Duque Papetiers Gros

Task 1

Overview of the wholesale stationers market in Germany

Based on research, German stationery market has been affected by the increased reliance on digital technology. It is expected to witness slow growth over the next few years. In 2016, reports showed that the industry was experiencing stability as it had a total turnover that exceeded €14.8 billion every year. In this case, it meant that every person in the country was spending more than €182 every year (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016). People in German are said to be among the top spender when it comes to stationery. Although the country is ranked as one of the stable stationery markets in the world, it is expected to record a weaker performance. One of the reasons for the slow market is that most of the people are looking for alternative ways of investment (Euromonitor, 2018). For instance, people who prefer luxury writing materials are opting instruments such as gold fountain pens. Moreover, the customer base for stationery seems to be decreasing. Therefore, there is a small number of consumers compared to a huge share of sales. The market is mostly made up of older and successful Germans. Most of the individuals are past the retirement age.

Trends

First, German stationery brands are recognized in the world as they have a positive image. They are well known compared to those from the private sector. Apart from being recognized they also have a large market share. Nevertheless, one of the major challenges in the industry is that it has various products (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016). The products have diverse developments as well as challenges. For instance, documents folders are expected to record negative growth. The products are affected by the increasing reliance on digital technology.

Some of the products that are affected by the digital development include luxury writing materials (Euromonitor, 2018). Moreover, the market is affected by lack of a huge number of consumers. For instance, a small number of consumers are accountable for a huge share of sales. In this case, the big number of clients consist of old people who are past retirement age. The individuals collect luxury writing instruments. Also, they regularly purchase luxury stationery such as personal organizers, diaries as well as notebooks among other products. At times, an endorsement from influential individuals can assist in attracting the new client to the luxury stationery sector. The sale of stationery relies on external factors especially client confidence.

Luxury stationery is a fragmented sector and there is only a small number of organizations in the sector. Some of the brands that deal with the luxury stationery include the Montblanc and Richemont brand (Euromonitor, 2018).  Although some of the products are negatively affected by diverse factors, other products continue to experience growth. Some of the products that are not affected by technology development include office supplies as well as writing instruments. Due to the changing market, organizations in the industry are required to adapt to the new technology (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016). It will enable the organizations to remain competitive. Companies should come up with new strategies that match the new market demands and enhance the quality of the products constantly. They also need to improve their services. Currently, the EU stationery market is considered to record growth. It is expected to continue growing in the coming years. Nevertheless, organizations in the industry record different growth rates. Some companies have positive development while others experience growth. Various innovations are coming up in the market and they are expected to change the market. However, initially, things were different as the consumption rate seemed to be affected by diverse factors.

Task 2

Annual spending on writing/drawing materials per capita

In 2007, stationery consumption in the EU was €17.8 billion. However, in 2008, the consumption dropped to €13.5 billion. Initially, the stationery market was considered mature and saturated (CBI MARKET SURVEY, 2009). Currently, the EU stationery market is considered to record growth. It is expected to continue growing in the coming years. Nevertheless, organizations in the industry record different growth rates. Some companies have positive development while others experience growth (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016). Various innovations are coming up in the market and they are expected to change the market. Germans are considered as the leading consumers in the stationery industry. EU countries have different annual expenditure for stationeries. In this case, we will look at spending trend for seven European countries.

France is one of the leading countries that invest in writing and drawing materials in 2015. It invested €28.3 billion while German invested €35.2. Italy spent €18.6 billion per capita in 2015 (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016). Nevertheless, some of the countries did not spend much on writing and drawing materials. For instance, Croatia and Spain spent €7.9 and €8.9 respectively. Poland spent €8.5 while the Czech Republic spent €7.6.

Task 3

Product	2015 Sales (€)	2016 Sales (€)	2017 Sales (€)
Printer cartridges	25000	26000	22000
General Office supplies	25000	27000	23000
Low-cost printers	15000	18000	18000
Office furniture	25000	25000	27000
Shredders	25000	29000	29000
Paper-based supplies	25000	27000	27000
Writing/drawing materials	25000	30000	32000
Total Sales (€)	165000	182000	178000

 

The table shows that the organization registered different sales from 2015-2017. In 2015, the company registered €165000 which was the least sale. In 2016, the company’s sale was €182,000 which was the highest. However, the sales dropped in 2017 to €178,000 (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016).  The total sales have been affected by diverse factors. For instance, in 2015 low-cost printers’ sales was $15000 which was lower than the other years. The sales of low-cost printers were the same in 2016 and 2017 ($18,000).  The 2017 sales for printer cartridges were the lowest ($22000) and the highest sales were recorded in 2016 ($26000). Based on the assessment, it is evident that most of the highest sales were recorded in 2016. For instance, the sales for general office supplies ($27,000) and printer cartridges ($26,000). Also, in 2016, the sales were stable, and this contributed to the overall sales of the products. However, 2017 recorded high sales of some of the individual products, there was no stability. For example, the company recorded the highest sales in Writing/drawing materials ($32000).

