International Marketing - Frankland River Olive Company - Case Study Example

Executive summary This report recommends a country best suitable for Frankland river olive company ltd to invest in. The research had two destinations in mind, Sweden and Venezuela. Thorough research was conducted on the political, economic, cultural, social and technological status of these two countries. This was to ascertain the most suitable destination. This information is found in the appendix. This report recommends that the company invest in Sweden. It also recommends the use of a joint venture as an entry strategy. Lastly, it recommends the use of the 4Ps as a marketing mix to help them achieve their set marketing objectives. This means that the place to invest in is Stockholm, introduce promotion methods like advertising. The price should also be moderate and slightly lower than that of competitors and as for the product proper packaging and attractive branding. Table of contents Introduction.......................................................................................................................3 Company and product background.....................................................................................4 Comparative country and product market attractiveness...................................................6 Political, cultural, economic, social and technological environments.........................6 Product market analysis.................................................................................................7 Competitive analysis.....................................................................................................10 Buyer analysis................................................................................................................12 Market selection with justification and opportunity statement............................................13 Entry strategy........................................................................................................................14 Marketing objectives.............................................................................................................15 Recommendation for the 4Ps of the marketing mix in the chosen country...........................15 References...............................................................................................................................17 Appendix I................................................................................................................................19 Introduction International marketing involves a company expanding its marketing strategies from one country to other countries that are overseas. Doole and Lowe (2001) define international marketing as extending a company's marketing decisions across national boundaries. To them when international marketing advances the company will establish its premises in overseas and using the strategies that they use in their original country in this overseas countries. Many scholars though view international marketing as expansion of exporting, which extends to the exporter gaining more knowledge on the consumer and the consumer's behaviour. The scope on international marketing involves first understanding the local market. This is important, as the success of the product in the local market will mean that it will be easier for the company to venture into international markets. It also covers competitive strategy that the company is going to have in the countries that it intends to venture into (Cateora & Ghauri, 1999). Competitive strategy, will involve having in depth knowledge of the markets and the consumer of the foreign countries. Knowledge such as their culture, political and social aspects are important. The scope also extends to the entry level decisions that will favour a company's performance in the international sector. This project is about an Australian company, whose main product is olive oil. This company intends to venture into the international market. The countries that Frankland river olive company intends to venture into are those of Sweden and Venezuela. This project will critically compare the two countries, look at their macro- environment, and undertake a market analysis and finally choose what country would have the best opportunity and would bring in the best profits for the company. Company and product background Frankland river olive company was started in January 1999. It has its headquarters in Fremantle, Washington in Western Australia. The company also has various branches all over Australia in the farms owned by the company (Frankland River Olive Company, 2011). The Frankland river region though has the largest numbers of trees amounting to approximately 100,000. The company main product is the Virgil olive oil, which it markets all over the country. It also makes some by products from the olive oil that includes soap and lubricants. The company employs about 4000 employees all over the country. The vision of the company is to become a world leader in the new mechanised olive oil industry. The company intends to venture into the international market as well as have dominance in the local market. The company's objectives include: we intend to expand our market share from the local scenario to the international markets. We also intend to continue increasing sales to our existing market share. The third objective is to establish a research and development institute that will help our company to improve its products and achieve a competitive advantage over the other olive oil producing companies. The company's strategies are that the company will continue to excel in its sales; it will continue to improve