Written From The Elbow

Over the last decade and a half, Amazon has transformed how we buy things. Debuting in 1995 as an analogue book and music seller, it has quietly, through global expansion, as well as acquisitions in the brick-and-mortar and virtual space, grown to be a formidable force in the retail sphere. It now sells everything from clothes to car parts, while continually innovating in how it delivers content in its digital media and publishing business. Coupled with excellent customer service and satisfaction, competitive pricing and best-in-class delivery thanks to one of the most sophisticated logistics and warehousing operations on the planet, it is the preferred avenue for many buyers globally. It has also quietly built a formidable third-party resale business and web and content delivery infrastructure that hosts giants such as Netflix. That’s why the company is worth over $120 billion today. Walmart’s move this last week, to introduce a hybrid delivery model comes as a desper...

My morning dose of the Harvard Business Review's Daily Stat had an interesting nugget of information. A study and survey conducted in China over 2008-09 by Jie Bai at Wharton and Joel Waldfogel at the U of Minnesota, found that “About three-quarters [75%] of movie consumption in China is unpaid, compared with about 5% among U.S. consumers and less than 10% among American college students.” In a nation of over 1.3 billion people, just under 80% of the population is over the age of 15. That’s over 1 billion potential paying consumers of movies. According to UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics, the average movie ticket in China in 2009 was $3.45. China is now the second-largest market after the US for films. Assuming every potential paying customer in China may “consume” one movie in a year, and 75% of them “steal” it, that’s lost revenue of over $2.5 billion just there in potential ticket sales. In comparison, according to The Economist,...

Clive Palmer must have a death wish. How many people do you know who would name their new venture after something that epitomises what a colossal disaster can be. But he has. Scheduled to set sail in 2016, the Titanic II is a replica of the Titanic. Its namesake sank after hitting a giant iceberg in 2012. Almost 1,500 of her 2,200 passengers perished. What better gimmick than to announce its recreation 101 years after. The idea is novel. Seafarers will dress in period costume, and the tub will ply the Titanic’s original route from Southhampton to New York. The food, drink and entertainment are all supposed to give patrons an authentic experience of the original voyage. It is promised that there will be enough life boats. Hold your breath though because it gets better. This one has wifi. The excitement is palpable… not. Mr. Palmer is using his own resources to have this ship built. He should be asking some serious questions before putting his money where his mouth is. The globa...