Market research : market research of selected European countries and creating market entry strategies

Playing is a basic human right and toys are among the first objects babies are touching. The toy industry faces ongoing changes and trends like any other field. Nowadays, consumers think more about the toy origin, materials used in production, toy safety for the kid, and the environment. This research is conducted based on bespoken requirements of the case company X as this Finnish company has ambitions to expand abroad and a market entry plan still needs to be conducted. The two research questions are stated and the aim is to analyse three European markets - Sweden, Germany, and Slovakia as well as the European market in general. For each country, tips and advice for possible market entry strategies are summarized. Data were gathered through collecting secondary information from various sources such as statistics, official documents, social media, and analysing current toy offering and primary information about the Slovakian market through an online survey. Analysis proved that each market is specific and the company cannot apply the same strategy everywhere. A new idea of learning by playing was developed and the company considered it as an idea with potential. The company concluded that the research was helpful and that international market entry will focus on Germany and Slovakia initially