The Knowledge to Decide

On 15 June, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a seminar at The Japanese Association in Singapore to give insights on emerging trends for India’s economy. The seminar aimed to raise understanding of market opportunities in light of events such as the roll-out of GST in India and President Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S elections. Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager at Yamada Business Consulting Singapore, addressed the session to discuss current business trends in India in light of developments such as Trump’s victory in the U.S. election. Kita-san highlighted the impact on India’s economy of the recent Rupee demonetization of high-value currency notes, the introduction of a single Goods and Services Tax (GST) along with the Make In India initiative launched by the government to attract more investors. He also highlighted the Digital India Program, which aims to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society, nurturing startups and c

On 4 May, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to share ideas on how Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) can drive growth using smart market and industry research. Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire Research and Consulting, discussed how market research decisions impact different operating functions within a typical SME and what kinds of research techniques are commonly used, together with the pitfalls associated with each. Singh highlighted how market research can go beyond customer analysis at manageable cost if the business objective is clear, although the analysis of internal data and business intelligence can only provide limited information. To maintain the accuracy of market research data, a few pitfalls should be avoided. It is crucial to avoid asking the wrong questions, targeting the wrong respondents and over-emphasizing sample size, to name a few. https://www.spireresearch.com/ne

On 20 January, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to explore the impact on India’s economy of the recent Rupee demonetization of high-value currency notes. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire and Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed the demonetization’s impact on different industry sectors, on e-commerce and on the outlook for doing business in India in 2017. The speakers talked about how demonetisation will spur growth in cashless transactions. Although the retail and car resale sector will suffer short-term damage, there is a visible shift towards modern trade and online transactions. Moreover, ease of doing business and transparency will rise, making India more investment-friendly. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-and-ybc-host-br

How can Singapore become more eco-friendly? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 24 April 2017. Perera commented that to increase the public collection of recyclables, there should be better education and more frequent collection from recycling bins in housing estates. Perera also opined that measures should be taken to tackle food waste in Singapore’s hawker centers. The government also needs to work together with business chambers and retailers to encourage the purchase of products which are produced in a sustainable manner. Moreover, businesses need to think whether the supplies they purchase are made in a sustainable manner and not focus solely on reducing expenditure for paper, electricity and other supplies. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/increase-collection-of-recyclables-for-a-greener-singapore/

Spire Singapore hosted its second Client Entertainment Night of the year. Our business associates and partners joined us for a dinner reception followed by the movie screening of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” – the first installment of J.K. Rowling’s trilogy (movies) based on the novel of the same title. The event was held at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. It was an opportunity for everyone to relax after another hard day’s work. The main plot revolves around Newt Scamander, who stops over in New York for a brief visit after completing his global research for his Magizoology book on magical creatures. However, his muggle friend Jacob accidentally releases a number of dangerous magical creatures from his magically expanded suitcase – worsening the already tense relations between non-magical and magical people. Spire’s team members, clients and business associates enjoyed an evening of catching up over good food and a movie. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom

To invest in Hindi content makes business sense. There are around 500 million Hindi speakers in India and across the globe. DB Corp Ltd. – India’s largest print media company – is pursuing this strategy. Internet users in Hindi are on the rise in rural India where 87 million mobile-internet users and 134 million internet users are based (as of 2014). However, developers find it difficult to create a standardized interface language setting and the lack of standard phonetic translations makes it harder to type Hindi characters. Moreover, with many other official languages across India, propagating Hindi content is still an uphill task. Will Hindi digital content take off any time soon? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/digital-content-in-hindi-gaining-momentum/

