Austria     Belgium     Brazil     Canada     Denmark     Finland     France     Germany     Hungary     Iceland     Ireland     Italy     Luxembourg     The Netherlands     Norway     Poland     Spain     Sweden     Switzerland     UK     USA     

In focus next week: premium vs mass, strategic trends

The rich who don’t spend their money, interview techniques from a seasoned headhunter in the post-Covid era, price increases, and the spectacular downfall of a golf icon…

Premium and crowd strategy trends

So much has been written strategically about premium and mass and their ability to pay. There are serious analyses of their behaviour, their buying habits and how they are changing. There is also a special focus on what happens to these two polar opposite groups of buyers in times of crisis, and obviously a special topic now in the period of the viral crisis. But all the writing talks about the fact that there is actually a division of places and that everyone has to accept whether they are currently part of the premium or the masses. We know that just because you have a lot of money does not mean that you are a premium customer, but you read less about that now. It is very difficult to find information on what happens when a household or a person with a low income or ability to pay wants to belong to the premium world, because they have a premium consumer attitude, but they do not have the money to live up to it!

Price increases 2022

The World Bank has just published its Commodity Market Outlook report, detailing how global events will affect many industries in the coming months and years. The main driver of price rises has been the pandemic, but this has now shifted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The impact of the war will have a particular impact on two commodities: energy and wheat.

Interview techniques in the post-Covid period

The pandemic took a lot away from us, but one of its blessings was the rise to prominence of video calls and interviews. I’ve adopted a policy of always conducting first-round interviews via video even though I’m now mostly working in the office. The main advantage of this is that it is much more time efficient for all concerned. If a candidate has to travel to your office – often interrupting their current job – it’s a big strain. And it’s extremely unpleasant if you find out within the first few minutes of the interview that the candidate is not suitable, but at least in the case of the video interview, the candidate didn’t take time off work and didn’t have to travel.

Mickelson’s downfall

It is just over a year since Phil Mickelson’s spectacular career renaissance. He managed to win the PGA Championship, making him the oldest champion in golf history. Even if it ended up being the last major he ever won, fans knew at that moment they were witnessing something special. Just a year later, however, Mickelson’s life was turned upside down and he became one of golf’s most controversial players. How did this happen?