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Harness Strategy and Synergy Session 54 Tuesday April 14th, 2026...

HARNESS US REVIVAL DAY 2 – March 21st, 2026...

HARNESS Strategy And Synergy Session 52 with Dr. Ken Walley – ...

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We live in a global society which is supported by a global economy – and that economy simply could not function if it were not for ships and the shipping industry. Shipping is truly the lynchpin of the global economy: without shipping, intercontinental trade, the bulk transport of raw materials and the import/export of affordable food and manufactured goods would simply not be possible.

Shipping is perhaps the most international of all the world’s great industries and one of the most dangerous. It has always been recognized that the best way of improving safety at sea is by developing international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations. Regulating the maritime industry to promote safety and security and prevention of pollution from ships worldwide has been the function of the International Maritime Organization since its inception in 1959. The work of IMO is well documented through its numerous conventions and codes and on the Organization’s website.

Of all the sectors that make up the global transport infrastructure, shipping probably has the lowest public profile and the least representative public image. Its importance is not well known although not a single area of our life remains unaffected by it. The IMO Council at its 93rd session in November 2004 endorsed the proposal of Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos that the theme for World Maritime

Day 2005 would be “International Shipping – Carrier of World Trade”. The theme was chosen to provide an ideal opportunity to draw attention to the vital role that shipping plays in underpinning the international economy and its significant contribution to international trade and the world economy as the most efficient, safe and environmentally friendly method of transporting goods around the globe.

Companies in this industry provide deep sea transportation of cargo to or from foreign ports. Major companies include CMA CGM (France), COSCO (China), Crowley (US), Evergreen (Taiwan), Hapag-Lloyd (Germany), Mærsk (Denmark), and MSC Mediterranean Shipping (Switzerland).

Because of the nature of the deep sea shipping business, activity in the industry is spread throughout the world. The port of Shanghai was the largest container port in 2022, with a capacity of 47 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), according to the Maritime Executive. The busiest container ports include Singapore, Hong Kong, Busan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Qingdao, Tianjin, and Rotterdam.

The US deep sea shipping industry includes nearly 270 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of around $6 billion. US coastal and Great Lakes shipping, which includes deep sea shipping between US ports, is covered in a separate industry profile, as are cruise ship operations.

Maritime Industry Focus – Happag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, Evergreen, Me...

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The worldwide home furnishing industry is expected to exceed $700 billion by 2023. Increased consumer interest in home decoration is fueling new market growth. Furniture, textiles and floor covering products are key components of home decor. Expansion and developments in real estate industry, have supplemented the growth of world home decor market. In particular, demand for organic home furnishing products is continuing to rise thanks to increased consumer awareness regarding the importance of choosing more environmentally friendly materials. Other factors driving market growth include availability of wider product ranges, regional market development and electronic media campaigns. Consumers are showing particular interest in natural products and alternative materials in the home furnishing products sector.

Market growth will be fueled by recovery in the housing sector, with increased construction activity leading to higher consumer demand for home decoration products. Developing markets such as Latin America and Asia-Pacific are expected to record rising demand over the coming years for colorful, vibrant bed furnishings.

Companies are focusing on the benefits of new technology innovation to offer consumers energy savings, cost reductions and more environmentally friendly lighting solutions. This shift has led to a decline in demand for conventional lighting options like electronic ballasts and T12, HID fixtures, but has spurred a subsequent rise in demand for integrated systems and solid-state technologies, including T8 and T5 fixtures and lamps.

Solid-state lighting controls facilitate more-efficient energy use, thereby reducing overall energy costs. Due to the higher price of technology, companies first target high-end markets when launching newer products such as LEDs and CFLs, which are popular for their superior energy efficiency and power.

Home decor has been gaining prominence across both developed and developing markets with increasing urbanization and globalization trends. Globalization is now enabling easy and wide availability of such decorative items, designs and ideas to consumers. Home owners are also realizing the need of such items and are often searching for them to keep their homes more attractive and organized.

Home decor is witnessing a strong growth catalyzed by rising levels of disposable incomes, recovery of the real estate industry, increasing urbanization rates and rising awareness levels. Rising levels of urbanization have resulted in an increasing number of new households being setup.

Currently more than half of the global population live in urban areas and these levels are expected to increase further in the coming years, creating a positive impact on the demand of home decor products. Moreover, home decor products are income elastic, we expect global disposable incomes to increase continuously over the next few years, particularly in emerging economies such as Asia, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe, etc.

Additionally, the recovery of the global real estate industry is also expected to drive home ownership rates creating a positive impact on this market. Another major factor driving this market is the strong performance of the online retail sector. The advent of online retail has made home decor products easily available, affordable and convenient to buy.

