Malaysian Fashion Retailer Wishing to Expand Its Business into the African Market - Case Study Example

Export Final Project Introduction In the business realm, it is important for companies to conduct a proper screening before choosing the right target market to settle. It is crucial to consider various factors when conducting the analysis. These factors include global business opportunities for the products, services, and market, the economic geographical environment, which include location and purchasing power, and assessing the global social-cultural acceptance of the products and services. At this point, this essay will consider the Malaysian fashion retailer that wish to expand its business into the African market. We will have to analyze and study three chosen African countries namely Ghana, Kenya, and Angola. The core mission of this project is to analyze various factors that will make Malaysian fashion retailer to choose the most suitable African country to settle in. Ghana Business opportunities Ghana is among the few countries in Africa that are flourishing and developing gradually. Ghana also known as the Republic of Ghana is located in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The country has a 238, 535 km2. The country contains great minerals and fossil fuel wealth, gold, natural gas, and petroleum. The country dominates in terms of resources and features many resources that attract tourists from across the globe. The country is rich in resources, thus developing from level to another. Its growth rate has also increased tremendously. The minerals’ companies have created job opportunities for their citizens, thus eradicating the high rate of poverty. Social Cultural acceptance For the past years, the country has attained a rapid economic growth and tremendous human development. The country has embraced fashion in a great way. The country offers many business opportunities for any fashion retailer intending to settle there. For the past decades, Ghana culture has been a critical drive of enhancing growth in fashion retailer. A large population in Ghana is living in the middle class. This class is moving away from traditional clothing to more contemporary styles. Consumers are no longer content with the second or third-rate offering of products, rather their brand is driven by the international exposure of TV and internet (Renne 43). The most important thing with Ghana is that they have embraced both the African, traditional, and western clothing. Most people have maintained their ideal of looking good in different occasions. With this, clothing is an important aspect in this country as it defines who an individual is in the society. Most people have invested a lot in their clothing specifically on clothing that defines their culture. Economic and geographical power The economic and geographical environment of Ghana creates a strong purchasing power. As previously mentioned, the middle class have a strong buying power in fashion and many have gone in miles to look for fashion that suit their status. The social-cultural acceptance of fashion is remarkable in that, most citizens believe that fashion plays a crucial role of defining their culture. Fashion industry has grown tremendously to the extent that, most Ghana films portray how the country has embraced fashion (Clarke 11). Kenya Business opportunities Kenya is a sovereign state in the Africa. It lies on the equator of the India Ocean in the southeast. The country has a land mass of 581,309 km2 with population of over 44 million as per 2012. Economic experts argue that the country has the most advanced economy in central and east Africa thus, creating many opportunities for foreign direct investors. The fashion industry has enhanced a tremendous growth contributing to over 60% of GDP. Overall, there has been a tremendous growth in all sectors. The GDP in Kenya in 2012 was 37.23 billion US dollar. Most specifically, Kenya has started to embrace fashion. Kenya’s fashion designers are stepping out to embrace every opportunity offered to them in the industry. Most Kenyans have embraced the western culture especially the young people. Most people are finding it awesome and attractive wearing tight clothes and trousers. Economic Geographical power The government is also working hard to ensure that fashion designers have what it takes to transform their industry. At this point, media has played a crucial role of marketing fashion and design whereby different TV stations air out the modern fashion styles. Despite of the mentioned opportunities offered by the media, the fashion industry in Kenya faces two major challenges. These include cheap Chinese imports and second hand clothes. Unfortunately, the prices of the most outfits made locally are too expensive, thus many cannot afford it especially those living below poverty line. The key problem facing the industry is lack of originality. Social-cultural acceptance Most Kenyans lack exposure for fashion designers and many believe that there is no marketing done to market local designers. It is very expensive (Kapteijns and Jean 45). Angola Economic Geographical power Angola is the 23rd largest country in the World. The country has a land mass of 481,321 square miles. The country is located in Southern Africa bordered by Congo on the north, Namibia on the south, and Zambia on the eastern part. According to Atkins (22), the country is third largest economy after Nigeria and South Africa with a GDP of 7.4% in 2012 with capital income of $ 8, 000. The country’s economy has been growing rapidly and recently the World bank has classified the country as an upper-middle income economy. The country has a superb reputation of being the second largest exporter of oil. This industry has enhanced a vast growth in the economy (Swai 67). The geographical environment makes it the ideal place for direct foreign investment since the country is bordered by a number of countries as previously mentioned in this paper. Business opportunities A larger population is living in the upper-middle class. As a result, they have a strong buying power. The fashion industry has also advanced at a high rate and many have revealed their desire to invest in clothing. As compared to other African countries such as Kenya, Angola has embraced fashion and the industry has developed from level of maturity to another. Most people are investing in fashion both locally and internationally. Social-cultural acceptance The social-cultural acceptance of fashion strongly reveals that the industry may grow in the future. Most people have accepted every fashion style offered to them through the media or internet. Clothing of Angola is a combination of traditional African and western style linen. The type of clothing in Angola attracts investors as many regard both the African and western lifestyle. Recommendation From the above analysis, the best country that Malaysia should consider expanding its fashion business into is Ghana. As mentioned, the country has many business opportunities in fashion industry. Most importantly, the government has provided support for young entrepreneurs in the fashion and local fabric industry. Typically, the funds seek to assist young entrepreneurs to expand their business and become more reliant in the fashion industry. Still, the funds intend to increase competitiveness in the local and international market. Unlike Kenya where the main challenges are cheap Chinese imports and second hand clothes, the country is embracing new styles and clothing from different countries (Gott and Kristyne 45). Although Angola may be the second option for Malaysia to invest, it may not perfectly work well as compared to Ghana. This is because the fashion industry has not fully developed as compared to Ghana. However, Angola is rich in resources and this increases economic development and in turn creating a strong buying power. Now, in this case, it is important to consider a country that has fully embraced fashion and its government is working hand in hand with fashion designers. It is also crucial to assess economic growth and the marketing power. With these factors in mind, Ghana becomes the perfect choice for Malaysia to settle in. Works Cited Atkins, Carla. African Countries. S.l.: Authorhouse, 2010. Print. Clarke, Christa. Power Dressing: Mens Fashion and Prestige in Africa. Newark, N.J: Newark Museum, 2005. Print. Gott, Edith S, and Kristyne Loughran. Contemporary African Fashion. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010. Print. Kapteijns, Lidwien, and Jean Richters. Mediations of Violence in Africa: Fashioning New Futures from Contested Pasts. Leiden: Brill, 2010. Print. Renne, Elisha P. Veiling in Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013. Print. Swai, Elinami V. Beyond Womens Empowerment in Africa: Exploring Dislocation and Agency. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print. Read More