18 minute read
Cover Story
The Next Move -A Time of Changes
How Business succeed in uncertain times
Advertisement
Having weathered the bane of the third wave of COVID-19 that hit in July 2020, Hong Kongers have shown that they are nothing but resilient, determined and savvy amidst crisis and unprecedented challenges.
Efforts to revitalise and redefine how businesses are conducted have shaped perspectives on numerous sectors and their strategies for the years to come. Closer insights are now cast on the importance and necessity of how we can guarantee our health and safety in everyday aspects of our lives such as the workplace, retail and travel. In particular, air quality has taken the front seat in how we view our time indoors and companies must be prepared to address and implement safety and operational measures to guarantee the health of their workers at the workplace.
Industries have each identified the challenges that they are confronted with during COVID-19 and have combated such challenges with diverse strategies, from broadening their social media presence, modifying and engaging their target audiences through virtual activities and implementing flexible solutions and responses geared towards their customer experience. These measures will undoubtedly form the future of businesses and their respective sectors going forward.
The following cover stories will provide an insight into the narratives of businesses who have adapted and modified their practices and strategies in line with the strange and confusing times that are amongst us now and will continue to shape our future. It is important to remain positive and resilient through the times we face and to continue to prepare for an optimistic future.
Can we monitor airborne concentration of viruses in real-time? Redefining the Way We See our Buildings
CCOVID-19 outbreak has nudged us to rethink about the health and safety in the places we live and work. On average, we spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations (U.S. EPA).
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently acknowledged airborne transmission as one of the transmission modes for COVID-19, making the protection and management of indoor air quality even more relevant.
By Simon Sui Jiang, Business Development Manager, BEE Incorporations
Can we monitor airborne concentration of viruses in real-time?
While we may not be able to monitor airborne concentration of pathogens or viruses in real time, we can monitor the parameters that influence infection potential. These parameters include: relative humidity, number of occupants per space, particulate matter (PM), temperature, among others. For example, scientific evidence suggests when humidity is maintained between 40% to 60%, the infection potential may be reduced to half.
RESET™ Air Index is a tool that monitors these parameters and indicates how optimized the space is for human health. This tool was launched by RESET™, world’s first green building standard to monitor the building health performance exclusively through sensor-based data. RESET™ Air Index prioritizes the tracking of: • PM2.5 and PM0.3 • Filtration level • CO2 • Air changes • Temperature • Humidity • Air sterilization activity
The performance data monitored through accredited sensors is collected on RESET™’s cloud platform for data reporting and visualization. The results inform occupants the risk of possible virus transmission from their interior space in real time, while alerting facility owners and managers to take measures accordingly to improve building operations.
Buildings will not look the same after this pandemic. Occupants have begun to demand transparency of their building’s air quality data, healthier operational measures, and better designs that protect sanitation and safety. The RESET™ Air Index tool enables building owners, managers, and occupants to prepare for environmental risks efficiently. RESET™-accredited monitors: BEE Incorporations offers RESET™- accredited real-time indoor air quality monitors suitable for all geographies, sectors and scales. Learn more at: bee-inc.com
How did we push our company business during Covid-19?
Finally, September! Usually it’s the month for relaxation, holidays, exotic or cultural destinations, beaches and refreshing cocktails. Unfortunately, instead of sipping a drink in Thailand, this year we find ourselves taking stock of this first half of the year, one of the most difficult ever on a personal and business level. The spread of COVID-19 led us to redesign a commercial strategy, to break the mold we were used to and imagine a completely different way of working. For this reason, we have shifted our focus to the web and all its infinite possibilities.
By Alessandra Zappaterra Social media manager, Communication and IT specialist, TABLO LIMITED
Let’s see together how. Being a company operating mainly in the ho.re. ca sector, this period would have given us a hard time due to the total lack of tourism and the closure of many restaurants and bars. Instead, we turned our focus mainly to private clients and their need to stay home, cooking for friends and families in their own, albeit small, homes. The emphasis has been placed on the concept of private catering by focusing on those who, in this situation, have decided to refresh their kitchen and present traditional dishes on Italian porcelain or artisanal glass plates from colorful Murano.
