2017 Winners and Losers
With a fresh year, companies are no doubt assessing the impact Trump, Brexit and business innovation will have in 2017. It will also be a year marked, not least, by the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, the 15th anniversary of the Euro and 500 years since the Reformation.
As a result, the business winners and losers on both sides of the Atlantic over the next 12 months will be those that can profitably navigate the new nationalism and business volatility in mature markets. Here are a few ideas on industries and brands that will make money in an uncertain and turbulent year ahead as well as those I expect will not do well:
Winners:
- Cyber insurance brokers – as breaches continue, companies on both sides of the Atlantic will be pressured to rebuild trust and reassure customers of responsible data safeguarding.
- L’Oréal – renowned for its affordable luxury in inflationary times, this brand has used local vloggers/bloggers for some time as well as very successfully creating ranges for local markets around the globe.
- Single estate marijuana brands – now that 4 American States (California, Nevada, Massachusetts, Maine) have legalised its recreational use, expect new appellations and craft cultivation to mirror developments in the brewing industry.
Losers:
- American manufacturing jobs – while President Trump hopes to make America Great Again by resurrecting its manufacturing heritage, the past few decades of economic activity show GDP being fuelled by the country’s enviable intellectual property engine and culture of innovation.
- Facebook – (re)building trust in this social media brand renowned for its investment in fake news journalism will require more than superficial policy and job changes.
- Traditional holidays and hotels – as Millennials and their boomer parents increasingly shun the cruise holidays filled with the “newly-wed and nearly-dead” in search of more adventurous experiences and local stays in private homes.
The bottom line? By understanding, inspiring, engaging, innovating and investing in staying close to customers, the winners will bolster their brands and market shares while successfully navigating a foggy economic and political environment.
