KPMG index measures 140 countries' ability to respond to change

Asia Pacific countries and jurisdictions are generally improving in handling climate change, according to the 2019 KPMG Change Readiness Index (CRI). Singapore climbed two levels to be ranked No. 2, while Taiwan is up 18 places.

The CRI, now in its fourth year of biannual publication, ranks 140 countries* on how effectively they prepare for, and respond to, major change events. This edition of the report focuses on the capabilities countries need to successfully address climate change and mitigate associated risks.

Timothy Stiles, Global Chair of KPMG's International Development Assistance Services, commented: "Climate change is among the most pressing issues we face as a global society. Those countries failing to recognise the impact of climate change are likely to be unprepared for its growing costs, which will be levied on citizens, businesses and economies around the world. Our 2019 report aims to demonstrate that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to responding to major change.

"Our research highlights that too many nations can be reliant on either business, government or civil society to shoulder the responsibility for change readiness, but in our experience this doesn't yield the best long term results. True preparedness is when each segment of society - enterprise, government, and people and civil society - works in harmony toward a shared outcome."

The CRI top 20 countries and jurisdictions (with the change in ranking from 2017)

Switzerland

Singapore (+2)

Denmark (+2)

Sweden (-2)

UAE (-2)

Norway (+5)

Germany (+2)

UK (+2)

New Zealand (-3)

Netherlands (-3)

Qatar is now in 12th place (+7); Australia is 14th (no change in ranking) while Hong Kong fell two places to 15th. Taiwan is 17th (+18), and Japan (+3) is 18th.

The CRI measured each country across three key pillars of capability: enterprise sustainability, government as well as people and civil society. Enterprise sustainability, which looks at the private sector's role in rising to the challenge of national preparedness and response to climate change and environmental degradation. Measures for enterprise sustainability include CO2 emissions per unit of GDP, and the share of renewable energy in use by a country.

The 2019 index revealed that countries most susceptible to climate risks are mostly low-income and lower-middle income countries. Less mature economies like Afghanistan are the worst-performing in climate resilience, as are countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The majority of higher income economies are considered low risk, high readiness countries.

This year's report reveals that poorer countries face double jeopardy when it comes to climate change: a higher risk from the negative impacts of climate change and a lower capacity to implement climate-ready policies and institutions.


Explore:

Learn more about the CRI and how each country performed

^*All uses of the word 'country' or 'countries' in the 2019 CRI refer to both countries and jurisdictions. The term country is used for brevity.

The CRI is built on research and analysis on primary source data and from more than 1,400 experts and secondary sources including the World Economic Forum, World Bank International Monetary Fund and the UN.

Influential Brands unveils award winners for 2017

Influential Brands has named six CEOs Top CEO of the Year at the 5th edition of the CEO Asia Conference held in Singapore on 7 November. The 2017 conference, themed The Future of Business in Asia, was held in collaboration with knowledge partner Deloitte Singapore, education partner, SIM, and official car Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Among the awards* presented at the event were Top CEO of the Year, Top Influential Brands, Outstanding Brands, Influential Artist of the Year and Influential Woman of the Year. Some 400 C-suite executives from over 100 leading companies across the region including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China attended the event. 

Source: Influential
Brands.

Jorge Rodriguez, MD, Influential Brands said, “All awardees of the Top CEO of the Year awards are business leaders from Asia representing diverse sectors from the consumer industry. Chow Tai Fook is a prominent leader in (mainland) China and Hong Kong, Thai Beverage is a market leader in Thailand and in the region, NTUC FairPrice is a dominant player in the grocery sector in Singapore, Success Resources is the global market leader in people development, Hatten Land is a developer with an award-winning portfolio of integrated residential, hotel and commercial developments in Melaka and finally, ONE Championship has expanded to become the Asia’s largest martial arts event company.

"The six Top CEO awardees have demonstrated not only their capacity to lead their organisations but also their ability to understand clearly what consumers expect from them."

Rodriguez added that three factors will drive business success.

- Dynamic connections: consumers will decide how, when and where to buy

- Meaningful branding and innovative products: consumers will be drawn to a brand that has a purpose and is always innovating its products

- Right associations and partnerships: consumers will find the most efficient way to get what they want hence brands must increase brand exposure and leverage on strategic partnerships

"Influential Brands exists for these reasons of fostering dynamic connecting, building channels for brand education and facilitating partnerships and opportunities in Asia," he said.

