Challenges of Brexit

Challenges of Brexit: Luxury Concierge Business in the UK

Challenges of Brexit: Luxury Concierge Business in the UK

Challenges of Brexit – The UK public voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016. The leave is termed as Brexit and carries along with numerous speculations of potential effects to businesses within the UK and the world over. Lawyers and legal experts have had mixed reactions where a section argues of the potential risks to businesses while the remaining section argues of the potential benefits (Cooper, 2016, p. 414; Redelinghuys, 2016, p. 24). However, the Brexit calls for a negotiation between UK and Europe. The vote does not have legal effects on the laws of the UK and EU. As a result, the UK will remain part of the EU until an agreement to exit is signed or in a period of two years after the UK government issues a formal notice of exit (McLaren, 2016, p. 29).

The Brexit denies the UK some of its rights to participate in EU processes and thus has potential implications on the businesses in the UK. This report will analyze the possible implications of the Brexit on the luxury concierge businesses in the UK. Luxury concierge business is a customer service-based business that attends to visitors through the arrangement of luxury services such as hotel bookings, hotel servings, and air tickets (Som & Blanckaert, 2015, p. 90). The business encompasses many institutions such as hospitals, office buildings, airports, malls, colleges, corporations and apartment buildings. The luxury concierge business in the UK has in the previous past recorded an extraordinary growth. The business is however affected by the Brexit since it deals with several customers from several countries outside the UK (Sinn, 2016, p. 42). Besides, the article will review the possible strategic plans that the luxury concierge businesses can take to address the potential effects of the Brexit.

The UK legal framework for its EU membership and the processes through which it fulfills its EU obligations is found in the European Community’s Act 1972. The EU law includes the principle of direct effect meaning individuals and business can invoke an EU provision for a particular country or with another individual (Fichtner et al., 2016, p. 359; Sked, 2015, p. 41). The EU treaties of the direct effects explain further that the obligations are unconditional, precise and do not require additional measures at either the national or European level. The EU precedence principle is also advantageous to business enterprises. The principle states that the EU laws are superior to the national laws of the member states and that the member states may not exercise a national law that contradicts the EU law (Laughlin, 2016, p. 49). The exit from the EU implies that the EU courts have no control over the UK issues. The luxury concierge business, therefore, does not enjoy the benefits of the above two principles with significant effects on the business.

Challenges of Brexit and Effect on Trade

The effects of the Brexit have caused market volatilities and ongoing uncertainty about the future of the businesses in the UK. The luxury concierge business thus requires putting in place contingency plans and developing strategies to address the uncertainties (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010, p. 79). The business corporations should identify the aspects of their businesses likely to be affected by the Brexit. The corporate should consider forming teams that report to the senior management to assess the potential impacts of the Brexit on the businesses (Bianchi, Cosenz and Marinković, 2015, p.84). The companies cannot yet conduct a detailed long-term planning at the period of the post-Brexit regime. However, the companies are better placed when the management knows where the issue lies as that will give an idea of the planning process (Shackle, 2016, p. 13).

The luxury concierge business enterprises also need to assess their position on the Brexit whether the enterprises will comment actively or contribute their views relevant to the luxury concierge industry (Fichtner et al., 2016, p. 301). The enterprises may also consider their participation in the initiatives that shape the post-Brexit regime (Simms, 2016, p. 26).

At the moment, there are three exit models following the referendum vote to exit the EU. The Norway model will see the UK join the European Free Trade Association and European Economic Area (EEA). The condition will allow the UK to access a single market and the EU trade without restrictions and tariffs (Harris, 2016, p. 43; McDonnell, 2016, p. 20). However, the UK will be barred from accessing the critical EU trade agreements. The Swiss model provides that the UK can join the European Free Trade Association only and enter bilateral agreements with the EU in specific sectors (Shankar & Carpenter, 2012, p. 47).

