Starbucks may be cutting back here in the US, but they’ve decided growth overseas may well be the answer. Unfortunately, profits overseas haven’t looked as good, but growth is king, right?
image from Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License
Tags: coffee, international, starbucks
One of my favorite quotes of all time is from former president of Egypt Gamel Abdel Nasser, of all people, and relates to American foreign policy. It applies equally well to American business.
“The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves which make the rest of us wonder at the possibility that we might be missing something.”
image from Wikipedia, public domain
Tags: Egypt, Nasser, quoteI hate to fly at the best of times and, since September 11, 2001, I have absolutely loathed it due to the many inconsistent and seemingly useless security safeguards which have been introduced. In between taking off shoes, taking out laptops, and putting liquids into a baggie for no discernible reason, I fly only when I absolutely must.
Indeed, my wife will be flying alone to San Francisco in a few weeks, leaving me with all three kids, in large part because I loathe the idea of attempting to get the family on and off of airplanes without going postal on someone. That, combined with bright moves like the luggage surcharge, has turned a once unpleasant experience into
So now US officials are excited about the ultimate disincentive to fly - an electronic bracelet which allows the powers that be to, quite literally, shock passengers into submission. According to this article from the Washington Post, the US government is seriously interested in this thing as a standard means of controlling air passengers. It’s a frightening road we’re going down here folks, and one which may well return us all to the days of walking where we need to go.
I know I won’t be wearing one of those any more than I have to.
Tags: air travel, bracelet, DHS, EMD, US
My wife found out today that Häagen Dazs is not in fact a foreign brand of ice cream. In fact, it was started in New York over 50 years ago and given a name intended “to convey an aura of the old-world traditions and craftsmanship” the owner hoped to emulate. Now, whatever the merits of that particular ice cream, foreign-sounding names are a popular strategy here in the US. In fact, it’s so popular that Wikipedia has an entire entry dedicated to it.
For anyone with a passing knowledge of languages in which the umlaut appears, the name seems unlikely to be genuine, but then again that’s not the point. These names are intended to appeal to non-native speakers, and to elicit a certain positive response. Indeed, as evidenced by the popular Japanese sport drink Pocari Sweat, the names can be good brands in their home country while eliciting a wholly undesirable response in native speakers.
Sometimes the names are completely made up, other times they are actually correct renditions of foreign names or terms, and sometimes they are “foreignized” versions or derivatives of names or brands. One of my favorite Pennsylvania beers is named Tröegs, after a nickname for the Trogner brothers who started the brewery.
What are your favorite foreign branding names?
GNU free documentation license, courtesy Wikipedia
Tags: beer, foreign branding, Haagen Dazs, TroegsOk, now these fuel prices are really getting on my nerves. According to this article, the price of beer is increasing in Germany now too. I’ve already seen a 30% increase in the price of a case of beer here, I don’t really need higher prices combined with the current exchange rate for my next trip.
Unfortunately, the combination of fuel prices, the housing crisis in the US and UK, and the slumping dollar appear to be finally taking their toll on other economies. Stock markets have been reeling, a number of other currencies are vulnerable, and growth appears likely to slow in a number of key global economies.
Hang on, the ride’s likely to get rough.
Tags: beer, fuel, prices
The recent announcement from TSA and major laptop bag companies like Targus sounds promising: a new “checkpoint friendly” laptop case which will zip us through airport security without removing the laptop from the bag.
The goal: build a bag with no fasteners or pockets (too much clutter) which impede the X-ray equipment. If TSA can fully see the laptop, it can stay in the bag.
In theory, it sounds great. But I personally will wait to see the bags in practice before I plunk down $100 or more for a new bag.
I see two potential problems with security friendly bags. (Btw, when did “security” get a name change? Does “Checkpoint” sound less threatening?)
Problem 1: The new bags sound like they will be more like a protective sleeve than like a real bag. If I can’t add my power cord plus other odds and ends into the laptop bag, it is only half a bag.
Problem 2: The new bags will not get any official certification from TSA. If the new kids working at the “checkpoint” don’t know how checkpoint friendly my bag is, they may force me to take the laptop out nonetheless. Afterall, how will they enforce a rule that only some have to take their laptops out?
For more info, check out USAToday.
Now, what do they have in the works for feet? Taking shoes off in the airport is ludicrous.
Image from jpdo.gov
Johnny: Does Europe have a 4th of July?
Josh: No.
Johnny: Yes, it does. It comes right after the 3rd of July.
Ok, it’s an old joke, but it works to make a point.
Many countries have national days to mark a special occasion in that country’s history, but very few (France is an exception) celebrate as much as Americans celebrate the Fourth of July.
