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L. Background Information on Brazil a. Economic Information Several online websites address the current economic conditions in Brazil. The Brasilia. Com website reports that “the economy of Brazil is the world’s seventh larges (Brasilia. Com 1). The website further asserts that Brazier’s economy continues to grow rapidly, that Brazil manufactures submarines and aircrafts, and that Brazil invests in ethanol production and deep water oil research. The interdependency. Com webs lists the following cities where most economic activity takes place: ROI De Jeanine, SAA
Paulo, Below Horizons, and Unmans. This website also lists the following industries as contributing to the Brazilian economy: agriculture, sugarcane and coffee, cocoa, roan GE Juice, soybeans, tobacco, forest products, and tropical fruits and nuts, as well as livestock production, steel, automobiles, petrochemicals, computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. However, the celebrations. Com website offers that the high inflation rate in Brazil causes poverty. In addition, the celebrations. Mom website informs that there now exists a huge gap between the rich and the poor in Brazil, who h would lessen when poor people have access to education and the opportunity to develop reading skills. In a recent article dated October 1, 2013, the www. Goalposts. Com website reports that Brazil now experiences disappointing economic growth. Despite Preside NT Dilemma Rouses efforts to revive the economy with stimulus packages and tax cuts, the GAP grew only 0. 6 percent and both stock market and currency rates plummeted.
To her economic problems in Brazil include: “high salary costs, falling productivity, and terra able 2 logistical bottlenecks that Rousseau has not yet addressed” ( www. Goalposts. Mom 1). In addition, Humblers Barbara, president of BEANIE, a lobby group for the electronics industry, predicts that unless infrastructure resolves its problems, industry will iconic nee to suffer ( 1). The website also informs that household consumption grew Just 0. 1 percent due to inflation which adversely affected the purchasing power of consumers. In order to combat the problem of high inflation Brazil has increased inter rest rates.
Brazier’s business leaders have also encouraged Rousted reform tax and labor r costs “so factories can regain their competitiveness at home and abroad” ( 2). Although Brazil now experiences these problems, the article states that Brazier’s economy still flourishes in some areas. These areas include: low unemployment, strong foreign investment levels, Rouses approval rate of 80 Pearce and a strong harvest and increased agricultural activity. In addition, Guide Manatee (Brazier’s Finance Minister) asserts that the investment growth trend will continue.
The article concludes with David Reese’ (an economist for Capital Economics in London) suggestion that Brazil should rebalanced the economy towards investment in order to create growth rates of five percent, which investors want to see ( ). A recent article in The Economist , titled “The Price is Wrong,” and dated September 28, 2013 reports that “Brazil offers appalling value for money’ ( whom. Economist. Com 1). The article states that a pizza in Brazil costs $30 and also that a cheap, windowless hotel room in ROI costs $250/night.
The article also reports that 3 payroll taxes are 58% of salary, that a Broadminded car costs 45% less in Mexico than in Brazil, that a smartened costs 50% more than in the US, and that large domestic appliances and cars cost 50% more than in other Mendocino countries. The article presents the following reasons why these problems exist in Brazil: poor infrastructure, high crime rates that necessitate an army of 650,000 security guards, expensive office rents, expensive credit, decreased household consumption, and decreased exports of manufacturing goods.
The article explains that the Brazilian people go on foreign shopping sprees in order to make more economical purchases a ND to avoid the “Custom Brazil” which “refers to the increased operational costs associated with doing business in Brazil, making Brazilian goods and services more expensive compared to other countries” ( wry. Economist Another recent article in , titled “Stuck in the Mud,” and dated June 8, 2013 describes the current economic growth of Brazil as feeble and limited.
The article informs that Brazil now experiences a trade deficit, a shrinking primary fiscal surplus, and growing government debt mainly due to domestic rigidities The article also discusses Dilemma Rouses efforts to “stimulate growth by hiking public c spending and the minimum wage, and forcing starters banks to lend more” ( wry. Economist. Com 2). Again, despite these efforts, consumer confidence continues to suffer, which greatly impairs economic growth.
The government (the Central Bank) has responded by increasing base interest rates to 8% in addition to eliminating a tax foreign purchases of bonds in order to increase currency inflows and to “slow the weakening of the real” ( 2). The government has also attempted to 4 solve these problems by encouraging investment and discouraging consumption. However, these efforts proved unsuccessful for the steamrollered oil giant Petrol’s, for the sugarcane ethanol industry, and for the electricity and banking industries.