Thirty-three brands were named in the Top Influential Brands awards and another four as Outstanding Brands. Old Chang Kee was recognised under Influential Brands Hall of Fame for its appeal to consumers across generations. The brand has been a winner for five consecutive years under the Influential Brands Top Influential Brands award category.

Two new individual awards were introduced this year. Iskandar Jalil, Singapore's celebrity potter, won the inaugural Influential Artist of the Year award. The first Influential Woman of the Year award went to Christine Tan, anchor for CNBC's Managing Asia programme.

“The role of the CEO exists at the intersection of the external environment and the internal organisation. In today’s disruptive marketplace, it is not possible for CEOs to shield their organisations from ambiguity,” said Philip Yuen, CEO, Deloitte Southeast Asia and Singapore.

“At Deloitte, we harness our organisation’s broad capabilities to deliver forward-thinking and fresh insights for every stage of a CEO’s career through Deloitte’s CEO Programme – supporting CEOs in their strategic agenda to manage the complexities of their roles, tackle their companies’ most compelling challenges, and adapt to strategic shifts in the market. In this spirit, I would like to congratulate the award winners and wish them continued success.”

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the official car for the event, introduced the Rolls-Royce Ghost and the Wraith, a two-door coupé, at the award ceremony.

Paul Harris, Asia Pacific Regional Director for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, “Rolls-Royce has always been the choice for industry titans, and the movers and shakers of the business world. To maintain our pinnacle position means also constantly evolving and integrating cutting-edge technology to create the best in luxury. We are supporting Influential Brands’ CEO Asia Conference as it is a unique platform to support the regional business arena, while showcasing our brand of luxury to highly-successful individuals.”

Deloitte has also released a white paper, Scaling Edges – A Pragmatic Pathway To Broad Internal Change, in conjunction with the event. In the paper, the consultancy advised companies to reconsider how they innovate today, typically by flooding the market with new, marginally improved products or services, to "innovating at an institutional level" instead in the era of the "Big Shift", what Deloitte terms the current environment where we are experiencing increased globalisation and rapid advancements in technology. 

"This change requires firms to rethink even the primary objective of why they exist and drastically change their management mindset; in today’s rapidly changing landscape, a focus on scale efficiencies is not enough. Though transformative change is required, it is admittedly far from a simple task," Deloitte said in the executive summary of the paper.

Pragmatic Pathways is a new framework for digital transformation that in essence says: 

- Focus on edges rather than the core of a company, as change agents can better identify projects which are most likely to achieve significant and sustainable returns. 

- Leverage external resources rather than internal support to scale in edge projects to circumvent scrutiny and organisational resistance to change.

- Accelerate learning rather than focus solely on short-term outcomes to make edges conduits of transformation.

Details:

Top CEO of the Year 
 
Seah Kian Peng, CEO, NTUC Fairprice Co-operative

Dato Colin Tan, Executive Chairman & MD, Hatten Land

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman, One Championship

Richard Tan, Chairman, Success Resources Singapore

Kent Wong, MD, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company

Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, President & CEO, Thai Beverage Public Company 