The mind has been compared to an iceberg. Many decisions are made in its unconscious recesses, beyond the reach of reason and consciousness. Will neuroscience help marketers and businesses connect with the subconscious mind of their audience? Should it? Though consumers are fairly conscious of their likes and dislikes, most of us do not know the factors influencing our decisions. With that in mind, neuroeconomics seeks to unlock the mystery and comprehend the hidden elements during decision-making. Marketers are now exploring this nascent field to measure subconscious cerebral data and use it to predict how consumers make choices. Neuro techniques can even help corporations better understand the dynamics of employee performance and nurture employee engagement. Entering the subconscious mind and taking a peek at the factors that influence our choices is not an easy feat. Two techniques have emerged: 1. lectroencephalography (EEG) Neuroscientists are using EEG t

Spire Research and Consulting was honored to participate in the GATES India ICT Reseller Summit 2016 as the content and research partner. The event was held in Bangalore from 4-6 October, 2016. The Summit is an initiative to provide a powerful business platform for consumer electronics and ICT brands to launch, develop and expand their network in the Indian sub-continent. Saurabh Sharma, Country Director for Spire Research and Consulting India, highlighted the findings of Spire’s survey to assess the experience of ICT customers and vendors for online and offline platforms in India. The survey focused on customers’ purchase habits, preferred price range and product preferences along with future mode of purchase. It also measured vendors’ selling habits, preferred price range and product preferences along with association with e-commerce platforms . The data was drawn from telephonic and online surveys conducted (in October 2016) across five metropolitan cities,

On 28 September, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to discuss emerging business opportunities in Asia facing Japanese firms. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire; Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore) and Takuya Makimura, Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed emerging business opportunities in Asia for Japan Regional HQs. Seminar attendees, who were senior executives in Japanese, heard about how the Asian market can contribute substantially to the revenue of Japanese companies with regional headquarters in Singapore. The speakers talked about under-appreciated opportunities in Asia for Japanese companies. E-commerce will be an important pathway to access markets in Indonesia and India where complex channel structures have often proved forbidding to Japanese investors

Imagine the Nevada desert with thousands of mirrors arranged in concentric circles facing the sky, all lit up by the sun. The reflected sunshine is concentrated towards the top of a tower in their midst, at a height of 640 feet. Does this seem like a scene from a sci-fi movie? Wrong. This innovative power plant generates electricity and can carry on even when the sun sets. According to research, global energy storage installations are bound to rise from 1,750 megawatts (Mw) in 2016 to nearly 11,000 Mw in 2020. The lucrative business of harnessing sun and wind energy has picked up in Asia. For instance, Hindustan Power Projects Limited (HPPL) has investments worth INR17,000 crore (out of intended INR35,000 crore). It is also set to enter the wind power arena and set up 3 Gw of wind energy by 2020. Can solar and wind energy provide a safer, cleaner and more reliable form of energy for the 21st century? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/next-generati

On 23 September, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to shed light on business opportunities in today’s dynamic Japan. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire and Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Yamada Business Consulting recently acquired an 80% stake in the Spire Research and Consulting group. This acquisition gives Spire access to YBC’s extensive network of 5 offices and over 400 consultants in Japan to conduct research and advise clients on Japan market entry and growth. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed emerging business opportunities in Asia for Japan Regional HQs. Seminar attendees heard about how the Japan market can contribute substantially to the revenue of Singapore-based companies. The speakers talked about the macro-factors buoying Japan’s economic growth while also highlig

The Spire Research and Consulting Group is proud to announce its merger with   Yamada Business Consulting Co., Ltd.   or YBC – one of the five largest management consulting firms in Japan and a publicly listed firm on JASDAQ, the second board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. YBC is part of the Yamada Consulting group, which has over 1,200 staff across 12 offices in Japan. With this merger, YBC will use Spire as its global brand outside of Japan. On 15 April 2016, YBC acquired an 80 per cent stake in Spire Research and Consulting Pte Ltd, the Singapore parent company for the Spire Research and Consulting group of companies. Leon Perera, the co-founder of Spire, will continue to serve as the CEO of the group, retaining a 20 per cent stake. Equiteq has been the exclusive financial adviser to Spire in the completion of this transaction. The merger makes Spire part of a much larger and publicly listed corporate group, which is expected to create better access to new consulting solutio