Other attempts to correct the dismal situation include: investments in the oil industry, the overpayment’s attempts to attract bidders to its road and rail concessions, and stimulating sales to increase business confidence. However, the challenging and diverse political landscape in Brazil, as well as Rouses inability to be diplomatic, WI II most likely cause further corrective actions to be unsuccessful. Http:// Brasilia. Com/economy/ http://www. interdependency. Com/Brazil/economy. HTML http://www. celebrations. Com/bristlecone. HTML http://www. Goalposts. Com/dispatch/news/thunderstorms/131001 lb architectonic grog http:,’/’. NP. N. R;. N’. Economist. Com/news/spectators/21 586678whyb raziloffersappallingval http://www. Economist. Com/news/Americas/21579048feeblegrowthhasforcedchange c b. Demographics As of July 2012, Brazil had a population of 199,321 ,413 people, with the majority being in the 2554 age range. The majority of their population (87%) resides in urban areas. The largest city in Brazil is SAA Paulo with about 20 million residents.
ROI De Jeanine, where the 2016 Summer Olympics will be held, is the second largest city with about 12 million residents. In terms of diversity, over half of Brazier’s residents are Caucasian and the second 5 largest group is mulatto (mixed), making up almost 40% of the total population. The official and most widely spoken language is Portuguese. The largest religious group I s Roman Catholic, with almost thirds of the demographic. A vast majority of Brazilian are literate with 89% of the population fifteen years old and over being able EOT read and write. Http://www. Undermined. Com/Brazil/demographics_profile. HTML ) c. Cultural information Sports are very popular and important in Brazil. Most citizens regularly follow and participate in various sport activities. The most popular sport in Brazil is football (American soccer). It is said that football “… Is in the blood of the people of Brazil”. Brazier’s tropical climate is excellent for playing and practicing football. Brazil is also the only country to have participated in and qualified for all of the Football World Cups to date.
The Brazilian soccer team is known all over the world for their brilliant players. Everyone in Brazil, from small villages to large cities, is known to go crazy for their country during the World Cup. Brazilian are known for the pride they feel for their country during sporting events. Brazil holds the most wins for the World Cup with five wins, known to Brazilian as the “Pentane”. The most dollied Brazilian soccer players AR Cafe, Aid, Ronald, and Reinhold. Sports such as sailing and golf are considered to be for the high class and are not accessible to the general public.
Brazilian also enjoy footloose, basketball, tennis s, auto racing, and volleyball ( http://www. Ambassadors. Com/Brazil/sports/ Women’s football has gathered an increasing share of interest in Brazil. The country’s string of successes in volleyball since the midnight century have made it Brazier’s second most 6 popular sport. Municipal governments often provide volleyball courts and other recreational equipment for the country’s beaches, including ROI De Jeaneries famous Copernican and Panama. Brazier’s beaches are gathering places for young people, the more athletic of which play football and various racket games.
Brazilian championship as of beach football and volleyball draw thousands of spectators and television. Brazil has competed in every Olympic Games since 1920, except the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam. It has been successful in many events, including trafficked, swimming, yachting, and such team sports as football, volleyball, and basketball. In 2009 the International Olympic Committee selected ROI De Jeanine as the site of the 2016 Summer Games. It was the first city in South America to be chosen to host the Olympics. Http://www. Britannica. Com/Upchucked/topic/78101 ‘Brazil/2511 5/Experimentations II.
Background on Underarm (Mary Kate) Under Armor, a relatively new company was established in 1998 by a former University of Maryland football player, Kevin Plank, who was sick of repeatedly changing his sweat soaked Theists during football camp and took it upon himself to invent a new type of This that would keep athletes cool, dry and light by repelling moisture. Under Armor has come a long way from young Kevin Plank selling Theists long the east coast out of his grandma’s basement-??on November 18, 2005 Under Armor went public and became the first US based initial public offering to double on the first day in five years.
Over the years the company began to expand its product line to providing clothing for different weather temperaments, creating equipment for vary souse 7 sports fields, as well as developing lines for women and children. They have expanded d from the clothing collegiate sports team and now sponsor numerous professional sop arts teams and world class athletes which include Olympian, national champions, etc. They eve expanded in a global scale to Europe, China, Canada, Japan, parts of Latin America and are known as a global leader in performance footwear, apparel, and accessories.
