Warm and pleasant welcoming at Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in Chicago has been settled to discuss business development possibilities in USA and look for new markets.
Fitsout CEO Jonas Stragis and Director for Business Development Arūnė Džiugelienė were invited to Lithuania’s Consulate General in Chicago for a visit, where they met with Consul General Mantvydas Bekešius to talk about how Lithuanian businesses are not only considering the US coastal regions, but are also discovering the Midwest, with its atmosphere that is highly conductive to manufacture, trade, and expansion to the global market.
Lithuania’s Consul General in Chicago assists Lithuanian businesses establish contacts and find partners (clients, distributors, dealers) in the Midwest, provides information about the US market, the different sectors of the economy, and the potential routes to enter the market, as well as offers consultations regarding participation at international shows or fairs. Equally important is intelligence on networking and maintaining connections with American companies, presenting business opportunities in Lithuania to US companies and business associations. We help Chicago-based American or Lithuanian companies that are interested in the investment climate or already have specific plans to invest in Lithuania and establish contacts in the homeland, and we introduce such companies to our business development agencies.
Mr Bekešius accentuates that the Lithuanian community in Chicago is the largest of its kind both on the US and, quite probably, the global scale; as a result, many of our fellow nationals work at international companies or run their own businesses in Chicago/Illinois: ‘The vast network of Lithuanian contacts obviously creates bigger opportunities for Lithuanian companies to find the right partners or advisers, and take a closer at some of the success stories of Lithuanian business in the US. It is wonderful that the Lithuanian entrepreneurs of Chicago are so eager to share their advice, knowledge of the business landscape, and lessons learned with new Lithuanian businesses who are just making their way into the US market. Some Lithuanian sectors (such as the food industry) opt for Chicago as their target of US expansion owing to the level of Lithuanian expertise, contacts, and knowledge that this city has to offer.’
The Consul General said he was happy with the ambitions of new Lithuanian companies to expand into the US market. The US is the world’s largest consumer market, where business partners, clients, and consumers are solvent yet demanding and quality-oriented. Lithuanian companies understand that, an increasing number of them doing their homework before trying to penetrate the highly competitive US business environment. Then there are companies who, having conducted an analysis of the US and Midwest market, decide that it is too soon for them to make a move to the over side of the Atlantic, because it obviously demands a lot of investment, reliable partners, and time. But eventually, it all pays off, because expanding business to the US guarantees steady income and a growth of sales just as it gives you a competitive edge over local or exclusively European companies. Finally, your presence on the US market will be seen as a positive thing by other global business partners, not to mention the chance to discover and absorb the high technologies and business culture knowledge that it offers.
