Bulgarian furniture in Belgium

Essay by KrisBGA+, July 2004

download word file, 10 pages 3.0

There are not so many Bulgarian products that might easily penetrate the EU Market even with a good marketing strategy. One of those, which I think might be successful is the Bulgarian furniture, as Bulgaria has traditions in this branch of the industry, and there are at least 10 factories which have been privatized and are already exporting their production to overseas markets like USA, Canada and the Middle East. On the other hand, because of different factors, which I will briefly mention below, it is considered that if a product can be successfully launched in Belgium, it has a good chance of being successful in other EU countries. For these two reasons I have chosen to present a brief overview of the Belgium market for office furniture as a potential market for Bulgarian firms willing to specialize in the production of office furniture for exports to the European Union.

COUNTRY OVERVIEW Belgium is one of the smallest countries in the European Union (EU) but its small size does not reflect its relative importance in commercial or economic terms. With only 10 million inhabitants, Belgium accounts for some 3.2% of international trade, and it is the sixth largest importer in the EU. Situated between Germany and France, Belgium is located in one of the world's most industrialized and most competitive regions. Belgium's imports of goods and services is approximately 74% and exports - 77% of its GDP, the highest figures in the EU apart from Luxembourg, with which it has a customs and economic union. Belgium is specialized in the areas of medical technology, advanced industrial materials, biotechnology, food processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace. Furthermore, Belgium is one of the countries that is benefitting the most from the European integration process and the establishment of the single European market. Brussels...