Commenting on FairPrice's strategy of launching the Prime drinks collection and Feastables chocolate bars from celebrity influencers, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) Seshan Ramaswami said, “The association with this trend can help its brand image – making it more appealing to younger people and drawing new traffic.”
In a Bloomberg interview [from 38m:30s – 45m:17s], SMU Professor of Marketing Nirmalya Kumar discussed the complexities of succession planning within large conglomerates like the Adani Group. He emphasised that a clear succession plan is crucial yet challenging due to the division of vast businesses among multiple heirs. He also highlighted the unique role of conglomerates in India, attributing their success to family control, risk diversification, and access to government resources.
Commenting on whether colonial-chic dining is still a hit in Singapore, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) Seshan Ramaswami said it all comes down to the food at the end of the day. “Ultimately, what Singaporeans care about is what they’ve always cared about the most about when it comes to food: quality, presentation, service and pricing. The nostalgia positioning will certainly attract attention for a while, but the symbolism is likely to be over-ridden by the sensory experience,” he added.
Regarding Grab's failed takeover of Trans-Cab, experts emphasise that the market share of the involved parties is crucial in assessing the impact on competition. Mergers between smaller players often benefit from economies of scale. SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship Terence Fan cited the merger of taxi operators Premier and Strides in May last year as an example. Although Strides Premier became the second-largest taxi operator, its fleet was still less than half the size of market leader ComfortDelGro.
Commenting on the new wellness-themed retail hub at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) Seshan Ramaswami said many MRT stations already have convenience stores, grab-and-go food outlets and quick-service hair salons, and expanding to a health and wellness space was a “natural extension”. “Curating a theme specific to localities can bring coherence to SMRT’s retail leasing strategy...
In an interview on the proposed acquisition of Trans-Cab by Grab, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan discussed how Grab’s merger with Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator would strengthen their already dominant position in the ride-hailing and point-to-point market, making it harder for rivals to compete, and how the everyday consumer would be affected if the merger goes through.
Commenting on whether China regrets vacating the crypto playing field in 2021, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Emiliano Pagnotta said, “Beijing’s 2021 mining crackdown was a strategic blunder. They accounted for 75 per cent of the mining industry and, in a short period, lost a considerable percentage to the United States, chiefly.” On why China made the strategic error, he said, “An adversary to Bitcoin has much more leverage against the security properties of the network by controlling the majority of the hashrate.
SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) and Academic Director of SMU’s Business Families Institute Kenneth Goh, a former national swimmer, wants to rally the community to build “an aquatics legacy together”, should the Singapore Aquatics’ (SAQ) presidential hopeful and his team be voted in at the national sports association’s elections. The current SAQ secretary-general held a press briefing at the Chinese Swimming Club, where he unveiled his team and manifesto.
Former national swimmer Mark Chay will not seek re-election as Singapore Aquatics (SAQ) president when his two-year term ends in August, after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. Incidentally, the topic of succession was already discussed among the SAQ executive committee in January, and Mr Chay’s cancer diagnosis sped up the activation of the plan, as he backed SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) and SAQ secretary-general Kenneth Goh to take over because of his “right attitude, aptitude and experiences”.
Commenting on TikTok’s association with Singapore, SMU Senior Lecturer of Communication Management Tracy Loh said while it would be an overplay to say that Singapore’s neutrality had led to TikTok’s decision to set up base here, the company should expect to face scrutiny. “Because of the fact that they are Chinese, they are from China, and the views of the Chinese government amid the geopolitical tensions – so fair or not, it is not an unexpected question,” she said
