Uncategorized

The single-largest business opportunity in Africa will be its rising consumer market. A McKinsey report, one of the first of its kind, offers a detailed profile of African consumers, including their demographics, behavior, and needs. By now, most investors and businesses know about the tremendous potential of Africa—the world’s second-fastest-growing region, topped only by emerging Asia. […]

To get products to customers in emerging markets, global manufacturers need strategies for navigating both the traditional and the modern retail landscapes. In emerging markets the world over, multinationals struggling to get their products to consumers confront a bewildering kaleidoscope of strategic and operational challenges. At one extreme, they must grapple with traditional retailers: the chaotic

Companies whose social investments focus on women in developing economies help not only the recipients but also themselves. Few companies make social investments specifically aimed at empowering women in developing economies, but we believe that supporting this goal is good business and good practice for all companies. In the course of our work, we’ve uncovered a startlingly

A rebound signals opportunity—and a need for flexibility as the market evolves. While the private-equity business remains in the doldrums in much of the world, the Asia–Pacific region stands out as an exception. A recent McKinsey report, Private equity Asia–Pacific: Is the boom back?, shows that in 2011, Asia was the world’s only major region where these

The CEO of a global staffing firm and a Nobel laureate economist discuss the changing face of US employment and the obstacles to job creation. The US economy has lost seven million jobs since 2007 and remains in the grip of a weak and largely jobless recovery that could take five more years to restore prerecession

Montreal’s M0851 leather goods stores uses its own cultivated identity to sell its ‘slow fashions’ Frédéric Mamarbachi, founder and creator of the brand M0851, is as excited as a kid in an ice cream store when he looks at three-dimensional renderings for his next leather-goods store on a computer screen. With a glass façade, black walls

About one-third of early buyers in Japan say their next car may not be an electric vehicle. Companies should heed their complaints. If electric vehicles (EVs) are to develop from a niche into a mass market, car makers should learn from early adopters who say they may not buy one again. Our recent research on such consumers in

Most international businesses and investors know that modern Indonesia boasts a substantial population and a wealth of natural resources. But far fewer understand how rapidly the nation is growing. Home to the world’s 16th-largest economy, Indonesia is booming thanks largely to a combination of domestic consumption and productivity growth. By 2030, the country could have

Printed with permission from McKinsey Global Institute. Competition for talent in emerging markets is heating up. Global companies should groom local highfliers—and actively encourage more managers to leave home. Global organizations appear to be well armed in the war for talent. They can tap sources of suitably qualified people around the world and attract them

A poor response can be far more damaging than the attack itself. “Can it happen to us?” All over the world, technology executives have been fielding this question from boards of directors and CEOs in the wake of highly publicized cyberattacks on large, well-respected companies and public institutions. “Yes” is the only honest answer at a

Australia has been riding the wave of Asia’s economic growth, supplying coal, iron ore, and minerals to meet unprecedented demand in China and other emerging markets. As commodity prices spiked in recent years, the country has attracted a flood of investment into its mines, processing plants, pipelines, and ports. More money has been invested in

Foreign economic collection and industrial espionage against the United States represent significant and growing
threats to the nation’s prosperity and security. Cyberspace—where most business activity and development of
new ideas now takes place—amplifies these threats by making it possible for malicious actors, whether they are
corrupted insiders or foreign intelligence services (FIS), to quickly steal and transfer massive quantities of data
while remaining anonymous and hard to detect.

Africa at work: Job creation and inclusive growth African economies are on the move. The continent has been the second-fastest-growing region in the world over the past decade. GDP is on course to expand by 4.8% in 2012. The acceleration in Africa’s growth over the past ten years reflects fundamental improvements in the macroeconomic landscape,

According to the travel search site Skyscanner.com, following are the top 15 perceived rudest countries for travelers. France Russia UK Germany China USA Spain Italy Poland Turkey India Switzerland Greek Croatia Austria    

Reprinted with permission from McKinsey Quarterly. As consumers increasingly interact digitally with companies, competitive advantage lies in understanding the range and complexity of those touch points. The past 15 years have created a very different business environment, which has empowered consumers, commoditized many products and services, and dramatically compressed margins. Not surprisingly, these changes have forced