Page 83 - myanmar

There is little doubt that we will see in Myanmar – as with fast-growth markets around the world – consumers using their increasing disposable income
to improve their lives, to provide convenience and to create opportunities for the next generation. There will be the same trend away from subsistence farming towards manufacturing and services that all of Myanmar’s neighbors have experienced.
Brands have a clear role to play in providing consumers with both practical help and an important if less tangible sense of comfort and satisfaction. Long before people are in the market for cars and high fashion, aspiration fuels demand for little luxuries such as toothpaste and liquid soap, and for life-changing items such as books and technology.
But there are significant differences between this and other fast-growing markets, and strategies that have worked elsewhere are unlikely to be directly applicable here.
The biggest difference in the development trajectory of Myanmar and its neighbors is likely to be the pace
at which change occurs. Unlike China and India, and even Vietnam to a large extent, this is a market where consumers are beginning their growth story with not just a mobile phone in hand, but with smartphones and Facebook profiles.
When China first began opening up
to international businesses, some of the most tech-savvy of early adopters had pagers. The internet barely existed anywhere, and, even when consumers there did get online, there were – and remain – restrictions on what they
can access. Facebook is still barred in China. This simultaneously held back progress and inspired it; with no access
to some international services, Chinese entrepreneurs set about developing their own technology. Today in China, tech brands are some of the biggest in the country – and feature in the BrandZTM Top 10 Most Valuable brands; indeed, Chinese e-commerce brand Alibaba is among the most valuable brands in the world.
In Myanmar, at the same time as consumer choice is beginning to open up, huge numbers of people suddenly have access to smartphones. With that comes
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access to information, entertainment and a window on global trends that people with low levels of income have never had in other parts of the world. In most markets, the natural progression was from land line to simple mobile and then smartphone. Internet access often began on a large PC in an internet café. Not here.
For brands, this means rethinking the way that consumers become aware of new options, and research and discuss the products they hear about.
For businesses operating in Myanmar, they too have technology on their side; mobile connectivity promises to help them overcome not just the lack of computers and patchy power supply but also concerns about transparency and their ability to track stock.
Growth in per Asian markets
■ China
■ Indonesia ■ Vietnam ■ India
US $8,000 capitaGDPinother US$7,000
Myanmar is surrounded by large, fast-growth markets, and brands with experience in China, India, Vietnam or Indonesia will be looking to draw comparisons – and perhaps to apply some of their learning here.
US $6,000 US $5,000 US $4,000 US $3,000 US $2,000 US$1,000
2003
2005 2006
2007 2008
2009
2010 2011
2012 2013 2014
Source: World Bank
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