Good morning dear reader,

I am back with my Sunday at 6:30 AM. It's early, and it's often quiet at my place in the morning, but of course, the speculations I write about are formulated during the week. Every weekday I write about one of the above topics, and though the articles aren't related specifically to the printing industry, I find it interesting to speculate about topics that somehow influence us anyway. I hope you like this article, and I will be back next Sunday with more speculations :-)

Have a great day,

/Morten

BUSINESS

Why is it that some companies thrive regardless of how the market develops? First, I believe that scale is an exciting thing to consider. If you look at Apple, they continue to grow and seem pretty unaffected by the crisis. Apple is an interesting company because they have become a commodity supplier on both iPhones and Mac. Still, at the same time, they have preserved a position as being exclusive and unachievable. When the iPhone was introduced, I am pretty sure many couldn't imagine the phone becoming a success. It was new, it had an entirely new user interface, and finally, the price point was way higher than anything else on the market. It was even sold through a reduced number of operators, so everything Apple did, was entirely different from the market at the time. Years later, Apple again increased prices on the phones and, for the first time, passed the magic $1,000 mark. Sales continued to grow. Of course, phones can't be compared to B-to-B products, but it is interesting to consider why consumers accept the price increases and, at the same time, why Apple is less influenced than many other vendors.

Apple products are produced in iterations, like almost any other product. They know you know that not all customers change their phones to the next new one. So there is a lack in demand, which MAY explain why the market is reacting differently, but there is maybe an even more exciting perspective. Apple is extremely good at identifying trends, and by pushing products in colors and features that appeal to customers, they keep selling. Many customers also buy their phones subsidized by the operators through their subscriptions, so Apple can push a lot of even expensive phones through their channels if they understand customer needs well enough!

Can we learn from the B-to-C market? I believe that we can, and maybe the most important thing is to understand that the technology that often drives innovation appeals more to the most progressive PSPs in the market. Sometimes I can't understand the numbers I see from vendors, and let me give you an example. According to Intergraf, they represent about 100,000+ printing companies in Europe. If the average depreciation time is, let's say, eight years, the annual sales should to around 12,500 printing companies a year - and, of course, it isn't, as every printing company is different, has different needs, and of course, very different sizes. But think about it for a second, with financial concerns and a decreased trust in the future, does that mean that sales go to zip? Of course, not. But the demand for technology MAY change to other types of products. So, where you have focused on IoT and automation, maybe the huge market now is the companies who are just interested in a good machine?

I am just guessing, but I think it's worth consideration, and maybe you should investigate how sales of used machines are developing?

TECHNOLOGY

Let's start with what can be seen as a history lesson and head back to the old world, years before America was even discovered. This story is so old that the dates are highly uncertain, but around the year 958. Europe was scattered with small kingdoms and tribes, and the national identity was most likely not very well-defined. Remember, the global population was less than 1 billion people, and most people never left where they were born. Denmark was ruled by Gorm den Gamle (the Old Gorm) and his wife Thyra Dannebod. They lived a life, always looking over their shoulders to avoid ambush, as you could never know where the attack would come from. Their son, Harald Blåtand (Harald Bluetooth), became an almighty king after his parent's death. Though his father forcefully fought the Christians, Harald Bluetooth saw the opportunity to be baptized and became the king that united the Danes into Denmark. Harald Bluetooth united the many kingdoms of Denmark into a united kingdom and, with that move, made Denmark a powerful country. Why this story, you may ask? Well, Harald Bluetooth united Denmark but also became the naming father of the technology we today all use on our smartphones. Bluetooth unites nearfield technology into very convenient packages, and if you look at the "B" used for Bluetooth, this is an old rune. Whenever I read the story about Harald Bluetooth and think about this, I like Ericsson's choice of name. Ericsson does maybe not ring a bell, but Ericsson was the founder of one of the very first mobile telephones. Mobile and mobile can be discussed as they took considerable space in the trunk and cost a fortune. The NMT solution was. However, a groundbreaking technology when invented, but as with so many other technology companies, they became kind of self-sufficient, and today they don't deliver handsets to any. However, they do develop the infrastructure for mobiles, which isn't that amazing. A Swedish company - a first mover in mobile phones, later the default technology of choice, like Bluetooth, and all tight together by a name that is so old that most people have no idea about the story. Simply amazing!

