November 14, 2024
Worth Waiting For?
Starbucks is famous for the endless ways consumers can customize their drinks. But getting exactly what you want also means waiting longer.
Some customers just want a cup of coffee, and don’t want to wait to get it.
Incoming CEO, Brian Niccol, feels that customization has reached a point of diminishing returns and is opting for efficiency and agility, which means streamlining the drinks options.
Will speed beat choice?
Can fewer choices, but faster service convince more consumers to choose Starbucks? Or will Starbucks be sacrificing the very reason consumers choose them over other coffee shops?
LOGISTICS
Fears that the US will boost tariffs when president elect Donald Trump takes office in January has some shippers frontloading exports. At the same time, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has set a January 15th deadline for a new East and Gulf Coast contract, which is also influencing shippers to get goods out early, per Freightos.
General Rate Increase (GRI) on Asia-Europe routes has driven up rates. At the same time, many carriers have blanked sailings on this route.
Asia-Europe demand will likely increase further – and earlier than usual due to longer sailings avoiding the Red Sea – ahead of Lunar New Year, per Freightos.
Some shipments are being postponed to avoid arrivals during the Christmas and New Year holidays in Europe. Should it persist, this trend could significantly impact the General Rate Increase (GRI) and market dynamics in the latter half of November, per Flexport.
Rates and volumes remain strong out of Asia, however the much anticipated peak season spike in rates and difficulty in securing space (attributed to soaring ecommerce demand) so far has not materialized, per Freightos.
This month Prof. Calvin Wong, CEO of AidLab, talks about how AI could impact the apparel and textile industry. He shares some of the models his lab is working on that have practical application for industry.
Find out how AI will help make the industry more resilient – and become an important tool that supports people, instead of replacing them. Read more
PODCAST
A great brand can lift a product out of obscurity and turn it into a global cash cow. However, can what has worked for consumer products also work for manufacturers?
Turns out, manufacturers can definitely steal pages from consumer brands’ playbooks.
In this podcast Jim Huebner, founder and CEO of Huebner Integrated Marketing, 34-year specialist in building manufacturing brands, talks about how manufacturers can become more relevant to their customers and sales channels, and to become more profitable in the process.
You’ll Learn
MATERIALS
Oil prices were the lowest in two months, as concerns about weaker demand continued to impact market sentiment. OPEC downgraded its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025,
Cotton prices have fallen 15.94% since the beginning of 2024.
An expanded list of materials prices is available here.
MARKETS
Slower Q3 wage growth in the UK has made it unlikely that the Bank of England will cut rates in December, per The Times.
US inflation rose to 2.6% in October, causing the Federal Reserve to consider a temporary pause to rate cuts.
CURRENCIES
The dollar continued to strengthen on so-called “Trump trades,” where markets are betting that Trump’s inflationary policies will limit the Federal Reserve’s capacity to lower borrowing costs.
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