1.   Company research showed Los Angeles to be a ripe market, particularly in the upscale, shopping-oriented Sherman Oaks Fashion Square.

2.   Competitive local exchange carriers saw them as slow to react and overpriced, their markets ripe for exploitation.

3.   Europe is a ripe market for American Web hosting firms because bandwidth is cheaper here, he said.

4.   High margins and quality distinctions are the classic recipe for a market ripe for building brand names, even on commodity products.

5.   Houston is a ripe market for Spanish-language media because most Hispanics here are foreign born, said Nestor Rodriguez, a sociologist at the University of Houston.

6.   League officials saw Ozark, a fast-growing suburb south of Springfield, as a ripe market.

7.   Participants are a ripe market for books that predict player performance.

8.   Struggling Asian financial institutions are selling off operations to US companies, which can use their financial muscle to enter new markets ripe for profits as economies recover.

9.   Studies were conducted, indicating a ripe market, so small entrances into retail were made through mall kiosks.