its human capital so that they can contribute continually to the growth of the company. The company intends to venture into new markets while still increasing their current product lines in the existing markets. Additionally, the company will use its research and development department to enhance production and manufacturing of both olives and olive oil through the use of efficient innovations. These strategies are inclined to help the company expand its current market share and be in a better position to venture into new international markets. The Australian olive oil industry has been in Australia for long. Olives in the country have been of great significant from earlier times. The industry has not been performing well but it recently gained momentum in 1995, a year after our company was established. Since then the industry has been growing rapidly and it is estimated to continue growing to the end of this decade. The production of olives in the last year was estimated at 15000 tonnes, an average of $164 US dollars (Australian Olive Association, 2010). The company has also had increasing growth both in production and in sales for the last three years. This has also increasingly been significant in the profits. This has been so especially with the jingilli product, which has been winning as a gold brand. The company's profits have been increasing approximately 40% in the last three years. We have also been able to expand our company's factories and farms. Our sales have also increased at a rate of approximately 60% in the last three years. This is so with especially with the jingilli brand which has established its presence in the shelves of the three largest supermarkets. The sales have increased with an approximate of 24% in the local market, and 36% internationally especially in china. Our market share has also enlarged and now we control about 45% of the Australian market. We intend to continue increasing our sales and gain more customers. Frankland river olive company main product is the Virgil olive oil. Olive oil is usually retailed in different modes: virgin olive oil, pure olive oil, lampante oil and refined olive oil. Most of this olive oil is used for food purposes, while some are not suitable to be used as food. Olive oil can also be used in the manufacturing of oil and lubricants for example lampante oil. Olive oil has different uses that are; it is highly nutritious unlike other oils. It can also be used for skin care, it is said that it prevents the occurrence of skin cancer to those who use it as skin care. It can also be used for medicinal purposes for treating of diseases. The target market for the company is mainly women and a group of men. It is mostly women who are at their youthful age. Most olive oil consumers are those that use olive oil for food purposes and skin care. Others may use it for religious purposes. The product of the company has been performing well even amidst competitors. The company has recently decided to stretch into the global market apart from china, where the company is already performing well. It aims to establish manufacturing companies in one or two countries overseas. The profits that the company has been making are going to help boost the move to the overseas country. Additionally the company is having Toscana offering to wholly acquire the company by buying it from its current shareholders at a higher price than it is currently trading. This will boost the company's resources for the move to the countries abroad. Comparative country and product market attractiveness The country of choice for the company to invest in is Sweden. This is after a thorough research was conducted (Appendix I). Apart from Sweden, I had researched on investing in Venezuela, after which I came up with the following conclusions; the country that I would advice on the company investing or exporting their product is Sweden. This is because of the following reasons. First Sweden has political stability. Sweden has been under the rule of the social democratic worker's party that is well supported by the people of Sweden. The government also ensures that investors remain privately owned and they do not enforce that the state must have some share. Additionally, most of the resources in Sweden are privately owned, this allows businesses to prosper well. Second Sweden has good technology and is peaceful. Unlike Venezuela, it is not characterised by demonstration or worker's strike. Although Venezuela has a bigger population and therefore, would have a larger size, market that that of Sweden the business conditions are not favourable. Furthermore, Sweden and Australia are much more alike that Venezuela and Australia, it would be easier for the company to introduce its marketing strategy in Sweden than in Venezuela. Lastly, companies from foreign countries in Sweden have a reputation of excelling. This is so especially because of the conducive environment that allows that businesses to thrive well. It may be difficult though to import items in Sweden because of the rates but these rates are much lower than those of Australia. This means that the company would not suffer a lot when exporting. The best solution though would be to set up a company or a joint venture in Sweden than exporting goods to Sweden. This would mean that only raw materials get imported to Sweden. Product market analysis The market of Sweden has previously been concentrated with the presence of animal fat and the use of butter. The presence of olive oil has not been so dominant. But with the current concerns about the health of its citizens Sweden has been discouraging the consumption of fatty oils; instead it is encouraging the use of olive oil (Alonso, Ruiz-Gutierrez & Martínez-González, 2006). This is because olive oil is considered healthy for human consumption and has very low chances of causing diseases. Sweden market for olive oil is estimated at approximately 11.77 kg of olive oil. This compared to other European countries is much higher. Majority of olive oil producers are found in the Mediterranean countries. Spain is considered as the number on producer, followed by such countries as Greece and Tunisia. These same countries are also considered as the highest consumers of olive oil (Department of Agriculture, 2000). Additionally they also dominate the export market of olive oil in the world. Recently Australia and the United States have started to infiltrate this market. Sweden does not produce olive oil in huge amount that can be exported. Its market though is increasing at approximately 3% rate in the past years. This increase is been attributed to the shift from the use of animal fats to vegetable oil such as olive oil and sunflower oil. The prices of olive oil are also considered stable and non- fluctuating and therefore consumers can afford to consume olive oil constantly. Any indication of the prices going higher will see this consumers shift to the other alternative available like the sunflower oil. Market segmentation is identified as the process of pinpointing areas that make markets different from other areas (Brenkert, 2008). This is crucial as it helps a company to identify the different need of these segments and then embark on satisfying these needs. Markets can be segmented using different categories: these are geographically, demographically, psycho graphically and lastly according to the behaviour of these consumers. The market has clear segments divided in the lines of what kind of olive oil the customers consume. The two major oils that are consumed and purchased by the consumers are the Virgil olive oil favoured for it good taste and aroma. The other one is pure olive oil, which is ordinary and has lesser taste and low levels of acidity. It is also evident that too many consumers what is most important is the flavour of the olive oil as compared to its acidity. Acidity may not be healthy but is it is evident that consumers prefer taste to the level of acidity present in the products of the olive oil. It is clear that the Swedes market is very conscious of the choices that they make on what brand of olive oil that best suits them. What is clear is that most customers are highly aware of the taste and acidity levels of olive oil products. This segmentation is both of behaviour and of demographic nature. The numbers who purchase the Virgil oil and those that prefer ordinary olive oil present the demographic nature. In addition, there are those that prefer to purchase a brand of olive oil because of their flavour. This is segmentation by the behaviour of the consumers. A product usually has four stages of its lifecycle. These are as follows; the first stage is the introduction stage. In this stage, the product is newly introduced in the market and the company has to make the consumer aware of the product (Brenkert, 2008). This involves branding, pricing and even promotion. In this stage, the distribution of the product is usually selective until the customer accepts the product. The second phase in the cycle is the growth stage; here the company aims to be identified as different and to gain a preference from the market. The strategies that the company can use here are producing products that are of high quality, pricing at reasonable rates and we can think of expanding to other consumers. The third stage is the maturity stage, here the product growth is not well recognised and there is presence of competitors. Lastly, the decline stage, where there is a significant drop in sales of products and a company has to change its strategy. Sweden's market is at the growth phase and consumption is increasing than the previous years. Our product will therefore aim at taking advantage of this phase that the market is in and rush the product lifecycle to the stage of growth so that they can work hand in hand. Although the products of the company have not been prominent in the international market, we intend to invest a lot in the introduction phase of the product so that we can achieve resonance. This will in turn help the product to acquire customers who are loyal and increase its sales in Sweden. Foreign producers heavily dominate the market of Sweden in terms of olive oil. Sweden has not been able to produce organic food that can cater for its increase in the consumption of these foods (Rodriguez, 2011). This is so especially with the increase in using vegetable oil instead of the fatty oil from the animals. In addition, the awareness that has been created of how fatty oils are causing harm to their consumers has influenced the shift to want to use olive oil. The Mediterranean giant producers of olive oil also largely dominate the exportation of olive oil in almost all over the world. In Sweden, the largest importers of olive oil are most definite Spain, Italy and Greece (Department of Agriculture, 2000). This has been so since they have also been the largest producers of olives in the world. This has since changed in the recent years especially with other countries like the United States and Australia increasing their produce. Some of the companies from these newcomers have also started to penetrate the Mediterranean market. Similar to other products, olive oil is sold through the wholesale and the retail channels. For whole sales, this can be found in big supermarkets or from the factories. As for the retail, olive oil is spread in shelves of convenient stores and