Herbal Essences - Launch in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the River Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south. The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east.

With a territory of 110,994 square kilometers, Bulgaria ranks as the third-largest country in Southeast Europe (after Romania and Greece). Several mountainous areas define the landscape, most notably the Stara Planina (Balkan) and Rodopi mountain ranges, as well as the Rila range, which includes the highest peak in the Balkan region, Musala. In contrast, the Danubian plain in the north and the Upper Thracian Plain in the south represent Bulgaria's lowest and most fertile regions. The 378-kilometer Black Sea coastline covers the entire eastern bound of the country.

Population

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook:

Population: 7,563,710 (2009)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 13.8% (male 509,544/female 484,816)

15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,426,060/female 2,508,772)

65 years and over: 17.7% (male 518,711/female 756,784)

From a population of 2,508,722 women between 15 and 64, we will be focusing on approximately 900,000, with ages ranging from 15 to 30.

According to a recent survey, out of those 900,000 women, only 80% of them actually use shampoo. That means that our targeted audience numbers around 720000 people (9, 51% of the population).

Economy

The economy of Bulgaria is an industrialized, open free market economy with a moderately advanced private sector and a number of strategic state-owned enterprises. Bulgaria is classified as an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank with a gross national income per capita of US$ 5,490 in 2008. The country is expected to join the Euro zone in 2013.

The economy declined dramatically during the 1990s with the collapse of the COMECON system and the loss of the Soviet market, to which the country had been closely tied. The standard of living fell by about 40%, and only regained pre-1989 levels by June 2004. In addition, UN sanctions against Serbia (1992-95) and Iraq took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. The first signs of recovery emerged when GDP grew 1.4% in 1994 for the first time since 1988, and 2.5% in 1995. Inflation, which surged in 1994 to 122%, fell to 32.9% in 1995. During 1996, however, the economy collapsed due to an unstable and decentralized banking system, a wave of hyperinflation throughout several countries of Eastern Europe, and slow reforms, which led to an inflation rate of 311% and the collapse of the lev. When pro-reform forces came into power in the spring 1997, an ambitious economic reform package, including introduction of a currency board regime, was agreed to with the IMF and the World Bank, and the economy began to stabilize. The 2000s saw a steady pace of growth and budget surpluses, but shaky inflation.

As of 2010 the country is suffering from the results of the world financial crisis. That comes after a period of large trade deficits and real estate investment. Future prospects are tied to the country's increasingly important integration with the European Union member states. The global economic crisis has had an impact on consumer behavior in Bulgaria, but there were no major changes yet, according to a report by marketing research agency Pragmatica. At this stage, consumers gave up on certain luxury goods and services, but planned to more or less stick to their lifestyle, the survey, carried out at the end of February, showed. Perfume, hair styling products and other cosmetic goods will attract fewer buyers. Demand for essential goods such as bread, eggs, yoghurt, shampoo, hair dye, lipstick and shaving products will see no sharp fluctuations. The survey showed that 60.9 per cent of Bulgarians were aware of the global financial crisis, with 90 per cent expecting it might take its toll on the country’s economy. The country is expected to join the Euro zone in 2013.