Chloé chief sees China moving to more understated luxury—or is it?

Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye of Chloé believes the mainland Chinese market is moving toward more understated luxury.    I believe there’ll always be a mixture. The understated buyer is emerging probably because of saturation by more extrovert brands—and often, buyers want to get something different, rather than conform.    And the top-end luxury brands have […]

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Dealing with the social networks

Everyone deals with their social networks differently, which is great. It shows that we are in charge of the technology and how it serves us, rather than vice versa.    But with nearly sixty outstanding invitation requests to me on LinkedIn and five on A Small World, I thought I’d share mine. Twitter I’ll follow […]

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Giving our young people a fair go

Earlier this month, I gave a workshop talk to the Leadership and Development Conference for the New Zealand Chinese Association in Auckland.    I’ve just uploaded the speech notes, and as I did so, I wanted to append a few more thoughts.    The topic was identity—not just branding, but personal identity.    My self-critique […]

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Volvo unveils its China strategy

Volvo has announced that it will build a plant in China, and seeks approval for a second, in what it calls its second home market.    It was inevitable, though for the long-term survival of the brand, it’s not a bad idea.    Through Geely’s acquisition, it can potentially leapfrog other foreign car brands inside […]

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Google’s new algorithm will likely weed out content mills

I’m not enough of a bastard to only dis Google, because they have made a pretty good move today.    Google’s new algorithm, it is claimed, will weed out content farms, one type of site that has annoyed us here regularly.    These are sites that just pinch others’ content automatically. Because search engines pick […]

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Christchurch in happier times

Christchurch, as it once was. These are some of the images that appeared on my old Vox blog (or, what is left of that). The Cathedral, as shot from my room at the Millennium Hotel The Holiday Inn The ceiling of the Isaac Theatre Taxis and a tram Gloucester Street Manchester Street New Regent Street […]

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Glimmers of hope for the people of Christchurch

As jobs are vital to any economy, there is, at least, a glimmer of good news from Christchurch’s manufacturing sector.    Tait, Sanitarium, and Steel & Tube appear to have escaped major damage, says The New Zealand Herald.    It’s not much solace to those who have lost everything from homes to limbs to family […]

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Firefox 4 Beta 13 passes my tests

Firefox 4 Beta 13 works, and I have not found any bugs with it.    I may be wrong, but I believe this is the last beta before release.    What’s amazing is that the bugs I have been complaining about for a long time have each been fixed. In other words, the reporting system […]

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To the bastards who did over Donna Manning’s home

Donna Manning’s home was burgled yesterday. You have no idea how angry I feel.    Even if I didn’t know her, I would, right now, want to go “Gene Hunt” on the thieves.    To the person or persons who did over the Mannings’ place: you are the worst kind of human being.    You […]

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We all belong to the Christchurch region

Above Good Living, November 11, 2009, with Angela Stone and Megan Banks. Or, the day I met Donna Manning, who produced the show. I drove in a total daze today. The last time I felt like this was September 12, 2001,* the day of the World Trade Center attacks.    And then I learned a […]

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