supermarkets that are medium in size. Additionally, restaurants are also involved in the distribution and so are those specialised sale points. Competitive analysis The Swedish market has a presence of various competitors. These competitors range from companies that are selling the same product to those that are selling substitutes of olive oil like the sunflower oil. An example of such a company is the Unilever. Competition is also emanating from the dominance of Spain as the main importer of olive oil into the country (European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture, 2009). It has set up its market and has already established a base of loyal customers. There are two forms of competition, the product based and company base. First, there are some companies that have already established a stable market and they enjoy large market share of the Swedish market. These companies' products are favoured by most of the consumers because they have been in the market for longer than the new products that may emerge. The second form of competition is been presented by the alternative oils in the market. These oils can be an alternative for use by consumers if prices of olive oil were to shoot up or become unfavourable. There are a number of competitor companies in the country; there numbers range from a 5-10 companies that have been established in the country. Many companies are branches of other bigger companies in other countries that are involved in importing of olives into the country so that they are processed to olive oil products (Rodriguez, 2011). Importation of readymade products into Sweden has problems, as the products are likely to be rejected because the government believe that standards of their production have not met the standards approved by the Swedish government. It is evident that most competitors are of foreign nature. Most of them especially are from the closer producers of olive oil like Greece, Italy and Spain. Australia and the United States have not quite penetrated this country (European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture, 2009). Most of these competitors are involved in selling or distributing their products to retailers who then reach the consumers. The companies therefore, mostly deal with those that purchase olive oil in bulk or at a wholesale level. Frankland river olive company faces a tough competition and it will require having marketing strategies that will convince the buyers that their product is healthier and has a better flavour. The current products in the market may have reached the maturity phase and are headed for the decline. This is should be a good opportunity for the company to introduce a new range of products that have a difference from those of the current products in the market. Our main competitive advantage is that we have a different product (Kotler & Armstrong, 2001). This is so because our olives are different as they are not grown in the Mediterranean are and they emanate from a different region whatsoever. Our olive oil has a great flavour and contains less acidity as those of our competitors. This puts our products at the same level but with a difference as compared to those of our competitors. Buyer's analysis It is evident that most customers will purchase olive oil because they know the company. This means that if a company has presented its image in the country well and has shown that it cares for the society it will attract more customers. A study shows that out of 100 customers 88 of them will buy olive oil because of the company's brand and the image it portrays in the market. Second customers are more likely to purchase olive oil because of its packaging. Packaging has a way of attracting consumers to a product because of the way it looks. Packaging also sets a product different from the other products from other producers. Branding or packaging may also aid in bringing in newer users of a certain product, therefore increasing that company's market share. Third customers are likely to buy olive oil from a given company because another person has influenced them. The people who influence them may be friends or even relatives. Fourth consumer behaviour is also influenced by quality of olive oil. Approximately 40% of consumers are likely to buy and continue buying olive oil from a certain company because of its quality. Lastly, what least affects consumers of olive oil is the price. This is even of less concern as prices of olive oil are least likely to fluctuate (Alpert, Wilson & Elliott, 1993) Our company has identified two categories of segmentation. This has emanated from the consumer's behaviour and in their demographics. Most customers seem to purchase olive oil because of the company's image, packaging and quality (Grigg, 2001). This will be our marketing strategies. We will establish our company image and produce high quality olive oil, while also come up with a unique packaging that will set our olive oil apart. The products that we will focus on are the Virgil olive oil, that has preference in the market and ordinary olive oil. This has been established from the numbers who purchase this from the stores, who are mostly women. The by-products will also be in the market but not given marketing boost as our first priority will be on the olive oil. Our identified target market is the women. These women mostly reside in the urban areas, concentrated mostly on the southern part of the country. These ones are mostly involved in the purchase of olive oil. Our strategies will be guided by what we have learnt of the buyer's behaviour and on what our competitors are doing. In summary, we must focus on packaging, creating our company's image and