We made sure that the consumer, unable to move freely due to social distancing measures, could virtually enter our showroom and see our products up close. In this respect, Facebook sponsorships have paid off! In fact, we have experienced a good increase in sales at the cost of a fairly cheap initial investment. Using the web has also given us multiple occasions for cross-branding collaborations. We posted many live stories on Instagram during a photo shooting of our partner, Certa, to whom we provided Zafferano and IVV plates and glasses. We made the first Instagram LIVE on IGTV to promote, with the participation of the Italian Women’s Association, a trolley of professional knives that those with a passion for cooking and creative dishes will find very useful. This live has been highly successful and, for sure, we are going to set up new promotional videos to make cross branding and promotions.
We brought our followers into the kitchen of a very well-known Italian restaurant following the preparation and serving processes step by step. In our blog we created a section called “meeting the chef ” where every month we interview a famous chef. The aim is to bring our readers into the mind and the everyday life of those who create the art of a dish. For this reason, we are focusing mainly on our Blog contents, also by sharing the articles on Linkedin and Facebook so to create a network of followers who, in turn, advertise and repost. We have also been featured in Luxury Lifestyle Magazine with an article regarding the most luxury items every home should have!
In short, we had to adapt to this situation and, although we have to wait a little longer to organize some Italian food and wine tasting events, we will keep on focusing on social media marketing, also looking for collaborations with local influencers and food bloggers. Diversification and creativity have become our keywords.
From September to Christmas we will concentrate more on products and the process that, from a simple idea, leads to the creation of the item we can see on our table.
Regarding the future, we must be positive. Insiders report that many investors are working on important projects in hospitality. Yes, because we will soon return to travel and those who have not been able to set foot outside their country will start doing it again in style, booking the best hotels, and not only for staycation week ends. This is the point we will be starting from once COVID-19 will be an old memory.
There will always be room for parties in the future but the important thing nowadays is to focus on your current goals and be positive, proactive, and not be afraid to take risks. Therefore, #stayhome but also #staypositive!
Evolution not revolution? How we will work and shop post-COVID
COVID-19 currently dominates our lives, dictating where we can travel, whether we can go into the office and even how we shop. Despite the widespread disruption, the world will move on at some point, but exactly when is subject to plenty of scientific debate. The question on everyone’s lips is how will we emerge from this crisis? Will the way we live our lives be changed forever or will we embrace a return to the comfort of pre-COVID normality? Answers to these questions may be found in the world of real estate where form and function are inextricably linked and changes in behavior are often manifested in bricks and mortar.
For many of us, most of our working lives have been spent in office-based employment, with its daily commute and cubicle culture, its client lunches and drinks with colleagues, it’s hierarchies and its gossip. But do fears of contamination, the need for social distancing and the work from home culture mean that the office is now dead?
By Nick Bradstreet Managing Director, Savills
I think there is a case to be made that regional differences between Europe and Asia may see different outcomes for the office and Hong Kong is a prime example. In first tier Asian cities such as this one, where the service sector has long since replaced manufacturing as the major employer, land prices (among other things) have given rise to very high population densities, small apartments and multi-generational living. None of this is conducive to working from home and many employees are keen to return, particularly businesses where collaboration and client contact are essential elements. Many employers also hold quite traditional views about the need for staff to be at their desks!
In Europe on the other hand, more generous housing conditions and the availability of outside space make the home office a welcome choice for the harassed commuter. Here the WFH model seems more appropriate environmentally and socially where traditional models of urbanization can be refashioned around a New Urbanism which focuses on communities which offer a rounded mix of work-live-play real estate uses, as an alternative to the tyranny of the daily commute between residential, work and leisure zones. Surveys suggest that most employees would be happy to spend one or two days a week at home with added benefits for family life and lower travel costs. Employers would also save on rental overheads which can be substantial in CBDs.
