Local Trend Peek

[drbiohealth]

Interesting read

"I was in Bangalore, India recently and I was struck by how much this could become the model of the past."

http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/kintz/archive/2006/04/07/881.html

[blastfromthepast]

If you consider the forecasts of the Goldman Sachs report, India and China will represent soon 2 of the top 3 markets for most technology products. This will have significant consequences on marketing resource strategies as these markets evolve from low cost offshoring tactics to local strategic marketing talent hiring. This clearly highlights the imperative to re-think the core competencies of US-based Marketing and evolve marketers’ skills accordingly.

Nice.

[Rubber Duck]

The US faces some stark choices.

Export or Die.

At present there seems to be a predeliction for the latter. This has been brought into sharp contrast with the recent plight of the dollar.

The basic problem though is that this is not about America ability to produce interesting products, it is about producing and marketing that is relevevant to the emerging export markets.

At one time consumers in the West were expected to consume what was produced. Somewhere in the Seventies this changed and manufacturers started producing goods that catered for the needs and desires of the consumer.

Unfortunately, these lessons need to be learnt all over again and many western, particularly US companies are not even willing to listen!

[touchring]

Of all the publicity of the trade deficit, etc, i think America is doing way much better than many countries in Europe like Germany or France in terms of employment rate, etc.

Exports are only part of the equation, there are other more important factors, otherwise Germany and Japan will be doing much better than America the past few years.

[Rubber Duck]

Of all the publicity of the trade deficit, etc, i think America is doing way much better than many countries in Europe like Germany or France in terms of employment rate, etc.

Exports are only part of the equation, there are other more important factors, otherwise Germany and Japan will be doing much better than America the past few years.

France and Germanies problems are to with moribund political policies, but are based on sound financial housekeeping.

America is paying the bills with money borrowed from China and Japan and probably the Middle East as well. The markets are on the verge of calling in the loans.

[mulligan]

Simple:

Consumer goods imported by America from Asia and bought by Americans: Cost to consumer--> $xx

Consumer goods made in America and bought by Americans: Cost to consumer --> $xxxxxx
Quality --> The same.


Cost of goods for Asian consumers imported from America: --> $xxxxxx
Cost of goods for Asian consumers made in Asia: Cost: --> $xx
Quality --> The same

Solution for the US:
Demand that China and Japan devalue their curriencies, threaten trade embargos. Throw toys out of pram.

[Rubber Duck]

Simple:

Consumer goods imported by America from Asia and bought by Americans: Cost to consumer--> $xx

Consumer goods made in America and bought by Americans: Cost to consumer --> $xxxxxx
Quality --> The same.


Cost of goods for Asian consumers imported from America: --> $xxxxxx
Cost of goods for Asian consumers made in Asia: Cost: --> $xx
Quality --> The same

Solution for the US:
Demand that China and Japan devalue their curriencies, threaten trade embargos. Throw toys out of pram.

Yes, that just about sums things up. The only answers are to produce more cutting edge export oriented products and become more efficient. Then an understanding that the dollar is highly overvalued and that the US is living beyond its means are also central to find a solution.

Stopping insisting that all marketing is done in English might also help a bit!

[touchring]

Simple:

Consumer goods imported by America from Asia and bought by Americans: Cost to consumer--> $xx

Consumer goods made in America and bought by Americans: Cost to consumer --> $xxxxxx
Quality --> The same.


Cost of goods for Asian consumers imported from America: --> $xxxxxx
Cost of goods for Asian consumers made in Asia: Cost: --> $xx
Quality --> The same

Solution for the US:
Demand that China and Japan devalue their curriencies, threaten trade embargos. Throw toys out of pram.


I think it's not as simple as devaluing currencies. Japanese Yen is already very strong, stuff are so expensive in Tokyo, what's there to devalue?

[Rubber Duck]

I think it's not as simple as devaluing currencies. Japanese Yen is already very strong, stuff are so expensive in Tokyo, what's there to devalue?

Well in that case, Bush will almost certainly be relying on throwing toys out of pram.

[touchring]

Well in that case, Bush will almost certainly be relying on throwing toys out of pram.


I think the current record deficits should be caused by military expenditures - wars are very expensive.

[Rubber Duck]

I think the current record deficits should be caused by military expenditures - wars are very expensive.

They are but the financial cost is generally grossly exhaggerated. Most of the hardware has been around for ever. The consumables production facilities are already in place, and the soldiers salaries are already committed. The single biggest bill is that of fuel, the cost of which is arguably the cause of the war, in the first place.

Many of Americas problems stem from their total disregard for the consumption of natural resources.

[alpha]

..Many of Americas problems stem from their total disregard for the consumption of natural resources.

why should they care, Mr. I'll stick my head in the sand doesn't believe in "global warming" anyway, but then again it's probably to do with the fact he can't spell it.

Can't spell it = don't believe it.