lastly making sure that our products are of high quality. Market selection with justification and opportunity statement Our company's major opportunity is that we are new in the market. This is an opportunity because there are very few companies from Australia in Sweden offering the Australian product. The Australian olive oil is also our main strength as it is of a different quality that will bring in a different flavour that the customers are likely to favour. Additionally, when the competitors experience climatically changes that may cause harm to their olives, this will be a huge opportunity for our company to be able to acquire more market share. This is because the companies may not be able to provide enough supply of olive oil to meet the demand. Second Australian Virgil olive oil is of high quality and has such a distinctive taste that the customers will definitely like and frankland river olive company's Virgil olive oil has been recognised as one of the best in Australia, this therefore gives us an advantage. Third, countries like Spain, Italy and Greece have large markets in their home area. This is different from the consumption of olive oil in Australia. This means that these competitors may be more focussed on their home market and ignore the foreign market. This will be different for our company, as the Australian market consumption has not yet quite picked as well as in the Mediterranean countries. The health concern on use of fatty oils has also presented the company with a good opportunity to market olive oil in the country. This is because more and more consumers are using less fatty oils and preferring vegetable oil like olive oils for food consumption. This should mean that the demand for olive oil in Sweden is growing and it will need supply to meet this demand. Entry strategy The entry strategy that I would recommend for the company is to first test the waters. This means that it would be safer to first try, export our products to Sweden for a few months, and see how the consumers will receive this. This will be like conducting an experiment before the actual investment is made. This will save the resources of the company if the market was to reject or negatively react to our products (Su & University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, 2007). Since it is very expensive to keep exporting products in Sweden, it would be better to establish a business in the country after a few months of exporting. This is because of the rates charged and the scrutiny that the goods undergo, and they might end up being rejected it would be advisable to establish a business in Sweden. This though should occur after we have first tested the markets and their response to our products (Johansson, 2000.) A joint venture establishment with owners from Sweden would be the best strategy. This is because they would help in establishing the company well in the country. Employees should also be mainly from Sweden with very few from Australia. This will help the company in establishing an image of being Swedish oriented and friendly. Marketing objectives Our market objective is to achieve a market share of about 40 % of the market. This is expected over a period of five years after implementing out marketing plan and strategies. In the first year we expect to have a low market share as low as 5% but with time this is expected to change. First we intend to reach the urban population that is mostly in the main city Stockholm. After which we can then proceed to the other major towns. Recommendations for the 4Ps of the marketing mix in the chosen country The marketing mix used in marketing consists of four Ps. This Ps stands for place, promotion, product and price (Richter, 2002). This mix is used to achieve marketing objectives of the company. The first is place, I would recommend for the company to start marketing in the Stockholm, this is because it has more of our target population. This population also is at a more concentrated space and not very sparsely distributed. This will make it easier for the company to reach the target market for marketing and sales. Second, there is the product. As we have learnt above packaging is important and may attract an approximate of 54% buyers. It is therefore important for the company to focus on a different brand and packaging that will be attractive and outstanding from the other brands already in the market. As for the promotion, I would recommend that the company should launch an awareness promotion so that the consumer knows them. This can be done by use of advertising and giving of free samples and promotions. Lastly, I recommend that the company should set a moderate price for their products. It should be set slightly lower than that of competitors' so that it can attract customers who are price conscious. This marketing mix will be integrated especially for the first year to boost the company in achieving their marketing objectives. Additionally, back up plans and strategies should be implemented to be used in case of a backfire of the initial strategies. The above mix will achieve our marketing objectives as they are designed to increase our sale while also establishing a market share. The first year we intend to do a thorough promotion so that it can boost our share of the market. The second year we intend to continue promoting our products and while maintaining the share that we may have already acquired. We also intend to continue listening to customer's views and try to implement what they feel is best. References Alpert, F., Wilson, B., & Elliott, M. T. (1993). Price signaling: Does it everwork? The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 10(4), 4-14. Australian