In a previous trend snack we showed how companies are crossing over into other industries in order to stay in business. However that is not always the case. In these uncertain times, companies do not necessarily need to move away from their current industry to enjoy growth and expansion. They can become a key or prominent player by looking at and exploiting the blindspots in their own sector. This is usually done with the intention of seizing new growth opportunities, expanding profits and the footprint of the company.
The trend snacks below look at how businesses are finding new ways to grow their reach, profits and relevance in order to get ahead of the pack. Continue reading to see the innovative ways global companies are trying to survive or outrun the opposition.
Prudential and MyDoc’s Telemedicine Service
Prudential, one of Asia’s leading insurance companies has embarked on a partnership with MyDoc, an Asian digital healthcare service provider. They have joined forces to offer their clients video doctor consultations, electronic prescriptions, medicine delivery, online records and electronic medical certificates. The services will be integrated into Prudential’s holistic healthcare app, Pulse, which will be launched in 11 markets in Asia. This partnership benefits not only the two companies, but also their clients who will have access to an integrated telemedicine service provider from anywhere in the world on their tablet or smartphone. With the telemedicine market set to reach a value of $148.32 billion by 2025 , it makes sense for Prudential and MyDoc to partner up to acquire a portion of these projected earnings, thus not only increasing their regional footprints but also increasing their profit margins. Continue reading to see what other companies are doing to stay ahead of the pack.
Foot Locker’s Greenhouse Incubator
Flux covered the demise of malls aka the retail apocalypse in one of our previous trend reports and it seems that Foot Locker is aware of this trend. The retailer has chosen to respond to it with an intelligently ambitious strategic plan to position itself not only as a sneaker retailer, but as a global leader with regards to sneaker design and talent development. The company has acquired the GOAT group, Rockets of Awesome , Carbon38 , Pensole and Flight Club, in a bid to diversify its revenue stream. But there’s another reason for these acquisitions: the data collected by each of these businesses will be fed into Greenhouse, the retailer’s sneaker-focused design incubator and strategic consultancy. The aim is to establish Foot Locker as the leader in the cross-generational sneaker and activewear industry. The Greenhouse incubator has a mentorship programme for young industry designers in collaboration with Alife’s general manager, Treis Hill , thus giving the next generation of sneaker and activewear designers a chance to enter the highly competitive and lucrative industry. The consultancy arm of the business will connect brands with talented designers and also share youth culture insights with interested brands. A successful and relevant example of this is Adidas working with Speedfactory to create a line of sneakers using 3D printing technology. As if this is not enough for world domination, the company has recently launched a Store of the Future in New York.
Life Time Fitness Club Luxury Apartments #trendconfirmation
Following in the footsteps of Equinox, fitness chain Life Time is planning to roll out luxury residential apartments for members. The company is expanding from health and fitness into real estate. This is in a bid to make it less of a fitness brand and more of a lifestyle brand which meets all the needs of members. The apartments will be built next to existing Life Time Fitness Clubs and membership will be built into the rental fee for the apartment. Members will also have access to 140 workout facilities when they are travelling. The apartments will have coworking spaces for tenants, with the chain hoping to appeal to millennials and members of Gen Z. Considering the reach and profits in the real estate/hospitality industries, it makes sense for Life Time to stake a claim in this space.
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By Tumelo Mojapelo
About Tumelo
As Head of Content and Foresight Facilitator, Tumelo Mojapelo oversees and directs the
research undertaken and content generated by the Flux Trends team. With a wealth of
knowledge and experience in the trends analysis space, her mission is to empower
entrepreneurs and business people to make better decisions through an understanding of trends – how seemingly unrelated factors and events have the potential to disrupt current business models and society.
Flux Trends’ experts are available for comment and interviews. For all media enquiries please contact Faeeza Khan on info@fluxtrends.co.za .
To book our corporate presentations please contact Bethea Clayton on connected@fluxtrends.co.za .
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Image credit: Niklas Tidbury AND Jakarta Post AND Sneaker News AND Life Time Living
