Management Summary
Most important conclusions of each chapter if the manager of the particular company reads this summary, he or she will have gathered enough essential information to make reading the rest of the report unnecessary (max.1 page)
Opportunities to choose the United States as an export country are the growth of the population, the high GDP per capita and the location of our target group. But the biggest opportunity is the increasing popularity of Asian food and the growth of the amount of Asian restaurant that comes with it.
On the other hand there are some threats when exporting to the U.S. The exchange rate of the U.S. dollar, cultural differences and the required visa you need for visiting the U.S.

Table of contents
List of figures (if used)
List of tables (if used)
List of abbreviations (if used)

Chapter 1

Introduction

We have chosen to import Asian Gastronomy Interior from China and Thailand, and export these Interior to the United States and Australia. We selected China, Thailand and India as importing countries, because of the low production costs in these countries, and there are no better countries to produce Asian Gastronomy Interior than Asian countries themselves.
We want to export to the United States and Australia, because both of them are countries within many different cultures can be found, no language barriers will occur, and finally, Asian style is very/ becomes more and more popular in the catering industry.

We have deliberately not chosen for food and clothing, because food is very perishable and in the clothing industry, there is too much competition.
The report firstly includes the research set-up, in which we formulate our company’s problem, the objective, central question with accompanying research/sub-questions and the used research methods.

Secondly, you can find an exact description of our product and the results of the internal scan, which gave a good overview of the strengths and weaknesses of our start-up company.

Thereafter, follows the country analysis of China and Thailand, with regard to the purchase of Asian Gastronomy interior for our start-up company. Based on this analysis we will come to the country of choice and the selection of preferable producers for our products and suppliers. Furthermore, there is a country analysis of the USA and Australia, with regard to the sales of our products. Based on this analysis we will come to the choice of our export country and the selection of preferable customers and competitors. And this constitutes our external analysis.
Finally, our company will find out by answering some key questions whether we are ready for the export of our products to the United States and Australia. These questions are stated in the research proposal.

Chapter 2
2.1 Introduction
With regards to the selected export countries, Australia and the United States, we are doing research for the needs of Asian interior in Asian restaurants, restaurants and other catering facilities with more detail for chain businesses. For these countries an internal analyses was made. Is there a demand factor for Asian catering interior for Australian and United States markets?
In the next capitals we will give a short description for the reason of exporting Asian catering interior, what the goal is for exporting Asian catering interior to these mentioned countries and we will discuss the central question and the sub questions. Also, we discuss the different research aspects like desk research and field research.
2.2 Formulating the problem
The problem is that our start-up company has insufficient knowledge and experience about the foreign market. We will investigate which countries are the most attractive countries for importing and exporting our product.
On this moment, Australia has less than 213 restaurants with Asian food and Asian atmosphere/furniture. Approximately 50 of these restaurants are located in Sydney. This ranges from Thai to Chinese restaurants and from tapas to sushi. Also, these restaurants are subdivided into various price ranges. There are restaurants where you can eat very cheaply but there are still very exclusive restaurants with Asian food and interior.
A news report from 2004 refers that the question for Asian restaurants is growing fast in Australia. More and more people, particularly younger people, choose for the Asian cuisine, which research has been shown. Approximately 40 percent of the restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney has an Asian look. The research shown that young people between 18 until 24 years old, they eat on average 5 times Asian in a month. In the category 25 until 34 years old, 4 times in a month and in the category 65+, they eat on average 3 times in a month Asian food.
In Australia, there is a trend for food coming for the Asian cuisine. Research has shown that especially young people goes for this type of cuisine. We would like to export exclusive, modern Asian catering interior to this country, Australia. (For the whole source, see the appendix)
With regards to the interior of the hotels, there is a large chain in the world called ‘Worldhotels Buddha-Bar Hotels & Resorts’. This chain has been opened between 2009 and 2011 and fully furnished in Asian style. The hotel chain has destinations all over the world, also in Australia and the USA. In the future, there are scheduled more exclusive destinations. This hotel chain would be an excellent customer for our export products. It is exclusive and modern and the products will be make for each client separately. (http://www.worldhotels.com/en/buddha-bar).
We think that the most suitable countries for import are: India, Thailand and China. For the export we think the most suitable markets for our product and business are Russia, United States of America and Australia.

2.3 Objective
Our start- up company wants to select at least one suitable country for importing and one country for exporting our Asian Gastronomy Interior. With our sales manager we need to have three hundred leads where seventy five companies will become purchasing customers in the first year. In the second year we hope to have fifteen customers more than in the first year and twenty five customers more in the third year compared to year two.

2.4 Central question with accompanying research questions/sub-questions
Central question:
We want to understand the macro-, meso- and micro-environment of our potential export and import countries.

Research/Sub-questions:
Internal analysis
Micro
* Good match between mission, vision, objective and export? * How is our company organized at the moment of starting up? * What are our financial resources? * What are our USP’s, planned marketing mix?

