Maximising Opportunity: Navigating A Fragmented World

At xCHANGE 2025, we heard from Jacqueline de Gernier (GWI), James Greenfield (Koto), Chris Macfarlane (Peloton) and Faye Cottingham (Bacardi-Martini), in a broad-ranging discussion moderated by our own Duran Ross and Francesca Ainsworth. Together, they explored how businesses can make agility and resilience core capabilities, as well as utilising AI and market knowledge, to maximise opportunity in a fragmented world.

The world is at a crossroads: there is greater division and polarisation around the globe and the rules are ever-shifting. Businesses are having to adjust strategies and mindsets to adapt to this new dynamic.

Biggest shifts in global consumer businesses

Even with the range of businesses represented on our panel, there were universal themes which have impacted strategy:

• Greater cost consciousness of consumers
• Consumer focus on health, wellbeing and moderation
• More importance placed on the self than on community
• Increased barriers to global trade such as tariffs and regulation
• The use and experience of AI

These wide-ranging shifts have influenced brand strategies, choice of target markets and internal company policies.

Brand consistency in different markets

The balance between maintaining a consistent core brand and ensuring market impact in individual territories was at the forefront of the minds of the panel members. James Greenfield commented on the "loosening" of brand consistency through social media. It's important for brands to have a global identity which can be localised to the relevant markets. Being careful and consistent is key.

Brands should also think about disconnects between advertising and consumer experience when engaging with the brand. An advert with a megastar attached to it loses all value if a consumer is then taken to a website brimming with discounts and deals.

Consistency has to be accompanied by agility, though. The creation of that global branding has to be flexible to be able to make any localised marketing consumer-centric. Faye Cottingham highlighted the need for good coordination across the business. Jacqueline de Gernier added that using localised consumer data can help brands maintain their relentless focus on the customer, ensuring relevance.

Growing internationally

Jacqueline de Gernier told us that GWI likes to be where the customers are. She said the "magic happens" when you're working with customers; approaching new markets has to be thoughtful and careful, though, to ensure market fit.

James Greenfield and Chris Macfarlane agreed, both recognising the importance of being measured, meaningful and respectful of cultural nuance and norms in each territory. In Faye Cottingham's view, diversification geographically is also important, especially when consumer outlook in developing and emerging markets can shift your approach. Faye counselled against over-focusing on pushing certain products in certain territories; other brands have suffered from doing so.

On the legal side of things, growing brands globally does mean that corporate sustainability should be front and centre: for example, dependent on the business, more focus on government policy and affairs, trade and compliance matters, and political risk management might need to be taken into account. For Faye Cottingham, supply chain risk management and solid reporting helps Bacardi-Martini manage regulatory concerns.

Of course, AI was very much on the minds of our panel members – it's an unavoidable reality of our changing world! Jacqueline de Gernier reminded our audience that everyone is at the start of their AI journey. Guardrails are important to have in place, though, and for businesses to ensure that internal policies are up-to-date and properly implemented. She explained that at GWI there's an AI committee which involves C-Suite and research and development teams, so that the business can be collaborative on its use of AI and consistent in its implementation and embedding of AI business-wide.

Other members of the panel had seen similar approaches: some had implemented full lockdowns on certain downloads (such as non-authorised AI tools), whereas others had had issues with AI notetakers joining video calls and other integrations, and staff were having to undergo training before being able to use AI software.

Turning change into opportunity

Chris Macfarlane saw the importance of teaching business resilience across the board; it makes organisations better placed to confront the changes, challenges and disruptions to any industry.
Faye Cottingham agreed, explaining that long term planning, particularly around financial stability, was important. COVID taught Bacardi-Martini to be innovative and seek out different routes to market.

As Jacqueline de Gernier pointed out, brands are really taking the twin challenges of adaptability and flexibility to heart: fast fashion brands are launching elevated ranges, whilst luxury retailers are offering budget collections. Brands' customers are developing and changing – or simply growing up!

Looking ahead

To conclude, James Greenfield really hit the xCHANGE 2025 nail on the head: in this changing world, the opportunity for brands is in product excellence and there's an opportunity here for the UK which has always been at the forefront of creativity and product development. But there is work to be done, as Duran Ross explained, agility and resilience are no longer buzzwords - they are core capabilities that boards and businesses must actively build to thrive in a fragmented world.

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