Futures Coaching

Changing China

In recent visits to Shanghai and Hong Kong I've been able to witness, first hand, the forces of change in China. First and foremost, change is a cultural phenomenon as society turns its back on the past and looks ahead. For example, even parents mistrust their own know-how; it's too rooted in yesterday's world to be so relevant for their kids. Much better, therefore, to send off children to extra classes where the most pertinent knowledge can be trained: skills fit for the future.

And, of course, the government is the great facilitator of change. Its recent 5 year plan lays out the contours of $1.25trillion of investment in seven strategic industries. The results of the planned economy are seen in December 2011's launch of the 500kms/hour super-rapid train. 

For a concise 5 minute briefing on the dynamics of Chinese growth, click here .

Leisure Asia: Some of the biggest entertainment markets

Here goes with another from the Asia 5 series. In only 5 minutes, get yourself up-to-speed with 10 ways Asians chill.

Did you know that Pachinko parlours bring in four times more revenue than global casino spending? Or that the Chinese authorities run anti-addiction programmes for online gaming, such is their threat to the national economy?

Get a step up in your understanding of Asian leisure markets here.

 

 

 

10 Insights into Indian Entrepreneurship

As part of the 'Asia 5' series of concise reports into the Asian marketplace, I have taken a look at entrepreneurship on the Sub-Continent. Huge strides have been made in just 5 short years and we can predict an explosion of start-up companies in the years ahead. Much is in place to allow this to happen, although some elements still need boosting. Find out more here

The New Retail Rulebook

This week saw the publication of a major report on the future of Britain's High Streets. It was good to note that Mary Portas's main recommendation to the government was that shops need to go 'beyond retail'. This was just one of 10 conclusions in my Retail 2020 report, written in the Spring of 2010!

Since that time, virtually all of my forecasts are in the process of coming true. So much so, my client asked me to go further and look at the implications for the sector. Called 'The New Retail Rulebook: 5 Key Lessons from the Future', this can be found here.

With so much work to be done to catch up on consumer trends, it is clearly necessary to innovate. Is there a retailer out there willing to intercept the future? 

 

Asia 5

Futures Coaching has launched a new initiative called Asia 5.

Much is being written about the Asian Century but most business people have little time to read these days. Asia 5 aims to summarise relevant business topics in just 5 minutes. The short presentations will be:

- visual
- fun
- deal with business fundamentals
- concise

So, if you need to have a background view on Asian developments, subscribe for a weekly update. Just add your email where indicated. You can unsubscribe at any time. Happy reading.