Skip to main content

Rich are spendthrifts

Its a rich (wo)man's world!

Life is all cosy for the rich. They live in large mansions, have limousines at their disposal, servants all around, top brands and what not.

Eat in top hotels and restaurants, Caviar and Champagne is their regular choice.

Absolutely right.... ummmmm


Going beyond stereotypes, rich are not after all the EXPENSIVE things all the time. They tend to seek a self satisfaction.

On a recent visit to one of the richest countries in the world, Switzerland, I felt a completely different world of the RICH.

It started with the research on various blogs and travel sites. Was amazed at the flurry of advise the the RICH people as to how to save money. The advise ranged from using 2nd class in trains as the benefit of 1st class does not commensurate with the price you pay to the fact that one should take "picnic" in trains includig own wine as most Swiss do.

It was quite a surprise to see that actually most Swiss do so. The reasons vary but largely is the fact they also consider Switzerland expensive.

Hang on - they are some of the riches in the world with an informal minimum hourly wage of US$ 25-30.

On talking with many Swiss, it came out that being careful about money is a way of life. Yes, thry do spend a lot on activities like skiing but are still careful about money.

PICNIC will stay in mind for a very long time indeed.

Thanks Swiss.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Power of observation

Mr Topiwala observed his niece being very interested in dressing up. He engaged in a discussion and came to understand a pain point of large number of Indian women. Something that women are very passionate, possessive about and have a very strong emotional bond, almost unbreakable bond. He created a new product that solved a huge effort and a recurring problem. And this was a self sticking, in varying sizes and design and in colours preferred by women, red and maroon. Since its launch in 1985, the brand is a huge dominant one in the market. Almost synonymous with the category. Companies would envy such a dominance. Over the years many innovations were brought about like iodine enriched, dermatologically tested and many more. 'Shilpa' bindis. An amazing story of a dominant brand that solves a real problem through acute observation. Would love to know of more such stories. #bindingmachine   #observation   #consumerneed   #businessmaze   #indianmaze 204-1-20

The biggest concerns - how we tackle?

These days, there are two topics of discussion. One about the national security and issues related to it and second, economic scenario and its impacts on individuals (own and in the organisations they work in). Jobs are difficult to come by. Packages are not as great as they used to be. How do students in B schools etc tackle it: - toppers are more worried about how much money will they make - others are looking at beyond placement cells - companies that were shooed away till last year are being treated with great honour - some students have resorted to contacting their freinds, long lost uncles, relatives etc to seek a favour On talking to a few CXOs, it was clear that making contacts to seek favours actually works to the detriment of the candidate. They all agreed that people is the key concern for them to run a business. They clarify quickly that it is all about RIGHT PEOPLE. How many students are actually writing to the organisations specifically demonstrating how they can add val...

Mass market opportunities in India

Are there no opportunities in mass market in India? A friend asked me after reading my post on niche opportunities. And the answer is a good news. A large part of consumption in India is still at a commodity and hence, unbranded level. Early enough, brands like Paras in fertilizers (by then HLL) and Parachute in coconut oil (by then Bombay Oil) brought about rhe change by a packaging differentiation/innovation. In hindsight it might appear to be too mundane. Over the years many categories have created brands worth thousands of crores in edible oils, wheat flour (still in early stages), sugar (in infancy) and many others. One such category ripe for disruption is jaggery. Are you ready for it? Both as a consumer and as a business person? #massmarket   #indiabusiness   #indianmaze   #jaggery   #businessmaze   #branding   #hul   #marico 199-1-20