The process is, however, lengthy and complex in addition to costly. Finally, the totally out model suggests that the UK assumes the same position as any other member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (Smith, 2016, p. 20). The position implies that the UK can negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU after seven years of negotiation between the EU and Canada.

With the perceived challenges of Brexit and the above three models, the luxury concierge businesses can consider reviewing the industry terms dealing with licensing, cross-border operations, a forum for disputes, tax, and terms dealing with material adverse effect (Rieth, Michelsen & Piffer, 2016, p. 577). The enterprises should moreover consider Brexit as a risk factor in contracts. Therefore, the enterprises must enter into the contracts very carefully to avoid the unintended consequences given the uncertainties of the post-Brexit conditions.

It is imperative for the luxury concierge businesses to have conversations with the customers, suppliers, and clients, especially those in the EU to make clear the contractual relationships in this post-Brexit period. The businesses should examine their supply chain for any vulnerability such as an increase in import costs that will likely be transferred to firms.

Challenges of Brexit has made the UK no longer bound by the EU’s VAT directives thus giving the UK government more flexibility to set the rate of sales tax and the items subject to each rate. The administrative burden for the luxury concierge business will rise as a result of reduced access to the EU’s coordinated vat tax collection system (Chipman, 2016, p. 36; Doherty, 2016, p. 12). The enterprises should, therefore, engage with the government and with the EU to help shape their priorities in the European and domestic context. The businesses should pay greater attention to the decisions around infrastructure, taxation, digital policy and immigration since the areas significantly affect the enterprises. Finally, the businesses need to put arrangements to prevent the uncertainties of complying with different laws in the UK and the post-Brexit EU (Millett, 2011, p. 88).  

The challenges of Brexit and associated risks can strike anytime. The effects will affect the exports because of the wide array of commercial links that the luxury concierge business has with the EU across the B2B and B2C space. The UK government will have to negotiate trade agreements with more than 50 countries that it enjoyed preferential treatment with while in the EU. The government may not have the capacity to open many new large-scale negotiations with other countries equal to that of the EU thus necessitating the businesses to have a defined strategy to address the challenges as they will occur.

Bibliography

Bianchi, C., Cosenz, F. and Marinković, M., 2015. Designing dynamic performance management systems to foster SME competitiveness according to a sustainable development perspective: empirical evidences from a case-study. International Journal of Business Performance Management 31, 16(1), pp.84-108.

Chipman, J 2016, ‘Why Your Company Needs a Foreign Policy’, Harvard Business Review, 94, 9, pp. 36-43, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Cooper, B 2016, ‘See EU later: Brexit and us’, Governance Directions, 68, 7, pp. 414-417, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Fichtner, F, Steffen, C, Hachula, M, & Schlaak, T 2016, ‘Brexit decision is likely to reduce growth in the short term’, DIW Economic Bulletin, 26/27, pp. 301-307, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Fichtner, F, Steffen, C, Hachula, M, Junker, S, Kirby, S, Michelsen, C, Rieth, M, Schlaak, T, & Warren, J 2016, ‘Brexit decision puts strain on German economy’, DIW Economic Bulletin, 6, 31, pp. 359-362, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Harris, P 2016, ‘Bracing for Brexit’, The National Interest, 143, p. 43, Academic OneFile, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Laughlin, LS 2016, ‘WHERE TO INVEST AFTER A BRITISH BREAKUP’, Fortune, 174, 2, pp. 49-52, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

McDonnell, J 2016, ‘Do we want to drift towards a Tory Brexit, or make the case to end austerity across Europe?’, New Statesman, 5317, p. 20, Literature Resource Center, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

McLaren, L 2016, ‘Cleaning up the mess: the job of rescuing Britain from post-Brexit chaos will fall on women politicians–including the new PM’, Maclean’s, 29-30, Academic OneFile, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Mcloughlin, D., & Aaker, D. A. (2010). Strategic market management: global perspectives. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley.

