India doesn't want foreign retailers, but the Far East does

The New York Times reports today that India has withdrawn its measure to allow foreign retailers to partner with Indian companies and open new stores.

It's true that India should be an attractive market whose population is projected to outgrow China's by 2050, but it can be a difficult one. Businesses who want to enter the Indian market need to pay attention to a variety of issues including marketing, demographics, and workforce issues. India Business is a book that outlines many of the opportunities and pitfalls of doing business there.

If India does not welcome foreign retailers, other regions of the world do, including the Far East.  Laurent Sausset's new book, Shopping Behavior in Asia,  What Retailers Need to Know for Success in the Far East, is based on surveys of consumers  from all the countries in the region and details what steps specific categories of retailers can take to assure their success.

Experiences will be the winners for this holiday

Pam Danziger, author of Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury and president of Unity Marketing, is predicting that the affluent and aspirational will be reluctant to indulge in showy luxury items this holiday season. In part, she says, it is a response to the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has made it unpopular to indulge in conspicuous consumption.

Danziger predicts a continued emphasis on practical gifts such as technology and on experiences.

A book that makes you think

In a review in a recent issue of Journal of Product and Brand Management (Vol. 20, Issue 6) , David Bishop, Department of Marketing at the University of Otago in New Zealand says reading Andrea Syverson's book, BrandAbout. A Seriously Playful Approach for Passionate Brand-Builders and Merchants is like "sitting next to and talking to a fellow passenger who is knowledgeable and easy to listen to."

Bishop calls one of the most important questions asked in the book, "When did we lose sight that first and foremost our customers are complicated human beings just like us?" Syverson "encourages readers to maybe dump things that no longer add value to a brand and "dream" what might be possible. "

After reviewing the book chapter by chapter, Bishop concludes. "This book is worth reading. It takes about as long to read as a flight from coast to coast in the USA. It will not give you answers, but it will encourage you to think about what might be possible. It might even encourage  you not to rush from where you are to where you want to be but to stop off in places, take time out to think about things that you may only otherwise see for a few fleeting seconds from far up too high."