Amitabh Apte

Who’s Afraid of a Few Big Companies Taking Over the World?

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Just came across a nice little provocative argument from Pankaj Ghemawat of IESE Business School Barcelona. He writes in his latest HBR article titled, “Who’s Afraid of a Few Big Companies Taking Over the World”. While I understand the principles which…

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End of "High Street Retail" As We Know It…..

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More than 2,000 UK jobs were axed yesterday, as Game Group closed hundreds of shops after the company collapsed into administration. The beleaguered video games retailer, which had 610 UK stores, was unable to meet a £21m second-quarter rental payment due on Sunday and appointed the accountancy firm PwC as administrator. Is this the end of “High Street Retail” as we know it? Is it the beginning of the end? 

The writing was on the wall for Game for some time now. Earlier this month,the struggling video games retailer had confirmed that a number of its suppliers were refusing to do business with the company, sending its shares down 63% to 1.29p. Back then Game said that while it was trying to resolve the matter “as quickly as possible”, it was unsure if its efforts would be successful.

The Game is not the only retail business struggling for the past few years. Almost all high-street retailers have recorded reduced operating margins and profits, if at all they were there. The difficulties at Game are testament to the current squeeze on living costs coupled with a change in shopping habits and games technology. The group has also been battered by competition from cheaper rivals on the internet, such as Amazon and Play.com, and the major supermarkets. Separately, many people now download game Apps direct to tablets or smart phones, rather than buying software to be loaded in to consoles like the PlayStation, xBox on Nintendo Wii.

What the Game story tells us however is something unique where a Technology brand is being eaten by fast evolving technology business models. As Matthew Warman states in the Telegraph, “the story of Game is simply the first taste of what the web is doing to global retail – its products happen to be bought by users who migrated quickly to the web. All other specialist retailers are being challenged online: Whittards, to take just one example, is under pressure from specialist tea and coffee retailers such as Teahorse and Kopi, who will send subscribers superb selections every month, and cater to profitable, premium niches yet don’t have the overheads of high street rents and other associated costs. Many consumers simply see that they don’t have the inconvenience of shopping. Where Game led, even the most aromatic of products is set to surely follow.” 



It was not so long ago that another high-profile retail venture went bust in the UK. It was in November 2011 that, Carphone Warehouse announced that it was to close all of its 11 Best Buy stores across the UK. The first Best Buy store in the UK only opened in April of last year. But the outlets failed to make a profit. Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy initially planned to open 200 Best Buy stores across the UK and continental Europe. But clearly they had to abandon those plans well and truly before they could take-off. Is there market left for technology shopping on UK high-street? Probably there is and there will be always that small niche segment of shoppers who prefer to touch their electronic goods, CDs, Games and likes before they buy them. But that segment is shrinking all the time and internet players will certainly be calling the shots in this segment of Retail market.

End of "High Street Retail" As We Know It…..

by
More than 2,000 UK jobs were axed yesterday, as Game Group closed hundreds of shops after the company collapsed into administration. The beleaguered video games retailer, which had 610 UK stores, was unable to meet a £21m second-quarter rental payment due on Sunday and appointed the accountancy firm PwC as administrator. Is this the end of “High Street Retail” as we know it? Is it the beginning of the end? 

The writing was on the wall for Game for some time now. Earlier this month,the struggling video games retailer had confirmed that a number of its suppliers were refusing to do business with the company, sending its shares down 63% to 1.29p. Back then Game said that while it was trying to resolve the matter “as quickly as possible”, it was unsure if its efforts would be successful.

The Game is not the only retail business struggling for the past few years. Almost all high-street retailers have recorded reduced operating margins and profits, if at all they were there. The difficulties at Game are testament to the current squeeze on living costs coupled with a change in shopping habits and games technology. The group has also been battered by competition from cheaper rivals on the internet, such as Amazon and Play.com, and the major supermarkets. Separately, many people now download game Apps direct to tablets or smart phones, rather than buying software to be loaded in to consoles like the PlayStation, xBox on Nintendo Wii.

What the Game story tells us however is something unique where a Technology brand is being eaten by fast evolving technology business models. As Matthew Warman states in the Telegraph, “the story of Game is simply the first taste of what the web is doing to global retail – its products happen to be bought by users who migrated quickly to the web. All other specialist retailers are being challenged online: Whittards, to take just one example, is under pressure from specialist tea and coffee retailers such as Teahorse and Kopi, who will send subscribers superb selections every month, and cater to profitable, premium niches yet don’t have the overheads of high street rents and other associated costs. Many consumers simply see that they don’t have the inconvenience of shopping. Where Game led, even the most aromatic of products is set to surely follow.” 



It was not so long ago that another high-profile retail venture went bust in the UK. It was in November 2011 that, Carphone Warehouse announced that it was to close all of its 11 Best Buy stores across the UK. The first Best Buy store in the UK only opened in April of last year. But the outlets failed to make a profit. Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy initially planned to open 200 Best Buy stores across the UK and continental Europe. But clearly they had to abandon those plans well and truly before they could take-off. Is there market left for technology shopping on UK high-street? Probably there is and there will be always that small niche segment of shoppers who prefer to touch their electronic goods, CDs, Games and likes before they buy them. But that segment is shrinking all the time and internet players will certainly be calling the shots in this segment of Retail market.

Davos 2012 Highlights

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In keeping with the tradition of opening blog posts of the year with reports from Davos, listing highlights from Davos 2012… 

 Digital Norms

  • The digital age brings transparency but also increasing threats to confidentiality.
  • Greater and more coherent regulation is needed, but there is a vacuum of regulatory bodies.
  • Corporations seeking to enter the Chinese market may be required to compromise their privacy values.


