The European Environment Different Than in the United States

1. How is European environment different than in the United States? What factors are responsible for fragmentation of European home appliance market?

Comparing the economic environment of the European and the United States, it concludes in many research reports the United States has a more dynamic economy. Basically, the United States has performed better in the past or will continue to do so in future. However, the United States is funded by a dangerous high mountain of foreign debt. In turn, the United States external indebtedness, is driven by the US house-price bubble, which enable US consumers to spend more than they earn. Ironically, it is the European together with China and Japan, lends the money to the US which keeps their households spending and their economy growing. The truth of the mater is that Europe merely does less badly than the United States is some crucial respects. Although, some Eurozone countries could perform far better, Germany, France and Italy have different problems, in comparison to the United States. If anyone claims that the United States provides a model which the European should copy should consider the basic economic facts.

The European market is very different from the US market . The US

market is homogeneous and the European market is still striving towards

achieving homogeneity . Unlike the US , Europe has a lot of countries and

thus many languages . Another factor is that until recently , each country

in Europe had its own currency . This is very different from the United

States where there is only one currency , the dollar that has always been

used . Since the US environment is homogeneous , it is easier to supply

products or appliances . On the contrary , the heterogeneous nature of the

European environment means that products or appliances have to come in

various types and varieties so as to meet the different preferences of

the people in different countries . Culture plays a big role in the

fragmentation of the European home appliance market . The multicultural

aspect of Europe brings about diversity in the preferences and needs of

the consumers . The culture dictates what type of appliance they will

want . For instance people from Britain have a culture of eating frozen

foods thus they prefer freezers . On the other hand there is a large

market for big refrigerators in northern Europe because they have the

culture of shopping once a week . Europeans from the Southern part prefer

small refrigerators because they shop daily . So it is evident that

culture plays a crucial role in determining the fragmentation of the

European home appliance market . So the manager of a company like

Electrolux , an appliance maker , should consider such factors before

plunging into the act of selling the