La conjoncture économique actuelle et les aléas politiques ont gravement affecté les entreprises exportatrices lettones. Afin de prospérer dans sur ce nouveau marché, les entreprises ont besoin d’acquérir de nouvelles régions. Les experts considèrent que l’Est est le plus grand potentiel pour les exports de la Lettonie.
An event “Morning Coffee with SONORA” was held on Tuesday morning, bringing together experts of the field with Latvian entrepreneurs – exporters. Participants in a free atmosphere discussed latest data and situation in the Latvian exports, as well as talked about markets with the greatest development potential for entrepreneurs. Experts emphasized the Central Asian region as the most successful market to develop because Latvia is like a “bridge” between European Union, determined by its geographical position and ability of Latvians to communicate in two different mentalities. These reasons make Latvia and our entrepreneurs highly valued in these countries because our way of thinking and business understanding have helped us to gain trust which is the main asset to successful cooperation with Easterners, especially in Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
There is a big potential for development in the Central Asian countries but it is not so easy to enter these markets, as they are characterized by certain rules and peculiarities. It is important to have information about the local culture, its differences and “unwritten rules”. If all of this is taken care of; then there is a big potential for development. Also Chairman of the Board of SONORA Development Mr. Andris Kulbergs emphasized the significance of finding new options: “Sometimes it is not worth to struggle and try to get into Western European market which is overcrowded with high competition, but look to the East where there is much potential exactly for our Latvian companies as here we are considered as Westerners. Key of the export success in the Eastern markets is the ability to professionally package the product, accordingly to the local mentality and business ethics. It is worth trusting professionals who are able to help to understand these differences”. Experts emphasized that also logistics and “rules” differ in these markets: “Logistics have a different system in comparison to Europe. Our long-standing operations in these regions have allowed us to understand it completely. It gives us advantages to help the client arrange first orders faster and in more correct manner without making elementary mistakes for which you have to pay a huge price afterwards,” emphasized the Director of Business Development of SONORA Mr. Normunds Volbets. “Sometimes it gets very difficult to master a new market because you also have to understand that you will never be an “insider” here. It means everything will have to be perfect, including logistics that is our strong side. It is important for us to share our experience with Latvian entrepreneurs because only joining forces we can promote Latvian business development,” added SONORA Sales Manager Artūrs Žaka.
During the meeting, Latvian entrepreneurs could hear several success stories where SONORA and SONORA Development have helped to find business solutions – for example, sell products that in Latvian and European markets were already planned for utilization. It caused a great interest in the audience and urged them to begin the cooperation and look for new directions in the export development. Clients admitted that meeting was of great value because it helped to gain important information that helped to see different directions of development that was not noticed before.
Next « Morning Coffee with SONORA » will take place on the 27 September. Theme of the event – benefits of Latvian entrepreneurs using the fast delivery of Rail freights from China to Europe. You can find more information about the event in the website of www.sonora.lv or send an e-mail to info@sonora.lv.