[mulligan]

Around this time last year the US threatened China with a 27% tarrif on all products sold in the US from mainland China if they didnt revalue the Yuan.
China revalued the Yuan.

The Bush administration is widely believed to secretly 'want' a devalued dollar.
Why? It will boost foreign export (Goods will 'appear cheaper' in dollar terms) and reduce the $600/$700 Billion? trade deficet.

While the devalued dollar will force the rate of inflation up this is by the by and is of no great concern to the powers that be.


The US is ultimately terrified of the awakening dragon that is China. The Chinese can and do make everything cheaper and you cant stop consumers from wanting cheap goods.
The American market consumes a huge dollar amount of Chinese goods and the cost of 'in house' goods just cant compete with the cost of Chinese goods, it is still cheaper for the US consumer to buy a product that is made in China, shipped from China and sold in America.
They cant compete so the solution is to threaten trade embargos and force China to follow the sheep and peg their curriencies to something that the US wants them to.

China is on the fast track to being the leading economy in the world and will take the place of the US at some point.... This is what the US want to avoid at all costs,.

Well thats my laymans view of things, but what do I know....

[alpha]

Around this time last year the US threatened China with a 27% tarrif on all products sold in the US from mainland China if they didnt revalue the Yuan.
China revalued the Yuan.

The Bush administration is widely believed to secretly 'want' a devalued dollar.
Why? It will boost foreign export (Goods will 'appear cheaper' in dollar terms) and reduce the $600/$700 Billion? trade deficet.

While the devalued dollar will force the rate of inflation up this is by the by and is of no great concern to the powers that be.


The US is ultimately terrified of the awakening dragon that is China. The Chinese can and do make everything cheaper and you cant stop consumers from wanting cheap goods.
The American market consumes a huge dollar amount of Chinese goods and the cost of 'in house' goods just cant compete with the cost of Chinese goods, it is still cheaper for the US consumer to buy a product that is made in China, shipped from China and sold in America.
They cant compete so the solution is to threaten trade embargos and force China to follow the sheep and peg their curriencies to something that the US wants them to.

China is on the fast track to being the leading economy in the world and will take the place of the US at some point.... This is what the US want to avoid at all costs,.

IMO, no country that restricts the flow of information on a grand scale can ever be a true force to be reckoned with.

Information is power; and all the time you censor it you impact business opportunities... quite simply the lion will be on a short leash until times change.

[touchring]

Around this time last year the US threatened China with a 27% tarrif on all products sold in the US from mainland China if they didnt revalue the Yuan.
China revalued the Yuan.

The Bush administration is widely believed to secretly 'want' a devalued dollar.
Why? It will boost foreign export (Goods will 'appear cheaper' in dollar terms) and reduce the $600/$700 Billion? trade deficet.

While the devalued dollar will force the rate of inflation up this is by the by and is of no great concern to the powers that be.


The US is ultimately terrified of the awakening dragon that is China. The Chinese can and do make everything cheaper and you cant stop consumers from wanting cheap goods.
The American market consumes a huge dollar amount of Chinese goods and the cost of 'in house' goods just cant compete with the cost of Chinese goods, it is still cheaper for the US consumer to buy a product that is made in China, shipped from China and sold in America.
They cant compete so the solution is to threaten trade embargos and force China to follow the sheep and peg their curriencies to something that the US wants them to.

China is on the fast track to being the leading economy in the world and will take the place of the US at some point.... This is what the US want to avoid at all costs,.

Well thats my laymans view of things, but what do I know....


America has gone passed the manufacturing stage of economic development.

The major problem America faces is "service exports" - exports of programmers, project managers, accountants, medical and scientific researchers, etc.

And this directly hits at employment. Unfortunately, America is controlled by big businesses, so corporate profits are more important.

[Rubber Duck]

IMO, no country that restricts the flow of information on a grand scale can ever be a true force to be reckoned with.

Information is power; and all the time you censor it you impact business opportunities... quite simply the lion will be on a short leash until times change.

Whilst that may be true, the demographics outweigh everything else. Half of humanity lives in Asia, by comparison the US is largely empty space, which should give it a huge advantage in agriculture, but perhaps little else. To maintain the highest living standards you need to innovate aggressively. China is not trying to maintain the highest living standards, it can surpass the size of the US with average salaries below a third of their US equivalents. Long-term US dominance can only be achieved by a population boom the like of which the World has never seen. Perhaps it should borrow 100M or two from China.

[drbiohealth]

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=67822


''Even the memory is in the local language, apart from a built-in modem'', Bhatia said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1029226&CatID=5

some intricate trend building here underwaters - telcos vociferously marketing cellphones with hindi keypads + menus etc-->hindi users become familiar with hindi keypads--> easier for hindi users to use hindi computer keyboards-->MOOLAH for hindi names ;) . Let's see.

Cheers!