The old German national day was June 17th. It commemorated a day in 1953 when over 400,000 people protested against the socialist government of East Germany. At least 55 people were killed when Soviet troops squashed the uprising. (Refer to wiki.)This is not exactly the kind of event which makes you want to plan a party 40 years later to celebrate. So when the German national day got moved to October 3rd, the official day of reunification, I was hoping that more barbeque parties would be in my future. So far, no luck. I have never been invited to an “October 3rd Party” nor have I ever heard about one. It just doesn’t happen. No flags, no parties, just a few politicians formally recognizing the day somewhere. The closest you get to a national celebration is when the Germans win an important soccer game.
With this type of background, it’s no wonder that Germans (and other nationalities) do not comprehend the American Fourth of July, if they have even heard of it. The concept of celebrating a national day is completly foreign.
For a long list of National Days around the World, see Wiki.
How do you celebrate your country’s national day?
Image from mediacen.navy.mil
Tags: 17. June, 4th of July in Europe, national holidays
Today I installed a new printer at home. Every few years you just have to succomb to the hardware industry and risk your entire electronic life by installing drivers, applications and who-knows-what onto your PC which will impact some obscure settings or favorites. This time, the Firefox browser was hit and no longer responds. (This phenononom, btw, is called Schwarz’s Law: Try to upgrade one thing and you will invariably downgrade three others.)
But I digress.
The really amazing thing about installing the printer today (actually it is a multi-functional unit with printer, copier, scanner and fax) was that Canon added telephone plugs for all European countries to the box. (Refer to photo.) I am now the proud owner of plugs for Belgium, Netherlands/Spain/Portugal/Greece, Germany, France and Italy.
This is actually the second time I have owned a collection of telephone plugs like this. Ten years ago you needed this assortment when travelling on business to download emails. I can still hear the screaching sounds as the modem tries to connect.
It’s been years since I stayed at a hotel which didn’t either have WiFi, high-speed in-room connections or at least a “standard” telephone jack (known as “RJ 11″) to hook into. As a matter of fact, it was just a few months ago that I cleaned out my office and dumped my old collection. “Nobody needs these dinosaurs anymore,” I said to myself.
Well, maybe someone does. At least Canon thinks so. It turns out that some countries still use these dinosaurs, even in new buildings. Wiki has a complete list of which plug is used for which country.
Any business travellers out there still lugging around dinosaurs? Where do you need them most? Anybody want my new set?
Tags: RJ11, Schwarz's Law, Telephone plug 
ShannonCherry over at Startup Spark noted that scientists have found a connection between novelty packaging/snappy logos and the area of the brain responsible for the “buy” impulse. That type of research is covering the biological/neurological aspects of spending money.
But are there cultural differences as to what and why people want to buy? Daniel Altman recently addressed this question and looked at buying behaviours in Seoul, Mumbai, Moscow and London. Not only the state of the local economy but also a diverse range of cultural influences affect how people save and spend money.
Korean nationalism plays a large role in Seoul, where citizens don’t want to keep up with the Joneses but rather with the Japanese. In India, further education is a large priority. Over the last few years, Moscow has gained a reputation for ostentatious consumption; imported products are often preferred just because the import duties make them more expensive. While in the UK, inflation and a bursting housing bubble are slowing consumption down, as people worry about a downturn in the economy.
Economists like Marcel Fafchamps at Oxford University, however, dismiss the role that cultural differences play on fundamental economic models. “The core belief of economics is that all people make rational decisions in the interests of themselves and their loved ones.”
It makes sense to me that economic models need to be universal in order to be useful in the long-term. But in terms of short- or mid-term business strategies, I would focus on the cultural aspects of local markets and throw in a bit of biological background for effective marketing and packaging.
Which factors do you think are more important as to what and why people buy: biological/neurological, economic or cultural?
Reference: Daniel Altman at the IHT.
Image from nlm.nih.gov
Tags: economic models, who buys what and why
The cheering, the whistling and the horn honking is almost over: the final game of the European Soccer Championships will be held tonight in Vienna (local time 8.45 pm). Soccer fans all over the world will tune in to see Germany battle Spain.
After living in Munich for over 20 years, the soccer bug has finally bit me; I must admit that I watched almost all of the 31 games, writing down the scores to see which teams would advance and who would play whom in which quarter-final game.
Compared to other team sports, soccer is a fairly straight-forward type of game: just kick the ball into the goal. You don’t have to learn abstract concepts like innings, outs, balls and strikes or first-down, third-and-ten, 6 points for a touchdown, 3 for a field goal, etc. But because soccer is a low scoring game, it can be very boring, unless you can follow the strategies being played. Also, winning a soccer game requires a bit of luck: the best team doesn’t always win, just like in business. Perhaps it is this surprise factor which keeps people hooked.
If you are making any international calls on Monday (especially to Germany or Spain), don’t forget to check the game results (euro2008.uefa.com) so you can kibitz with the rest of the world.
Image from fortlauderdale.gov
Tags: european championships, soccerDoing business across cultures
Written by J. Christopher Erb [email], and Jean Mercedes [email] for b5media.
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