Olive Association. (2010). Olive oil statistics 2010. Retrieved on 16th September, 2011, from http://www.australianolives.com.au/statistics/statistics.htm Alonso, Á., Ruiz-Gutierrez, V., & Martínez-González, M. Á. (2006).Monounsaturated fatty acids, olive oil and blood pressure:Epidemiological, clinical and experimental evidence. Public HealthNutrition, 9(2), 251-257 . Brenkert, G. G. (2008). Marketing ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. Cateora, P.R., and Ghauri, P.N. (2009), International Marketing, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, European Edition. Doole, I. and Lowe, R. (2001), International Marketing Strategy - Analysis, Development and Implementation, Thomson Learning, 3rd Ed. Department of Agriculture. (2000). World olive industry. WesternAustralian olive study tour of Spain and Italy. Retrieved 16th September, 2003, from http://agspsrv34.agric.wa.gov.au/programs/hort/olives/ European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture, (2009). ‘The olive oil sector in the EuropeanUnion’, http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/fact/oliveoil/2005_en.pdf Frankland River Olive Company(2011). Frankland river olive company information.FROC Retrived from: http://www.froc.com.au/bground.htm Grigg, D. (2001) “Olive oil, the Mediterranean and the world”, GeoJournal 53: 163-172, 2001 Johansson, J.K. (2000), Global Marketing - Foreign Entry, Local Marketing, and Global Management, Johansson, International Edition. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2001). Principles of marketing. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. Richter, T. (2002). Marketing mix standardisation in international marketing: An empirical investigation of the degree of marketing programme standardisation in German companies and its internal and external correlates. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Su, X., & University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee. (2007). The role of marketing effort in supply chain management. Rodriguez, P. (2011). An expanding market:olive oil, demand and future tendencies. Institute of food technologists and international union of food science & technology .Retrived from: http://www.worldfoodscience.org/cms/?pid=1001131 APPENDIX I Political, cultural, economic, social and technological environment of Sweden and Venezuela Sweden Sweden is a country found in Europe. It is considered as the third largest country in Europe by area and its population. The countries population is estimated at approximately 9.4 million. This population is not well distributed and most people are believed to reside in the southern part of the country. Most people though live in the urban areas of the country. Sweden has its capital in Stockholm. The main language in the country is Swedish. The people of Sweden consist of three groups; the indigenous group, the Finns and the ethnic Sami. Similarly, Australia also has various ethnic groups and indigenous aboriginals. Sweden also hosts some immigrants from the neighbouring countries. Sweden's major religion is the Lutheran church, with the other churches having a rather smaller percentage of the population. The literacy level of the people in Sweden is estimated at a 99%, these levels may be higher than those of Australia may. The life expectancy of the population of Sweden is at 78 years for men and 83 for women. Sweden's culture is a multicultural; this is largely because of the immigrants from the neighbouring countries. Immigrants are mostly found in the urban areas, where they have settled. Most people in Sweden speak two languages, Sweden and English. Sweden means the home of people; this largely contributes to the well-established social welfare system. The food of Sweden is mostly composed fast food and Chinese cuisine. A meal taken for special occasion is the smorgasbord, it is composed of meat, cheeses and some vegetables. Sweden has strict rules on the production and manufacturing of food products. Sweden does not have a well defined social stratification system, it has long faded. Today the most common stratification is that of Swedes and immigrants. The political status of Sweden is as follows; first, the government of Sweden is of a constitutional monarchy type. Sweden government is similar to that of Australia as it is divided into three sectors, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The monarch heads the state, while the prime minister is the head of the government. It also has three levels of government, which are the national, regional and local level. This aspect is similar to that of Australia. The major party in Sweden is the Sweden Democratic Worker's Party. In the 2010, it managed to scope the largest number of seats in parliament. The party is mostly devoted to the social welfare of the country and the economy. Its members are mostly those in blue-collar jobs and public sector employees. The parliament or legislature in Sweden is concerned with making rules and in the amending of their constitution. The politics of Sweden usually have an enormous involvement of ordinary people in their politics. This includes worker's movements for instance the unions and women movement; recently the sports movement have also joined in the contribution to politics. In Sweden, the most popular politics are those involving energy, especially after the oil crisis. Sweden aims to be free of dependence on petroleum for energy. It focuses on using of other energies like nuclear, hydro and biomass. Lastly, Sweden had a foreign policy that encourages peace and good relationship with other countries. The country also supports actions of maintaining international peace in other