March. Albanian government has taken positive approach to social programs to support social development and social security to all communities and social classes. For instance, old aged, disability and Survivors insurance packages are meant to support social developments and security well being. As compared to many other countries, Albania maintained relatively lower rate of unemployment. The unemployment rate in 2013 was accounted as 16.9 percent, which was 14.4 percent in 2012. There are 1.692 million working force currently at workplaces in Albania. The relatively low rate of unemployment is a positive figure for any company that proposes to enter in to Albania for marketing or other business activities. Albanian private sector has workforce nearly 10, 00,000 mainly in agriculture and small retail shops (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2015). In fact, Albania is one of the lowest standards of living condition in Europe, mainly because of that almost 60 percent of the total population is working in agriculture sector, and the balance is engaged in service industry. Albania has opened up wider opportunities for attracting foreign investments. The increase in foreign direct investment is perceived as clear indication of the development of the economy, driven by significant natural resources, relatively cheap labors and prospects of joining the EU. Infrastructure in Albania The infrastructure in Albania is quite below the standards of most other EU countries. Approximately, there are 18,000 KMs roads transportation facilities. The government has focused on rapid development in private vehicle ownership. The railway transportation in Albania connects railroads of around 447 kilometers of single track. This is comparatively in poor condition. The railroads are not directly connected to the railroads of any neighboring country, and this is an important matter of concern for businesses. There are two seaports at Durres and Vlore. The country has only one international airport, which is Rinas located outside Tirane. Since not a vast country, these transportation facilities are sufficient for business transportation, but are not up to the standards of other EU countries. The country has nearly 1670 megawatts installed power system, out of which, 1446 megawatt is installed on hydropower plants. Though not highly standardized as compared to other neighboring and EU member countries, Albania has sufficient communication capacities including submarine communication facilities. Conclusion This paper has presented the business environments in Albania in terms of demographics, economic factors, infrastructures and other significant matters that affect marketing. Albania is one of the EU member countries that has maintained relatively low growth rate in GDP and GNI in recent years. It is an emerging country and therefore it will be a good place for proposing global marketing to Albania. References BBC News, 2014, Albania Profile, Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17679574 Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2015, Albania- Working conditions, Retrieved from http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Europe/Albania-WORKING-CONDITIONS.html Index Mundi, 2014, Albania Demographics Profile 2014, Retrieved from http://www.indexmundi.com/albania/demographics_profile.html Semini, L and Winfield, N., 2014, Pope in Albania urges Muslims to condemn extremism, Yahoo News, Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/pope-flags-christian-muslim-ties-albania-070703329.html Tradingeconomics.com, 2015, Albania GDP growth rate, Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/albania/gdp-growth The World Bank, 2015, Doing Business 2015-Going Beyond Efficiency; Economy Profile- Albania, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank World Databank, 2015, World Data Bank, The World Bank, Retrieved from http://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/reports/tableview.aspx Read More