Influential Woman of the Year 
 
Christine Tan, Anchor, Managing Asia, CNBC

Influential Artist of the Year 
 
Iskandar Jalil, Master & Veteran Potter

Hall of Fame 
 
Old Chang Kee

Top Influential Brands
	Brand Name		Category	Country
1	Raffles Hotel		Heritage Hotel	Singapore
2	Gardens by the Bay		Tourist Attraction	Singapore
3	Lee Hwa Jewellery		Premium Jewellery	Singapore
4	Din Tai Fung		Asian Restaurant	Singapore
5	BreadTalk		Bakery	Asia
6	NTUC FairPrice		Supermarket & Online Grocery Retailer	Singapore
7	Watsons		Retail Loyalty Card & Personal Care Store	Singapore
8	MindChamps		Pre-school Education	Singapore
9	Orange Clove		Caterer	Singapore
10	ERA		Property Agency	Singapore
11	Spectacle Hut		Multi-Brand Designer Optical	Singapore
12	Gain City		Air-con & Home Appliance Retailer	Singapore
13	Huawei		Mobile Phone	China
14	Delsey		Luggage	Asia
15	De Longhi		Premium Coffee Maker	Asia
16	Canon		Camera	Asia
17	Grab		Taxi Booking App	Asia
18	Lazada		Online Market Place	Asia
19	Jean Yip Group		Beauty Centre	Singapore
20	My First Skool		Pre-school Education	Singapore
21	Sunshine		Bread	Singapore
22	SCS		Butter	Singapore
23	CP Group		Frozen Food	Asia
24	Gardenia		Bread	Singapore
25	Skylight		Abalone Premium Gift	Singapore
26	Bonjour		Bread	Singapore
27	Katrina Holdings		Bali Thai, So Pho, Streats	Singapore
28	JobStreet.com		Online Job Search	Asia
29	Central Food Retail Group		Grocery and Convenience Retailer	Thailand
30	Chow Tai Fook		Premium Jewellery	Asia
31	Joy City		Shopping Mall	China
32	Beijing Tong Ren Tang		Traditional Chinese Medicine	China
33	Telkomsel		Telecommunications	Indonesia

Outstanding Brands
	Brand Name		Category	Logo Display
1	Choc Spot		Confectionery Retailer	Outstanding Brands -  Singapore
2	Curry Times		Local Cuisine	Outstanding Brands -  Singapore
3	Prata Wala		Asian Restaurant	Outstanding Brands -  Singapore
4	KIODA		Korean Concept Store	Outstanding Brands -  Malaysia

Explore:

Learn more about Deloitte's Scaling Edges methodology

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog posts about:

The 2015 Top Influential Brands and the winners in 2014

The Rolls Royce Dawn Black Badge

*Criteria for the awards in 2017 include:

Top CEO of The Year

A selected group of six CEOs will be recognised for their exemplary achievements in five areas:

Brand leadership: Leads an organisation that owns prominent brand(s) with strong brand power and high brand equity in the eyes of external and internal stakeholders. Brand power is assessed by Influential Brands' constant market monitoring via surveys and social media listening.

Brand expansion (local and international): Demonstrates an ability to build strong partnerships and takes calculated risks in his/her pursuit of business expansion and market leadership. Proven track record creating new brand concepts within their existing marketplace or taking the brand to uncharted territories in Asia and beyond.

Financial performance: Assessment of business performance based on revenue and other indicators (i.e. new countries, new partnerships, point of sales, etc).

Innovation: Infuses and empowers innovation from within the organisation. Embraces new technology in line with new industry developments and allocates time/resources in research and development (R&D) as an important activity in his/her business.

Personal integrity: Living according to values has earned him/her immense respect from staff, competitors, advisers, family and wider community. Coupled with the ability to communicate ideas, this creates the potential to influence others.

In 2016, the recipients for this segment included:

George Quek, Chairman of BreadTalk Group

Anthony Tan, Co-Founder and CEO of GrabTaxi Holdings

Dr Michael Tan, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Fullerton Healthcare Corporation

Richard Eu, CEO of Eu Yan Sang International

David Chiem, Founder, CEO and Chairman of MindChamps Holdings

Alain Ong, CEO of Pokka International

Influential Woman of the Year award 

In line with the Champions of Excellence programme, the Influential Woman of the Year 2017 Award recognises one woman for her exemplary achievements in three areas: influence, business leadership and personal branding. An intensive assessment based on the following criteria was conducted:

Influence: Demonstrates an ability to infuse a special energy that leads to the generation of a greater impact as a result of her work, presence, values and decisions. Coupled with the ability to communicate ideas, this creates the potential to influence others.

Business leadership: Leads and or fronts an organisation that owns a prominent brand(s) with strong brand power and high brand equity in the eyes of external and internal stakeholders.

Personal branding: Living to values has earned her great respect from staff, competitors, advisers, family and wider community.

Influential Artist of the Year award

One artist will be recognised for his/her exemplary achievement in three areas: influence, contribution to the promotion of arts and culture and personal integrity.

Top Influential Brands awards

The 33 awardees will be brands enjoyed and loved by consumers in Asia. The selection is backed by more than five years of consumer insights and surveys covering Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China and more than 5,000 respondents. The Asiawide study was conducted via both face-to-face and online surveys. More than 50 categories from Online Marketplace and Food and Beverage (F&B) to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Electronics and Beauty & Wellness were covered. The top five brands from each category qualify for this award. 

