Globalisation winds blowing from the East to West

Remember the time when westernization was glorified? Every trend, movement, and fad originated in the West and would slowly make its way to the East. Countries in the East were used to being told that they are at least ‘five years behind’ any major advancement.

And then came China’s rising economic and political power that began to rival that of the U.S. India too gained the title of becoming the world’s fastest-growing economy. Here in the Middle East, Dubai was already making headways in innovation and adopting artificial intelligence - it even has a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took over, Saudi hasn’t just brought in progressive reforms but is also trying to open up the borders and attract more foreign investment and tourism by means of its giga projects. Basically, while the West was dealing with its own issues and turning inwards, the East capitalized on its booming population and human resources to change the face of the industrialised world.

Brookings Institute estimates that 88% of the next 1 billion people to enter the global middle class will live in Asia, with 350 million coming from China alone. While the world has been talking about overpopulation as a big evil, the brightest minds in business from Jeff Bezos to Elon Musk to Jack Ma can’t disagree more.

When it comes to retail specifically, China is leading the way thanks to Alibaba and Jack Ma’s bold and digital-first innovations and strategies along with the other key players including JD.com and Pinduoduo. From redefining luxury with gamified retail experiences like Dior’s online treasure hunt, Chanel’s beauty arcade pop-up, and JD’s white glove delivery service to fusing the physical and digital world and inherently influencing people’s habits and behaviours, there’s just a lot for the rest of the word to keep pace with.

Live shopping is another e-commerce trend that birthed in China and has been a massive revenue driver for retail businesses. All they did was improvise on a tried and tested concept and make it fit for mobile and the new social media-inclined audience. Apparel Group is bringing it to the region and you can read all about it on page 12.

Well, all I am trying to say is, the globalization wind has clearly changed course and is now moving from East to West where you’d find countries like China and India now saying to the western world, “these countries are at least five years behind us”.