External analysis
Macro
Demographical * What is the growth, the structure and the size of the population?
Economical
* What is the gross domestic product? * What is the gross net product? * What is the local currency and does it fluctuate often? * Is there any support for our company from the Dutch government?
Socio-cultural
* What are the most important trends and developments of Asian Gastronomy Interior on the selected export markets? * How many times does the average person eat at an Asian restaurant and how much does he spend? * Are there any cultural differences?
Technology
* Do we fit the required technologies?
Ecology
* Are there any restrictions on the production process? * What are the environmental regulations?
Political
* Are there any trade restrictions? * Which political developments influence our start-up company?
Meso
Potential buyer analysis * Who is our target group and where are they settled? * What product characteristics are most important to the buyers?
Competitive analysis * Who are the present competitors; how well do we know them? * What are the USP’s, strengths and weaknesses per competitor?
Product
* Which product of our assortment do we export? * Where to produce the products? * What are the specific product requirements?
Distribution
* Do we deliver direct or indirect? * How do we deliver the product from factory to the buyer?
Communication
* How to advertise in these countries? * How to reach the target groups? * Are there any travel restrictions? (visa restrictions, travel costs and security)

2.5 Research Method
While making our export plan, there was a lot of research necessary. We mainly used desk research and field research.
Desk research
For desk research we have mainly used the internet, which was essentially used for our external analysis. Also we have used the textbooks Market Entry Strategies and Export. Furthermore the Power Point presentation of Mr. Paes was very helpful for the structure of our export plan, the internal and external analysis. These method tools are explained in Annex 1?? : Desk Research
Field research
For additional information we used a few sources of field research. We have performed this in person by doing face-to-face conversations with Mr. Boots and Mrs. Ubachs which gave feedback and advice to our Export plan. We also contacted the Chamber of Commerce for several questions about ….. by mail.

Chapter 3
Description of our goods / services:
3.1 Product
The product that we sell is a luxury Asian interior. We deliver a custom product; this means we have multiple sessions with the customer before we go into the production process. When the products are finished, we will deliver and install these products. Our product range will include everything from the screens to the furniture. Our USP is that we create a custom product and that we deliver to their own business. We deliver a product from the drawing board, to the restaurant itself. All will take place in house with our people. This means we have complete control, but the downside of this is that we have full liability. The reason for this is because our team will quickly have more experience in assembling these interiors and our logistics will be better taken care of than by outsourcing this to a party we do not know or is contracted by the seller for financial reasons. That’s why we choose to market our products in the top segment of the market.
We will produce the products all in house, and import the needed supplies. We are currently researching the possibility to produce in Thailand and/or in China.
Our main focus is quality. We deliver a luxury product for high end restaurants and other hospitality business ventures. Our main focus will be chains. We chose for these type of clients because they would like to use the same interior more than once. Therefore we could produce this for a lower price than one small restaurant would normally pay.
3.2 Service

The services we provide starts in the creating process. Because of our experience in the restaurant business we can think like our client and see things a normal architect or designer would not see.
After creating the product, we offer a special service with regard to our warehousing. For big clients and chains we always have a stock of standard products in our warehouse. This would mean that if they need a couple of tables or chairs we could deliver this within 24 hours guaranteed. And for the restaurant or bar chains, we could deliver the same product in their first venture whenever they please in the future. Another big advantage by doing this is that we can always provide excellent customer service. Whenever there is a faulty product we can immediately replace this because we already have this product in stock. Otherwise, we would have to go back to the production plant and produce the product all over again. This would take too much time and money to make us or the client happy.

3.3 Internal analysis
Mission
“To show the beauty of Asia”
“To bring Asia closer”
Vision
Five years from now, “Asian Interior” will be rated as the most popular Asian Gastronomy Interior dealer in the United States and Australia by consistently providing the combination of perfectly designed Asian Interior and excellent service, which creates an extraordinary Asian experience.
Objectives
Our start- up company wants to select at least one suitable country for importing and one country for exporting our Asian Gastronomy Interior. With our sales manager we need to have three hundred leads where seventy five companies will become purchasing customers in the first year. In the second year we hope to have fifteen customers more than in the first year and twenty five customers more in the third year compared to year two.

Export fits in Asian Interior’s mission, vision and objectives. Our company is dedicated to export, so all these things are export-oriented.
Organization:
Asian Interior is set up by five graduated International Business Students, which are all specialized in different business areas and languages. This is a good basis to bring the required knowledge for doing business and export together. However, this can also be a threat. The fact that Asian Interior is a start-up company means that there is insufficient knowledge in house to doing business and export.

Our company is a start-up company without export and business experience, without any operating export activities in the past. So we are not selling our product abroad yet. This also means that Asian Interior does not hold any position in the local market.
Our reason for beginning export activities now, is the fact that our company is set up to export Asian Gastronomy Interior, which will be imported from China and Thailand, and will be exported to The United States and Australia.
Production:
It is not necessary to install equipment for export which is in good technical order, because these activities are outsourced to our importing countries. This also means that there are never lacks in capacity for producing export orders

We have to take care about the product requirements and barriers in the exporting countries. In the United States for example, it is helpful to work with bigger packaging to create more exclusivity.

Finance:
We do not need a lot of financial resources because it is not necessary. We will get orders of (potential) customers, about their preferences. And with these orders (incl. money) it will be produced in our importing countries.

This means that Asian Interior will be always financially stable and healthy.
And this is a big advantage for Asian Interior, because for students it is often very difficult to get money from a bank for this kind of activities.
USP

We offer a special service with regard to our warehousing. For big clients and chains we can always make quickly follow-up deliveries, we always have a stock of standard products in our warehouse. This would mean that if they need a couple of tables or chairs we could deliver this within 24 hours guaranteed. And for the restaurant or bar chains, we could deliver the same product in their first venture whenever they please in the future.

