Blog Archives

Are our heads in the sand….

July 29, 2007

Business, Business and the Environment, Compliance, Economic Development, Manufacturing, New Zealand, Society, Strategy

A friend (OK OK a facebook contact) sent me this link. Without being all right wing and going on and on about how ACT was sent here to save our souls (god forbid!) it does have to be said…

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NZ dollar punches through barrier!

July 24, 2007

Business, Economic Development, Manufacturing, New Zealand, Society, Strategy

The NZ dollar has punched through the psychological USD0.80 barrier. While the change itself is small – I’d bet that there are a number of Kiwi businesses who told themselves that 80 cents was the barrier beyond which they…

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See – it’s not just Cactus that can still manufacture in NZ…

July 7, 2007

Branding, Business, Design, Economic Development, Manufacturing, New business, New Zealand

Maternity wear company Egg is going great guns. They’ve just signed a deal to be represented in Blomingdales stateside. Already they 14 stores in NZ and 8 in Australia with expansion in progress in Singapore and have achieved the…

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78 cents US… Ouch!

July 3, 2007

Business, Economic Development, Manufacturing, My businesses, New Zealand

The dollar last night touched USD0.78. This is going to hurt exporters no end. Cactus is lucky in that we both import (raw materials either directly or indirectly), have a sizeable domestic market and create a niche product that…

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KISS….

June 10, 2007

Business, Design, Governance, IT, Manufacturing, New business, New Zealand, Strategy

An excellent article in the June issue of Unlimited Magazine by Mike Hutcheson of Lighthouse Ventures. It’ll be online on the Unlimited website once the July issue comes out but the June issue is good and well worth the…

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Brian understands……

June 6, 2007

Business, Economic Development, Governance, Manufacturing, New Zealand, Society, Strategy

Following on from my previous post regarding the Skellerup layoffs, an interesting post here from Brian Sweeney of Sweeney Vesty/NZ Edge/7*7 fame. As Brian so rightly comments, we are nation of “she’ll be right”ers, happy to achieve a modicum…

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And another one bites the dust…

June 6, 2007

Business, Economic Development, Efficiency, Governance, Manufacturing, New Zealand, Society

News today that up to 100 jobs might be lost at the Skellerup Christchurch plant. A seeming response to tariff reduction and the soaring NZ dollar. It’s hard to see it and there will be some people hurting but…

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A united front….

June 5, 2007

Business, Economic Development, Efficiency, Manufacturing, New business, New Zealand, Society, Strategy

A great opinion piece in this months Unlimited magazine by Rod Drury. In it Rod discusses the desperate need in New Zealand for internet infrastructure spend. In it Rod correctly states that the three year electoral cycle is a…

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Another challenge for NZ businesses……

May 25, 2007

Business, Economic Development, Efficiency, Governance, IT, Manufacturing, New business, New Zealand, Society, Strategy

Succession planning… The ANZ bank has identified something which, with a bit of thought was probably obvious anyway. The current generation of SME owners are disproportionately represented by baby boomers. Given the slump in proportionate numbers of successive generations,…

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Lets jump off a cliff right now….

May 17, 2007

Business, Economic Development, Governance, Manufacturing, My businesses, Society

A disturbing post here, the crux of which is that it is no longer viable to “mesh atoms” in New Zealand. Unfortunately the growing and value adding of Merino fibre, the production of milk and the manufacturing of world…

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