East Eats West

Why the Range Rover goes bling

I recently read an interview with the Range Rover designer. He explained that the newest model has more speed lines and other design features that make it look not only more powerful but also have more bling factor. The reason for this is simple: customers in the Middle East, Russia and Asia demand more conspicuous designs and want more bling. This trend can also be seen in fashion as traditional houses like Dior and Chanel become more fancy, more colorful and their designs, more outrageous. Slowly but surely the emerging markets' spending power can already be felt and seen!

Swiss men spend little money on their shoes

I recently happened to have a chat with the head of sales of a well-known Swiss fashion brand that also sells men's shoes. He told me that it is devilishly difficult to sell good quality men's shoes in Switzerland. Apparently 300 swiss francs per pair is the upper limit whereas a good hand-made and goodyear-welted men's shoes will likely cost 450 swiss francs or more. Swiss men, according to the head of sales, prefer to buy cheaper shoes, wear them for months on end (without using shoe trees or cleaning them), then throwing them and replacing them with another. Another sales person in a menswear shop told me that clothes and shoes rank very low on any Swiss men's things to buy (apparently cars and watches are on top). My hope is that the influx of better dressed Germans (mostly from Bavaria) will improve the Swiss men's sense of dressing. And my hopes may not be unfounded as I see more and more men wearing bright colored pants this spring (red being the favorite)!

About good taste or against marketing

Picture: A tea shop in Chengdu, China.

Recently I attended a speech by Hans-Peter Reichmuth of the Reichmuth wine dynasty in Zurich. He founded a specialty and comestibles company focusing on quality premium tea, honey, oil and the like. The topic of his short speech was about good taste in food. He made a strong proposition that taste has to do with cultivation and time. Only if a person invests time and honest interests in a product, be it wine or tea,can one start appreciating the differences. In Hans-Peter's eyes taste has to do with selecting between good and bad and this ability has to be nurtured over years. It is about learning to discern and not being influenced by packing or marketing. Good taste therefore juxtaposes marketing. Marketing is trying to seduce us away from good taste. Marketing is pretending to help us decide more quickly and easily. But in fact, it takes away from us an important decision. Good taste requires us to follow a product along the production process. It is about finding the roots. He compared it to finding the truth and authenticity. And not surprisingly, good taste in food is linked to craftmanship. Industrial mass-production is exactly the opposite of it. Therefore a well-developed taste helps us to decide between only an appearance and reality. And the only way of developing taste is to invest time, a lot of it.

MBA forever?

Picture: The IMD building in Lausanne (courtesy of www.imd.org)

 The Swiss business school IMD has come up with a new slogan: 'lifelong learning'. Before you think it is only another marketing slogan, think again. IMD copied the age-old Japanese teacher-student relationship where a student pays the teacher a lifelong fee for being, well, the teacher's student. IMD basically is slowly moving into the direction where one not only does a one-off MBA but has to go back again and again, for a fee that is. This will create a life-long income for an MBA school. Cleverly copied from the Japanese!

Stinging digital travel criticism

When traveling through New Zealand many backpackers and tourists still rely on the legendary Lonely Planet travel guide. However, with the advent of the community-generated online content and feedback, the game has changed (and not only because of WikiLeaks). At the forefront of travel-advice by travelers for travelers is the website TripAdvisor. TripAdvisors lets any traveler review an accommodation. The reviews are not edited and entail an overall ranking. I often use it for an independent review of an accommodation. However, while most reviews are fairly neutral and positive, some lodgings get outrightly bashed. I found that particularly for budget-accommodation guests can be unforgiving with their criticism, sometimes blaming an inner-city hotel for a noisy street or a remote motel for a lack of services. While such feedback can be valuable to pinpoint the bad apple or help managers to improve, I found that some reviews for budget accommodations are too strict, not taking the low price into consideration. You get what you pay for, isn't that fair? For managers TripAdvisor can be a blessing or a curse. A high ranking attracts guests but spiteful comments can damage the business profoundly as the only way to respond for managers is to post a comment that clarifies the criticism, however, they cannot delete vengeful reviews. Website: www.TripAdvisor.com

After the crisis is before the crisis

Not long ago I bumped into the owner of a designer-furniture shop in Zurich. I asked him how business was and he said that the financial crisis has affected the industry and led to a consolidation. Already his first competitor is closing shop and more will follow. Whoever was surfing the liquidity-wave before the crisis by focusing on big clients awash in money but neglected the small clients, are facing a hard time. Clients everywhere are nowadays more careful about what they buy and how much they pay for it. So an in-depth client service is key and this can only be delivered by experienced staff. The owner of the furniture shop told me that most of his staff have been with him for at least seven years and that he makes a point to remember all his clients' names (he remembered mine without a pause). Good staff and dedication to the small but returning clients is paying off. While competitors are closing shops the one who delivers quality and service will prevail. And with service taking a back-seat before the crisis, many shops are presented the bill today.  

 

Luxury (re-)sells

I recently visited a women's luxury fashion reselling store in Zurich. The shop by the name Luxury Shops sells second-hand women's clothes from top-designers and accessories like the very much sought-after Birkin bag by Hermés. The shop assistant showed me a recent delivery of one of his clients who brought ten (sic!) black cashmere cardigans by different designers. He told me there is no slack in luxury fashion, women still binge-buy clothes. And judging by the fact that Louis Vuitton is opening its 15^th factory in France and closing shops earlier in order to limit sales prior to Christmas, that is also true for Europe and very much for Asia. The shop assistant told me that he can resell anything as long as it has a designer label. Fabrics or quality is less of an issue. 

I asked him if he sells men's wear and he laughed. According to him men care about cars, watches, properties, furnitures and then, only then, clothes (by the looks of Swiss top-bankers I can only agree). Therefore there is no second-hand market for men's wear. Particularly as suits tend to come in brand-typical shapes and cuts that only fit a segment of the market. But the lesson to learn for women is: buy top-brands if you do not want to keep the items for the rest of your life! The website offers for example second-hand Hermés Birkin bags from $8'000 to $13'000!

http://www.luxury-shops.com/

 

Mexican spicy sauces

In a Mexican shop in Zurich I discovered this taste-bud-assaulting selection of chili sauces: from taste-enhancing to silly showing-off!  

 
 
 

How to encourage smoking

Picture: Smoke signals from Switzerland (behind a Thai monastery in Switzerland). 

Like other countries before Switzerland will introduce graphic pictures of side-effect of smoking on cigarette packages. According to the Neuroscientist Martin Lindstrom this is the best way of actually encouraging smoking. This might run against common sense but results in the US, where smoking among young adults has increased, seems to support Mr. Lindstrom’s theory. Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health. But every young adult knows that smoking is cool as well. So if the government tells you “smoking is bad” it actually re-enforces the coolness of smoking. So maybe Switzerland should not introduces graphic pictures and grave warnings on cigarette packages. Read more about Martin Lindstrom here: http://easteatswest.typepad.com/east_eats_west/2009/05/what-comes-after-the-brand-as-religion.html

I accept what I think

Have you ever tried to convince your boss about a new idea you had? Have you ever tried to persuade your parents to understand your unusual choice of job? And did you fail? If yes, do not despair, there is a psychological explanation for it. According to studies dating back to the 1960s psychologists have found that people are more accepting of ideas close to their own views and resistant to those that differ. This has also further implications for sales people. A successful sales person therefore can present a product in a way that is close to the client’s perception. Or put the other way around, the most persuasive sales person is that one who knows what his clients thinks and wants.