CULTURE

I take that most of my Sunday 6:30 AM readers are adults, and when we think of culture, we may think of music, books, fine arts, museums, and of course, everyday culture - but have you thought about your kid's perception of culture? I have three kids, Christine, 28, Mads, 17, and Kasper, 15 - and I remember my wife some years ago wondered why the kids aren't interested in a music system in their rooms. We even have a family Spotify subscription, but it does not seem to appeal to them. Despite this, all three have a broad understanding and appreciation of music. They get their music served through Discord, where they listen and share music with friends. They are exposed to music through games; even in some games, they can experience avatar concerts with famous bands. A considerable part of young people's lives and exposure to technology, learning, culture, to almost everything is today online. All my kids love when I take them to a real concert and an actual theater and give them real books, but culture comes in many different sizes and shapes. The opportunity to be exposed to many different cultures can be seen as good. Still, unfortunately, it also creates almost monocultures where kids are exposed to the SAME things and, unfortunately, often out of sight from parents. The YouTube generation learns like never before but is mainly exposed to American ideals. That isn't good. What defines you as a human is a culture that relates to your heritage, history, roots, and beauty created when different cultures meet and exchange views and opinions. The different backgrounds and cultures create a better version, so monocultures are challenging. The commercialization of culture is also a challenge. I love Disney, but some kids believe that the Little Mermaid is a Disney invention, and some people simply don't know where the basics of our food, music, and art origins from. However nice it is that we can all communicate in English, it's not good for young people to be SO influenced by one language that they forget the nuances of their language.

As money seems to be the only thing that drives most people, we are challenged. Culture is the fuel that should drive all the things that are business, and culture has become a commodity. I am watching Billionaires these days, and in one of the episodes, there is a scene at a gallery where the exchange is "if we can't buy the art, we buy the artist," and though in context, it makes sense, think about it for a second. Do we really want art to be created only for money, or do we also wish to create art and culture because of this urge an artist can have to express himself?

And what about all the people that don't care about these things? People that would never actively expose culture to their kids. Kids that are not stimulated by art, music, books, films, etc. What kind of citizens to they become in the future? Just asking!

Amazing nature, droning and music - enjoy!

Politics

The war in Ukraine continues to evolve, and with all the suffering, we can only hope for an ending to come. That applies to President Putin as well, as Washington Post revealed the Russian strategy for taking over 5/6 part of Ukraine in what was intended to be a short, sweet, and fast military operation. Now months after the invasion started, almighty Russia seems not as strong as expected. Weak morals, bad supply chains, and equipment that doesn't work seem to explain why the Russian operation isn't on track. The bigger question is, however, how long will the US and Europe support Ukraine with money, counseling, and weapons? Can the war escalate to more countries? Will Putin survive politically and maybe even alive? The European countries have become highly dependent on the gas supplies from Russia, and already now, both coal- and closed nuclear power plants are being undusted and getting ready to produce energy. How Europe has become dependent on Russian energy is a question not many can answer. Politicians bear the responsibility for this deem, and it will be interesting to see if this will ever be on the agenda throughout the European elections in the following years. At the recent World Democratic Summit, dependence on regimes like Russia, China, and others can be part of a sustainable and democratic future. The conclusions are unanimous, and no. We can't close our eyes to the human rights violations in China, and no, we can't be dependent on a country like Russia. If governments act on the above, this will support democracies and force countries to consider a change or close themselves even more. It will cost even more money than energy prices and high inflation, but if we believe in Democracy, this might be the only option.

TRENDS

There is one unfortunate trend right now - inflation and higher prices. Western economies thrived for years with low inflation, interest rates, and stable demand. Now it's changing, and since most of us have never experienced this type of economic environment, we are concerned; we are thinking about how to manage this trend. If you look at history, financial ups and downs have never been a constant. We consider what we can develop to get ourselves out of the crisis when things go down. When we have analyzed, evaluated, invented, and brought it to market, we are typically on the growing business life cycle again, which is almost as sure as Amen. The current situation is maybe because of an energy shortage, high inflation, and the war in Ukraine. But maybe it's because there is a misbalance in the supply and demand, and perhaps the financial climate will be a bit healthier when interest rates are more than zero percent? One thing is for sure; the trend is now economic downward, but it will revert at some time. Your success is based on how good you are managing the change!

Have a wonderful Sunday, and see you soon!