But maybe WFH is a distraction from the immediate threat facing office markets – corporate solvency. Governments have thrown everything in their monetary and fiscal armoury at protecting businesses and livelihoods and yet firms are still being forced to downsize or close and vacancy rates are ticking up steadily in office markets from Milan to Mumbai. This means rents must fall, and fall they are, with fears for more closures once stimulus measures are inevitably withdrawn.
In capital markets, real estate funds have traditionally cherished office assets as a stable and reliable investment and they form the bedrock of many institutional portfolios. Many fund managers view the pandemic as a catalyst for existing trends, rather than a disruptor. We were already moving to more flexible office workstyles, and this change will accelerate. As part of this change, we are likely to see more displacement demand for office space in suburban hubs. This space might be provided by specialist flexible space operators or conventional landlords. impact on office take up, however, will ultimately rely on the timing of recovery but also on the characteristics of the demand which emerges as some sectors are likely to rebound more strongly than others, altering the traditional corporate landscape. New economy companies are the ones to watch in this respect.
But if offices are seeing accelerated change, the evolution of the retail sector, already the subject of much discussion pre-COVID, has been brought right to the fore. Whether you’re in Hong Kong, Milan, London, or New York the retail industry has gone through a traumatic time in 2020. Retail sales have collapsed as people have stayed away from the streets and the shopping centres preferring to shop online instead. In most cities retailers were already grappling with the impact of online sales on physical stores and evolving consumer demand when the virus struck, suddenly accelerating the rate of change.
It is a similar story worldwide but has been particularly bad in Hong Kong where rents are at world beating levels. Occupancy ratios have reached unprecedented highs, way above the norm, and as a result vacancies are rising at a significant rate both on the street and in shopping centres. A lack of mainland tourists has hit the city hard, in common with many tourist dependent markets globally and their return will be key to any recovery. As travel restrictions look likely to remain a fact of life for some time to come, only the strongest domestic markets will make it through unscathed while others will have to wean themselves off high spending tourists and accept a more locally focused retail offering.
On the street landlords are being more flexible and this has been particularly the case in Hong Kong with the Savills retail prime street rental index posting a dramatic fall of around 70% since the peak in 2013. Reasons for the dismal performance don’t just lie in COVID, however, as trade wars, political protests and a weak Renminbi have all taken their toll. As we move forward most retailers agree that the city’s golden retail era is over for now and sales are unlikely to surpass 30% to 40% of what they were in 2018. Retailers are adjusting to this new norm by cutting back on stores, managing their cost base and finding new and innovative formats.
It would be far too early to pronounce the office or the shop dead, but their evolution is experiencing an unprecedented period of acceleration which is likely to see both changed forever.
Keep flying high in hard times
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the aviation and travel industry, as safety concerns and government imposed travel restrictions led to a severe drop in demand amongst travellers. Analysts forecast a long period of recovery with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) now predicting that travel demand may not return to pre-crisis levels until 2024, one year later than they previously estimated.
By Justin Chang, Cathay Pacific Airways Country Manager Italy & Spain
The efficacy of the measures taken by each country to contain the spread of the virus and the speed with which an effective vaccine is ready, will have a significant role in shaping the future of our industry. While the world deals with the economic aftermath of the pandemic, we are expecting a change in the overall approach to travel, as travellers will continue to remain wary of confined spaces and as video conferences and virtual events remain a habit in the new norm.
However, there is confidence and optimism that the want and need for travel will return. The value of face-to-face interaction, the pleasure of connecting loved ones around the world, or the discovery of new cultures, cannot be replaced by digital surrogates. That said, airlines and all the other operators within the travel industry, will need to create new value propositions built around safe and secure travel. This is a challenge that has been at the forefront of Cathay Pacific during these months and will be an imperative pillar of our strategy in the near future.
Safety has always been the number one priority at Cathay Pacific. In these challenging times we understand the concerns of our passengers and have already introduced enhanced measures across every stage of the customer journey, to respond to their demand for safe and secure travel whilst still delivering the warmth of Asian hospitality and thoughtful service we are renowned for. We have named this commitment to our customers as “Cathay Care” and these measures include contactless check-in (in airports where available), temperature checks for all passengers and crew, mandatory face coverings throughout the flight for both passengers and crew, thorough sanitisation and cleaning of all surfaces in the cabin before and after each flight, HEPA filtered cabin air which reduces 99.99% of all airborne contaminants and recirculates air every two minutes.
