International Marketing Practices

External Analysis An external a lysi encompasses political and legal climate, economic status, demographic characteristics, technological status, and relevant natural resources, such as those that affect distribution, storage, or transportation [224-226]. The goal is to outline trends and changes in the environment that present opportunities and threats [220]. To operate efficiently, companies must understand factors that affect consumer demand overseas, like present or anticipated regulation and safety standards, to plan for duty rates, restrictions, standards, and certification [224]. A firm should analyze the economic status and demographic attributes of the target country, as it can indicate potential support for foreign entrants, including gross domestic product (GDP), forecasted economic growth, inflation rates, per capita income, unemployment, education, and others [222, 224]. Understanding prevailing cultural norms within the target market is vital to customer receptivity and conducting international business, including language barriers, purchasing preferences, attitudes, interests, and social trends [222, 224].

External Analysis: Japan

Clean Wood Act [227]; Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15); import requirements, established relationship with the U.S., variable tariff rates GDP: US$5 trillion (2018); forecasted economic growth: 0.8% (2018); inflation rate: -0.1% (2018) [228] Valuable attributes for Japanese consumers: space- saving, cost, quality; consumers value colleague opinions highly; wabi-sabi design (appreciation for natural flaws)

Political and legal:

Economic:

Social and cultural:

Demographic: Population: 126.5 million (2018) – rapidly declining; gross national income per capita: $41,340 (2018); exports (% of GDP): 18% (2018); imports (% GDP): 17% (2018) [228] Technological: Global leader in technology, easy access to technology, 85% of population with internet access [228]

Island – major export cities include Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka, and Fukuoka; dense city populations – require small retail stores as points of purchase and frequent wholesale product deliveries; forest area: 249.6 thousand km 2 [228] Japan relies heavily on imports to meet its internal demand. It imported $790 million of U.S. forest products in 2018 and was the sixth and fourth export market for U.S. hardwoods and softwoods, respectively [8].

Natural and physical:

Market potential:

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