International Trade Research Opportunities

Question: Discuss about the International Trade Research Opportunities. Answer: Introduction: The objective of research is identify the scope of opportunities for the initiation of business of Go Bike Inc. in the countries of Belgium and Switzerland. Research seeks to analyze the business environment of both the countries to consider the expansion. Competitor environment of Belgium: The market of motorcycle in Belgium in the year 2012 witnessed much newly registered motorcycle. The turnover of motorcycles is about 90% in the province of Buenos Aires and city of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Cordoba. Many new comers has witnessed increase in the sales of the motorcycles and the newcomers are witnessing the potential in the motorcycle market of Belgium. The country has a market of premium segment and has the scope of choice for budget friendly bikes. The market decline in Belgium is slowing down and it is expected that the growth of motorcycles in Belgium will increase (Rezaei et al., 2013). Top ten motorcycles brand in Belgium: The Belgian motorcycle market has Chinese brands as the newcomers in the motorcycle market. The strongest newcomer of motorcycles in the Belgian market is Renault Twizzy and the accession of bikes such as Bramo, Zero motorcycles, Govecs and the Spanish Jotagas is remarkable (Latiers, 2015). In the decreasing market share, some of the motorcycles have to give up their market shares. Piaggio continued to be the market leader despite the decline of the market registration. The brand KTM is entering in the top ten rank for the first time in Belgium. Suzuki and Dukati fell out of top 10 ranking. The motorcycle company in Belgium consist of classes of on and off classes of road motorcycles which include moped and scooters. The market dynamics of the motorcycles in Belgium depends upon the combination of various factors such as economic, demographic and environmental regulations. The registration of motor bikes propelled Belgium to seventh place and has an overall growth rate of 5.9% since 2015. The growth is further enhanced by the increase in the demand of the bigger bikes. The market of motorcycles is expanding in the new segments such as the Rivale. The gross domestic product of the Belgium is lower as compared to Switzerland and due to which the consumers producers would not be able to spend on the luxurious bikes and hence manufacturing the bikes with reasonable price would be advantageous to gain the market share. Competitors environment of Switzerland: The Switzerland offers a growing market for high quality motorcycles and there is the market for high quality and innovative motorcycles (Wolf et al., 2012). There are some regulations imposed by the government to include 30% of the local parts in the motorcycle, which would affect the sales of the motorcycle of the companies operating in the country. Motorcycles in Switzerland areas sold through two channels that is through the retail stores and hypermarket and through the dealers (Plus, 2016). There are three major brands of motorcycles in the country occupying about 50% of the market share. Honda ranks first in this regard. The market of motorcycle in Switzerland consist of various models. The sales of the motorcycle fell in the first few months of this year. However, the Swiss motorcycle manufacturer, Motosuisse recorded an increase in the new registration of motorcycles (Williamson et al., 2013). The concept of environmental consciousness is a contributing factor in Switzerland as the bikes which are electrical in nature has the economic alternative to the consumers and it do does not consume any fossils or fuels. This will not lead to the greenhouse gas emission and this affects the scope of the motorcycles industry in Switzerland. The market for motorcycles in Switzerland is booming and the demand for motorbikes is running particularly high for motorbikes. Go Bike Inc would face tough competition from feline motorcycles whose bikes are the synthesis of modern designs and extensively use manufacturing process and modern materials. The bikes are highly sophisticated which combines the new technology. The motorcycles of the Go Bike Inc would face competition in terms of technology and the designs. The Go Bike needs to modify its designs and adopt the sophisticated technology which entering the motorcycle market of Switzerland. If the Go bike Inc establishes the business in particular region, then the presence of the domestic competitors automatically cancels the advantage in terms of the factor cost, cost of production, home market preference. The Go Bike needs to adopt to the different international strategy to compete against the other companies available in the Switzerland. The gross domestic product in Switzerland is more than the Belgium, and therefore it would be advantageous to produce the bikes, which involves sophisticated technologies, as the competitors of motorcycle are well equipped with the features, which are desired by the customers. The Switzerland is following the trend of electric motorbikes and the market of motorcycle has huge potential. There is a high concentration of suppliers of motorcycles in Switzerland and they produce more or less standardized products. Recommendation: The Go Bike Inc should make the expansion in Belgium as the newcomers of the motorcycles business are witnessing increasing sales in the coming years. The market is growing at 59% and it gives the Go bike an opportunity to ride the growth in densely competitive market. There is also an opportunity to diversify the product offered by the company as the scoters and moppets are very popular in Belgium. In Switzerland, the company has the opportunity to sell its high technologically superior products. Therefore, it is recommended that the company should enter both Switzerland and Belgium market. Conclusion: After the analysis of two countries, it is concluded that both the countries would provide Go Bike Inc. with the opportunities for the exploration of business. The Switzerland is more technologically advanced and has a liberal government system as compared to Belgium. On the other hand, Belgium offers more opportunity to the company for growth and expansion. If the company enters in business in both the countries then it will give the company to sell from technologically superior products to moppets. Reference: Camarinha-Matos, L. M., Afsarmanesh, H. (Eds.). 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