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Colombians' love affair with strong scents continued to play a key role in promoting fast growth for air fresheners in 2012. Trade sources indicate that even relative to other Latin American consumers, Colombians seek strong scents such as fruits or cinnamon, and take great pride in keeping an aromatic household. Rising incomes through 2012 have put more money in consumers' pockets in order to allow them to act on those desires, resulting in a continuation of strong growth in 2012.

The popularity of impregnated wipes for uses such as taking care of babies' skin and for sanitising all types of surfaces continues to increase in Costa Rica. The increasing availability of these products in modern grocery outlets at relatively affordable prices is the result of the higher levels of competition in the category and the free trade agreements which Costa Rica now has with countries such as the US. Nevertheless, wipes remains an incipient category in Costa Rica and demand is...

The gum category benefited from the introduction of new product lines in 2011, with effects continuing into 2012. Such new products were either completely new product lines or new flavour varieties, new packaging or sub-brands. In all cases, such novelties were very helpful in attracting consumers and in stimulating consumer activity, which during the review period was expected to decline. In addition to new products, regular advertising support kept consumers motivated to purchase more gums.

As Switzerland steadily recovers its status as a leading global travel and tourism destination following the slight decline in inbound arrivals during the review period due to the record highs registered in the exchange value of the Swiss franc, other key factors also served to boost growth in luxury travel goods during 2012. First of all, the increase in the numbers of joint-ventures between Switzerland's luxury hotels and major luxury goods brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dunhill and Gucci...

Polishes was the smallest category in home care at the end of the review period, for three particular reasons. The category consists of inexpensive products, many consumers consider them unnecessary, and they usually last for a long time. In 2012, polishes witnessed 6% current value growth, to reach sales of GTQ35 million.

As a consequence of the ongoing economic slowdown in Costa Rica, more companies and public institutions in Costa Rica are coming under pressure to make significant budgets cuts, compromising value growth in away-from-home tissue and hygiene as the category shifts further towards value-for-money options and economy products. This also means that unit price continues to play a key role in the purchasing decision process in away-from-home tissue and hygiene. On the other hand, the category's...

Growth in retail volume sales of pasta in 2012 was down slightly on 2011. This was mainly due to increasing maturity. However, retail volume growth still equalled the CAGR for the entire review period, with a number of trends ensuring that demand for pasta remained reasonably robust overall. Most notably, the convenience of pasta remained a major attraction as longer working hours and increasingly busy lifestyles left many French consumers with less time for cooking. Similarly, the...

Ear problems are often faced by small children. Another supportive factor is the growing number of parents relying on OTC remedies available in pharmaceutical stores, rather than on traditional medicines and methods of treatment. Both factors supported sales of ear care products in 2012.

Sales of sets/kits continued to enjoy positive growth as the products are commonly purchased as gifts for various occasions including Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays and name days. Manufacturers commonly introduced sets/kits as limited offers, paying special attention to the end of the year as the Christmas season generates the highest consumer interest. Sets/kits products were widely available in both women's and men's ranges. They were often composed of the...

With more young adults joining the workforce, due to the expansion of business process outsourcing in the Philippines, demand for convenience plays an essential role in changing consumer habits. More adults continue to consume breakfast cereals in the morning for a quick meal. Consumers have less time to prepare breakfast in the morning because lifestyles are becoming fast paced.

Euromonitor International examines the impact of social networks on businesses, zooms into the emergence of social commerce (s-commerce) and identifies industries which are most likely to benefit from social media. The briefing evaluates business opportunities by industry by looking into the new type of consumer - the connected consumer - and by drawing parallels with technologies such as the Internet, which has already had a quantifiable impact on how products are retailed and consumed.

In 2011, due to the plasticiser incident, many Taiwan-based companies launched lots of marketing activities to overcome the negative image. Although the plasticiser event had passed more than one year previously, the negative impact continued in 2012, as the RTD tea category witnessed a slower development trend. Asian still RTD tea has become a mature category, since few innovations appeared amongst the leading players. However, milk tea seems to be an exception. Milk tea under still RTD tea...

Despite higher demand for toys in emerging markets, global toymakers have found difficulties in converting market growth into actual sales. Latin America may be the talking point for Mattel, and LEGO is doing well in Eastern Europe; nevertheless, emerging markets, in particular Asia Pacific, have yet to reveal their true potential for multinational toy manufacturers. This briefing investigates the common strategies of global toymakers in emerging markets, looking at success stories and failures.

Throughout 2012 home laundry appliances in Russia recorded a healthy 5% volume increase to reach 5.1 million units. Such growth of home laundry appliances was mainly influenced by a continuously recovering economic situation in line with growing disposable incomes among all consumer segments. Compared to 2011, this category recorded a five percentage point decrease in terms of volume sales growth. Companies operating in Russian home laundry appliances reported stronger growth during the first...

Oral care recorded strong current value growth in 2012, mainly fuelled by steady demand, along with growing personal hygiene practices. Meanwhile, toothpaste, the mainstay product in this category, representing a 77% share of overall value sales, registered robust current value growth of 10% in 2012, due to frequent new launches, such as Darlie Double Action Enamel Protect, as well as due to consumers trading up to more specifically functional products, such as toothpaste for sensitive teeth...

Major concerns over France's economic future continue to linger amid slowing growth and rising unemployment. Expectations are that the household segment will remain weak, with knock-on implications for food and drink spend.