Marketing MIX
Moeten we even samen invullen denk ik. Mijn inspiratie is op:P

Major Strengths and Weaknesses | Strengths | Weaknesses | Not many financial resources necessary | Insufficient export and business experience | Export fits in our mission, vision, objectives | No position in local market(No awareness) | | | | | | | | | |

Chapter 4
External Analysis
China
Globalization is a reality, and competition is as fierce as ever. A business may not survive without a China Sourcing Partner. There are many areas in China that are becoming Chinese manufacturing centres of excellence.
Opportunities
Benefits for manufacturing in China go beyond simple reduction of direct labour cost. By aligning a China manufacturing strategy with an overall Business Strategy and Goals, you can benefit from local technical, financial and marketing knowledge of China that can benefit a business domestically as well as internationally.
China is becoming “modernized”, but China’s business goal is not necessarily to become “westernized”. Chinese business traditions must be understood and respected to be successful manufacturing in China. This requires special considerations when selecting a China manufacturing partner.
Lower labour, material and production costs lead to a higher profit margin on the end product. Another important point is the quality of Chinese labour (better educated, more willing to learn, disciplined). Moreover, if you manufacture your products in China, you can maintain international competitiveness through lower production costs. Also the labour costs are lower than in other countries. It is possible to achieve location efficiencies by locating the production in China, because labour costs are low and the workforce is highly skilled. It is estimated that a company that manufactures in China can cut costs by between 30 and 80 percent depending on how labor intensive the product is. Besides, manufacturing in China can have a major impact on economies of scale: It is possible to produce in a higher volume an also more cost efficient, which means that the fixed costs get smaller with every additional unit produced.
China has a more developed and balanced industry than many developing countries and its very strong and effective state machinery has been an effective tool for mobilizing resources. The raw material for Gastronomy Interior can be supplied in China, which saves money, because it is not necessary to supply raw material from other countries. For companies which are going to do business abroad this can be a significant factor choosing China as a supplier. The access to China’s rapidly growing domestic market can also be seen as opportunity to sell products to China in the future, especially when there is a market for your product.
The sheer size of China - a huge country with a population of 1.3 billion - greatly magnifies the advantages of effective growth and sophisticated manufacturing.
Furthermore, China has a unique advantage when doing global business, namely the unique factor of having Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as her door to the world. This leads to an excellent transport of goods around the world.
Also, China has advantages when it comes to manufacturing over other Asian countries. One reason for this is the experience and education the country has in delivering products that adhere to the rigorous standards that are required by both western legislation and consumers.
Threats
However, there are also the other side of the coin. The most considerable barriers are language and culture differences. It can be hard to get messages across and the temperament can be very different compared to the Dutch. In Asian countries, doing business is all about relationship. Business approaches differ and communication difficulties can arise.
If you can establish strong and reliable relationships with your Chinese business partner you can more easily overcome cultural differences. Other, more strategic disadvantages are longer lead times and long supply chains, which cannot be avoid in consideration of the fact that the selling market is far away from the production area.
In order to select the right manufacturing partner, it is necessary to conduct research. You can search the internet for example or communicate with local public authorities. This would be the most appropriate way for a start up company, as financial resources are limited and a trip to the manufacturing country would be too expensive. There are a number of potential partners in China and it is important to check whether someone is appropriate or not. This can be done by reference checks. For instance contacting competitors and ask them if they had positive experience with doing business with that particular firm. Another alternative is to have a look at certain websites: (www.made-in-china.com), this website has dedicated itself to providing professional support and assistance to its members with the goal of helping global buyers do business with Chinese suppliers. Here you can find out how many suppliers are in a certain region and who might be a proper partner in regard to the business sector, the price/quality issues, product lines, offer of free samples etc.

Major Opportunities and Threats : Import Countries | Opportunities | Threats | Lower labor, material and production costs | Language barriers and culture differences | Higher profit margins | Longer lead times an supply chains | | | | | | | | | |

External Analysis
Thailand
The total population in Thailand was last reported at 68.9 million people in 2010 from 27.6 million in 1960, changing 145 percent during the last 50 years. Thailand has 0.98 percent of the world´s total population which means that one person in every 102 people on the planet is a resident of Thailand. The population is divided unevenly throughout the country. The northern highlands have a very low population density, in contrast to the central lowlands and the southern part of the peninsula, where the population is dense to very dense. Cities like Bangkok that are close to the ocean are a great starting point to set up an export business.
The baht (฿) is the currency of Thailand. It is subdivided into 100 satang. The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. The Bank of Thailand adopted a series of exchange controls on December 19, 2006, which resulted in a significant divergence between offshore and onshore exchange rates, with spreads of up to 10% between the two markets. Controls were broadly lifted on March 3, 2008 and there is now no significant difference between offshore and onshore exchange rates.
Thailand's government holds a very liberal attitude towards international business and trade, with the recent economic downturn further opening the county's regulations. The model for economic growth currently being pursued by Thailand's government is particularly advantageous to the country's exporters and to foreign investors.
Thailand was ranked as the 2nd largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia in 2009. Thailand had historically been a tiger economy with average growth rates of 9.4% from 1985 to 1996. Thailand exports account for more than two thirds of GDP and they are the world's leading exporter of rice. In 2007, Thailand's industry sector accounted approximately 44% of GDP, however Industry only employed 14% of the workforce. This proportion is the opposite of the one applying to agriculture. Industry expanded at an average annual rate of 3.4 percent during the 1995–2005 period. The most important subsector of industry is manufacturing, which accounted for 34.5 percent of GDP in 2004.
The Royal Thai Government welcomes foreign investment, and investors who are willing to meet certain requirements can apply for special investment privileges through the Board of Investment. To attract additional foreign investment, the government has modified its investment regulations.
Thailand's increasingly diversified manufacturing sector made the largest contribution to growth during the economic boom. Industries registering rapid increases in production included computers and electronics, garments and footwear, furniture, wood products, canned food, toys, plastic products, gems, and jewelry. High-technology products such as integrated circuits and parts, electrical appliances, and vehicles are now leading Thailand's strong growth in exports. Our furniture manufacturing plant would fit perfect in this growing market and participating could result in a lot of opportunities.
Thailand's laws regarding the establishment and operation of businesses by foreigners are also quite liberal. The laws regulate company establishment in Thailand, taxation of the company and its employees, corporate and individual taxation, foreign exchange issues, work permits and other labor considerations. The government grants certain privileges to foreign and domestic companies operating and exporting from its designated industrial zones, which range from reductions in taxation, lowered import duties to exemption from certain labor laws.
Thailand holds regulations for factory construction and operation, factory expansion and safety requirements, as stipulated in the Factory Act of 1969. A factory is defined as any premises that uses machinery greater than five horsepower, or that employs seven or more workers for manufacturing, producing, assembling, packing, repairing, maintaining or testing anything included in the classes of factories listed in the Ministerial Regulations. The Ministry of Industry has the ability to issue regulations for all three of the categories on issues including the environment, manufacturing process, safety, and employee training and factory location.
Category three factory’s licenses are valid for a period of five years except when the factory is transferred, moved to another site, leased or its operations cease. In these cases, a new license is required by the operators to take the place of the old license. The Ministry of Industry also regulates factory expansion, with businesses obligated to apply for approval. The undertaking of factory expansion is defined as an increase in the number of machines, the modification of machinery to increase its power by 50 percent, or the increase of factory space by more than 100 square meters.
Officers of the Ministry of Industry have broad powers of inspection and are able to order a factory to close, modify or repair machinery, or to undertake other remedial actions if it’s operations are endangering the public or its workers. This would mean that if we want to start a factory in Thailand, we would have to do excessive research into these regulations that the government implements on all the aspects of factory construction and operation, factory expansion and safety requirements.

