All the research around the globe since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the various lockdowns has shown a huge drop in discretionary spending, whereby in some categories this plummeted by as much as 90% at the peak of COVID-19 lockdown efforts aimed at easing the spread of the virus. Given that discretionary spending comprises a …
Author: Silvan Mifsud
Innovation
I know that many businesses are still struggling to remain afloat. Many are just focused on cost cutting and liquidity injections and managing their cashflow on a day to day basis. This is all very important but someone within the business has also to be looking into the future. Any crisis, besides dangers also brings …
Getting the Basics Right
Nobody is planning to fail, but many companies are failing because of lack of planning. This has never been more evident as I see various companies trying to cope with the present economic crisis. As we all know by now, when a crisis hits, it brings with it an intense level of pressure and under …
Global Consumer Sentiment as an Economic Indicator
As we keep hearing from various economists, Malta's economy is a very open one and thus hugely dependent on other economies it trades with. Therefore it would pay us all to watch the direction of other international economies. Consumer Sentiment is a good indicator of the future direction of an economy. Hence, why keeping a …
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The Need to Re-Skill
This crisis forced employees to change the way they work almost overnight. Workers needed to figure out how they can adapt to rapidly changing conditions. COVID-19 has changed not only how people work but also how they shop and eat, as well as basic patterns of movement and travel. In this way, the pandemic is …
Business Planning in Uncertain Times
I have written various articles on my Blog giving input on the need of reviewing your operations model and your business plan in the wake of the present uncertainty and economic crisis facing us all. I strongly advise that sitting down and waiting for all this to pass is absolutely not an option you should …
Measures Announced
Below please find a quick overview of all measures announced yesterday:- Wage supplement: the €800 grant has been extended until September for the the following sectors:Touristic accomodation, travel agencies, language schools, events organisers and air transport. Other sectors currently with a €800 supplement will be brought down to €600. Other sectors where the …
Be Constant not Radical
As I have said in various blog posts the issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic need to sorted by innovative solutions and not something from an old playbook. However, this does not mean that in order for business leaders to respond to big problems created by this crisis this necessarily means that a radical strategy …
Common challenges in this transitional phase
You must by now know that I am an admirer of Winston Churchill and most of all of his famous quotes which are so ingenious at depicting reality with a good dose of wisdom. Churchill is quoted as saying “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But …
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Some Shifts in Perceptions in Malta
I once again bring to you the results of a research exercise done by the EMCS (www.emcs.com.mt) between Monday 25th May and Friday 29th May 2020. In total 494 individuals aged 18 and over were interviewed, with data being representative of the local population in terms of gender, age (18 and over) and location of …
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