Gucci
Shenzhen sweatshop allegations force Gucci to act – FT.com – PR nightmare and management FAIL for Gucci. The Gucci story is unusual in that it affects service workers. Luxury in Asia requires a certain servility of service that I find uncomfortable and the Gucci story of long oppressive days for retail staff sounds emblematic of it. That its happening in the Gucci Shenzhen store doesn’t surprise me at all
China
China Favors Direct Investment to Create ‘New Blood’ in Europe – WSJ
Maersk builds LatAm “reefer” factory | FT.com – because the cost of production is growing faster in China than Latin America
Consumer behaviour
What Wealthy Women Really Want – WSJ
For Their Children, Many E-Book Fans Insist on Paper – NYTimes.com – the tactile arguments for toddlers are the same reason why I prefer print books
Culture
Alan Moore – meet the man behind the protest mask | The Observer – it was a nice literary tail for the Guardian to loop back with Alan Moore
Paris Review – The Art of Fiction No. 211, William Gibson – interview with the cyber punk don
Economics
Housing prices fall in Chinese cities – FT.com – property developers and small businesses have been suffering
Brussels warns on risk of UK double-dip – FT.com – UK economy stagnating and government’s deficit reduction strategy isn’t working according to a European Commission report – a deep and prolonged recession complemented by continued market turmoil cannot be excluded
The way (not) to rein in the yen – FT.com – A more aggressive quantitative easing programme, targeting 10-year government bonds instead of shorter maturities, would contribute more decisively to ease the pressure on the exchange rate. More importantly, it would also stimulate the largely stagnant domestic economy (paywall)
The Long Haul to Capitalizing on Web Trends – Digits – WSJ – According to comScore Inc., almost 62% of the ads shown on Facebook in the July through September quarter came from advertisers that are not among the top 1000 digital advertisers in the U.S.; on Yahoo Inc., just 23% come from such small advertisers. These sorts of Facebook advertisers range from nail salons marketing to people who live a particular town, to recruiters targeting employees at a specific company – going down the long tail due to targeting ability, not great on context like Google local search though
Ideas
Information: Be careful what you signal | The Economist
Possibility Is Thrust of 100-Year Starship Study – NYTimes.com – in 10,000 years, the speed of humans has jumped by a factor of about 10,000, from a stroll (2.6 m.p.h.) to the Apollo astronauts’ return from the Moon (26,000 m.p.h.). Reaching the nearest stars in reasonable time — decades, not centuries — would require a velocity jump of another factor of 10,000
Innovation
Marubeni Launches 3D Printing Service — Tech-On! – interesting that it is aimed at making precision resin dies etc
Japan
Japan’s #1 Mascots: Kumamon, Bary-san, and Nishiko-kun | Japan Probe – Japan seems to have mascots for everything, kind of cool actually
Japan Today | Toshiba to close three semiconductor plants
Korea
South Korea’s economy: What do you do when you reach the top? | The Economist – interesting economic profile on Korea
Luxury
Von Furstenberg to Chinese Women: Stop Chasing Men – WSJ
The rise of quiet luxury: Understated chic that is very, very expensive. – Slate Magazine
China’s Menswear Market (Quietly) Booming « Jing Daily
Luxury’s anti-social (media) brigade | FT.com – variable adoption
Brussels finally recognises luxury | FT.com
Luxury Second-Hand Shops Spreading Like Wildfire In China | Jing Daily
The moral of Dior’s numbers | FT.com – Galliano story didn’t affect Dior sales
Media
Technology
HP CEO: Apple will become market leader in personal computers | MacNews
Wireless
Nokia’s Microsoft Phones May Not Get Traction, Analyst Says – NYTimes.com – no USP, apart from a bucketload of advertising