PART 1 ANALYSIS

THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Last year’s international trade in merchandise exceeded US$10.5 trillion and world trade in services is estimated at around US$2.4 trillion. Whilst most of us cannot visualise such huge amounts, it does serve to give some indication of the scale of international trade today.
This global marketplace consists of a population of 6.6 billion people which is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050 according to the latest projections prepared by the United Nations.
Global wealth is increasing and this is reflected in higher demand. Increasing affluence and commercial dynamism has seen nations across Asia, Central and
Eastern Europe emerge as high growth economies. Increasing affluence and demand simply means that consumers will actively seek choice, with the result that globally competition is intensifying as companies compete to win the battle for disposable income.
Population growth and increased affluence together have helped create a
‘global youth culture’ – teenagers now account for 30 per cent of the population globally. In many countries, more than half the population is pre-adult, creating one of the world’s biggest single markets, the youth market. Everywhere adolescents project worldwide cultural icons, Nike, Coke, Gap and Sony Walkman, as well as Sega, Nintendo and the Sony Playstation. When ‘virtual reality’ is commonplace, the one-world youth culture market will exceed all others as a premier global market segment. Parochial, local and ethnic growth products may face difficult times.
Older consumers are also increasingly non-national in their identity, if not in their personal identity then from the perspective of the consumable fabric of their lives. They drive international cars, take foreign holidays, watch international programmes on television, use international