With markets emerging across our shrinking globe more of us are coming into contact with new locations and cultures as well as the opportunities and hazards they present
10 January 2008
I had an interesting end to 2007 with a trip to Sri Lanka. It's somewhere I have been lucky enough to visit four times over the last 15 years. Although some of Hallmark's manufacturing continues in West Yorkshire, such is our small world that a reasonable percentage is now carried out in China.
And there are many other emerging markets and Sri Lanka is one that may be suitable for certain areas of our product range.
I have often recommended Sri Lanka to people as a place to visit with its rich history, amazing countryside, wildlife, friendly people and extremes of weather conditions. For such a small island it really does have everything.
During my visits over the last few years I have been pleased to find that much of this remains unchanged. But from a commercial point of view I detect a certain amount of frustration from those I meet that the country is still failing to tap in to its huge potential. In part this is down to history and more recently the long running troubles with the Tamil Tigers making parts of the island a no-go area and the huge drain this must have on the already scant resources.
Of course, four years ago the island was hit by the tsunami and many people are still displaced today and suffering much hardship. As the news crews move on to the next story it is easy to forget the ongoing struggle that many of the locals still face. Taking all this into account, the friendliness, enthusiasm and hospitality of the people never fail to amaze.
Arriving in Colombo late on a Friday I then had a further three-hour trip up in to the mountains and the city of Kandy. My driver was struggling through the heavy traffic heading out of the capital for the weekend.Then about 15 miles out of Kandy there was a huge explosion. As I had just read of a bomb detonated in Colombo a few days before my first instinct was to duck before realising that it was the car radiator which had exploded.
Still, being that we were literally on a pitch black road going over the hills with no phone signal the prospect of dinner at my hotel did not look too promising.
However within minutes a passing motorist travelling to Kandy had stopped, picked us up complete with luggage and dropped me at the hotel some 45 minutes later, refusing to take any money for his trouble.
How ironic that in a country so beset by problems including civil war, I felt no fear in jumping in a car in the middle of nowhere with complete strangers. Would I have done this in the UK? Probably not. I would guess that most people wouldn't have even stopped.
When choosing somewhere to do business many factors enter the equation. In the case of Sri Lanka, that friendliness, enthusiasm and ability to overcome setbacks may not be number one on everyone's list but will, I hope, stand them in good stead.
On my return journey I transferred flights in Doha and as I wandered through the airport I bumped into Phil Terzza, a BIFM member was a fellow committee member in the North region now based in the Gulf, proving it is a small world indeed.
Whatever your plans are for 2008 I hope they bear fruit and I look forward to meeting and talking to, as many of you as possible.
Ian Broadbent is director of group property services at Hallmark Cards
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