Outstanding Brands awards

Outstanding Brands was created two years ago to identify, feature and celebrate growth brands that sparkle and have shown resilience and growth in changing times. A brand must not only be noteworthy in its own category, industry or domain, it must show significant growth in revenue year-on-year for the past two years or more. It cannot be in receivership and must have a clear business expansion plan. 

Adapting workforce culture to the new normal

Source: Microsoft. Digital transformation requires change both externally and internally.

The changing face of Singapore’s workforce has resulted in a need for organisations to foster a new culture of work to achieve digital transformation success, a Microsoft study* has concluded. In fact, 77% polled felt that more can be done by their organisations to invest in culture development.

The Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found the following factors influencing the culture of work in Singapore today:

Increasingly mobile workforce and exposure to new security risks

The rise of mobility and proliferation of mobile and cloud technologies have resulted in individuals working across multiple locations and devices. In fact, the study found that only 38% of respondents are spending all of their work hours in the office, and 84% of respondents are working off personal smartphones. The latter raises new security challenges for organisations.

The rise of diverse teams

The research also found that 26% of workers in Singapore are already working in more than 10 teams at any one point in time. This makes the availability of real-time insights and collaboration tools crucial to get work done.

Gaps in employees’ digital skills even as leaders are in the process of embracing digital transformation

As the bar is raised with new technologies adopted across industries, deployment is uneven. In fact, 74% of respondents feel that more can be done to bridge the digital skills gap among workers.

Said Borko Kovacevic, Director, Productivity Solutions, Microsoft Singapore: “The rise of digital technologies, along with a new generation of Millennials entering the workforce, has brought about a need to address changing workers’ expectations, knowledge and skills, as well as the tools they use. And with more than half of the world’s Millennials residing in Asia, the workplace will need to transform to adapt to the technology habits of these digital natives. In addition, due to deployment of advanced and emerging technologies, organisations need to relook at reskilling its workforce to develop creative and strategic skills for the future.”

Even as 75% of business leaders in Singapore acknowledge the need to transform into a digital business in order to succeed**, successful digital transformation will ultimately depend on people and the tools they are provided with.

“People are at the heart of digital transformation. Their expectations, knowledge and skills, as well as the tools they use for work, are determining factors in the level of transformation that any organisation can achieve. The challenge that they face now is how to implement new ways to foster a modern culture of work to better empower Asia’s workers, especially those at the frontline. By estimates, there are 2 billion firstline workers globally, and make up majority of our workforce today,” said Kovacevic.

Firstline workers serve as the initial point of contact between companies and the rest of the world - they are first to engage customers, represent brand, and see products and services in action, Microsoft said. The company suggests unlocking the potential of employees, organisations need to address and elevate their workforce, especially firstline workers, through addressing the core values of the new culture of work: 

Unlocking employees’ creativity

Collaboration fuels innovation through sharing of ideas and enables flexibility in how people work through a connected experience, while working seamlessly across devices. However, the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found that majority of respondents feel restricted in the way they work today, with 58% highlighting that they needed to be physically present in office as equipment or tools used for their line of work is only available in the workplace.

Fuelling teamwork

By giving all workers a universal toolkit for collaboration, organisations offer its people choice and ownership as to how they work together and collaborate in real-time. In fact, the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found that two in five workers highlighted that access to technology for collaboration such that they can respond in a timely manner to internal and external requests was important in their line of work. 

Strengthening security

Today, 61% of respondents are working on employer-issued PCs, but 84% are also working on personal smartphones or using corporate devices for personal activities, which underscores potential security risks. In fact, 66% of respondents admitted to checking personal emails on company-issued devices, and are doing so for the convenience. Therefore, leaders need to strengthen their security not to put organisation’s confidential data at risk to address the need for workers to work without barriers and without impeding productivity. 

Making it simpler

With the rise of apps, devices, services and security risks in the workplace, there is a need to streamline the IT management, break down service siloes so that disparate data can be combined and reasoned in new ways and reduce complexity. In fact, a Microsoft Asia Pacific IT leaders study*** found that 72% of IT decision makers (ITDMs) in Singapore agreed that there is a need to reduce complexity of managing their existing IT security portfolio.