Today, Under Armor has revenues approaching $2 billion dollars and continues to maintain its mission to “make all athletes better through passion, design , and the relentless pursuit for innovation by creating exchanging products that provide an advantage for athletes. ” Under Armor takes its corporate responsibility very seriously. As outlined on its companies website, CIA operates under the core values with which the company was established: innovation, inspiration, reliability, and integrity.
They only seek to do business with third parties that operate under these values as well. Under Armor’s products are made by thirdly manufacturers; consequently, they hold these third parties to the high standards in which they hold themselves. CIA will not do business with any companies that use any form of forced labor, child labor, or harassment/ abuse on their employees. The AU suppliers and subcontractors must provide their employ with a safe and healthy working environment and comply with all laws and regulation
AU must provide employees with at least legally mandated minimum wage and been fits. The employees of AU and its suppliers or subcontractors are not forced to work more than 48 hours with 12 hours overtime and countries that have no limit on hours work De must provide one day off out of every seven days of work. AU complies with all 8 environmental regulations, rules, and standards as well as making all subcontractors and contractors comply with all local, state, federal, national, and international laws, rules, and regulations in the company of manufacture.
The suppliers and subcontract ours are regularly monitored by CIA internal employees and third party contractors. As well as taking corporate responsibility seriously, CIA prides itself on its community involvement. They created CIA Giveback which partners with programs the at are dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer, environmental sustainability, supporting military and law enforcement, and empowering youth athletes. From a marketing perspective, Under Armor target athletes of all ages as well as fans as they have entered into the collegiate and professional sports apparel mark et.
Internationally, this is an asset to the company as well as having lines of clothing for ages and genders. CIA has unique temperature specific clothing that can cater to the specific temperaments as they expand on a global level. However, it appears as if Under Armor is heavily rooted in its football background in America which leaves or to question the company’s success on an international level as it tries to break free of its American football image in countries where the sport is nearly nonexistent.
The vice president of sports marketing at AU tackles this questions by saying “As a brand, we aka sure we secure the right assets in different regions of the world to make sure w tell our performance story. In the U. S. , we do it through American football, in the U. K. Through Atonement Hotshot. In Chile, we’ve Just signed football side Cool Cool, and in Japan we’ve done it through basketball. We know the brand translates when we do it correctly: the storytelling is the same across the regions, we Just have to make sure w 9 have the right people telling it” http://www. Probabilistically. Com/Global/losses/2013/07/10/Nonrepresentational ship/Underarm. Asps ). CIA really strives on a marketing level because the company delivers. The brand has even been seen on athletes that are sponsored by other companies, which proves the brand’s performance is superior. CIA strives to become a global success as it competes with other sports apparel brands such as NIKKEI and AIDS. Aqua’s share of the U. S. Athletic shoe market rose to almost 2% from 1. 3% a year earlier. It’s apparel share grew to 13. 65% of U.
S. Market from 11. 07%. CIA strives to compete on a global level and is trying to focus heavily on soccer as it is the dominant global sport. Http://www. Marketplace. Mom/story/underarmoursetsglobalambitions20130419 ) Corporate responsibility: http://investor. Underarm. Com/company/corruptibility’s. CFML a. Under Armor Strengths b. “” Weaknesses c. “” Opportunities Maria Tropical SOOT analysis d “” . Threats Market Segmentation for Under Armor Under Armor used two segmentation strategies in order to gain power in the market.
In the beginning stages they practiced the niche marketing strategy which means that they “avoided the large market and focused on leading in the small mark et” 10 (studded. Com 3). For example, Under Armor concentrated on promoting apparel hat repels perspiration rather than compete with Nikkei, Rebook, Aids, and Converse which all promoted athletic footwear as their main product. Because of Under Armor or’s success in specialized sportswear in niche markets the company “exploded” and their sportswear became a fashion statement and not only a garment only worn by athlete s.
Under Armor also practices the Flank Attack strategy as a “market challenger. ” The Flank Attack strategy requires that the “purpose of marketing is to discover needs and satisfy them and to serve the market’s uncovered needs” (studded. Com 3) . For example, CEO Kevin Flank introduced crisscrossing footwear because he discovered that customers wanted this product. This strategy also involves listening to the customers’ feedback rather than practicing Nine’s philosophy of telling the customer “what’s best for them. Under Armor continues to utilize the Flank Attack strategy because it creates exponential growth for the company as well as distinguishing Undo re Armor from its competitors, such as Nikkei. An online article written by Andrew Williams and dated November 2010 addresses demographic segmentation and cryptographic segmentation as two racketing strategies that can be applied to Under Armor in Brazil. In reference to demographic segmentation, Williams offers that this strategy has changed from only offering Under Armor products to male athletes.