Growth and Employment Models

  • The development of a human capital index can help close the gap between the skills that are available and what business requires.
  • Education is the key piece in growth and employment.
  • Entrepreneurship should be actively encouraged.
  • Governments should rethink policies that impede the global mobility of talent.
  • Social protection and collective bargaining rights promote growth.

Leadership and Innovation Models

  • Accelerated communications and public demand for immediate information complicate the tasks of modern leaders.
  • The new brand of leader needs to respond both to his/her domestic constituency and to a global one as well.
  • Trust is the key issue and establishing trust depends on integrity, openness and commitment.
  • Social change is being driven by technology, and while leaders might not understand all aspects, success depends on picking subordinates who do.

 Social and Technological Models

  • New technologies offer many benefits, but also raise serious social, political, legal and ethical issues.
  • Developments in brain science promise help for people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, depression and other disorders.
  • People can now customize technology to meet their individual needs and desires.
  • The gap between scientific and technological progress and the understanding of the general public is growing. New media can provide platforms for education, discussion and debate on the issues raised by advances in science and technology.

 The Future Enterprise Model

  • If managers want to influence behaviour, they should start by building a favourable working environment.
  • Three new major elements have emerged in the operating environments of enterprises in the last decade: greater demands from stakeholders, greater connectivity and faster change.
  • Old management values remain important but must be re-emphasized.
  • Decisions can often be implemented provisionally and tweaked along the way.

Sustainability and Resource Models

  • Modelling and future analyses have the potential to help governments understand complexity.
  • Technology is making possible the production of biofuels and polymers by various bacteria.
  • China can be looked to as a role model in the energy sector.
  • Food security is interlinked with other sectors: land, energy and water; managing this nexus is critical.
  • Moving forward to meet today’s challenges – and seizing the opportunities presented by new technologies – will require political leadership. 

Innovation Ecosystems 2.0

  • The focus of innovation is moving from the enterprise to national and transnational levels.
  • Some 50 countries have national innovation agencies and chief innovation officers responsible for driving innovation strategies.
  • Innovation is more than a process; it is an ecosystem with multiple stakeholders.
  • The global agenda on innovation needs to address global challenges. 

Shaping New Models with Technology Pioneers

  • Advances in educational technology will rapidly quadruple the number of people with access to full-time learning, causing a new revolution in education.
  • The ability to monitor and analyse a body’s biomarkers using advanced molecular techniques will lead to a fundamental change in how we discover, approve and pay for drugs.
  • The Internet was built to have a maximum of 3 billion devices connected to it. Capacity is running out and security is not robust.

  Source – World Economic Forum

Davos 2012 Highlights

by

In keeping with the tradition of opening blog posts of the year with reports from Davos, listing highlights from Davos 2012… 

 Digital Norms

  • The digital age brings transparency but also increasing threats to confidentiality.
  • Greater and more coherent regulation is needed, but there is a vacuum of regulatory bodies.
  • Corporations seeking to enter the Chinese market may be required to compromise their privacy values.


Growth and Employment Models

  • The development of a human capital index can help close the gap between the skills that are available and what business requires.
  • Education is the key piece in growth and employment.
  • Entrepreneurship should be actively encouraged.
  • Governments should rethink policies that impede the global mobility of talent.
  • Social protection and collective bargaining rights promote growth.

Leadership and Innovation Models

  • Accelerated communications and public demand for immediate information complicate the tasks of modern leaders.
  • The new brand of leader needs to respond both to his/her domestic constituency and to a global one as well.
  • Trust is the key issue and establishing trust depends on integrity, openness and commitment.
  • Social change is being driven by technology, and while leaders might not understand all aspects, success depends on picking subordinates who do.

 Social and Technological Models

  • New technologies offer many benefits, but also raise serious social, political, legal and ethical issues.
  • Developments in brain science promise help for people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, depression and other disorders.
  • People can now customize technology to meet their individual needs and desires.
  • The gap between scientific and technological progress and the understanding of the general public is growing. New media can provide platforms for education, discussion and debate on the issues raised by advances in science and technology.

 The Future Enterprise Model

  • If managers want to influence behaviour, they should start by building a favourable working environment.
  • Three new major elements have emerged in the operating environments of enterprises in the last decade: greater demands from stakeholders, greater connectivity and faster change.
  • Old management values remain important but must be re-emphasized.
  • Decisions can often be implemented provisionally and tweaked along the way.

Sustainability and Resource Models

  • Modelling and future analyses have the potential to help governments understand complexity.
  • Technology is making possible the production of biofuels and polymers by various bacteria.
  • China can be looked to as a role model in the energy sector.
  • Food security is interlinked with other sectors: land, energy and water; managing this nexus is critical.
  • Moving forward to meet today’s challenges – and seizing the opportunities presented by new technologies – will require political leadership. 

Innovation Ecosystems 2.0

  • The focus of innovation is moving from the enterprise to national and transnational levels.
  • Some 50 countries have national innovation agencies and chief innovation officers responsible for driving innovation strategies.
  • Innovation is more than a process; it is an ecosystem with multiple stakeholders.
  • The global agenda on innovation needs to address global challenges. 

Shaping New Models with Technology Pioneers

  • Advances in educational technology will rapidly quadruple the number of people with access to full-time learning, causing a new revolution in education.
  • The ability to monitor and analyse a body’s biomarkers using advanced molecular techniques will lead to a fundamental change in how we discover, approve and pay for drugs.
  • The Internet was built to have a maximum of 3 billion devices connected to it. Capacity is running out and security is not robust.

  Source – World Economic Forum