Argentina has a population of around 42 million people and its capital and largest city is Buenos Aires. The country declared independence from Spain in 1816 and established a constitution and republic in 1853. Some notable political events included the Peron era from 1943-1976 and a military dictatorship from 1976-1983. Culturally, tango dance and grilled meats are iconic, and famous literary writers include Jorge Luis Borges. Currently, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is the president and her policies have faced economic challenges including inflation and currency devaluation issues. The IT industry in Argentina has potential for growth given rising internet penetration and the government's support for development.

1. ARGENTINA
Ivy Song, Colin Johnson, KC Geronimo
MKTG 481 | W. HERNANDEZ | OCT. 9, 2014

2. ARGENTINA
● Current capital: Buenos Aires
● Current population: ~42 million people
● Currency: Argentine Peso
● Official language: Spanish
o English, Italian, German, French , Arabic,
Japanese, various indigenous languages
(Guarani, Quechuan, and more)
"Argentina Country Details." CountryWatch. http://www.countrywatch.com.mcc1.library.csulb.edu/cw_country.aspx?vcountry=7.
"Argentina Population 2014." Country Meters. October 4, 2014. http://countrymeters.info/en/Argentina.

3. HISTORY: TIMELINE
● 1580: Est. Buenos Aires
● 1816: Argentina declares independence
from Spain
● 1853: Argentina establishes a
constitution and becomes a republic
● 1943-1976: Peron era
o Juan Peron rises to power, marries
Evita who later dies of cancer
o Peron flees country after army and
navy rebel
o 1956: Constitution of 1953 restored
o Peron marries Isabel Martinez
o Peron is elected President of
Argentina, dies a year later
o Isabel (VP) becomes president
until military coup leads to her exile
"Argentina History Timeline." Country Reports. http://www.countryreports.org/country/Argentina/timeline.htm.

4. HISTORY: TIMELINE
● 1976-1983: Military Dictatorship/Dirty War
● 1982: Argentina-Britain war
o War over control of Falkland Islands
o Argentina military gov’t collapse
o Ends in repression
o Argentina surrenders
● 2001-2002: Adolfo Rodriguez Saa,
Fernando de la Rua, Eduardo Duhalde
● 2003: Nestor Kirchner becomes president
● 2007: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
becomes president
● 2010: Death of Nestor Kirchner
● 2011: Cristina wins second term
"Argentina History Timeline." Country Reports. http://www.countryreports.org/country/Argentina/timeline.htm.

5. CULTURE: DANCE AND FOOD
● Best known for the tango
● Cuisine is heavily
influenced by Europe
and is rich in protein,
popular for grilling, and
abundant in pasta
o pizza, empanadas,
provoleta, milanesas
1 2
Fig. 1. Fabian Perez, Love of Tango. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 20. Available from Paragon Fine Art,
http://www.paragonfineart.com/artists/fabian-perez.html
Fig 2. Empanadas | Fig 3. Pizza
"Culture and Arts of Argentina." CountryWatch - Country Review. http://www.countrywatch.com.mcc1.library.csulb.edu/cw_topic.aspx?type=text&vcountry=7&topic=CLART.
"Typical Food of Argentina." South America CL Guide. March 14, 2014. http://www.southamerica.cl/Argentina/Food/Guide.htm.
3

6. CULTURE: ART AND LITERATURE
● Depicted everyday life,
war, and fond memories
● Some famous literary
writers: Jorge Luis
Borges, Julio Cortazar,
Ernesto Sabato
1
2
"Culture and Arts of Argentina." CountryWatch - Country Review. http://www.countrywatch.com.mcc1.library.csulb.edu/cw_topic.aspx?type=text&vcountry=7&topic=CLART.
Fig. 1. Antonio Berni, “Unemployment.” Acrylic on canvas, 1934.. Available from Otras Obras, http://coleccion.educ.ar/coleccion/CD5/contenidos/bernichicos/galeria/pop/obrab7.html
Fig. 2. Julio Cortazar

7. CULTURE: CINEMA
Like other art forms,
Argentine film focused
on everyday life and
war/government
Fig. 1. La Historia Oficial (The Official Story) directed by Luis Puenzo
Fig. 2. El Secreto de sus Ojos (The Secret in their Eyes) directed by Juan Jose Campanella
1 2

8. CULTURE: SPORT
● Football (Futbol)
Argentina’s national sport
o FIFA Rank: #2
● Horse racing
● Tennis
"Argentina Sport and Recreation." CountryReports. http://www.countryreports.org/country/Argentina/recreation.htm.

9. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
President Cristina Fernández
de Kirchner
● First lady of Argentina from 2003-2007
● Ran and won in 2007 in place of her
husband Nestor Kirchner
● First female Argentine president to ever
be directly elected (Isabel Peron)
Murillo, María Victoria, and Steven Levitsky. 2008. Argentina: From Kirchner to Kirchner. Journal of Democracy. 19, no. 2: 16-30.

10. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
President Cristina
Fernández de Kirchner
● Faced economic issues at start of new term
● Suitcase Scandal
● Soybean-export Tax
● 29.8% approval rating
● Won second term in 2011
Moffett, Matt. The Wall Street Journal. July 18, 2008. http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB121628376004461591.
Murillo, María Victoria, and Steven Levitsky. 2008. Argentina: From Kirchner to Kirchner. Journal of Democracy. 19, no. 2: 16-30.
Romero, Simon, and Alexei Barrionuevo. "Suitcase of Cash Tangles U.S. And 2 Latin Nations in Intrigue." The New York Times. January 11, 2008.
Murillo, María Victoria, and Steven Levitsky. 2008. Argentina: From
Kirchner to Kirchner. Journal of Democracy. 19, no. 2: 16-30.

11. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
President Cristina
Fernández de Kirchner
● Frente para la Victoria
party (FpV)
● 2013 Primary Elections

12. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
Frente Renovador
● Sergio Massa
● Argentine General Election, 2015
● Primary Election success
● Buenos Aires

13. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
● Economy has great
potential:
o Natural resources
o High literacy rate
o Agricultural exports:
dairy, soybean, corn

14. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
● Historically overvalued
exchange rate leads to
devaluation of Argentine peso
● 60% difference between official
and unofficial rates
● President Kirchner’s failure to
act upon issue of inflation

15. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
● Lagging GDP growth rate
o 3% in 2013
o 0% in 2014 Q2
● No long-term program in place
o Trade-off of perceived
economic growth and long-term
fiscal management

16. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Default on debt, July, 2014
● Defaulted on U.S. bonds
● Will further worsen foreign investment
● Worsens Standard & Poor’s credit rating
● Detrimental to future funding
● Similar to 2001 default but less wide-reaching

17. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
2015
● Lack of investors’ confidence under
Kirchner’s policies
● Primary election results inspiring
investment
● Frente Renovador

18. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
IT INDUSTRY

19. SOME DEMOGRAPHICS
● Urban percent of population: 92.81%
● At least some secondary education (ages
25+): 56.3%
● Literacy rate: 97.2%
"Argentina Facts." Country Facts | Government, Economy, Demographics, Education. http://country-facts.findthebest.com/l/7/Argentina.
"HDI Indicators By Country 2014." United Nations Development Programme. https://data.undp.org/dataset/HDI-Indicators-By-Country-2014/5tuc-d2a9?
"World Development Indicators." Google Public Data Explorer. https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=it_net_user_p2&idim=country:ARG:VEN:BOL&hl=en&dl=en.

20. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Downside: currency depreciation
● Affordability of IT products and services.
● Margins
Bright side
● Falling grey market
● Rising incomes
● Growing penetration of credit cards
● Availability of VAT rebates on payment made by
debit cards.
PESO

21. INCOME PER
CAPITA
BREAKDOWN
e/f=BMI estimate/forecast. Source: National Sources/BMI

22. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
● Purchased netbooks for schools
● Encourages to develop IT industry
● A high-tech national development plan
(programmes)

23. MARKET
DRIVERS
● The 2rd largest IT market in LatAm.
● Per capita IT spending is forecast to rise from ARS 697 in 2013 to
ARS 1,577 in 2018.
● Expanding retail channels and more flexible terms.
o Carrefour and Chile’s Cencosud
● Local PC production in Tierra del Fuego State has expanded
rapidly. PC penetration is high: 40%
● Laptop sales are growing faster
● Broadband internet penetration
● Internet users: 59.9% of pop. (2013)

24. INTERNET
USERS
"HDI Indicators By Country 2014." United Nations Development Programme. https://data.undp.org/dataset/HDI-Indicators-By-Country-2014/5tuc-d2a9?
"World Development Indicators." Google Public Data Explorer. https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=it_net_user_p2&idim=country:ARG:VEN:BOL&hl=en&dl=en.
"World Development Indicators." Google Public Data Explorer.
https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=it_net_user_p2&idim=country:ARG:VEN:BOL&hl=en&dl=en.
59.9%

25. TECHNOLOGY PREVALENCE OVER TIME
(PER 100 PEOPLE)
"Argentina Facts." Country Facts | Government, Economy, Demographics, Education. http://country-facts.
"Argentina Facts." Country Facts | Government, Economy, Demographics, Education. http://country-facts.findthebest.com/l/7/Argentina.
findthebest.com/l/7/Argentina.

26. 1,777 SECURE
INTERNET SERVERS
AS OF 2013
"HDI Indicators By Country 2014." United Nations Development Programme. https://data.undp.org/dataset/HDI-Indicators-By-Country-2014/5tuc-d2a9?
"World Development Indicators." Google Public Data Explorer. https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=it_net_user_p2&idim=country:ARG:VEN:BOL&hl=en&dl=en.

27. SEGMENTS AND FORECASTS

28. PC
Target - Individuals (students)
Capital of Argentina: Buenos Aires
● Higher per capita income
● Higher education levels
● Accounts for 63% of household
appliance sales.

29. Target – SMEs IT SERVICES
● Need cloud services:
save cost, boost
efficiency, increase
flexibility
● 300,000 SMEs, of
which only 5% are
significant users of IT.