CIA now has expanded product line s towards the needs and wants of female customers, male customers, and youth. In addition, the growth in the middle class has created more fashion conscious consumers in Brazil. Therefore, Under Armor should target women and girls in the Brazilian 11 market by featuring Under Armor garments worn by famous actresses and celebrities n order to stimulate sales in this segment, as well as creating excitement and brand loyalty. The company should also focus on sex appeal and more fashionable aspects athletic wear in order to appeal to these segments.
This strategy could be even more successful by developing specific clothing lines that cater to women and girls by offer ins more colorful women’s wear, yoga shorts, spandex, form fitted tees, tanks, etc. To embrace their vibrant culture. Obviously, Under Armor will generate more sales if the eye direct their marketing efforts to more market segments which would include women, en, and youth rather than Just males between the ages of 17 and 23. In reference to cryptographic segmentation, Williams reports that “the main focus of [Under Armor] is in the consumer’s lifestyles” ( www. Demoded. Com 3) and that the company should direct its efforts to consumers with active lifestyles. In other words, because most Brazilian desire to be fit and healthy, Under Armor Brazil woo old be an excellent opportunity for the company to expand its consumer base. Http://www. studded. Com/essays/UnderArmourMarketingStrategy927131. HTML http://www. studded. Com/essays/UnderArmourMarketing180200. HTML? Topic Ill. Advertising Strategy Many challenges will be met when trying to implement a brand into a new foreign market.
The key to success is for Under Armor to be aware of these challenges and be prepared with solutions for them. Brazil is a different market than the United States a Under Armor must make changes to meet these differences. There will need to be 12 solutions for language barriers, as natives of Brazil speak mainly Portuguese. Cultural differences will need to be acknowledged, such as the city of SAA Paulo’s ban on outdoor advertising, and adjustments will need to be made. Under Armor should of cuss advertising strategies on sponsoring teams, athletes, celebrity endorsement, social media, fitness clubs, and customer service.
In order to succeed in Brazil, Under Armor will first need to handle the language and cultural barrier. An international manager with experience in Brazil should be hi red to help the company make a smooth transition. Charlie Amaranth would be an ideal candidate for this position, as he previously helped build Disdain’s infrastructure in La tin America. Http://articles. Baltimorean. Com/201306051b us nines/bsbzunderarmourinvestorday 0130605_1 _armourceokevinplanksportsapparelcompanykipfulks ).
Amaranth’s prior experience with a similar company would provide helpful insight for AU and woo old be a smart addition to the company. He could help to set up two flagship stores in the largest cities; one in SAA Paulo and one in ROI De Jeanine. Another way for AU to Bette understand Brazilian culture would be to open manufacturing and distribution bases in Brazil. Olga Martinez Garcia, Diagnosed marketing and innovation director for Latin America, explains that “Brassiness’ is not Just important to marketing messages, but business strategy… Is essential to absorb Brazilian staff into your outfit,” ( http://www. Marketing’s. Co. UK/probabilistically/3033886. Article ). Opening such centers would further incorporate the Brazilian culture into the brand and would additionally help avoid the country’s astonishing import tax. 13 Brazil is a perfect market opportunity for Under Armor to enter into with the upcoming FIFE World Cup games and Olympics. For example, AU competitor Nikkei implemented a similar entry during the 2010 World Cup games and experienced rewarding results. Nine’s CEO Mark Parker reported that sales grew 39% before the
World Cup began. ” Forequarter soccer sales within the emerging markets category increased 60 percent, thanks largely to the company’s World Cup marketing efforts” ( http://www. Obviousness. Com/Portland/stories/2010/07/05/story. HTML? Page-??all ). Nikkei has focused on creating relationships with the Brazilian national team, which has put the m as an advantage to competitors like Aids, according to obviousness. Com. Under Armor should adopt similar efforts by sponsoring both amateur and professional football teams to gain the popularity of the Brazilian, as Nikkei has done.
Team Jerseys old be created that the general public could purchase that exemplifies the excellence quality CIA products offer because famous athletes influence what brands Brazilian buy and wear. Rafael Voiceless, a native of Formulate, Brazil, confirmed this ideal by saying in an interview about Under Armor’s potential in Brazil by saying, ” If Brazilian saw a lot of influential and famous people wearing it, people would interest Ted in buying those clothes. Everybody wants to have Aids pants because girls in movie s wear it, or Nikkei sneakers because tennis players are wearing it too,”.