A small bit of news during Q3 2023 corporate earnings struck me as curious. That luxury goods sales were slowing down. And not merely because of China’s economic slowdown, but luxury sales even in the US were reported to be lacklustre. If anything, China was still the saving grace. And it’s not just LVMH; Kering… Continue reading Why 2024 Ought to Be the Year of Rightsizing Luxury
It’s 20 years since I last worked at an advertising agency, that being RK Swamy/BBDO India in their Chennai office. As if that mistake was not enough, I made the blunder of then joining a PR firm in Delhi, Perfect Relations, in 2006. I was always a copywriter in advertising throughout my long career in… Continue reading How Should Advertising Agencies Be Remunerated?
In just a couple of months perhaps, the world’s largest democracy goes to the polls. The ruling party, BJP, is so confident of returning to power for a third successive term that it has even forecast the number of seats it will win. Prime minister Modi said during his speech in Parliament just a few… Continue reading Change or Continuity, It’s Horse-trading Season
I am reading the famous book of Norse mythology called The Edda, said to have originated in Iceland in the 13th century. Or at least it is believed to have been written in the 13th century. The Edda is in two parts: The later Poetic Edda dating from AD 800 to 1100, and the earlier… Continue reading Myths and What We Make of Them
What? There are no 'I's in the global economy, of course. Well, the year has begun with corporate earnings and once again it’s time to turn our attention to these to see what they seem to be telling us about the health of the economy. India’s, and the world’s. From the corporate earnings announced, they… Continue reading The Three ‘I’s to Watch in the Global Economy
The start of a new year usually means the world’s global elite gather at Davos-Klosters in Switzerland for their annual summit. And this year was no different. After three years when these were disrupted due to Covid-19 pandemic and had to be held virtually, they are back in person for the second consecutive year now.… Continue reading What The Davos Summit Missed in 2024
We have to admit we live in pretty strange times. Not only is there not much to choose between the political left and the right these days, it’s also because there is so little that differentiates them. There used to be a time, when they were so clearly defined by their ideologies, that it would… Continue reading When The Political Right Steals Ideas and Policies from The Left
Hello readers. In the New Year of 2024 that has just begun, I have four new blog videos to share with you. Videos that I made on the various dimensions of my blog that has just gone into its sixth year! These are the nuanced analysis that goes beyond news, nuanced and well-considered viewpoints on… Continue reading Four New Blog Videos to Start 2024
As most of India was celebrating the festive season last year, Cyclone Michaung hit South India and wreaked havoc in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh inundating the city of Chennai once again. TV news reports were full of the levels of flooding in the city, where streets had turned into rivers and the… Continue reading How Livable Are Our Cities in India?
In India, organized retail is a fairly new phenomenon and it coexists with the traditional corner-shop or kirana store as it’s called here. Despite fears of the former destroying small mom and pop shops, the two have happily coexisted for a couple of decades now. That’s also because the Indian government didn’t allow large foreign… Continue reading When Fashion Goes Retail and Retail Goes Fashion
Peripatetic Perch 