Millett, S. M. (2011). Managing the future: a guide to forecasting and strategic planning in the 21st century. Axminster, Triarchy.

Redelinghuys, P 2016, ‘BREXIT: Blessing or balls-up? (Cover story)’, Finweek, pp. 24-27, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Rieth, M, Michelsen, C, & Piffer, M 2016, ‘Uncertainty shock from the Brexit vote decreases investment and GDP in the Euro Area and Germany’, DIW Economic Bulletin, 6, 32/33, pp. 575-582, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Shackle, S 2016, ‘A city left behind: post-Brexit tensions simmer’, New Statesman, 5327, p. 13, Literature Resource Center, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Shankar, V., & Carpenter, G. S. (2012). Handbook of marketing strategy. Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Pub.

Simms, B 2016, ‘A new balance of power: is full political union of the eurozone the only way to stop the disintegration of Europe after Brexit?’, New Statesman, 5322, p. 26, Literature Resource Center, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Sinn, H 2016, ‘A Brexit Lesson: Is a Single Currency Not Worth the Gamble?’, International Economy, 30, 3, pp. 42-70, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Sked, A 2015, ‘The case for Brexit’, Challenges of Brexit and The National Interest, 140, p. 41, Academic OneFile, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Smith, G 2016, ‘THE BREXIT CRISIS THAT WASN’T’, Fortune, 174, 5, p. 20, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Som, A, & Blanckaert, C 2015, The Road to Luxury: The Evolution, Markets and Strategies of Luxury Brand Management, Singapore: Wiley, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 18 October 2016.

Doherty, C. 2016, “Forever friends?”, Financial Director, pp. 12-13.

Relevant Posts

Brexit and The European Union Dissertation

Dissertation BREXIT UK Construction Labour Market

Estimating Macroeconomic Effects of Brexit Using Gravity and State Space Models

If you enjoyed reading this post on challenges of Brexit, I would be very grateful if you could help spread this knowledge by emailing this post to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you.

Global Development China Dissertations

Global Development in China

According to Yang (2016), global development is a wider concept concerned with the level of development of a state weighed on an international scale. Reflecting on global development with China as our case study, we would consider the position in which China’s development can be placed on an international scale. On the other hand, social capital reflects on the relations which can guarantee a nation some competitive advantage over the other nations. Effectively employed social capital creates a good environment in which a nation can thrive (Fine, 2010). This essay focuses on the relationship between the communism and religion and how minorities are treated in China.

In the bid to increase the rate of development within a nation, the aspect of social capital cannot be overlooked. Besides being a core factor to establishing togetherness, social capital ensures all the components of an economy are made available. For example, in the case of China, religion offered many confrontations to the communist which makes it difficult for the leaders to rule with no ideological sanction. With social capital, the fundamental cultural will be incorporated in a nations’ development agenda that guarantee goodwill and commitment from the stakeholders (Fine, 2010).

With no doubt, democracy is the sole factor which contributes significantly to instilling cooperative civil societies and functional social capital. According to Fine (2010), democracy as the rule of the people by the people ensuring all the agenda of the community is presented for consideration during decision-making. Apparently, development is a very sensitive agenda that calls for participation of all the society members; with which a ruling government has high control over what a nation can achieve. Hence democracy comes in to harmonize and present the demands of people creating an effective civil society.

Lack of social capital offers a huge bearing on the ability of a state to develop. This aspect can be justified when a society is not oriented for the same purpose; some of the political leaders, in this case, are more self-centered other than providing the service they were destined by the citizens. Usage of patronage highly denotes that a society tends to put into power those that provide them with incentives. On the other hand, corruption kills efforts as most of the capacity to develop a nation ends up in the hands of a few individuals (Lovell, 2005).

Chinese Global Development

A state which has high development capacity is at a higher chance of establishing and maintaining better social capital. With the virtual of having a promising development direction, a nation will attract more social capital from neighboring nations which constitute significantly to the sustainable future development. Whenever a state capacity is directed towards achieving the development agenda, a greater pool of social capital will be influenced (Lovell, 2005).