We have also introduced various options for our passengers who need to change their tickets due to the evolving situation. Our Fly Worry Free product allows you to buy your ticket and make unlimited changes for one year. In case our customers are unsure of their travel plans in the near future, we also offer the option for them to change their ticket into Cathay Credits or to ask for a full refund. We hope that these measures will allow our customers to have ease of mind when making their future travel plans.
Only those airlines who are able to be agile in their response to the ever changing situation, have a chance to ensure a sustained success into the future. I believe the Cathay Pacific Group will be amongst those to rebound and prosper again, building off the strength of a company made up of professional and committed people, an outstanding brand and a world-leading premium service offering. Through our premium passenger airlines, Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon, a best-in-class express airfreight airline in Air Hong Kong and an unrivalled position in the Greater Bay Area, our long-term future remains bright despite the significant term challenges we are currently experiencing.
Strategy flex for Tourism industry in a VUCA world
For travel enthusiasts like myself and many others around the world, 2020 has not been quite the same from how we expect the curtains to unfold for the start of a new decade. The worldwide pandemic and subsequent border controls spellbound us to a new-normal that is looking to stay with us for awhile. Tourism industry, among other service industries, is heavily impacted by this unforeseeable disruption. Successful adjustment and adaptation in the ever-evolving VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) would require courage to implement creative strategies, and a positive yet flexible attitude toward changes.
By Joanne Wong, Assistant Director, Ernst & Young
A recent study suggests that making future travel plans could boost our spirits, energy, and well-being. Although travelers have changed their priorities on their focuses and considerations regarding travels (particularly health and safety procedures alongside with social distancing measures), they are enthusiastic to restart their globetrotting journeys in the future. Personalized travel route planning can be considered as a revenue-generating services, considering clients could customize factors such as selection of countries to visit, duration, number of people traveling, lifestyle, and purposes (such as history, shopping, leisure and spa, nature, etc.), and mode of transportation and its schedule into the design of their personalized travel plans.
In parallel, collaborations with local merchants, service providers, and museums across various destination countries would be an idea worth exploring. Consideration of referral commissions (given it is within operable legal framework) could be an option, alongside exclusive discounts and gifts with purchase for customers who are finalizing their personalized travel plans. Some travel providers are also leveraging social media such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram in combination of their relationships with overseas merchants to offer overseas product group-ordering services. Some recent examples include group-ordering Japanese fruits from Japanese partners as well as Taiwanese mooncakes via Taiwanese local shops that has a relationship with the tour agency in view of the approaching Mid-Autumn Festival in Asia.
There is no doubt that the pandemic accelerated the evolution of technology, in which businesses must explore strategies to evolve their business models to incorporate technology into their service offerings. A prime example would be the use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, which has been applied in the real-estate industry to enable overseas buyers or potential renters to narrow-down on the property choices prior to finalization of the physical property tour. Applying to the tourism industry, Virtual Reality tours could be given in advance for customers to preview the tourist site to decide if they would like to include it into their travel plans. Virtual tours are also up and rising, with the advantage offered by digital platforms to expand the potential customer pool from locals to global. For example, a Hong Kong local tour company has recently launched a live virtual interactive tour, where they offer a local tour of Hong Kong while participants could ask live questions directly and mingle with other virtual travelers from other parts of the world.
Businesses that are quick to adapt in the VUCA world by flexing their strategies to include digital service offerings alongside with creative and personalized services would most likely secure an advantage, as global citizens are incorporating the new-normal into their daily lives. We could perhaps take inspiration from the Chinese word ‘crisis’, which comprises of the characters ‘threat’ and ‘opportunity’ – where we shall remain hopeful for opportunities to emerge from threats, and silver linings waiting for us to be spotted.