“We believe that every worker – from the factory floor to the front desk, to the executive boardroom – can contribute to an organisation’s collective endeavours. It is our view that involving firstline workers in digital transformation will drive unprecedented opportunity – for workers, the organisations that they work for, and the industries and society at large,” added Kovacevic. “At Microsoft, we see the opportunities that can be unlocked with technology by equipping frontline workers with the right tools, such as Microsoft 365. Ultimately, digital transformation projects can only succeed if the right tools are in place for workers to leverage and maximise upon.”

Microsoft has been diversifying the Microsoft 365 family to address workforce challenges with Microsoft 365 F1, a version of Microsoft 365 which provides purpose-built capabilities that help foster firstline culture and community, train and upskill employees, digitise business process, deliver real-time expertise, and minimise risk and cost. New intelligent search capabilities, a vision for intelligent communications centring on Microsoft Teams, and security and IT management enhancements to help customers stay secure and compliant were also introduced at Ignite:

- Microsoft 365 F1 brings together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security to empower the more than two billion firstline workers worldwide, who serve as the first point of contact between a company and its customers, or who are directly involved in making products.

- A new vision for intelligent communications, including plans to bring Skype for Business Online capabilities into Microsoft Teams, along with cognitive and data services. This makes Teams the true hub for teamwork in Office 365, including persistent chat, voice and video.

- Intelligent search experiences use AI and machine learning to deliver more relevant search results across Microsoft 365.

- Microsoft 365 is delivering improved advanced threat protection (ATP) features like enhanced anti-phishing capabilities, expanded protection to SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams and integration between cloud and on premises identity threat detection capabilities.

- For organisations still on Office 2007, end of support will happen on 11 October. Customers who are still using Office 2007 products and services are encouraged to move to Office 365 or Microsoft 365 to stay supported, and ensure uninterrupted support from Microsoft.

Kovacevic said: “With cloud-based productivity tools being a key pick among Asia’s mobile workers to drive greater collaboration among teams, we urge organisations to take the opportunity to evaluate Microsoft 365 as an option to modernise their workforce.”

Source: Microsoft. Infographic illustrating findings of the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study,

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about the Ignite announcements

*Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study, conducted between February and March 2017 involving 4.175 respondents in 14 Asia markets. The 14 markets include Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. All respondents were prequalified as at least spending 30 hours per week in a full-time role, or spending at least 20 hours per week in a part time role. This included 307 respondents from Singapore.

**Microsoft Asia Digital Transformation Study. The study surveyed 1,494 business leaders from Asia, including 118 from Singapore. All respondents were prequalified as being involved in shaping their organisations’ digital strategy. The study found that only 34% of business leaders in Singapore have a full digital transformation strategy while half are in progress with specific digital transformation initiatives for selected parts of their business. Another 16% of respondents said they had a very limited or no strategy in place.

***Microsoft Asia Pacific survey of 1,200 IT leaders across 12 markets, including Australia, mainland China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Four in 10 (41%) of respondents are working in organisations with 250 to 499 PCs; 59% work in organisations with 500 and more PCs.

Eight MDBs to accelerate transport emission mitigation efforts

Eight multilateral development banks (MDBs) today issued a joint statement committing to accelerate their efforts to mitigate transport emissions and recognising the need for more action on the resilience of transport to climate change. The sector accounts for about 60% of global oil consumption, 27% of all energy use, and 23% of world energy-related CO² emissions.

In their statement, the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), and the World Bank (WB) pledged to speed up action on:

- MDBs have recently committed to substantially increase financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation over the next few years. Transport is expected to play a key role in that commitment.

- The MDBs will increase their focus on low-carbon transport solutions and will continue to harmonise tools and metrics to assess transport-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

- Adaptation: The MDBs will jointly develop a systematic approach to mainstream climate resilience in transport policies, plans and investments.

“We, the multilateral development banks, believe that climate change is a defining challenge of our time. Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilise warming at two degrees Celsius will fall short if they do not include the transport sector. We commit to support countries in the implementation of sustainable transport solutions by providing critically needed financial and technical support to assist them in responding to rising aspirations for greater mobility and connectivity, in a sustainable and resilient way,” said Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Moreno presented the statement on behalf of the eight MDBs during the Transport segment of the Lima Paris Action Agenda. Among the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions submitted as of November 12, 2015, about three quarters explicitly identify the transport sector as a mitigation source, and more than two thirds propose transport sector-specific mitigation measures. In 2012, the MDBs pledged US$175 billion by 2022 in financial resources for more sustainable transport.