Major Opportunities and Threats : Thailand | Opportunities | Threats | Lower labor, material and production costs | Cultural Barriers. | Growing industries. | Government implements regulations on factories. | Government supports export. | Currency exchange. | |

India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world.
An opportunity for our company, to do import in India are the currency differences. If the price of a foreign currency is low, there are less expensive products from that country. At the moment, for one euro, you will get 67,92 Indian rupee or you have to pay 0,01 euro for one Indian rupee. This is very low. This is a nice advantage for the importer, he can offer his customers attractively priced products and a fine margin can be achieved.
In India, the wage costs are lower than in the Netherlands. Producing abroad is much cheaper than in the Netherlands.
The average salary per trained employee at India is about 1,60 dollars. For unskilled workers, this is a quarter lower.
In India there are 415 languages spoken. Hindi is the primary official language, which the federal government itself, and is used by the federal government used to communicate with states that Hindi as official language. English is used by the federal government to states where Hindi is not the official language to communicate. In northern and central India, most of the people are speaking Indo-Aryan languages, to the Indo-European languages belong. 76 percent of the Indian population speaks an Indo-Aryan language.
The south is dominated by the Dravidian languages , a group themselves. 21.6 per cent of India's population speaks a Dravidian language.
Furthermore, in the center and east of the country several people speak Austroasiatic languages , and in the far east and the Himalayas are Tibeto-Burman languages . In addition, some isolates spoken to Nihali, Burushaski and the Andaman languages .
This is a threat for our company. Most of the people in India do not speak very well English. Our company does not speak the Indian languages, so this can be a barrier. We cannot understand most of the Indian people.
The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. India is a vast country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
The Indian culture is also a threat for our company if we are going to import from India. There are a lot of different cultures, every state has its own culture. We do not know the most important differences between India and the Netherlands so the communication with Indian people is not easy. We do not understand their culture, but they do not understand our culture. This could be a very big problem. Opportunities India | Threats India | Currency differences | Language barrier | Salary is very low | Cultural differences | | | | |

Chapter 5
External Analysis (Export Countries)
Results of the analyse of buyers (countries, buyers (segments)) and possible entry strategies (min 3 and max 8 pages).

Australia
The population of Australia is estimated to be 22.891.000 as of 14 October 2011. Australia is the 50th most populous country in the world. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas. The life expectancy of Australia in 1999–2001 was 79.7 years, among the highest in the world.
Age structure
0–14 years: 19.3%
15–64 years: 67.5%
65 years and over: 13.2%
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Australia expanded 1.20 percent in the second quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter. Australia's economy is dominated by it’s services sector, yet its economic success is based on abundance of agricultural and mineral resources. Australia's comparative advantage in the export of primary products is a reflection of the natural wealth of the Australian continent and its small domestic market. The country is a major regional financial centre and a vital component of the global financial system.

In Australia the GNP is $444 and per capita $24.
Most of the people from the population in Australia are from European, British origin. The Angelsaksische group is the most biggest part of the population. Just one percent of the population is from the originally of Australia, the Aboriginals. Most of the Aboriginals lives in the Nord and Central part of Australia. Four percent from the population is Asian. 92 percent of the Australia population lives in Cities. We would like to export our Asian Interior Gastronomy to Australia. There are a lot of opportunities we have discussed. 92% of the people in Australia lives in big cities. This can be an opportunity for our company. Most of the Asian restaurant are also in big cities, for example Sydney. Also, tourist going to dinner in cities when they are on holiday. We can sell our interior to a lot of restaurants and hotels in big cities because most of the people they would like to eat in their culture(especially tourists).
At this time, for one euro you will get 1,3461 Australian dollar or for 0,7429 you will get one euro. The Australian dollar in contrast to the euro is very cheap at the moment. It can be a opportunity for us but also a threat. The Australian dollar can be fluctuate often. We can make appointments with our suppliers to pay a minimum price for our product.

