Skip to main content

Next Gold Rush?

"Soda consumption in US down by 1.2%. 11th year in a row. 30 year low."  Screamed the headlines.

 

This surely is a bad news for the industry and players.
The world better get used to more such headlines and worse is that this may be due to a more permanent reason than merely a changing preference. 
In the next few years to 2050, the population of many of the leading countries will fall. More so, the contribution of 60+ years will grow considerably. Above is a clear indication of lower consumption, both in quantity and quality. This consumption decline is applicable to both products and services. These countries account for a very large chunk of the current business and profits for almost all MNCs/TNCs. I am sure, their top management is having sleepless nights for the future of their corporations.
However, it is not all gloom and doom. There are oases in this dry future. Countries like China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa, Brazil provide a bright future. These countries will have more prosperity and more people. Will all of them go the full distance! Well, that may depend on many other factors.
The biggest factor for corporations to mine this gold is dependent upon how soon they start building their understanding of these markets (individually or collectively), credibility, customised product/services and creating an ecosystem within the current organisation to see this through.
Early birds are more likely to mine the gold.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Should professional duty or personal preference prevail? Moral dilemma!

I had a very fruitful meeting for a possible new client. The project was interesting and there was keen interest by the potential client to use the services on offer. Sounds good, said my colleague. We should send a proposal for the engagement. I wasn't so sure. Project is interesting, fee may be decent as well but do I feel comfortable working with the client? A categorical NO emerged from within me. The interaction with client was emotionally challenging. I would have had to deal with am emotional conflict on the assignment with the client. I found it difficult to accept his style of operation. This was not a knee jerk reaction but thought through analysis. Professionally, it is the task that I commit to and should do the same. Personally I do not want to work with the individual. What do I do? I have declined the assignment but the question still remains. Is it fair? Is it just? Would a doctor take a decision to cure a patient based on liking? Should an advocate dec

Tough times - different actions

After a trip to the financial capital of India, Mumbai, I landed in the flashy city of Delhi. Of many people that I met and talked to in Mumbai, the discussion hovered around the difficulty faced by people in stock market, economic issues, tough times, tightening the belt, lay offs (declared and not declared), sectoral impact etc etc. In a nutshell "get into the shell for safety". Then I met Rajan S, a dear friend. I knew that he has lost a good more than 50% of his investments in stock market and was expecting a similar response that I witnessed in Mumbai. I was all set to ensure that I remain as balanced as possible. "Hi, welcome to my newly decorated home" he exclaimed. "I went and bought two easy chairs, 5 decorative pieces, 5 pairs of trousers for myself along with 5 shirts, kids wardrobe has been replenished, wifey has bought some sarees and suits and not to talk of new curtains; all in the last fortnight" he went non stop "there are such great

How reality loses to momentum?

Truth prevails is an old adage that seems to be losing its relevance in the current sentiments. Still I am confident that "Truth shall prevail". Hopefully, sooner than later. The case in point is the investor confidence in the stock market. Indian markets are aping the performance of the stock markets of developed world. In fact, the possible loss in indices is reasonably predictable in the last few weeks based on what happened on the previous day in Europe and US. Are the situations similar? Are Indian businesses facing the same situation as companies in western world? Are Indian corporate giants going bust like crackers in Diwali? Have companies of great repute and history in India have filed for bankruptcy? Has any company in India reported loss of sales (top line) in double digits and evaporation of profits? Slowdown yes. How bad is India? Is it comparable to West? It has baffled me as to how convenient has it been to be infected with "western sentiments" virus