Abstract: During the transition period foreign brands took over the leading positions on Slovenian FMCG market. Foreign companies had larger advertising budgets and superior marketing strategies. However, on the food and beverage markets, Slovenian companies have succeeded to maintain their larger market shares which can not be explained solely with market factors. In this study we are focusing on the role of cultural factors in building competitive positions of the products with the emphasis on the concept of national character. First we summarise basic cultural elements and dimensions as well as relations between culture and consumption. Also, the model of national character is discussed and on its basis the attempt of definition of Slovene national character is introduced. In the paper we are discussing different possible connections of Slovene national character and differences in Slovene FMCG market development and structure. We are focusing on Slovene non-alcohol beverage market and challenges for the multinational company Coca Cola on this market.

Introduction
Slovene consumer had started to develop in socialist economic environment, which was relatively open to influences from the more developed markets. Consumers in Slovenia had experienced limited supply, bad services, high inflation rate, and unpredictable buying conditions, but were also exposed to different elements of marketing. In many consumer products categories they had a choice between several brands, predominantly of domestic origin. There were also some foreign brands available in stores, produced under licence by Slovene or Yugoslav companies. For most brands there had been at least some advertising, which was almost exclusively domestically produced; foreign TV commercials, such as Coca-Cola ads, were rare exceptions. However, due to across border shopping and foreign TV viewing, Slovene consumers had gained some experiences with international brands.

Market situation has changed dramatically after Slovenia gained independence, and opened up to the process of globalisation in early 90’s. Domestic brands met with strong foreign competitors, which were heavily advertised, and often superior in quality and/or price. Slovene consumers were also attracted to international brands, due to their novelty. Slovene brands and industries responded to that trend with better marketing and “buy domestic” approach, which received additional support by Slovene media. Through time consumers have gained experiences, which enable them to judge products on more objective, but also more sophisticated attributes than “country/area of origin”.

Answering the question on present role of “foreign-domestic” dimension in different product categories is primary objective of this paper. Further on, we will try to comment on beverage market in Slovenia, which is marked by decreasing consumption of cola drinks, and increased attention for new drinks, such as ice tea.

Full paper: Damjan, Janez: 'Qualitative analysis of changing Slovenian consumer with special consideration to beverage consumption', Working paper, 10 pages. Presented at the Macromarketing Conference, Lovran, Croatia,  June 2000.