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World changing Kiwi

Confidence is growing in North America as we get closer to things returning to normal over the summer period, with the USA hitting daily records of three million vaccinations a day and the FDA approving more applications for treatment.

New Zealand companies are exhibiting this confidence through a clear focus on taking charge of their US market entry strategy. This is reflected in a global trend by Bloomberg that reported a 77% year-on-year bump in online “micro-sellers” as well as Shopify usage growing 70% over 2020.

We are seeing this charge led by the ever-growing NZTE presence in North America. The Made With Care influencer campaign has many eyes on New Zealand brands across the F&B space, Exports to the US have increased 18% in 2020, with the food sector – meat, horticulture, wine and chocolate in particular – all performing strongly.

Additional Covid-relief funding via NZTE is supporting Kiwi exporters in gaining helpful market insights and influential data to support their strategic direction. This has been reflected in market acceleration and has been another valuable amplification for New Zealand companies in the US.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ryan Mulcock

Regional Director, USA (East Coast)

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

Filed Under: Businesses going global, Global Kiwi, World changing Kiwi Tagged With: Business Growth, Industry insights, Market update, Politics, Remote working, United States

Australia’s defence sector is seen as a key pillar of its economic recovery.  Over the next decade Australia will spend some $250 billion on improving their defence capability, and that will be backed up by a further $250 billion dedicated to maintenance and operations.

To enable a sustainable defence manufacturing capability, at least 50% of any programme must involve local providers.  This presents significant opportunities for New Zealand, being that NZ is deemed a local supplier by way of the CER agreement.

The opportunities are far reaching; think technology, small parts of the supply chain and high end specialist areas such as cyber security.  This, coupled with the considerable flow on effect for skilled labour development, signals exciting times ahead!

CONTRIBUTOR

Ryan Mulcock

Regional Director, USA (East Coast)

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

Filed Under: Businesses going global, Global Kiwi, World changing Kiwi Tagged With: Anna Shere, Australia, Business Growth, Insights, Regional

We welcomed the year of the Ox on February 12. 

While most of the country went on a long break, the courier sector handled about 4.8 billion parcels in a single month, showing a 73% increase compared to February 2020. This demonstrates that the pandemic has significantly influenced the purchasing habit of Chinese consumers over the past year. 

With the Spring Festival holiday, China’s February box office revenue exceeded RMB 12.26 billion, breaking the world monthly box office record. At the same time, the catering industry earned RMB 708.5 billion from January to February, up 68.9% year on year. Both statistics show clear post- COVID-19 market recovery, boosting the confidence of both foreign and local investors. 

As this year is symbolized by ‘牛气冲天’ (‘the soaring Ox’), China is very hopeful for a year of prosperity and good fortune

CONTRIBUTOR

Ryan Mulcock

Regional Director, USA (East Coast)

Kea New Zealand

Kea member



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Filed Under: Businesses going global, Global Kiwi, World changing Kiwi Tagged With: Business Growth, China, Ciara Liu, Insights, Regional

Spring is here bringing spectacular daffodils and a loosening of covid-related restrictions. Schools are back and small gatherings are allowed outside now but realistically it will be June before we are allowed to socialise in groups inside, ironically just as the sun comes out!

The impact of Brexit for business is reflected this month in a continued drop in shipments between the UK and the EU.  Business leaders attribute this trend to a number of factors: British businesses stockpiling inventory before the UK left the EU, the difficulty in navigating the post-Brexit paperwork needed and also changing official advice.

British exports to the EU year on year dropped 38%, and its exports to the rest of the world were down 7.5%.  At the same time, Britain imported fewer goods.  Imports from the EU were down almost 16% and those from the rest of the world dropped more than 9%. Despite these challenges, the UK is definitely open for business, and continues to proactively work with other exporting nations even as friction in cross-border commerce increases.

Although business leaders in the UK anticipate continuing instability between the UK and the EU in the months ahead, this environment also creates increased opportunities for NZ businesses across sectors to seek opportunities and market share.

Where are we spending (UK Focus):
Overall consumer spending contracted by 13.8% in February as national lockdowns continue, but we are seeing some signs of recovery compared with January as essential spending increases. This has been driven by strong spend in supermarkets and record year on year spend growth at food & drink specialist stores. Overall there has been a 14% increase on retail spending in February vs January, driven by a 21% increase in grocery and general household spend seeing a 10% increase. Retailers with a considered online presence benefitted from a 43.3% increase in sales. 

Food & drink specialists, electronics, Home & DIY improvements are leading the charge as the nation gets ready for spring.  Digital content & subscriptions are still driving steady growth at 42.6%, while the hospitality, travel and leisure industries unsurprisingly continue to see negative growth.  As we all still remain at home, takeaway food delivery apps continue to benefit and online eating and drinking spend grew by 92.6%.  

