Strategic Thought Transformation - The IIPM Think Tank

E X E C U T I V E S U M M E R Y
For Honda, sky is the limit
Come 2010 and Japanese car giant Honda will be all set to enter the aviation sector, launching a mini passenger jet. Honda claims that
the plane will be roomier, faster and more fuel efficient than any other aircraft in its class. The work on the seven-seat light aircraft has
been in progress for the past twenty years. Honda Aircraft Company will be headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina and will be
headed by engineer Michimasa Fujino, who is associated with the project ever since the idea originated.
Regent a step ahead in pub rivalry
In a recent episode of pub rivalry, Regent Inns has struck a $49.24 million all cash deal with its challenger, Punch Taverns. As part of
the deal, Regent Inns is purchasing 31 restaurants along with the Old Orleans chain from Punch Taverns – Britain’s biggest pub owner.
Post-acquisition, Regent, the owner of the Walkabout chain of bars and Jongleurs comedy clubs, will be better equipped to improve
its position in the fast growing competitive market. The 31 restaurant group yielded an EBITDA of $4.36 million in the six-month period
closing on February 18, 2006.
Afternoon update without a price
In a bid to fight competition from Rupert Murdoch’s The London (paper launched by the parent of The Sun), publishing
house Daily Mail & General Trust is planning to float its free afternoon daily in the market. The new daily is to be christened
London Lite, which will initially meet a circulation target of 400,000 copies. The launch of the paper will see the termination
of Evening Standard Lite. The group also circulates London’s free morning paper named Metro.
No ‘Fuji smile’ for General Electric
General Electric’s future in the digital breast cancer market seems uncertain. GE, which had a firm footing in the American
market, is being challenged by Fuji Photo Film. The latter has received a green signal from US Food and Drug Administration
to inaugurate its device, which is priced lower than that of General Electric. By the year 2010, Fuji Photo Film would have
shipped 7,000 pieces of the medical device into America. Since 2003, the company has already sold 3,000 such units, which
has helped it to fetch $300,000 across the globe.
Japan ropes in super sixteen
Officials hailing from the land of the rising sun have come up with a proposal to configure a 16-nation free-trade bloc comprising
of China, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc. Last year, the same 16 had
created the East Asia Summit, which was perceived as a forerunner to the formation of a giant free-trade alliance, engulfing
almost half of the world’s populace. Japan entered its first ever FTA with Singapore in 2002 and also coordinated well worked
deals with Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines. Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have also expressed their willingness
to be a part of such a bloc. The advocates of the plan, however, admit that turning it into reality will take a long time.
Banking on bottling plants
San Francisco-based Seven-Up bottling company has been bought by Cadbury Schweppes from the Easley family in a $48
million cash deal. The driving force behind the deal was the urge to increase the count of bottling plants that were incharge
of selling brands like Dr. Pepper, 7-Up and Sunkist sodas. Seven-Up Bottling that recorded revenues of $140 million in 2005
has ten warehouses, a manufacturing plant and houses 600 people. This latest advancement will certainly help Schweppes
strengthen its position in controlling the drinks market in the American territory.
It’s time to defrost for Unilever
150 million times a day – that’s the number of times a Unilever product is picked up in every part of the world! The company offers 400
brands, covering 14 categories of food products, household goods and things of personal care needs. Recently, Unilever sold a major
chunk of its European frozen foods business to the private equity firm Permira Funds for a whopping $2.21 billion. The deal includes
purchase of the brands Iglo and Birds Eye, as well as operations in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal
102 STRATEGIC INNOVATORS
An IIPM Intelligence Unit Publication