- BMI View: The South African petrochemicals market is flat at a time when export volumes are relatively poor and there is lacklustre manufacturing growth, but so far the local industry has managed to sustain growth in sales due to the high cost of imports. We believe that this advantage will be eroded over 2013 as margins come under pressure from rising costs, partly due to the weakening rand. - The South African petrochemical industry is the largest in Africa, although it is relatively small by international standards. It accounts for about 5% of GDP and 25% of manufacturing sales. The industry is reshaping itself, striving to bring plant capacities closer to world production levels, exploiting niche markets, acquiring foreign assets and promoting foreign partnerships, although it will also face challenges from new capacities in the Middle East and Asia. South Africa has the second-largest refining sector in Africa behind Egypt, with total refining/liquid fuels capacity of 695,000 barrels per day (b/d). It controls a significant portion of the regional market for refined products. - In 2012, South Africa had petrochemicals capacities that included 650,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) ethylene, 950,000tpa propylene, 570,000tpa polyethylene (PE), 60,000tpa polyethylene terephthalate (PET), 200,000tpa vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)/polyvinyl chloride (PVC), 680,000tpa polypropylene (PP) and 145,000tpa methanol. - Over the last quarter, BMI has revised the following forecasts/views: - We expect the South African economy to post sluggish growth over the medium term, and forecast that real GDP will expand by 2.8% in 2013 and 3.4% in 2014. Although private consumption should hold up fairly well, investment is likely to suffer due to elevated political risk. This will, in turn, dampen growth in petrochemicals demand. - In our view, the weakness of the rand will mean import costs remain elevated, weighing on demand somewhat. Furthermore, the aforementioned slowdown in the growth of investment spending will also likely keep a lid on import growth. While this provides some measure of comfort for domestic petrochemicals producers and converters, it will also undermine demand activity in the wider economy and therefore have a knock-on effects for petrochemicals output. At the same time, rand weakness will erode margins by pushing up the cost of feedstock. - Sasol's Ethylene Purification Unit (EPU5) project - which will increase ethylene availability for its PE plants - is expected to be operational in H213, while the C3 stabilisation project will achieve 'beneficial operation' in mid- 2014. Sasol said EPU5 will raise ethylene production by around 48,000tpa by 2015 and will supply PE production facilities, thereby reducing South African plastics converters' reliance on imports. There are no further plans for significant expansion or new plants over the next five years, according to BMI research.

BMI View: Egypt's IT market is forecast to increase to EGP10.878bn in 2013, although growth will be slower than in 2012. A curtailment of government spending and a slowdown in real terms growth of private consumption are responsible for slower growth. Although the IT market opportunity is constrained by political and economic uncertainty, over BMI's five-year forecast period, Egypt will benefit from youthful demographics and improving information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. The government's policy framework for developing the ICT sector through to 2012 is also a positive for medium-term performance.

According to our new research report, “Asian Convenience Store Market Outlook 2015”, the Asian convenience store industry has seen a huge transformation over the past few years. Growing popularity of modern retail formats, changing preferences of people, desire for one stop shopping and increase in the per capita income of people have propelled the growth of the convenience store market in Asia. According to our analysis, the total Asian retail sale is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 12% during 2013-2015.

Bottled water experienced a decent performance in 2011 and 2012 despite the price rises of consumer goods. The competition between bottled water producers has been increasing - in 2011, only one domestic natural mineral water producer existed (Varska Vesi AS), whereas in 2012, two new players appeared (Keisri Kook OU and Verska Mineraalvee OU). While these two companies are currently rather marginal, there is also strong competition from foreign companies. A greater performance of bottled water...

Euromonitor International's Industrial reports provide a 360 degree view of an industry. The Industrial market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the Spinning of Textile Fibres; Weaving of Textiles market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change.

We project that Russian consumer electronics spending will grow by about 9% in US dollar terms in 2013, after Russian retailers such as MTS, M.video and Euroset reported another year of strong growth in sales of some consumer electronics devices in 2012. The Russian consumer electronics market is expected to increase at a double-digit compound annual growth rate over BMI's five-year forecast period, driven by the growing popularity of digital lifestyle products like digital TV sets, notebook PCs, digital cameras and portable audio devices. However, overall handset sales reported slower growth in 2012, despite strong demand for smartphones, and a similar pattern is expected in 2013. Meanwhile, PC sales were down year-on-year in Q412, following double-digit growth in Q1-3.

GlobalData's new report, "F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Market Share Analysis" provides in-depth information on F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.'s market position in the different medical equipment markets it operates in. The report provides F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. market share information in eight key market categories - Clinical Chemistry, Genetic Testing, Haematology, Histology And Cytology, Immuno Chemistry, Infectious Immunology, Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Delivery. The report also provides data and information on the overall competitive landscape of the markets, the company operates in. The report is supplemented with global corporate-level profile with information on the company's business segments, major products and services, competitors, locations and subsidiaries, financial deals and other key developments.

The accompanying tables present the latest economic data and five-year forecast scenario for the country's banking system. Also included is SWOT analysis of the commercial banking system as a whole.

The Supreme Court's March 30 confirmation of Uhuru Kenyatta's presidential victory means that the president can begin the task of governing the country. There will be plenty of challenges, including dealing with ongoing ethnic polarisation; tackling the threat of attacks stemming from the ongoing military commitment to Somalia; and having to run the country while fulfilling commitments arising from his trial in the International Criminal Court.