Opinion... Welcome to 2018, the era of McDonald's and Muji

A lot has changed in the world. And a lot has changed in the world of brands, too.

The almighty consumer changed behaviour dramatically as a new era of realism and sacrifice replaced the previous era of frivolity and excess. As wages receded and unemployment escalated, consumption became constricted. Impulse purchase died and ‘nice to haves’ became ‘not to bother withs’. Some brands thrived in this new economy, some evolved and some perished.

The biggest impact was on luxury brands. Luxury goods, which had become so widely desirable and accessible during the boom in the 90s and the early new century, are now a streamlined group of a few precious brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Cartier.

So many of the boomtime ‘mass-luxe’ brands have either vanished, appreciably downsized, or been reborn as discount-luxe brands, such as Fendi, Gucci and Dior (now sold exclusively through Wal-Mart’s global retail network). Buyers could not stay loyal in hard times, and most traded down for practical but well-designed goods.

Not just the high end suffered during the return. Brands in the middle became irrelevant and vanished even more quickly. Retailers and manufacturers without either a strong value quotient or a truly unique and sustainable point of premium difference suffered a quick exit. Wal-Mart’s purchase of retailer Lane Crawford gives the global retail giant credibility to enter a newly emerging sensible premium segment with its stylish WM boutiques opening in Asia, the Americas and Eastern Europe. The story was reported by the global media giant Times-Fox-Bloom, a media consortium between Fox, the Financial Times and Bloomberg (the New York Times, CNN and Wall Street Journal having been absorbed in the process).

The crisis also saw private-label purchases increase to 45 per cent of all supermarket sales. However, it has since receded to 30 per cent as brands have staged a healthy comeback. Consumers are increasingly rewarding brands that offer practical advantages and sensory uniqueness.

Brands are winning - it’s the era of Muji and McDonald’s. In addition, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Danone, Kraft, Kimberly-Clark, Kao, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and other companies offering consumer brands are flourishing, as consumers seek out well-performing products at a fair price. Value has taken on a new meaning - consumers are buying deodorants, toothpastes, drinks, food and other staples that provide price sensibility (not ‘cheap’, per se) combined with sensory benefits and design. Consumers are still spending, but they are shopping and spending very differently.

Petroleum prices are in the stratosphere again, following disruptions in supply across nations in the still-developing world. As a result, the world’s remaining five big automakers, Toyota-Honda, Ford-Tata, VW-Mercedes-Porsche, Sino-GM and Suzuki-Peugeot have responded to the shift by producing global designs that are amazingly fuel-efficient and well-designed. People are driving less and enjoying it more - traffic in Bangkok is easy.

Welcome to the new era of ‘sensory sensibility’ for brands.

Could this come true? It’s certainly an interesting exercise to imagine the possibilities. One thing is for sure - the consumer landscape is changing dramatically, right now, as economic issues jolt the system.



Craig Briggs, MD, Brandimage Asia 
[email protected]