As global firms (MNC) pull back from emerging markets, what does this mean for Africa?
Last week’s issue of The Economist drilled down deeper to cover the retreat of globalization – at least in the most visible form, that of the multinational brands dotting cityscapes around the world. The retreat of the global company, they trumpet, the end of Theodore Levitt’s vision. Credit Suisse takes a concise yet comprehensive look […]
Japan’s Indian Strategy for the African Consumer Market
One of the most high-profile events Kenya has hosted since independence begins this week when heads of state from across Africa and the Prime Minister of Japan Mr Shinzo Abe jet in for the Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD). It will be the first time that Ticad has been held outside Japan and […]
Breaking bulk and profiting at the margins
Michael sent me this information from Nairobi last week. He’d spotted informal retail within the context of a mini-supermarket – known as traditional trade in the jargon of consumer product distribution and retail. He adds, “So 500 ml of Rina cooking oil retails for 120KES, 1 litre for 195 KES. What the owner of this […]
Emerging Markets Competition – this time its technology
Around twenty years ago, when the Indian and Chinese markets first opened up to global brands, many were surprised to discover domestic incumbents were stronger than they had imagined. Proctor & Gamble’s laundry detergents battled for the Indian housewife’s attention and share of wallet. It wasn’t just their usual competitor Unilever either but indigenous upstarts […]
Market forces transforming the African retail landscape
Cosmetics giant L’Oreal’s partnership with pan African e-commerce platform Jumia signals a big shift in the way consumer packaged goods companies address the challenge of reaching the emerging African consumer classes in a cost effective manner. A combination of market forces and on the ground realities points to this solution as a sweetspot for optimal […]
Why Indian FMCGs eagerly enter African Consumer Markets
This chart from that Neilson retail study on sales of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) shows how Kenya’s retail sector is significantly more formalized than India’s. Given their decades of experience with their vast, informal markets, is it any wonder that India’s consumer brands find the East African market an attractive proposition? Their visibility in […]