Mixed pie chart

Scatter diagram

In a positive correlation, when the value of a single variable increases the value of the second variable also rises (Boslaugh, 2012).  However, in a negative correlation, the variables have different outcomes. When one raises the other one decreases. In this case, the outcomes show that the variable has a positive correlation. The forecasts for the sales in 2018 and 2019 is €219,000 and €223000.

Task 4

Should I expand my business to Belgium & Germany?
Pros	Score/10	Cons	Score/10
Research shows that German is one of the leading stationery markets in the world (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016).  The country has positive trends. Therefore, it is a suitable place for investment.		One major disadvantage of investing in German is a language barrier (Kirchner et al., 2018).  Currently, the organization is operating in France, hence, when operating in the German market, they need to understand the local language.
Another advantage of investing in German is that it is a liberal market. Therefore, there is fair competition as prices are influenced by supply and demand.		Another factor that may affect the company’s operations in German is high competition (Kirchner et al., 2018).  The country is popular in the global stationery market which makes it prone to competition.
Another advantage of investing in the country is that in 2015 it was among the leading investors in the stationery market (The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2016).  In this case, it means that there is a ready market for stationeries in the country.		Moreover, the organization needs to consider the country’s taxation policy  (Kirchner et al., 2018).  Taxation laws can affect a company’s operations.
Also, the company should expand its operations in German as it has positive economic performance. It is expected that this would have a great impact on the organization’s operations.		Other laws that the organization needs to consider are the labor laws. For instance, the employees’ rights (Kirchner et al., 2018). Some of the law that they need to consider concern discrimination and equal opportunity.
German is a great place for investment (Kirchner et al., 2018).  It is located in an ideal location. Organizations operating in the country can access the entire European market.		Another factor that may affect the company’s operations in Germany is the decreasing number of consumers (Kirchner et al., 2018). Currently, there is a high number of older people compared to that of the younger generation.
Moreover, German is open to global trade (Kirchner et al., 2018).		The country’s culture is another factor that the organization needs to consider (Kirchner et al., 2018).
Organizations in German are protected by its legal system (Kirchner et al., 2018). It is a liberal market and businesses are required to carry out fair competition.
Total Pros		Total Cons
Average Pros		Average Cons

 

Based on research, German is an ideal place for the company to invest. The pros are greater than the disadvantages.

1. The company needs to consider the ISO 216:2007 standards. Moreover, it needs to focus on the ISO/CD 21993 (International Organization for Standardization, 2017). The two standards deal with issues that pertain the stationery industry.

Task 5

1. Annual Repayment = DR/100 +DR/100[(1 + R/100) ^Y-1]

200, 0000/100 + 200, 0000/100[(1 + 10/100)⁴⁰-1]

200+ 200,000/100[(1.1³⁰) – 1

= €289.5

1. Monthly cost= €30,000

Task 6

Mean= €240

The standard deviation is 31.35 and the mean is 5.6

The significance level in alpha is 5% or less.  Hence, in this case, the belief is true.

Task 7

Duque has been having issues with questionnaire response. The responses have been disappointing as only five percent of participants bother to return a completed questionnaire. In this case, the company needs to focus on a way of improving the response rate (Stoop, 2010). The company should come up with strategies to increase the number of people that return completed questionnaires. One of the strategies is ensuring that the participants are informed about the questionnaires. They will be offered a chance to choose on whether they want to participate in the process. Next, it is vital to make sure that the questions are clear.

Mainly, it is important to perform a pilot study. It will offer the company a chance to understand the participants’ reactions toward the questions. They need to use the participants’ response to improve the questionnaires (Stoop, 2010). Also, it is important to set a reasonable time frame for answering the questions. For instance, they can give the participants enough time to answer the questions. By doing this, the will ensure that they answer all the questions. Moreover, the company needs to make sure that the questions meet its internal policy (Dillman, 2013).  They should ensure that questions are about the company’s operations. Also, they need to protect the participants’ privacy. For instance, the information provided by the client should not be used by a third party. Moreover, they should not include the participant’s information on the questionnaire. Instead, they need to use codes when referring to the clients.

