Thriving in a competitive global environment

RUNNING HEAD: Thriving in a global competitive environment 0
Thriving in a competitive global environment
ZALANDO

Thriving in a global competitive environment 1
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Plan to enhance global competitiveness......................................................................................................2
Research..................................................................................................................................................3
The market opportunity assessment of the Turkey..............................................................................3
The market opportunity assessment of the UAE..................................................................................5
The market opportunity assessment of the Egypt................................................................................7
Analysis...................................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................11

Thriving in a global competitive environment 2
Introduction
The global competitiveness are the products or services provided by the company to serve
international customers. It enables companies to sell products and services internationally which
increases profits and compresses the playing field in business. This report defines the market
opportunity assessment of Zalando in the Middle Eastern Region. Zalando is the internet retailer
of branded clothing and footwear for men, women and kids. It has largest collection of clothing,
accessories and shoes. The values of the company relies in the latest technology with the
exceptional customer service. The company is engaged in expanding exclusive brands offered by
its internet shop. The company want to expand in the potential markets like Turkey, Egypt and
UAE. The assessment is conducted to evaluate which of the 3 markets, the company should enter
first. In order to assess market opportunities, the investment environment, effects of the
government interventionist policies, market potential, impact of regional integration initiatives.
The report also comprises identified related issues of the markets along with the opportunities
and threats.
Plan to enhance global competitiveness
Zalando is growing on the constant basis which is evidenced by its recent acquisition in 2010 of
MyBrands, an online designer outlet. It helped company to broaden its target consumer group
along with the premium products range. Zalando is determinedly established in the European
market. The company has decided to compete in the global markets by expanding its products
range to the Middle Eastern Region. Zalando has shortlisted potential markets as Turkey, Egypt
and UAE for the expansion. Being a marketing consultant, the company has approached to assess
market opportunities in the Middle Eastern Region. The strength of the Zalando lies in its
structural advantage which is the company has lower operational costs than a brick and mortar
store (Vandevelde, 2017). The offerings of the company in the wide options make it unique in
the market. The company allows 24 hour access and 7 days a week for the customers. The
company faces weaknesses in the form of shipping times. There is no immediate fulfilment with
the ecommerce. It is considered that heavy, huge and unpreserved goods are costly to ship. The
costs are always an annoyance. Due to the safety and the fraud concerns some people are hesitant
to use credit cards for the online transactions. Permitting customers to pay using PayPal can dull
this concern (Aitken and Harrison, 1999). The show rooming has dull the difficulty of shoppers

Thriving in a global competitive environment 3
incompetence of customer to trace merchandise and looking at merchandise in stores. The
shoppers can look at the merchandises in stores and then uses mobile phones to place an order
with the Zalando frequently while still in the store. A plan is suggested to enhance global
competitiveness of the Zalando.
Research
Zalando is a medium sized firm and is interested in expanding cautiously and step by step. In
order to operate in the Middle Eastern Region, most prospective market is identified out of the
Turkey, Egypt and UAE. Zalando has identified Turkey to enter first and has undertook
assessment of the market opportunities.
The market opportunity assessment of the Turkey
Turkey is a dynamic economy with the constant and fastest growth. The country supports
international investors by offering accessibility to the domestic market. Turkey is the second
largest beneficiary of FDI. The country has approved a series of legislative restructurings in
order to simplify foreign investment (Wahba, 2015). The attempts of the company to join
European Union has helped to establish European regulations and trade standards (Blechinger,
et. al. 2016). The local government of the Turkey is working hard to attract FDI into textiles,
technology, electronics, shipbuilding and services like health, public transport and education.
Turkey has a developing young middle class population with the increased purchasing power and
direction towards consumption. The market of the Turkey is having over 70 million consumers.
The Turkish government has played huge role in creativities to make country a striking
destination for the security and business operations. The new commercial code of the company
has embraced significant reforms to form transparent, equal and modern environment for the
business. There are twenty regions in the Turkey which converse numerous advantages like
exemptions from custom duties, VAT and social charges (Farla, De Crombrugghe and
Verspagen, 2016).
The policies in Turkey are quite legalist in nature. If it is talked about the regulatory efficiency,
the government has reduced the time required to register a company. It is seen that the political
uncertainty and security concerns cast a shadow over the business conduct in Turkey. The
government has few price controls and sets prices for the products provided by the state-owned
enterprises. Trade is important to the economy of Turkey. The shared value of imports and