European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Big Bucks in Europe lure of the lucrative military Market stories by Bob Hoyer staff writer a Cross Europe the message i unmistakably Clear a vast and varied consumer Market beckons and Slick advertising hammers Home the theme. Food clothing housing transportation luxury items collectibles household furnishings and extravagances they re All readily available on a Market that caters to the world s largest consumer group abroad. Nourished by the purchasing Power of More than 600.000 service and family members the european military Market has prospered and grown. In recent years an expanding troop population pay increases stepped up advertising by retailers and a Strong Dollar have Given the Market new momentum. From the United kingdom to the Mediterranean spending runs into billions of dollars annually for goods and services that satisfy every imaginable need and whim. Thousands of everyday transactions feed the Market As Post Exchange retail outlets commissaries and clubs share military paychecks with local stores travel bureaus and car dealers. Al . Facilities alone annual spending approaches $2 billion. High Cost High Decibel stereo equipment Heads the list of popular Sellers at Exchange stores which ring up sales in excess of $1 billion a year. Off Post purchases Range rom luxury foreign cars and expensive household furnishings to draft Beer quaffed in bars and pubs. Over the years the Market has developed a character of its own. Attracting merchants and vendors who Deal exclusively with americans. Many set up shop next to military installations offering services such As income tax preparation Auto insurance life insurance and rental cars. Other products Are uttered by personal Contact from inventories selected with american tastes and pocketbooks in mind. China jewelry furs carpets encyclopedias works of Art furniture and real estate Are but a few of the High Cost commodities aggressively sold in the Market. Sales agents like military buyers because they Are fully employed have readily available credit and move Frequez by to new assignments. The. E s nothing quite like the military Market in Europe a Frankfurt Auto dealer said. It s a Market with no unemployment. And a Complete turnover of personnel every two to three years makes it an Ideal place to  estimated at 600,000 to 700,000, the military population in Europe including families is roughly equal to that of Milwaukee. But Milwaukee Consumers Are squeezed into 96 Square Miles while the military Market in Europe ranges across a continent and through nine nato countries. Like most consumer markets in America Milwaukee includes pensioners and the unemployed whose limited incomes hold Down spending. The Market in Europe is unencumbered by such Low income groups. Instead it relies on the spending of an average consumer who is younger than his counterpart in similar size markets at Home and who Page 14 the stars and stripes May look St an overseas assignment As in Opportunity to buy foreign goods. In Europe the foreign shopping option is Pivotal to thousands of daily decisions to buy or not to buy. Many of these decisions hinge on the strength of the Dollar. A Strong Dollar invariably increases spending on the Economy. A weak Dollar brings shoppers Back into the . Fold. With a Strong Dollar magazines and newspapers distributed in american communities Are packed with ads exhorting readers to buy. Despite these campaigns sales at american facilities in Europe during the past year have remained firm although in some instances below expectations. Sales topped $1 billion at army air Force and Navy Exchange retail stores which took in More Money than All other facilities. Second in consumer spending were army air Force and Navy commissaries with combined european sales of More than $460 million a figure that remained substantially unchanged  previous year. Spending at morale. Welfare and recreation activities exclusive of clubs exceeded $170 million. Military club patrons spent More than $160 million with Slot machines accounting for $20 million. Liquor store clients spent More than $40 million. While failing to reach its Overall sales target cafes Europe reports that sales Are running higher in some categories  lower in others. Auto repair shops experienced steady sales increases from 1982 to 1984. Stereo and to sales of $206.7 million Down $11 m Ion from 1983 appear to be heading for another decline this year. Maj. Peter m. Ryan chief of information services at cafes Europe attributed the slump to the Dollar s strength for most of the year. But Ryan said that for the most part cafes clients Are not shopping on the Economy for products available at the Exchange. Because of voltage differences and format  our customers Aren t buying electronics to video and stereo equipment on the  Ryan said. What we seem to be witnessing is an offset of High value purchases from Dollar priced Home electronics to such High value items As new cars and  in 1984, military buyers in Europe spent an estimated $300 million Tor 30.000 new cars the majority of them european and japanese models. With the Dollar reaching Peak Levels in february and March foreign Auto sales continued to set records through april. While detailed figures on Economy spending Are not available indications Are it runs into billions of dollars annually. In Germany All . Military spending government and individual is estimated at $5 billion a year according to Exchange rate data. Included Aro expenditures for military construction local payrolls government contracts for goods and services and -. Consumer spending. Money paid to european landlords is another hefty expenditure. Housing officials estimate that families living. Ase spend As much As $250 million a year on Ren. Ions More Are spent on utilities. Crystal it one of the favorite buy for american d Best by hould you buy an american or Forsty car is it better to Purchase fresh produce i the commissary or the Corner grocery Are clothes less expensive downtown t at the military Exchange shopping Center to get the most for your Money in the european Market place you must make the right choices. Easy As that sounds judgments Are clouded by Market conditions. Currency Exchange rates and conflicting information about the value and Cost of products tend to confuse the Issue. In such an atmosphere buyers who enjoy Shoppe at Home often behave As innocents abroad. Some swear off Economy shopping entirely. In do so they forfeit chances to save Money because Ihbe