On this moment, Australia has less than 213 restaurants with Asian food and Asian atmosphere/furniture. Approximately 50 of these restaurants are located in Sydney. This ranges from Thai to Chinese restaurants and from tapas to sushi. Also, these restaurants are subdivided into various price ranges. There are restaurants where you can eat very cheaply but there are still very exclusive restaurants with Asian food and interior. An opportunity for our company is that there are a lot of different Asian restaurants with different price classes. We can sell our product to luxury restaurant, but also to cheap restaurant. Our architect allows the products to customers requirements so it is always a unique product for that particular restaurant, luxury or cheap.
A news report from 2004 refers that the question for Asian restaurants is growing fast in Australia. More and more people, particularly younger people, choose for the Asian cuisine, which research has been shown. Approximately 40 percent of the restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney has an Asian look. Asian restaurants growing fast in Australia. More than 40% of the restaurant has an Asian look. In the future, there is an opportunity to get more restaurant and hotels with an Asian look.
A lot of people eat Asian food. Most of this restaurant would like to have Asian interior because all the people they want to eat Asian food would like to do this in an Asian ambiance. A lot of Asian restaurant has an Asian look. This can be an opportunity like we said but it can be also a threat. It is possible that the market becomes saturated after a certain time and that people look for new restaurants.
In Australia, there is a trend for food coming for the Asian cuisine. Research has shown that especially young people goes for this type of cuisine. We would like to export exclusive, modern Asian catering interior to this country, Australia. (For the whole source, see the appendix)
With regards to the interior of the hotels, there is a large chain in the world called ‘Worldhotels Buddha-Bar Hotels & Resorts’. This chain has been opened between 2009 and 2011 and fully furnished in Asian style. The hotel chain has destinations all over the world, also in Australia and the USA. In the future, there are scheduled more exclusive destinations. This hotel chain would be an excellent customer for our export products. It is exclusive and modern and the products will be make for each client separately.
Research shown that young people between 18 until 24 years old, they eat on average 5 times Asian in a month. In the category 25 until 34 years old, 4 times in a month and in the category 65+, they eat on average 3 times in a month Asian food.
A key Australian characteristic would be egalitarianism. It is very important that people do not give the impression that they 'think they are somebody'. It is much better to be seen as a 'good bloke' or a 'good mate' than somebody who is overtly proud of themselves and their achievements.
Punctuality is considered a virtue in Australia — but having said that meetings often start five or ten minutes late. In addition, it is customary to go through a few minutes small talk before getting down to the key issues of the meeting (sport is a very common theme of these discussions.)
Being seen to be a good team player is an extremely important part of the Australian psyche — to be a maverick or a loner will invariably ostracize a person from their colleagues. Creating a positive, collegiate feel in a department or project group would be seen as a key management function and ‘bonding’ sessions (often including food and drink) are actively encouraged.
It is important not to be too self-promotional when presenting to Australians. A hard sell approach can often be misconstrued as bragging and can provoke a very negative response. Remember that people do not like to make out that they are better than others — the same probably applies to products and services. A factual description of issues will be far better received than a more hyperbolic approach.
Australia is one of the very few cultures in which humour is all pervasive in business situations. Not only is humour acceptable in all situations, it is expected in all situations. Never underestimate an Australian senior manager because he or she uses humour at what you might feel to be an inappropriate time.
First names are invariably used in all business situations in Australia. It would be very unusual to call a business contact by their surname. Similarly, educational titles play relatively little part in business situations.
We can speak English but we have not enough information and experience of the Australian cultures and businesses.
Meso Australia
Studies have shown that in Melbourn and Sydney 40% of restaurants are Asian restaurants, for this reason our focus will be in these cities. Next to this high percentage, they are also the biggest cities in the country.
We reckon that our quality and design are the most important things to these customers because we deliver a high end luxury product.
Distribution
We deliver direct with a couple of our own team to install these interiors. By using an independent transporter there is a lot of concern whether the products would be damaged in the process. Next to transport, we also have to install these products. Therefore it would be a much better idea to make sure we have transport in our own hands and making sure we deliver a service from the drawing board all the way to the opening day of the restaurant or hotel.
We deliver through boat and truck. Especially since the demographic distance between the exporting country and Australia is very small, the cheapest and most secure way to transport is through sea transport.
Communication
Best way to advertise in Australia is through online marketing. You can reach a fairly large group of potential customers for a reasonable price. We would start out to market on websites that are industrial and are concerned with other companies. Next to that we would make a website and post every restaurant and hotel we would do. By doing this, our potential customer can look at our created products. Next to this we would start up a blog, to show how the process works in our company, how we deliver and how we put things together. Of course, we would keep competitive sensitive information to ourselves.
Next to web marketing we would have to go architect fairs and have a stand there. We have a design product that is high end so it would be hard to make sure we create brand awareness on smaller fairs. By creating a stand that showcases our custom products and showcases our skills as designer we will be able to blow away our potential customers.
There are travel restrictions, but these are only for a longer period of time. We would have to hire someone in the country to do our marketing and company visits. The good thing about Australia is that they already speak English and we do not have to change our website or our product for this market. http://www.diprose.com/internet-marketing/five-great-ways-to-promote-a-product.html Major Opportunities and Threats: Export Countries | Opportunities | Threats | Most people lives in cities with a lot of Asian restaurants | Australian dollar fluctuates often | Australian dollar fluctuates often | Market for Asian food is saturated | Asian restaurants growing fast in AustraliaA lot of people eat Asian food | | |
United States

The United States has the world's third largest population (following China and India) with 311,8 million people in mid-2011. The U.S. Census Bureau expects the U.S.A. population to grow to an estimated 336.031.546 people in 2020. They expect that the U.S.A. reaches 400 million people in 2043.
In 2010 82 % of the total population lived in the urban areas, with New York (19,3 million inhabitants), Los Angeles (12,7 million inhabitants), Chicago (9,1 million inhabitants), Miami (5,7 million inhabitant) and Washington D.C. (4,4 million inhabitants) as the most popular cities.

U.S.A.’s GDP per capita was in 2010 $ 47.200, number 11 compared to the rest of the world.
U.S.A.’s currency is the American Dollar. This Dollar fluctuates very often, with almost every day a different exchange rate. At this moment, the euro is worth $1,38.