countries. Additionally, Sweden is a member of the European Union, the United Nation and the International Monetary Fund. The economy of Sweden is diverse. Its main resources are timber, hydropower and iron ore. The country's major industries are the manufacturing of motor vehicles and telecommunication. The economy of Sweden initially started as an agricultural economy; this progressed to corporations like banks in the early 1930s. Sweden maintained their economy, as they remained neutral in the world wars, leaving them with very little damage after the wars were over. Sweden system of government is different from many countries. Sweden largely supports its social welfare system from its tax base. The unions, the corporations and the government in Sweden are in excellent corporation. This is not common in many European countries. In the early 1990s Sweden experienced the worst economic times that were caused by the interest in the real estate construction. The government though was able to save Sweden from the crisis and with the interest in IT at the end of the 1990s the country's economy began to recover. The economy of Sweden has taken the export orientation approach. Most of the industries in Sweden are either dealing with cars and telecommunications items. Most of these companies are mostly privately owned and they have minimal state influence. The mining industry though is largely controlled by the state. Agriculture has very little contribution to the GDP of the country. Sweden is also known for being a leader in privatising the management of pension. The labour market of Sweden is comprised of about a third of the population in the civil service. The rest is employed in the private sector. Most employees belong to unions, although this is decreasing. The employees are paid through bargaining of wages and there exist no minimal wage. The major problem in Sweden is the massive taxation enforced on the workers. It amounts to approximately 40% of one's income. The government though intends to lower this taxation rates. Sweden has had recognition in being competitive, free country and as having a well established research and development sector. Sweden has biggest trade flow with the following countries; United States, Germany, Norway, Finland and Britain. Sweden has a stable economic growth; it has been estimated at an average of 3.7% in the last three years. The inflation rates of its economy are also low and stable. The export rates are lower than in most countries in Europe. The import rates though are higher, therefore making it harder to import items into the country. Sweden is also to be a place where one can easily start a business and for the business to pick up. Sweden's has the top global information technology in the world and has greatly implemented it in its decisions to enable its growth. Technology in Sweden has greatly contributed to its economy. Sweden has been able to use technology economically; this is to improve their economy. Second, it has used technology to improve its environment and its social status as well. The economy of Sweden is better performing than that of Australia. Unlike Sweden, Australia is dominated by the service industry. Similar to the economy of Sweden, Australia's economy is also growing steadily. Agriculture in Australia though is much larger and contributes to the country’s GDP than in Sweden. Australia also largely deals with exports as Sweden, although for Australia it is mostly the export of agriculture products. There are huge similarities between the market and economy of Sweden to that of Australia, it would therefore, be easier to venture into this market and to use the same marketing strategies working for the company in Australia. Venezuela Venezuela is a tropical country found in South America. It is considered to have a population of approximately 29 million. Venezuela has a very diverse biodiversity, which includes mountains and rain forest. Venezuela was colonised by Spain. It gained it independence as early as 1811, but fully received independence in 1830. In the 19th century, Venezuela fell under great dictatorship. It was later under the Bolivian revolution under Hugo Chavez. Most of Venezuela population lives in the urban areas, this are mainly settled in the northern part. The capital of Venezuela is Caracas, and the largest city in the country. The major contribution to Venezuela's economy is agriculture and oil. Venezuela belongs to the United Nations and OPEC organisations. Venezuela is attributed for being a founder of the United Nations; it was a great contributor to its formation. The population of Venezuela consists of very rich and diverse heritage; most people have Spanish and African ancestry history. Venezuela experienced an influx of immigrants from Italy and Spain and other countries after it first discovered oil in the country. Amerindians though make up a large percentage of the country's population having two major tribes under it, which are; wayuu and the timotocuicas. The population growth of Venezuela is approximately at 1.6%, while most Venezuelans speak Spanish. Their literacy level is at 98% and the life expectancy of most of its population is approximately 74 years. Majority of Venezuelan belong to the catholic religion. The country also has a unique architecture structure. Dance is a great part of the Venezuelan culture, having guita as the most popular. Venezuela has also made prominence in the beauty pageants both in the local and international levels. This is unlike in Australia where most residents are protestant faith. The company though would have an advantage, as it would get customers from the catholic faith, which uses olive oil for religious