Additionally, they need to remind the participants about the questionnaires. At times the participants may forget to return the questionnaires. Hence, it is important to send them a reminder (Dillman, 2013). They need to send personal emails to the participants reminding them about the questionnaire. They can as well use incentives to motivate the clients to participate in the study. For instance, they can send them a gift pack to every participant before they participate in the study. The organization should explain to the participants the importance of the study. The questions should not be too long as the participants may get bored answering them.

They need to focus on significant questions, they also need to clear and precise. Good questions can easily elicit a clear and honest response from the participant (Dillman, 2013). All the respondents need to understand what the question is all about (Stoop, 2010). In this case, they need to ensure that there is no room for alternate interpretation. One can achieve this by ensuring that the use simple language. Also, it is important to avoid utilizing jargon and ensure that the questions are specific. It is also important to avoid questions that wording could influence the respondent’s answers.

Also, it is important for the organization to use both open and closed questions. In closed questions, the respondents are offered a list of answers to choose from which makes it easy for them (Dillman, 2013). The list ought to be inclusive and the details need to match the company’s objective (Stoop, 2010). Open questions permit the respondents to give their answers. It is easy for the participants to answer open questions. They are able to give more details. Nevertheless, there are various disadvantages linked to open questions. First, they can be time-consuming. Also, the participants may give wrong and irrelevant answers. It is important for the company to make sure that the instructions are clear.   The instructions should include the time that they should return the questionnaires. It also needs

Mean

Customer service =70/20

Mean= 3.5

Qual_P&S= 60/20

Mean =3

Sales Staff= 69/20

Mean = 3.45

PRICE_VALUE= 39/20

Mean=1.95

Standard deviation

CUST_SERVICE= 1.0646

QUAL_P&S=0.366

SALES_STAFF=1.1019

PRICE_VALUE=0.548

Task 8

One of the significant findings is information concerning the factors that affect the German stationery market. Although German is considered a leader in the stationery industry, currently, it has not been stable. One of the reasons for the slow market is that most of the people are looking for alternative ways of investment. For instance, people who prefer luxury writing materials are opting instruments such as gold fountain pens. Moreover, the customer base for stationery seems to be decreasing. Therefore, there is a small number of consumers compared to a huge share of sales. It is divided into different sectors, whereby, some have been performing better compared to others. Also, when a company is investing in another country it needs to consider various factor. In this case, the organization should research the advantages and disadvantages of the foreign market. For instance, the labor and tax laws. It is also important to look at the economic trend and political environment. Another important finding is the most effective questionnaire. Duque has problems with the response rates of its questionnaires. Hence, it needs to come up with strategies that will help in increasing the response rates. For instance, one of the strategy is ensuring that the participants are informed about the questionnaires. They will be offered a chance to choose on whether they want to participate in the process. Next, it is vital to make sure that the questions are clear. Mainly, it is important to perform a pilot study. It will offer the company a chance to understand the participants’ reactions toward the questions. They need to use the participants’ response to improve the questionnaires. Also, it is important to set a reasonable time frame of answering the questions.

The research paper is divided into different sections. The first section focuses on the overall German stationery market and its trend. The second section compares the German market with other European countries. The third section focuses on the Duque and how it has been performing between 2015 and 2017. Moreover, the remaining sections also focus on Duque and factors that it needs to consider when investing in a foreign country.

 

References

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Boslaugh, S. (2012). Statistics in a Nutshell. Beijing, etc, OReilly.

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CBI MARKET SURVEY. (2009). The Stationery, Office and School Supplies Market in the

2018. Retrieved April 21m 2018.

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Dillman, D. A. (2013). Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method — 2007 update

with new internet, visual, and mixed-mode guide. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

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Euromonitor. (2018). Luxury Writing Instruments and Stationery in Germany. Retrieved

April 21, 2018, from http://www.euromonitor.com/luxury-writing-instruments-and-stationery-in-germany/report.

International Organization for Standardization. (2017). Standards catalogue. Retrieved April

21, 2018, from https://www.iso.org/ics/85.080.10/x/

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Kirchner, J., Kremp, P. R., & Magotsch, M. (2018). Key Aspects of German Employment and

Labour Law.

Stoop, I. A. L. (2010). Improving survey response: lessons learned from the European Social

Survey. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K., Wiley. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=496048.

The Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (2016). Developments,

Trends and Potentials In The Stationery Market – Malaysia And Germany (2nd ed., Vol. 22). the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.