gE Blog Series: The Baltic Countries Part 3 - Market Outlook

The Baltic countries are known as some of the most ambitious and educated countries in the world, and they also consist of some of the most liberal policies for trade and investment. Their drive for success has been a critical factor in their success after the financial crisis plagued the . The Baltic countries were a before the crisis, with all of their intelligence and FDI flowing in. Possessing all of these incredible characteristics and policies would allow one to assume that they would be a good match against a global financial crisis, but that person would be wrong.

, and suffered some of the worst GDP losses in Europe, yet today they are the countries whose , while the rest of Europe is far behind. This growth has been followed by gains in exporting, importing, and foreign direct investment. Having all of the qualities has allowed them to be rather appealing for investors. According to the “”, the relationship with and the Commonwealth of Independent States has been one of the great appeals to investment and business in the Baltic countries.

The most recent success in the Baltic countries has . As employment and wages increase, the ability to consume more has boosted retail sales in 2013. Companies like H&M, IKEA, Dune, Aldo and Next are all opening stores in at least one of the Baltic States. The small population of the Baltic countries has been unattractive to retailers in the past, but with rising retail sales, companies are starting to flock to the region. Economic boosts like this build off each other, and if this trend continues, the Baltic countries will continue this positive economic trend.