Globalization in Ireland

The country our group has chosen is Ireland. We feel a Discovery Zone would be very profitable in a country like this because of many different factors. Whether it's median age, climate, or religion we intend to show that these characteristics make Ireland a suitable market for a Discovery Zone franchise. We will go through each of these factors in depth in the future; for now here is a summary of the positive aspects of Ireland as an international market for Discovery Zone.

Ireland has an average median age of 33.4 years, with women averaging out at 34.2 years and men at 32.6 years.(CIA World Fact Book) Because of this low number most of Ireland's population is young and of child bearing age. Therefore we feel this is an excellent advantage for DZ. Young parents are the majority in this country, making them an easy market to advertise to. Discovery Zone's can be a place for young parents to bring their children for a learning experience and also to have fun. Not only will young parents be a target market, but their young children will be as well. Marketing to the child and to the adult, who will inevitably be the one making the consumer purchases, will enforce our market strategies and will increase our profits.

Another factor we feel justifies our choice of Ireland comes from one of our group members study abroad experience there. Jackie studied in Dublin, Ireland last semester and experienced first hand how young teens and children accept American Culture. "Young people in Ireland are obsessed with American culture. The shows they watch are 85% American, the magazines they read have American stars on the covers, and the music they listen to is nearly all American artists." she said. This signifies to our group that Ireland will be welcoming to an American store like DZ. American children are accustomed to places like DZ because it is part of our culture. Because of Jackie's experiences we feel Ireland will be accepting of an American Discovery Zone, and the children will craze for another piece of American culture.

Another advantage of Ireland's culture is its family oriented background. Discovery Zone could be a place where the entire family could go to enjoy a day out. The games and play areas are ideal for young children and young parents I'm sure won't mind getting a break while the kids run around. This gives Discovery Zone another good reason to choose Ireland as its international market.

Along with the other characteristics described, climate plays a major part in choosing Ireland as a suitable candidate for opening a Discovery Zone Franchise. The climate in Ireland is distinguished as temperate maritime. This yields current mild winters and cool summers while most of the weather is changeable (Atlapedia Online). These sudden variances make Ireland a good choice for a franchise. Because Discovery Zone is an inside environment, different weather conditions are a non-factor. Children will always have a place to play.

Economic factors also contributed in choosing Ireland as a market for "DZ". Ireland's gross domestic product's (GDP) real growth rate is 5.1% (CIA - World FactBook). This is higher than then United States and the World's GDP real growth rate which is 4.4% and 4.9% respectively. Also, Ireland average per capita income is $31,900. This is well and above the World's average of $8,800. With all the growth and wealth in Ireland, our company believes taking Discovery Zone overseas is a tremendous investment.

American culture can be seen almost everywhere in the major cities in Ireland. McDonald's, Nike, and ESPN are some of the numerous American companies that consider Ireland a viable market. McDonalds alone operated 72 restaurants in the country. The fact that many American companies are operating in Ireland already, we find the country to be a very opportunistic market.

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