In terms of global development, China is the largest united multi-national state which has about 56 different ethnic groups. Among them, 91.59% are the Han Chinese while the other remaining 55 ethnic groups comprise about 8.41% (Fifth National Population Census of 2000). 8.41% presents the minorities who live in China. With a population of about 1159.4 million, the largest ethnic group, Han Chinese is found in most of the parts of China. Nevertheless, they are mainly found in the lower and middle reaches of Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Songliao Plains (Fifth National Population Census of 2000).

In the world, generally, no single nation which can boast of establishing a very good record in relation to the issue of treating minority groups. China is not exceptional. The treatment of minority is not fairly evaluated on the basis of sociological and political standards. However, there exist policies that protect the minority from further exploitation. The minorities in China are protected under the regional autonomy to settle in multiple regions. Such regions include; Ningxia, Tibet, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Mongolia (Guo, 2008).

According to China’s State Council, China has maintained ancient forms of religion, such as Taoism and Buddhism. However, with increasing radicalization, the country’s belief system is taking a new edge and becoming increasingly diverse. About 61% of the Chinese population comprises the people who are strict followers of Atheism, 26% are followers of Confucian Philosophies, 6% adheres to Buddhist, 2% adheres to Christianity, and about 2% follow Islamic belief. These religions, however, raised many traction with communistic policies as every branch hold a diverse view on work, religion, and political leadership.

In conclusion, global development, social capital and civil societies are a perfect combination that a nation can use to make leverage of development capacity. With an efficient social capital, a nation is at an upper hand to attain its development agenda compared to another that has no goodwill with its social capital. In regard to China, the existence of many ethnic groups has ensured a huge pool of social capital which can be attributed to its massive growth and development. Corruption and patronage can be blamed for dragging a country’s development agenda backward. Whenever political regime is not oriented towards delivering the demands of the citizens, ethnicity will be bound to occur since there is no uniting factor to bring the people together for a common goal and increase Global Development ambitions.

References

Fifth National Population Census (2000) China’s Population Demography and Ethnic Groups.

Fine, B. (2010). Global Development China, Social Capital versus Social History. In Theories of Social Capital: Researchers Behaving Badly (pp. 90-109) Pluto Books.

Guo, X. (2008) State and Ethnicity in China’s Southwest and Global Development in China. Leiden: Brill.

Lovell, D. (2005) Corruption as a Transitional Phenomenon: Understanding Endemic Corruption in the Post-Communist States. In Haller D. & Shore C. (Eds.), Corruption: Anthropological Perspectives (pp. 65-82) Pluto Books.

Yang, F. (2016) “From Made in China to Create in China”: Nation Branding and the Global-National Imaginary. In Faked in China: Nation Branding, Counterfeit Culture, and Globalization (pp. 31-63) Indiana University Press.

Global Development in China
Global Development in China

Other Relevant Blog Posts

Counterfeit Products Chinese Consumers

Consumer Behaviour China Automobiles

Emerging Markets FDI China Dissertation

Chinese Business Dissertations – Click To View

MBA Dissertation – Chinese Business Culture – This dissertation aspires to contribute to an understanding of the nature and pace of change in China’s business culture and the implications of such change for the country’s business environment and global development. China’s emergence as a nascent economic superpower is the subject of increasing attention and focus among contemporary observers of international business and international relations.

The effects of China’s transition from communism to capitalism have become increasingly pervasive and far-reaching. China’s transformation has, however, been accompanied by an underlying tension between on the one hand the need to embrace foreign concepts and practices in the interest of economic development and on the other a wariness of the outside world, which is attributable to a distinctive cultural heritage and a legacy of foreign exploitation and subsequent isolationism in China’s modern history. This dialectic of modernity and tradition raises interesting questions about China from a business culture perspective. The search for an optimal balance between continuity and change is an ongoing challenge, which every society faces.

