« November 2007 | Main | May 2008 »
I was talking with some friends the other day about odd colors that Icelandic horses sometimes acquire. The Icelander in the group and I were both familiar with this one particular horse in the town of Hvammstangi.
Come to think of it, this might be the most famous horse in Iceland. See for yourself:
Up on Hestakaup I put up a logo of a pig. It's pretty, well, piggish, isn't it?
For those who are not familiar with this pink pig, it is the logo of a chain of supermarkets in Iceland that are part of an even larger enterprise that owns businesses in Europe and, for all I know, in the States, too.
What does this have to do with me and my websites? Unfortunately, absolutely nothing.
So far I have paid all the costs of this project out of my own pocket. As the popularity of Hestakaup grew I added more video stories and, of course, the costs grew, too.
Now I need some help in footing the expenses of filming and traveling in Iceland if the project is going to continue to grow.
I responded when the Icelandic Trade Council solicited proposals for promoting the Icelandic horse abroad but Hestakaup.com was rejected. It's odd how Icelanders love to sell horses to foreigners but don't want to collaborate with them!
I now turn to the private sector. Being all too familiar with Icelandic culture and its business practices I am looking for a company outside of the horse sector that would like to express its interest in the people who ride and buy the Icelandic horse. As good a target market as any.
If anyone has any ideas or contacts, please oh please feel free to contribute them either by comment or email to me.
Thanks!
Iceland Most Expensive Country in the World
Iceland is by far the most expensive country in the world, according to a recent study by the World Bank on pricing and quality of life (based on data from 2005), comparing economic systems in 146 countries around the globe.
The price of 1,000 products and services was compiled in each country and then compared between countries. The US, which ranked number 20, was used as a standard price index for comparison with 100 points, 24 Stundir reports.
Iceland had 154 points, with 54 percent higher prices than the US. Iceland was considerably higher than the next country below, Denmark, which had 142 points. The Nordic countries were all in the top ten.
Minister of Commerce Björgvin G. Sigurdsson said the World Bank’s study coincides with a number of similar studies. “The lack of competition and environment of oligopoly in this country is the primary cause of high pricing.”
My problem with the above quote is that I could not find the World Bank report mentioned in this story even though I was helped in my search by an international economist. I would have liked to know how the World Bank itself interprets the results. I assume that the quote is from the Minister of Commerce.
If so, Minister of Commerce Björgvin G. Sigurdsson uttered the unspeakable, that the high prices in Iceland are caused by the Klíka.