“Asia’s burgeoning cities and remote communities alike need low-carbon, climate-resilient transport systems to thrive. ADB will prioritise bus and metro systems in cities, pedestrian and cycle pathways, and long distance railways to reduce emissions and congestion while providing safe and efficient transport in Asia,” said Bambang Susantono, ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development.

"Supporting our member countries to develop efficient transport systems that are climate smart and resilient is a major goal for us. We will work together with other MDBs to ensure that we come up with innovative solutions that will help reduce carbon emissions,” said Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of IsDB.

"Transport must be a significant piece of the climate solution. We have the opportunity to transform transportation services so they are low-carbon and resilient to climate impacts. Now is the time to turn our commitments into action and we stand ready to work with countries as they develop low carbon and climate-resilient transport activities,” said Laura Tuck, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development.

posted from Bloggeroid

Beautycare to follow changing weather conditions

Mintel Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) has identified seasonality as a new global beauty trend. The concept refers to how specific weather conditions defines beauty regimens.

Source: Mintel website.

According to Mintel BPC, seasonal products accounted for as many as 11.1% of all beauty and personal care launches in 2014, up from 9.8% in 2011. Additionally, seasonal facial skincare launches rose from 0.5% of global launches in 2009 to 1.2% in 2014.

Jane Henderson, Global President of Mintel’s Beauty and Personal Care Division at Mintel, said, “Our research shows that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of – and concerned about – how changes in the environment are affecting the condition of their skin and hair. Already, beauty manufacturers have started to go beyond taking simple seasonal approaches geared to public holidays or gifting occasions and instead are taking on the elements within their product innovation.”

Highlighting a gap in the market, Mintel’s exclusive consumer research reveals the strong global consumer demand for skincare launches that tap into changing seasons. Almost half (48%) of Chinese female facial skincare users choose products from different brands in different seasons.

Vivienne Rudd, Director of Insight, Beauty and Personal Care at Mintel, said, “A new generation of winter care products offer additional care and hydration for the skin. These tend to target dry or very dry skin and mention cold, dry weather. However, the future will see the arrival of boosters that address cold, damp weather as well as the extremes of dryness. Meanwhile, extreme summer conditions are calling for products which protect the skin from heat and humidity as well as UV damage, and which build up resilience against the forthcoming autumnal changes. By creating these seasonal options, brands have a chance of building year-round loyalty.”

Seasonal haircare is coming to the fore, Mintel notes. “Today, we have a number of generic seasonal skincare and haircare launches, but in the future we expect a new generation of products targeting specific skin and hair issues. These product introductions have the opportunity to address concerns that have arisen due to climatic conditions and seasonal stresses, varying their textures, building up seasonal ingredient profiles and selecting appropriate fragrance blends,” Rudd said.

“Seasonal approaches in beauty also extend to ingredients harvested at the most opportune time, while seasonal boosters and complementary teas and tonics will join mainstream collections. The seasonal issue will have an impact on global launch programmes. With the seasons arriving in different geographic zones at different times, colour cosmetics brands will have to take a more time-sensitive approach to their seasonal colour stories, while skincare and haircare brands may have to stagger their launch programmes more accurately. Beauty brands will also take cues from localised seasons such as the Monsoon in Southeast Asia to launch relevant and eye catching products.”

Your standard carry-on may now fail the test on US airlines

A number of US airlines have shrunk the dimensions of permitted carry-on luggage, George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog has reported. 

Travelling Hello Kitty statue at Taoyuan Airport,
Taiwan in 2008.

American, Delta and United have recently changed their size specifications for cabin baggage to a maximum of 22 inches long, 14 inches wide and 9 inches high. The width used to be 15 inches.

A March story on Yahoo reports that United is also enforcing the carry-on sizing rule more stringently. Those who fail the carry-on size test have to return to the counter to get their bags checked in, for a fee.

While some airlines do allow larger carry-ons, it now pays to check the the permitted dimensions again, just in case.