The Starbucks share price has risen by almost 50% in 2019 with annual revenue growing 8% year on year to $6.82 billion. CNN Business recently observed that “every Starbucks growth strategy is working." The core global café business has grown 6%. Starbucks now has 30,600 stores in China and by partnering with Uber Eats and... Continue Reading →
In the UK today, there are c60 million people now using subscription services and last week Apple unveiled further choices. Subscription models offer a number of attractions for business owners. These include sustained and more predictable revenue, increased customer engagement and a more confident calculation of lifetime customer value. In 2016 Unilever paid $1 billion for Dollar... Continue Reading →
Travelling by tube recently I simply couldn't ignore this advertising from Ecover. To start with there are the provocative, witty and challenging headlines capable of the grabbing attention of most commuters. Loud headlines are matched with loud colours - with posters showcased together for maximum impact. Disruptive, distinct and connected - there is a structure,... Continue Reading →
Volvo is a brand and business doing well in a challenging industry. Increasingly recognised as a premium brand, Volvo has enjoyed a fifth consecutive year of record sales and has won its first European Car of the Year award in 2018. Purchased by Geely Holdings in 2010 Volvo sold 90,417 vehicles in China last year —... Continue Reading →
In the week that Apple issued a profit warning bakery chain Greggs has gained huge press and social media coverage for sales of a vegan 'sausage' roll that has led to customer queues ‘out of the door’ at some stores. The public interest in part reflects a dramatic growth in those going vegan in the... Continue Reading →
One of the things I help clients to do is see future scenarios. Given this I couldn’t resist considering where Amazon’s $1 billion PillPack acquisition may take them next. The purchase of prescription delivering PillPack is widely seen as a start of a consumer-centric push by Amazon into healthcare. Given Amazon's assets, scale and data could... Continue Reading →
For the third year the partnership between GSK and Save the Children has been voted “the most admired” by FTSE corporate and UK charity professionals. GSK already invests 20% of profits from developing regions into healthcare access, but this partnership brings something different - in particular the depth of organisational involvement. The partnership involves R&D expertise... Continue Reading →
I’m lucky enough to be able to work with some of the biggest global brands on their innovation challenges. Facing competitors becoming leaner and faster these brands need bigger, more disruptive ideas delivered at speed. Below are three observations on how some brand teams are pushing us to fulfil their greater ambition. 1. They start... Continue Reading →