In the U.S.A. there is an increasing popularity for Asian food and cuisine. There are a few different reasons for this growing popularity. First, it can be seen as a reflection of the increasing globalization and transnationalism taking place in the U.S. and around the world in general.
The growing popularity of Asian cuisine is also a function of the demographic trends taking place in the U.S., specifically the growing population of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, whose total numbers and proportion of the total U.S. population continue to gradually increase each year. As the number of Asians/Asian Americans continues to grow, so too do the numbers of Asian businesses and restaurants.
Finally, Americans are generally very open to various elements of foreign culture, such as food (although many observers argue this openness to foreign culture does not automatically translate into equal openness to the actual foreigners themselves). As such, cultural elements like Asian cuisine are generally seen as 'safe' and 'easy' ways for Americans to demonstrate their cultural curiosity and openness.
These days, traditional Asian cuisine is undergoing a transformation. Instead of being combined with western tastes, the result comes from combining elements and styles from different Asian cultures into a new fusion style of pan-Asian dishes. Many of these early fusion dishes were synthesized from Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, and Chinese cuisines (along with a few French influences), although other Asian cultures are slowly being 'mixed' into the trend. Many of these fusion restaurants also tend to be aimed at a slightly more upscale clientele and are concentrated mainly in the major metropolitan areas around the U.S.
Another trend of Asian food in the U.S.A. we saw in the fast food sector. Convenient Asian foods have been growing in the US, pushing retail sales at Asian chains to the top of their category.
According to the latest report from Technomic, a food consultancy group, sales at limited-service Asian restaurants grew well above their international segment average in 2010, with a growth of 9.3 percent.
Limited-service eating places include sandwich and coffee shops and fast-food restaurants.
Technomic singled out California-based chain Panda Express for pushing this growth, as it generated sales of $1.4 billion last year, growing 12.8 percent. The report, released on Monday, was based on the annual sales figures of 500 of the country's largest fast-food outlets.
Panda Express serves Chinese fare and has 1,335 locations throughout the US and Puerto Rico. In addition to standalone restaurants, it has locations in food courts, airports, college campuses and sports arenas and has aggressive plans for expansion.
Its focus will be on "high visibility power centers" like major intersections and shopping centers, and non-traditional sites like casinos and hospitals. Menu items include popular Westernized Chinese foods like sweet and sour pork and orange chicken.
When it comes to doing business, there are a few cultural differences between Europe and the U.S. Europeans tend to be more formal in their communication styles, workplace hierarchies are more rigid and the dress code is stricter. On the other hand, North Americans begin the business day earlier, work longer hours, have less time off, and are more willing to drastically relocate or become a ‘road warrior’ for professional reasons.
When it comes to financial considerations, the differences can be even more complex. Apart from the different currencies, payment procedures and options can be different in the U.S. For example, most payments are made by credit card. In most situations, local taxes, service charges, and mandatory gratuities are not included in the quoted prices. The average mandatory gratuity is about 15% of the account, 10% if you had a bad service and 20% if you are very satisfied.
Meso analysis
Our target group consists of restaurants in the United States.
There are 807,942 Restaurants in the U.S.
125 of them are public owned restaurant companies.
2,379 Restaurants in the U.S. have a company revenue of more than $10 million.
253 Restaurants in the U.S. have a company revenue more than $100 million.

These restaurants are divided all over the United States. The four states with the most restaurants are: * California (110,876) * Texas (71,466) * Florida (62,211) * New York (66,229)
If you wish to enter the United States for business, you must first obtain the B-1 visa. The visa allows a foreign citizen, to travel to the United States port-of entry and request permission of the U.S. immigration inspector to enter the U.S. Arranging this visa takes time and money. Major Opportunities and Threats: United States | Opportunities | Threats | US population is expected to grow more | American dollar fluctuates often | High GDP per capita | Cultural differences | Increasing popularity for Asian restaurants | | Biggest part of our target group located in four states | | |

Chapter 6
SWOT-Analysis
Strengths and weaknesses in relation to the external situation (max 2 pages).

Strengths
We do not need a lot of financial resources because it is not necessary. We will get orders of (potential) customers, about their preferences. And with these orders (incl. money) it will be produced in our importing countries.
Export fits in our mission, objectives and strategy. Our company is dedicated to export, so all these things are export-oriented.
Weaknesses
There is insufficient knowledge in doing business. No experience with export. There is insufficient knowledge about our import and export countries. We only have basic knowledge from school education (IB).
We do not hold any position in the local market because we are a start-up company without any operating activities in the past. So we do not have any awareness yet.
Opportunities
China
Benefits for manufacturing in China go beyond simple reduction of direct labour cost. Lower labour, material and production costs lead to a higher profit margin on the end product.
Thailand
The government grants certain privileges to foreign and domestic companies operating and exporting from its designated industrial zones, which range from reductions in taxation, lowered import duties to exemption from certain labor laws.

United States

The US population is expected to grow more. If the population grows, the number of restaurants and hotels will probably grow too, and these new restaurants can be potential customers for our interiors. The USA has a high GDP per capita. This means that US residents have enough money to spend in restaurants and hotels. The need for restaurants and hotels will therefore always exist.
The popularity of Asian food is increasing in the United States. Because of this, the amount of Asian restaurants will grow. We expect that most of our buyers will be in the Asian food sector, since we export Asian interior. Restaurants in the USA, our target group, are mainly divided over four states. This makes it a lot easier to reach them.
Threats
China
The most considerable barriers are language and cultural differences. It can be hard to get messages across and the temperament can be very different compared to the Dutch. In Asian countries, doing business is all about relationships. Business approaches differ and communication difficulties can arise.
Other threats are longer lead times and long supply chains, which cannot be avoided because of the fact that the selling market is far away from the production area.
Thailand
The Ministry of Industry has the ability to issue regulations for factories on issues including the environment, manufacturing process, safety, and employee training and factory location. The Ministry of Industry also regulates factory expansion, with businesses obligated to apply for approval. Officers of the Ministry of Industry have broad powers of inspection and are able to order a factory to close, modify or repair machinery, or to undertake other remedial actions if it’s operations are endangering the public or its workers.
United States
The American dollar fluctuates very often. At this moment the US dollar is cheaper than the euro. In this case, Americans are likely to buy products in their own country, since that is cheaper.
There are some cultural differences between Europe and the USA when doing business, which we have to take into consideration.

