Oh the woes of the SME retail sector in Singapore. I’m sure you’ve read or heard about them.
Demanding consumers. Price competition. Sky high rentals. Relentless staff turnover (up to 300% a year in extreme cases). Difficulty in hiring. Competition from big chains. Rising utility costs. Increasing costs of goods. Growing transportation costs.
The list of problems faced by SME retailers is seemingly endless.
“Caveat Venditor – Let the Seller Beware”
So proclaimed Doc Searls in The Intention Economy: When Customers Take Charge. Co-author of the legendary The Cluetrain Manifesto, Searls’ main thesis is that customers – like markets – should be free.
Courtesy of Freepik
Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day.
Teach him to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.
Courtesy of Kingford Hillview Peak
To buy or not to buy a condo? That is the question for many Singaporeans looking for new homes.
Riding on one of the most buoyant property markets in the region, private apartments has become one of the most discussed topics here. To slow down white hot demand, the government announced a seventh round of cooling measures on 12 January. More recently, Minister Khaw Boon Wan has also spoken about bringing government-built HDB flats back to their original purpose as homes rather than investments.
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Calling all fashion fans, designers, merchandisers and retailers!
Experience Singapore’s largest showcase of emerging and established fashion brands at BLUEPRINT – Asia’s Fashion Gateway. Comprising a tradeshow and emporium, this two-in-one extravaganza for the trendily coiffured will take place 16 to 19 May at Fashion by the Bay at The Pit Building (where the F1 Night Races are held).
Was Borders a victim of Disruptive Innovation? (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Tower Records. Borders. Kodak. Maybe even Research In Motion (RIM)?
The list of casualties to disruptive innovations grow longer each day. By clinging to the status quo and failing to recognise the threats of disruptive consumer behaviours, technologies, or business models, these companies have sounded their own death knell.
GrabCar and Uber has disrupted taxis in Singapore and around the world (Courtesy of GrabCar)
Have you wondered how innovations can be “disruptive”? Or why entire industries can be wiped out with new entrants?
Last night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the impact of disruptive innovations during the National Day Rally Speech.
Courtesy of TeropongSkop
Do you know what SoLoMo is?
(Nope, its got nothing to do with King Solomon, although there is certainly some wisdom there).
Goldilocks certainly knows what moderation is! (courtesy of E-books)
We are living in extreme times. And this calls for extreme measures.
We are extremely hard working. With hot desks, blackberries and mobile offices, we can work anywhere we want, 24/7, on any continent.
You need the right tool for the job (Swiss Army knife courtesy of Victorinox)
Productivity is one of the main prerogatives for Singapore’s service-based and export-driven economy.
Unfortunately, it is also one of the toughest challenges to surmount.
As I’ve blogged previously, addressing our productivity challenge entails understanding what it means. This involves studying how man, method, machine, material and other means are combined to generate wealth for the enterprise in the most effective and efficient manner. Through the careful analysis and diagnosis of problem areas, organisational productivity issues can be resolved.