We take delight in seeing those septuagenarians and above strutting the streets with a skip in their step and a smile in their eyes, as the vaccine roll out continues with great success.  There’s a real sense of optimism with longer days and the knowledge that more and more people each day are protecting themselves and their loved ones by taking the vaccine.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ryan Mulcock

Regional Director, USA (East Coast)

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

Filed Under: Businesses going global, Global Kiwi, World changing Kiwi Tagged With: Business Growth, Europe, Insights, Regional, Sara Fogarty, UK

Locked down but open for business 

Being in lockdown doesn’t mean life stops. Sure the shops are shut & offices are closed but life goes on, commerce continues as consumers are still consuming and businesses still require services to operate. 

This means NZ businesses shouldn’t discount the opportunities that exist in the UK & Europe. It does mean however that the approach and mindset needs to be different and a need to accept that the higher level of fluidity will disrupt plans and hence greater flexibility is required with multiple contingency plans lined up which in themselves will probably need to be adapted or morph in to hybrids thereof. The thinking and planning won’t be wasteful, it’s just that you’ll probably find different elements will come in to play at different times.  

This insight is rooted in my own personal travel plans this year. Along with many cancellations there were many replans, eg, 2 trips to France become 1 longer trip to France & then became a longer trip to Italy. A trip to Italy was switched for a trip to Sweden that was planned for later in the year.   

Kiwis are typically resourceful and flexible so will continue to prosper. The will and the way. 

Don’t be freaked out by digital commerce – it’s just commerce done differently

It’s well documented that digital commerce has taken off. Hence to reach your customers, digital has become a necessary channel within which to be present. But don’t be afraid of it. The essential nature of business, the core challenges and what you do doesn’t change, its just that there has been a shift in how commerce is transacted and how you communicate.  

Essentially customers and consumers are still motivated in similar ways but their buying mechanisms and media consumption has changed. Your PC or mobile device is now your TV so your communication plans and creative execution will need to change to fit the media. 

As there always has been, there are expert service providers who can help you on this journey. 

Think value not volume

There’s no doubt that disposable income is becoming very tight as businesses fail and unemployment increases. At the other end of the scale there are people who are prospering and so the disposable income continuum is becoming stretched and more polarised. There is a melting middle ground and predominantly middle class societies will shrink.  

Whilst people are being more frugal and spendthrift there is evidence that they are looking for something more special than what they might have ordinarily bought, eg, where in the past they may have spent £6 on a bottle of wine and bought 2 bottles they might now spend £15 but only on 1 bottle. Or think Craft beer versus everyday bland lager. Consumption volume may be lower but value can be higher.  

Simplicity is your saviour

With all the uncertainty, now is definitely the time to keep your business simple. Make sure your processes are simple and clearly defined, and that you have a tight, core hard working range. Every product in your range needs to be a driver not a drainer. Under-performance at any point within the business is less able to be absorbed so eliminate it. 

Filed Under: Global Kiwi, World changing Kiwi Tagged With: Europe, Insights, John Alderman, Regional, UK

After a year that no one could have predicted, many of us were eagerly anticipating the dawn of 2021. The New Year kicked off with some unexpected obstacles here in the USA including a post-holiday spike in COVID cases that prompted shutdowns across major cities. New York went into almost-hibernation, with schools requiring students to Zoom in for classes and restaurants closing all indoor dining, leaving customers the options of sub-zero outdoor seating or takeout. California hit its highest peak in COVID cases and Los Angeles issued a blanket shelter-in-place order for the city. 

Civil unrest gripped the nation in early January. Operations in Washington DC ground to a halt and the subsequent storming of the US Capitol in Washington DC had the country on edge. Although this raised questions among the diplomatic community around the upcoming Presidential transition, Joseph R Biden was peacefully inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday 20th January. 

Many saw the inauguration as a fresh start. Biden’s first day in office saw many significant executive orders being issued on topics ranging from COVID-19 to the environment. Signals of easing immigration policy bode well for Kiwis looking to work abroad in NAM. We have already seen new faces in the NAM network thanks to intra-company transfers and we are thrilled to see the network grow. This not only strengthens ties to Aotearoa, but also provides the much-needed ‘boots on the ground’ to further the efforts of Kiwis supporting one another overseas. 

Additionally, remote work continues to offer both opportunities and challenges in the region. Our San Francisco Trade Commissioner, Ruth McCleod, summarises it perfectly: “The remote working environment has leveled the playing field. There is no longer an expectation for in-person meetings. Every organisation has turned its attention to ramping up its digital marketing and lead generation activities, creating greater noise in the marketplace, and making getting the attention of potential customers possibly harder than ever. Customers that want to cut through the need to be extremely targeted, based on an in-depth understanding of their ideal customer persona, and consider how their solution provides either a cost-saving or boosts revenue, two business drivers that are front and center in the US.”

This is sage advice for our NZ companies looking at 2021 through the lens of COVID-19 restrictions. The newfound working situation means that people are open to taking cyber meetings no matter where in the world you are dialing in from. Your target clients may be open to conversations that may not have been possible in pre-COVID times.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ryan Mulcock

Regional Director, USA (East Coast)

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

Filed Under: Businesses going global, Global Kiwi, World changing Kiwi Tagged With: Business Growth, Industry insights, Market update, Politics, Remote working, United States

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