China's great retail race
Far Eastern Economic Review 7/21/2008
by Bruno Lannes, Jerry Li and Stephane Charveriat
South Korea's Lotte conglomerate became the last in a series of multinational retailers to seek their fortune in China. In June, Lotte bought 100% of CTA Makro, which operates six supermarkets in Beijing and two in Tainjin, under the Chinese brand name Wankelong. Even before Lotte's move, China was the only retail market on earth where the top four global players-Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco and Japan's Seven and I Holding Company-compete in a significant way. Yet scratch beneath the expansionist euphoria and you find that China really is a tough place to stay in business. Despite 11.4% year-on-year GDP growth in 2007 and dynamic growth in consumer spending, retailers across China are suffering due to overcapacity and inefficient operations.
Gold medal brands
Forbes China 7/1/2008
by Bruno Lannes and John Blasberg
What does it take for a brand to become a gold-medal winner? Of the 90 winning brands in 2001, only 13 stayed on top through 2007. Bain & Company research found that two factors can increase the odds of success.
F-E-R whom the bells toll
Businessworld 6/13/2008
by Chris Zook and Ashish Singh
The number-one priority for CEOs is to find ways to innovate around the fundamentals of their strategy--or face the risk of going out of business.
Is your company caught in an IT alignment trap?
Financial Times (FT.com) 6/12/2008
by Rudy Puryear, Steve Berez, and Sachin Shah
Simply aligning IT goals with business goals doesn't guarantee improved business performance. In fact, the alignment itself can create a trap, decreasing profits while increasing IT spending.
Waiting for the home networking guy
BusinessWeek Online 6/3/2008
by Ron Kermisch, Josh Chernoff, and Dianne Ledingham
Anyone who has taken a do-it-yourself approach to home networking gets exactly why we need Best Buy's Geek Squad. As digital media technology finds more locations within the home, and becomes increasingly complex, there's a growing need for technical experts to help make it all work together. Today's homes have begun to resemble small businesses, with multiple networked computers and increasingly networked devices like printers and entertainment systems. It's no surprise that Geek Squad, which pioneered the business of dispatching a national network of trained technicians, has built a highly visible service brand that positions Best Buy for the future.
Go to BusinessWeek Online
|
|
|
