As the EU struggles to contain an crisis that threatens to spill over into the global economy, the situation in Asia looks positively rosy. But not as rosy as it seems. Asians have the stereotypical reputation of being thrifty- an image that is not altogether founded on myth.

An inadvertent result of thriftiness - counterfeit products

In China, this attitude has resulted in huge pools of consumer savings that allow state banks to make low-interest loans that have bolstered China’s lightening-fast economic growth. However, this also means that China’s consumer spending is low- 35 percent, compared to 70 percent in the struggling US economy. Interest on savings accounts do not keep up with inflation, and pressures on families push them to keep saving. Without encouraging consumer spending, China’s economic growth will gradually slow to rates comparable to the current US economy’s .

I find this situation very interesting because it’s literally the opposite of what Greece is experiencing- high legacy costs, massive spending and tax evasion have largely pushed the Greek economy over the edge. China’s huge pool of cash would be a godsend. However, it is increasingly becoming a burden, illustrating the old adage ‘too much of a good thing is always a bad thing’.

Loblaws Inc., the Canadian groceries supergiant, has recently opened its first American store of its Joe Fresh line in the most unlikely of commercial avenues: Madison Avenue! Opening its first store in the middle of New York City seems like an extreme gamble, especially in hyper-competitive and uber-expensive Manhattan.

Joe Fresh is a proven Canadian success; will it be the same in the US?

Spanish and Japanese clothiers Zara and Uniqlo are renovating and expanding just a few blocks up from the new Joe Fresh store, and H&M is a fixture on Madison Avenue. Joe Fresh’s target market is already saturated with competitors who have a leg-up in terms of brand recognition. However, Loblaws is counting on Joe Fresh’s low prices and smart designs to make its American foray a success.

Fashion is a fickle business and trends change in the blink of an eye. Like all risky moves, this venture has the possibility to either become a resounding success, or a complete failure. Personally, as a student on a small budget and a penchant for well-made clothing, I am a big fan of Joe Fresh and I think that people who shop at Zara and H&M will have no problem gravitating towards Joe Fresh once they see its designs and prices.

Our recent class on management information systems (MIS) got me to thinking about how MIS (Management Information Systems) and BTM (Business Technology Management) are applied in real life. I work at a car dealership, and there is always a stream of information flowing between the salespeople, the managers, the business office, and the accounting department.

Not the most obvious place to use MIS

For example, sales calls and walk-in customers are recorded on a database that allows the managers to analyze the data and determine how the dealership is faring. Stocked cars are kept track of on another database that records information about the cars that can be accessed by staff when they need information. Customer information is embedded on the same specialized database in an encrypted server.

Our website provides an application that allows customers to build their own cars and send the information in to a salesperson who can order in that car right down to the customer’s exact specifications. MIS and BTM have streamlined the process of buying a car, decreased paperwork and operating costs and increased sales and profit margins, allowing the dealership to grow and provide a better customer experience.

Despite reports of disappointed customers who were hoping for an iPhone 5 instead of an iPhone 4S, they are being snapped up. The iPhone 4S may prove to be Apple’s most successful device to date, with 1.7 million units presold within the first three days of launch. Apple has blown all other smartphone companies out of the water, as illustrated by this graph comparing iPhone to Blackberry shipments, once the top-selling smartphone in the US.

iPhone shipments have completely overtaken Blackberry shipments

Apple certainly isn’t the first company to develop a smartphone. So why is the iPhone so popular? Certainly an iPhone has many perks: ease of use, sleek design, and fast browsing. However, Apple’s point of difference is that it developed a platform that supports a wide variety of applications (apps), as shown by the ridiculous number of videos on the web that feature these apps.

http://youtu.be/rNsrl86inpo

Apps can developed for literally anything, from cooking to shopping to airport check-ins. You name it, there’s an app for that. People are increasingly mobile and use their smartphones and apps to get what they need, whether it be groceries or directions. The future is in apps, and Apple is paving the way.