The Environment: High on the Apparel Agenda, but Low on the List for Consumers

Analyst Insight by Emily Potts, Contributing Analyst, Euromonitor International

There are very few consumers that can say environmental concerns cross their minds when they are browsing the rails of their favourite store; nevertheless, high street retailers are coming under increasing scrutiny to ensure their environmental credentials are up to scratch.

Uniqlo signs up to Greenpeace campaign

In 2013, Uniqlo’s parent company Fast Retailing Group announced that it had signed up to environmental campaign group Greenpeace’s Detox campaign. In putting its name to the campaign, Fast Retailing Group has committed to eliminating all releases of hazardous chemicals through its global supply chain and products by 2020. Uniqlo’s announcement comes just a month after Zara, Mango, Esprit and Levi’s announced similar individual commitments, joining Nike, adidas, Puma, H&M, Marks & Spencer, C&A and Li-Ning in signing up to the campaign.

Understanding Australia's Business and Consumer Environment: A Guide for Successful Business Down Under

Understanding Australia's Business and Consumer Environment

How will Australia's economy, business environment and consumer trends impact the success of your business? This e-book examines the fundamentals businesses must understand to successfully expand or operate in Australia.

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Heralded as the success story among advanced economies for weathering the global economic downturn of 2008-2009, Australia’s high income levels and steady growth offer good opportunities for consumer goods and services in a wide range of sectors.

Key Findings:

• At the height of the global slowdown, advanced economies as a whole contracted by 3.5% - contrasting with Australia’s 1.4% growth.
• Whereas incomes and consumer expenditure have stagnated across many advanced economies, Australia’s per capita disposable income and expenditure have expanded by 9.8% and 3.5% respectively in real terms since 2008.
• In 2012, Australia was ranked 15 out of 183 economies on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, meaning it is the fifteenth easiest place in the world to start and operate a local firm.
• Australia has an educated population: 99.9% of adults (those aged 15+) were literate in 2011, but suffers from skills shortages.
• In 2011, the population aged 45-49 in Australia had the highest average gross income: A$77,810 (US$80,259).

Topics include:

• Ease of doing business rating
• Corruption index
• Literacy rate
• Future challenges
• Natural resources
• Media consumption
• Consumer trends
• More

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Forecast: World’s Largest Economies in 2020

Analyst Insight by Media Eghbal, Country Insight Managing Editor, Euromonitor International

Euromonitor International predicts that in 2020, emerging markets will dominate the top five largest economies.The most symbolic shift will be when China overtakes the USA as the largest economy globally. This Q&A will answer some of the key questions about what our forecasts of the world’s largest economies mean and what implications this will have for global consumer market development. Emerging economies are driving global economic growth but advanced economies will retain a competitive advantage with higher per capita incomes and greater consumer market expenditure, while governments in developing countries face challenges in keeping up with the pace of economic growth.

Euromonitor predicts that the world’s five largest economies in 2020, measured in Purchasing Power Parity terms (PPP) will be:

Source: Euromonitor International Euromonitor International from national statistics/Eurostat/OECD/UN/International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Financial Statistics (IFS)

The three biggest emerging economies will account for around 30.0% of global GDP in PPP terms in 2020 compared to 23.5% in 2012 when there were just two emerging markets amongst the five largest economies (1. USA 2. China 3. India 4. Japan 5. Germany). The most discernible shift in global power towards emerging market economies is expected to take place in 2017 when China will become the world’s largest economy.

Understanding Balance of Payments in Countries Worldwide

The balance of payments (BOP) refers to a county's international transactions and judges how a country interacts with the rest of the world. Daniel Tarling-Hunter, Economist at Euromonitor, explains how the BOP is divided into current, capital and financial accounts, analyzing several countries through their balance of payments.

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Indian Consumer Spending in the Face of Growing Inflation

Consumers in India are pulling back on spending, especially in the categories of food and drink, leisure and apparel. Changing consumer attitudes are responsible for this pullback - consumers are weighing options and comparing features and prices before they buy. The economy in India has an enormous consumer base with increasing disposable income and the overall impact of the slowdown is not expected to be large. The entry of multinational retailers such as Ikea, H&M and Prada demonstrates companies are still interested in the Indian market despite inflation concerns.

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Income Inequality in China

In terms of income inequality, China has become the most unequal country in Asia, and one of the most unequal countries in the world.
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Register for a Free Webinar: Harnessing the Power of the Ageing Global Population

Population ageing is an unprecedented global demographic trend, with wide-spread implications for government policy, business environments and consumer markets. The global population is experiencing an unparalleled shift in age structure as people live longer due to declining birth and fertility rates, higher standards of living and advancements in nutrition and medicine.

Ageing is often associated with challenges such as greater pressure on public finances and healthcare systems. Yet there are significant opportunities that can be gained by embracing the experience and knowledge older workers offer labour markets and by strategising for the products and services that will benefit them. The next generation of older consumers will be working into their retirement years and keen to stay trend-aware, fitter and healthier for longer – with their lifestyles and consumption choices reflecting this. They will be much more comfortable with mobile technology and with acquiring information and networking online.

 

 

 

Webinar Recording: How to Succeed in Emerging Markets

In 2013, emerging markets will continue to drive global economic and consumer market growth. Consumer goods companies are overcoming the many challenges of operating in emerging markets by tailoring their strategies accordingly. Key to success is a thorough understanding of the operating environment and consumer trends in these markets. Companies are looking beyond the traditional BRIC markets, onto second tier markets such as the Future 7 (Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam) and also beyond to frontier markets, which are experiencing the fastest growth.

India’s Rapid Unplanned Urbanisation Creates Opportunities and Challenges

India had the second highest urban population in the world in 2012 and will be amongst the fastest growing urban populations globally between 2013 and 2020 in absolute terms. This urbanising trend holds significant investment and consumer market potential but also creates challenges like over-crowding, pollution and rising crime levels.

India’s Urban and Rural Population: 2000-2020

Source: Euromonitor International from national statistics/UN

Note: Data for 2013-2020 refer to forecasts.

Greater Discretionary Spending to be Unleashed in China and India

As two key emerging markets and home to the world’s largest populations, China and India feature prominently in the development strategy of many businesses. Although food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and transport have been so far growing strongly, in the 2013-2020 period households in both countries will spend significantly more on communications, health goods and medical services and education as continued income growth will unleash greater capacity for discretionary spending.

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India's Diverse Consumer Spending Patterns Require Multiple Business Strategies

Regional Focus: Asia Pacific's Changing Consumption Patterns Spur New Opportunities

Global Population Under the Age of 30 Centered in Emerging Markets