Chapter 7
The conclusions of our research in regard to the decision to export our products to foreign markets are as follows. We encountered problems during our research, especially during our research into our importing countries, Thailand and China. Certain information, in particular information about governmental regulations is difficult to find and obtain, which resulted in inaccurate findings. This lack of information forced us to draw our conclusions from incomplete research.

In the last couple of weeks our desk- and field research helped us decide which export and import countries to choose and what country fits best to our company’s strategy and vision.

We chose Thailand as our import country because of the opportunities in this country. The other countries had similar opportunities, low labor cost, low factory costs and near the export country, but the other import countries had threats that were difficult to overcome. Where as Thailand has threats we could face with the right resources. The Thai Ministry of Industry has the ability to issue regulations for factories on issues including the environment, manufacturing process, safety, and employee training and factory locations. With this knowledge we can eliminate this threat. Thailand’s opportunities fit much better into our company profile and vision. The Thai government offers reductions in taxes and exemption from certain labor laws.

The reason we didn’t chose China as our import country is because of the major threats. The Chinese government has strict regulations with regards to foreign companies. It holds rights to close or even obtain certain assets of a country. Also prices of top locations, near the major ports of the country, have risen in recent years to a level that is substantially higher than we would pay in Thailand. The longer lead times and long supply chain would mean that our concept of warehousing would be pressurized. The opportunities are practically the same as in Thailand, so there is no reason to come to China for this.

We didn’t chose India because we couldn’t gather enough reliable information to base our decision on. India is a country with a lot of different cultures, languages and traditions. This would mean that we would need a different strategy for different regions. The opportunities are again the same as China and Thailand, they have low labor and factory costs.

Our exporting country is Australia, we chose for this country because of geographical reasons and cultural reasons. It’s location with regards to our importing country would mean that the transport costs and times are significantly lower as opposed to exporting to the United States. Also the location of Australia with regards to Asia means that a lot of people are already used to the Asian culture and cuisine. We target to reach a certain area in Australia because of the great dimensions. Studies have shown that in Melbourne and Sydney 40% of restaurants are Asian restaurants, for this reason our focus will be in these cities. The Australian dollar is also a more stable currency than the US dollar.

The reason we did not choose the United States is mainly because of the size of the market and distance from our exporting country. The market in the United States is huge and is almost impossible to tackle as a young, upcoming company. The distance from our factory would also mean that we could not compete with competitors that rely on a shorter delivery time. The US dollar has proven in recent years to fluctuate often, this would mean that we are not certain of a guaranteed sales price.

Conclusions (Max 2 pages).

Chapter 8

Recommendations: choices relating to buying and selling strategies, entry strategies, etc. (min. 3 pages en max. 7 pages).

Appendix 1
Country Analyses
AUSTRALIA
Prime Minister: Julia Gillard
Independence: January 1, 1901 (from the United Kingdom)
Population: 21.262.641 (2009)
Location/Size: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean/7,686,850 sq. km (2,971,081 sq. mi), about the size of the contiguous United States
Major Cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra (capital), Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide
Languages: English, native languages
Ethnic Groups: Caucasian (92%), Asian (7%), aboriginal and other (1%)
Religions: Anglican (26%), Catholic (26%), other Christian (24%), non-Christian (11%)

Macro market research

* GDP per capita: $54,868(nominal) * GDP growth: 2.7% (2010 est.) * GDP by sector: agriculture: 4%; industry: 24.8%; services: 71.2% (2010 est.) Inflation (CPI) 2.8% (Q-3-2010) Gini index 0.331 (2009) * Rank: 13th (nominal) / 17th (PPP) * Trade organizations: APEC, WTO and OECD Statistics GDP $1.836 trillion (2011 est.) * Labour force: 11.62 million (2010 est.) * Labour force by occupation: agriculture: 3.6%; industry: 21.1%; services: 75% (2009 est.) Unemployment: 4.9% (March 2011) * Gross external debt: $1.169 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) Public finances * Public debt: 22.4% of GDP (2010 est.) * Budget deficit: A$20.3 billion (2011-12) * Revenues: A$350.0 billion (2011-12) * Expenses: A$365.8 billion (2011-12) * Economic aid: donor: ODA, $2.5 billion (2005/06 Budget) * Foreign reserves: US$41.212 billion (March 2011)

* Import statistics:
Imports: $200.4 billion (19th, 2010 est.)
Import goods: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Main import partners: China (17.94%), United States (11.26%), Japan (8.36%), Thailand (5.81%), Singapore (5.54%), Germany (5.3%) (2009) FDI stock $329.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

Australia’s trade in goods and services with the EU | * The value of total trade in goods and services increased 0.9 per cent to $78.0 billion in 2010 – since 2005, total trade values have increased by an average of 2.6 per cent per annum. * In comparison, Australia’s total trade with the world rose 9.6 per cent to $552.4 billion. * The EU members accounted for 14.1 per cent of Australia’s total trade in goods and services. | Australia’s goods and services imports from the EU | * In 2010, the value of imports decreased 0.5 per cent to $51.0 billion (excluding aircraft imports from September 2008 onwards – see article on page 7). * Primary products decreased 6.2 per cent to $3.1 billion. * Manufactures fell 2.5 per cent to $34.4 billion. * Other goods rose 2.2 per cent to $922 million. * Services increased 7.1 per cent to $12.5 billion. | Major goods and services import sources | * In 2010, Australia’s major import sources from the EU were:– Germany – up 2.2 per cent to $12.0 billion – the United Kingdom – down 7.3 per cent to $10.3 billion – Italy – up 3.0 per cent to $5.9 billion – France (excluding imports of aircraft from September 2008 onwards – see page 6) – down 1.6 per cent to $4.9 billion. |

http://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/stats-pubs/Australia-trade-with-the-EU-2010.pdf

* Payment terms and behavior:

Monday, 2 May 2011.