Dissertation Comparative Analysis Into India and China as I.T. Outsourcing Destinations – Globalization of economies over the past decade has given rise to intense global competition and has compelled business managers to improve their quality and to reduce the cycle time in introducing new products and services. Improvement in the field of telecommunication and data transmission has fostered the growth of the phenomenon of Outsourcing in which corporations are seen to outsource their non core processes to low wage economies like India and China.

This is done on a very large scale by global corporations, not only to take advantage of the labor arbitrage but also to enable them to concentrate on their core processes, thereby resulting in reduced lead-time in the introduction of new products. The main research problem is to compare the two countries with an aim to finding out which of these economies is better poised to seize an increasing share in the global IT-ITES operations while taking global development into account.

Investigation into the Real Estate Industry in China – Real Estate Industry (REI) is pivotal to China’s economic development which relates to people benefit, entrepreneur development and country safe. REI relates with many industries and develops into one of major industry. Development of China REI on the one hand lacks of funds and exists on the need for foreign capital; on the other hand, the existence of international hot money ensures adequate space for foreign capital to stay into. With China’s accession to WTO, it gradually increases the degree of opening up in REI, its opportunities and challenges both exist.

REI is considered as China’s last violent industry in many institutions’ and individuals’ eyes. Therefore, foreign investors have accelerated efforts to develop China REI. However, the inflow of foreign capital is a double-edged sword and has both positive and negative effects existing. To REI, many research in foreign investment has been done, the research of foreign investment in Real Estate has been rarely done. REI has become more and more important in China, so it is necessary to make a research on this subject.

International Business Entry Mode in China – Today economic globalization is far more intensive, rapid and to develop the domestic economy through utilization of foreign capital flow is becoming a country’s common objective. Foreign investment becomes an essential part for the healthy growth of the host country’s economy, but the attitudes and the policies taken by the host countries especially the developing countries are varying. Therefore it is important to learn and know the attitudes and policies of the host countries for foreign firms before making investment. In addition, the country’s culture and market environment greatly affect different types of entry modes.

This dissertation explored the characters of different types of entry modes and seeking through various aspects that affect the decision making on choosing the right form of entry mode in China. Now China becomes the largest country in attracting foreign capitals among developing countries. A comprehensive examination and adjustment of China’s strategies in utilization of foreign capitals has been an important topic that cannot be ignored.

External Finance and Firm Performance : Evidence From China – The important role that financial institutions play in promoting firm growth and firm performance has been demonstrated by substantial empirical research based on both cross-country and within-country studies. However, firms have achieved considerable success in many developing economies where the financial sector is far from established. The experience of China’s economic development seems to present a counter-example to the literature on financial institutions and development.

Despite inadequacies in the country’s formal financial institutions such as banks and stock markets, China has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world. This appears to suggest that alternative channels of finance have been a substitute for formal financial systems and supported the rapid development of China’s firms. One widely suggested mechanism in the literature is that firms in developing economies such as China rely to a large degree on alternative external financing, such as trade credit and foreign capital.

What challenges Textile structure of Shandong Province Face in the Developmental process of Industries? A Study of Textile Industries in Shandong Province China? – In the modern era of global development, China’s influence in the world economy was minimal until the late 1980s. At that time, economic reforms begun after 1978 began to generate significant and steady growth in investment, consumption and standards of living. China now participates extensively in the world market and private sector companies play a major role in the economy. Since 1978, hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty, according to China’s official statistics; the poverty rate fell from 53% in 1985 to 2.5% in 2010.

However, 10.8% of people still live on less than $1 a day (PPP-adjusted).The infant mortality rate fell 39.5% between 1995 and 2010, and maternal mortality by 41.1%.Access to telephones during the period rose more than 94-fold, to 57.1%. China has generally implemented reforms in a gradualist fashion. As its role in world has steadily grown, its importance to the international has also increased apace. China’s foreign trade has grown faster than its GDP for the past 25 years. China’s growth come both on huge state investment in infrastructure and heavy industry and from private sector expansion in light industry instead of just exports, whose role in the economy appears to have been significantly overestimated.