purposes. The political status of Venezuela is that the country is under the federal republic government. It also has the three branches of the government namely: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The president is the head of state and appoints the cabinet. It is administered under two levels, which are nationally and at the states, which are subdivisions level. But the cities are ruled as bigger districts. The political situation of Venezuela has always been an unstable one dated from earlier times. This involved dictatorial rule and revolutionary activism from the citizens. In 1958, Gen. Marcos Perez Jimenez was overthrown and the military started to refrain from government issues. Later in 1989, the Caracazo riots became common in Caracas and an attempt of a coup was launched by Hugo, which was unsuccessful. Chavez was later elected into presidency and was able to deliver a new constitution as he had promised. Chavez is still currently the president of Venezuela and has since declared many decree that have rendered most of the country's operations under the government. The economy of Venezuela largely depends on petroleum. It main activities involve the exportation of oil to other countries. Manufacturing then comes second followed by agriculture. Similar to Australia agriculture is an important contributor to the economy of Venezuela. It is also largely controlled by the government. Although the economy of Venezuela grew in 2007, it has since declined. The government is also heavily involved in managing the financial markets of the country. Venezuela is said to have huge rates of inflation. The economy of Venezuela was initially dominated by agriculture. Nevertheless, with the discovery of oil, oil became the major determinant of Venezuelan's economy. This also attracted immigrants to the country. This made the GDP of the country to shoot up to the same levels of countries in Europe. The GDP rates decreased after the dictatorship rule of President Romulo. Workers in Venezuela during this period were amongst the best paid in South America at around this time. This was later to change because of the oil crisis that made prices drop down. This crisis caused levels of poverty to shoot up along with unemployment rates. The banking sector of the country also suffered greatly. After Hugo was elected as president the economy was able to rise and grow but it later started to drop due to political instability and fluctuation in oil prices. Recently the economy is not growing and is instead shrinking and the inflation rates in the country are as high as 30%. Venezuela's major sectors are manufacturing, agriculture and petroleum. Councils that represent members in management dominate the labour sector. Venezuela is highly characterised by worker's striking and demonstrating. Many of Venezuelans live under the poverty levels and there is immense unequal distribution of wealth. Venezuela's most energy is derived from petroleum. This is unfriendly to the environment especially at a time when countries are emphasizing ongoing green. Venezuela's use of technology is not expansive, but President Chavez and his government are trying to use technology to change people's lives. One-way that Venezuela intends to use technology to liberate media from the dominance of a few individuals, so that people can access information faster. Venezuela recently launched a satellite. It is also largely opening up info centres around the country. These are areas where the citizens can access the internet and get access to information that will be helpful to them. Although the population of Venezuela is huge than that of Australia, the country is not performing well economically. The political status of Australia is also more stable than that of Venezuela. Australian also has greatly incorporated technology in its activities as compared to Venezuela. Venezuela though has a range of immigrants just like Australia. Due to this many differences in the economy and political status, it would be difficult for Frankland river olive company to apply its marketing strategies to a place so different from its original country. The country that I would advice on the company investing or exporting their product is Sweden. This is because of the following reasons. First Sweden has political stability. Sweden has been under the rule of the social democratic worker's party that is well supported by the people of Sweden. The government also ensures that investors remain privately owned and they do not enforce that the state must have some share. Additionally, most of the resources in Sweden are privately owned, this allows businesses to prosper well. Second Sweden has good technology and is peaceful. Unlike Venezuela, it is not characterised by demonstration or worker's strike. Although Venezuela has a bigger population and therefore, would have a larger size market that that of Sweden the business conditions are not favourable. Furthermore, Sweden and Australia are much more alike that Venezuela and Australia, it would be easier for the company to introduce its marketing strategy in Sweden than in Venezuela. Lastly, companies from foreign countries in Sweden have a reputation of excelling. This is so especially because of the conducive environment that allows that businesses to thrive well. It may be difficult though to import items in Sweden because of the rates but these rates are much lower than those of Australia. This means that the company would not suffer a lot when exporting. The best solution though would be to set up a company or a joint venture in Sweden than exporting goods to Sweden. This would mean that only raw materials get imported to Sweden. Read More