A potentially successful market for the IKEA group: Argentina

Many International Economics textbooks report that companies investing abroad without any preliminary market analysis are a lot more than expected. In fact, all business organizations with an interest in internationalization should first take into consideration a range of variables, including geographical as well as cultural distance. It goes without saying that the shorter the distance, the lower the perceived risk. Because cultural traditions are reflected, among other things, in consumption models and consequently account for different types of promotion and distribution, knowing the culture of the country whose economy one is meant to enter will avoid unpleasant surprises at a later date. The goal of this essay is to gain a better understanding of the needs of young Argentines by using a sample of 1,000 individuals, aged between 18 and 30 years, who belonged to different social classes, fell into different consumer behavior groups, and predominantly lived in the Buenos Aires district – this age class amounts to 35% of the total population in Argentina, while inhabitants of the Buenos Aires district amount to 65% of the same total population. Accordingly, a survey was carried out and organized into different stages, with qualitative interviews and questions relating to their evaluation of products of foreign companies that are not present in the Argentine market, IKEA being one of these