In 2008 thousands of private companies closed down and the government announced plans to expand the public sector to take up the slack caused by the global in the capitalist world. Shandong Province as an important component of China’s textile industry, global development, its development process and challenges has the value of research and study.

Analysis into the Consumer Behaviour Characteristics of the Chinese Automobile Industry – China is the biggest consumer and producer of automobiles in the world today. In spite of this, there has not been enough research performed in the field of Chinese consumer behaviour within automobiles industry in China. This particular study investigates the significance of country image and country of origin in Chinese consumer purchase intentions and evaluations of automobiles.

The respondents were located in different cities of China who were surveyed. Conjoint analysis had been used for deriving the significance of country of origin compared to other attributes in making preference judgments whereas multiple regressions were used for deriving the significance of country image in the purchase intentions. It was seen that country of origin is as significant as brand name and more significant than safety, reliability and price in making product evaluations. It was also seen that workmanship, reliability and superior prestige were the most significant reasons for the purchase preferences of the Chinese respondents for the foreign automobiles compared to the Chinese brands.

Global Development Relevant Links

MBA中国学位论文

Did you find any useful knowledge relating to Global Development in China in this post? What are the key facts that grabbed your attention? Let us know in the comments. Thank you.

Counterfeit Products Chinese Consumers

Impact of Counterfeit Products on Consumer Purchase Intention – A Study into the Chinese Mobile Phone Industry

This dissertation focuses on the on-going growth, nature and prevalence of counterfeit products in the global market. These products are attaining popularity at a higher rate due to several factors that form the focus of this research study. These attributes include pricing, durability and reliability. As such this dissertation aims at assessing the impact that these attributes have on the consumer purchase intentions. In the data collection phase, this research study employs survey as the research strategy and questionnaires as the preferred research instrument. The dissertation further utilizes IBM SPSS 20 in analysing the data collected. Descriptive statistics, specifically mean analysis, is the employed.

The study concludes that the pricing of counterfeit mobile phone devices is the attribute that affects the purchasing intentions of Chinese consumers. Precisely, Chinese consumers perceive counterfeit devices as affordable and accessible compared to their genuine counterparts. The other attributes considered in the study, reliability and durability, do not affect the purchase intentions of Chinese consumers as much. This research aims at outlining the various aspects of counterfeit products and their role in influencing consumer purchase intentions. These aspects are broadly categorized as pricing, reliability and durability. Among the three, previous research reaches to a consensus that pricing plays a significant role in influencing consumer purchase intention. Genuine mobile handsets, especially in the smartphone category, are pricey making them unattainable to majority of the Chinese populace. Chinese people are more inclined into purchasing counterfeit smartphones. In terms of reliability and durability, prior research concedes that counterfeit products are subpar in both aspects. However, this conclusion is applicable for luxury fashion and clothing items. Mobile phones, on the other hand, are not subject to the wear-and-tear dynamics of the aforementioned items. On this basis, this dissertation is justifiable as it presents an aspect that was previously disregarded by previous research.

Counterfeit Products China
Counterfeit Products China

This research study narrows down its focus to assess the impact that counterfeit products have on the purchasing intentions of Chinese consumers. The Chinese mobile phone industry is vast and provides conclusive insight on these impacts. Of note, this research analyzes the aspects of counterfeit products such as pricing, durability and reliability.

Dissertation Aims and Objectives

  • To examine impacts of counterfeits pricing differences on consumer purchase intention in Chinese mobile phone industry
  • To examine impacts of counterfeits reliability differences on consumer purchase intention in Chinese mobile phone industry
  • To examine impacts of counterfeits durability differences on consumer purchase intention in Chinese mobile phone industry

View This Dissertation Here