HP Innovation Journal Issue 12: Summer 2019 | Page 34

differences. Structures like this may help companies
address often-neglected smaller markets and leverage best
practices across different opportunities to capture new
business opportunities.
At the consumer level, different cultural preferences and
practices drive various requirements for product design.
There is widespread demand in Asia for a variety of
offerings and short innovation cycles. Retail is still largely
driven by family owned businesses, rather than large
retail channels. Enterprise advancements, particularly
the advance of cloud technology, put tools in the hands of
those family businesses or solo entrepreneurs that once
were available or affordable only to multinationals.
2. Go-to-market coverage and strategies should include
large and medium cities—not just megacities.
Consider this: Makassar (Ujung Pandang), a city in
Indonesia, is projected to have one of the highest average
household incomes globally by 2030. Yet it is only the
fifth-largest city in Indonesia, with less than two million
people. Businesses will need to ensure visibility to the
spending power in large and medium cities and ensure that
the growth opportunity they represent is not overlooked.
3. Successful participation in the Rise of Asia may not
just require new products, but new business models.
There is dwindling hope in the new Asia for old-school
global business models, with in-country operations rolling
up to centralized administrations at company headquar-
ters. Faster, nimbler, and collaborative regional operations
are likely to compete with more success and be able to rec-
ognize and optimize for country- and city-specific needs
and demands. Product development, sales and marketing,
financing, and supply chain all present challenges unique
to the region in which a company does business.
Companies in search of growth and economies of scale
will need to adopt strategies that span geographic
boundaries while being mindful of cultural and language
32
HP Innovation Journal Issue 12
As economist Lawrence Summers has observed, “The dra-
matic modernization of the Asian economies ranks alongside
the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution as one of the
most important developments in economic history.” It’s
a simple and powerful comment on a complex landscape,
made of diverse economic, cultural, political, and geographic
influences. The “Rise of Asia,” then, describes a cauldron
of opportunity so vast and fast-changing as to defy many
conventional business practices and assumptions. Rather,
it invites global businesses to deploy the very blend of
imagination, innovation, ambition, and entrepreneurial
energy that is accelerating income growth and fueling
optimism across Asia for consumers and customers—
and the businesses that would serve them.
THE MIDDLE CLASS POPULATION
IN ASIA WILL GROW 153%
100%
11%
7%
90%
14%
80%
24%
Europe
6%
70%
60%
North America
Central & South America
Asia-Pacific
Sub-Saharan Africa
9%
Middle East & North Africa
50%
65%
40%
30%
46%
20%
10%
0%
4% 4%
6% 5%
2015 2030
Source: Brookings Institution