Business payment terms reach three year highs

Proportion of payments severely delinquent jumps 20 percent
Business to business payment terms have reached three year highs and the number of firms now paying their bills in a severely delinquent manner has risen dramatically with the deterioration most pronounced among smaller firms who have historically been among the best payers.

These are the key findings from the Dun & Bradstreet Trade Payment Analysis for the March quarter of 2011. The findings are based on analysis of the more than 10 million trade payment references on the Dun & Bradstreet commercial database.

The March quarter report reveals that average payment terms have risen to 55.6 days, which is the slowest rate of payment in three years and just slightly behind the 2008 figure of 55.9 days. This makes the average payment terms for the March quarter of 2011 the second worst figure since the ten year high of 58.9 days set in 2001.

Smaller businesses have experienced one of the worst deteriorations with average payment terms for firms with 1 – 5 employees jumping more than 5 days between the December quarter of 2010 (51.5 days) and March quarter of 2011 (56.6 days).

Large firms (500+ employees) remain the slowest payers at 58.5 days in the March quarter of 2010. This was up from 55.6 days in the December quarter of 2011.

The Dun & Bradstreet data also reveals that the greatest deterioration in payment terms is occurring at the severely delinquent end of the scale. The number of firms that are now paying their bills at 90+ days overdue has jumped 20 percent while those that pay at 60+ days overdue has leapt 41 percent. Conversely, the number of prompt payments has declined by nearly 16 percent quarter-on-quarter and by 10.5 percent compared to the same time last year.
The deterioration in payment terms is a worrying sign for Australian corporate health given the role of trade credit as the primary source of short term finance for firms and the link between business payment terms and business solvency.

Dun & Bradstreet data reveals that business failures in Australia jumped nearly 25 percent in 2010 at the same time as business payment terms began to trend upwards. Similar trends were also identified in the United States of America (US). * Custom requirements: All goods imported into Australia must be cleared by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs). If you decide to import goods into Australia, then Customs can provide you with information on duties and import regulations, such as import clearance requirements, prohibited goods and import permits.
Depending on the type and value of the goods or products you import, there are costs involved. These may include clearance fees, customs duty, and GST and other taxes. * General imports information from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

Bijlage
Asian foods all the rage in Australia
November 23, 2004, as reported by just-food.com: Asian foods are big in Australia as younger consumers choose the healthier perceived meals over more traditional fastfood options. The Australian market for ethnic food is currently worth US$4.7bn, of which $3.8bn consists of consumer spending in restaurants and takeaways and $2.2bn represents spending in supermarkets and other retail outlets, according to a new report. Australian business research and forecasting firm BIS Shrapnel says its research shows that Australian taste buds now prefer Asian cuisine.
A survey of 1,250 consumers carried out for the Ethnic Foods in Australia, 2004 to 2007 study suggested that the most frequently eaten ethnic cuisine types in Australia are Chinese, followed by Italian (excluding pizza), Thai, sushi and Indian.
Around 40% of restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney are Asian restaurants, against around 13% Italian restaurants, although this partly reflects the ethnic mix of the population.
Survey data suggests that the frequency of eating out at ethnic food venues decreases with the age of the consumer, from five times a month in the 18–24 age group, to four times for the 25–34 segment and three times a month for people aged 65 plus.
However, in 2004, consumer expenditure on ethnic foods in supermarkets and specialist retail outlets is expected to be dominated by European food products which account for 58.8% of purchases in the retail environment. Asian cuisine amounts to 33.5% of total consumer expenditure on ethnic foods, followed by Mexican at 7.4% and Middle East and other types at only 0.3%.
In recent years, major supermarket chains such as Coles and Woolworths are increasingly stocking ethnic food ingredients. However, Coles is slightly ahead of the game in better catering for new ethnic food trends, BIS Shrapnel said. The exception is in the ready-to-eat segment where customers purchase in equal measure from Coles and Woolworths.
Ethnic food expenditure in retail outlets is expected to rise to $2.7bn by 2007. BIS Shrapnel predicts that Asian and Mexican food products will record the highest growth in the retail sector, with European products now considered to be mainstream and unlikely to grow much faster than overall food consumption
(http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/international/news/110104/112404/asian_craze.shtml)
Appendix United States
In the U.S.A 20,1 % of its inhabitants is between 0 and 14 years old, 66,8 % is between 15 and 64 years old and 13,2 % is 65 years or older.
There are slightly more women than men, 158.967.429 against 154.264.615.
The median age of the total population is 36,9 years. If you divide this into men and women separate, the median age of men is 35,6 years and of women 38,2 years.

The delivery of our products will be the same as in Australia.
The products have to travel from Asia to the United States. Because of the large size of our products, we will deliver by boat. From and to the harbor the transportation will go by truck.
We will advertise in the United States on the same way as we will advertise in Australia. Another way to reach our target group in the United States is by participating on restaurant fairs, such as the National Restaurant Show.