Globally, there are many international and domestic players, who provide furniture in the market. Companies such as Kimball International, Herman Miller, Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. and IKEA are some of the prominent players in the furniture market. These companies offer a wide range of furniture products of various categories, colors, material textures and styles.

Companies in this industry sell new furniture, home furnishings, and floor coverings. Major companies include Bed Bath & Beyond, Havertys, La-Z-Boy, Pier 1 Imports, Rooms to Go, and Williams-Sonoma (all based in the US), as well as Argos (UK), HOLA Home Furnishing (Taiwan), and IKEA (Netherlands).

Leading countries for furniture and home furnishings by revenue include the US, China, Germany, France, and the UK, according to Statista. Demand is driven by the rising residential and commercial construction, as well as the increasing expenditure for home décor-especially for millennials. Retailers are adding outlets in emerging markets as they see foreseeable growth.

The US home furniture and housewares stores industry includes about 51,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with annual revenue of about $113 billion.

THIS PROFILE IS PROVIDED COURTESY OF REPORTS LINKER WEBSITE – CLICK HERE FOR MORE
INDUSTRY PROFILE SOURCES: www.reportlinker.com , www.alliedmarketresearch.com , www.storis.com , www.ibisworld.com , http://www.valueline.com ,  www.dnb.com

Decorations Industry Focus: Ikea, Williams-Sonoma, La-Z-Boy, Pier 1 ...

HARNESS Strategy And Synergy Session 28 on Tuesday August 19th @ 9.3...

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Companies in this industry produce, process, or distribute information and entertainment content. US-based media conglomerates include AT&T (owner of WarnerMedia), Comcast (owner of NBCUniversal), Disney, and Paramount, all of which have a global sphere of influence. Major companies outside the US include Bertelsmann and ProSiebenSat1 Media (both based in Germany).

Globally, the media industry generated about $2 trillion in 2022, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The digital media industry continues to grow as the number of platforms and audience for online media increase, according to Pew Research Center.

The US media industry includes about 154,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $1.6 trillion. Software publishing and telecommunications services, which are included in this industry, are covered further in separate industry profiles.

The media and entertainment industry captures a wide variety of companies that serve to provide products and services that keep the everyday consumer engaged. There are a number of segments within the industry, each of which provides a different form of entertainment to consumers around the world. These segments include traditional print media, television, radio broadcasting, film entertainment, video games, advertising and perhaps most importantly, the manufacturers of the technology that the above segments rely on. The significance of these manufacturers cannot be overlooked when considering the industry as a whole; after all none of these segments has been around longer than the technology used for its distribution. Due to its dependency on technological developments new segments of the media and entertainment industry are constantly up and coming. To that end, the most significant technological development (in recent years, at least) for the evolution of the media industry has been the rise of the internet. This technology alone has changed how media is consumed and furthermore has created entirely new sectors and platforms for mainstream entertainment that are still in the early stages of their development.

In 2007 the U.S. spent roughly $930 billion on the media industry as a whole, with advertising spending accounting for over $284 billion.

Advertising
In 2007 U.S. advertising spending was about $284 billion, nearly 31% of total spending on the entire media industry. Advertising has long been the major revenue generator for media companies. The advertising industry utilizes nearly every communication channel available to make their clients’ products and services known. Major mediums for advertising include television, radio, print media, and to an increasingly large degree, the internet. Other platforms for advertising include public advertisements like billboards (both traditional and digital) and city busses.
The development of internet advertising has had a very significant impact on the advertising industry and has created some trouble for many media companies that rely on traditional advertising platforms. With over 80 million broadband internet connections in the U.S. during 2007, advertising companies have found a new and very significant audience Major companies in the advertising industry include
Lamar Advertising Company (LAMR)
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO)
Omnicom Group (OMC)

Print Media
Companies that produce and distribute newspapers, magazines, and books are considered to be in the print media segment. Many of these companies use the subscription revenue model, which is very attractive as customers pay for product before receiving it, allowing the firm to invest the proceeds, earning a return even before delivering the product. Also, the cost structure of the publishing business is mostly fixed. The printing machinery and distribution network of a typical publisher can deliver 750,000 copies for only slightly more than the cost of delivering 500,000 copies, meaning higher volume falls directly to profits (also known as leveraging costs). This allows excellent return on capital for the larger publishers. Lastly, these firms have valuable intangible assets in the form of brands that protect their products from competition. Value Line, despite a complete lack of product innovation and no embrace of the internet, can still afford to charge a premium for their product because of it’s long standing reputation with investors.
However, beware the internet. More than any other business sector, the internet has affected the business model of media companies drastically. Once upon a time, newspapers were an outstanding business. Many had a monopoly within their city, as few cities were large enough to support more than one. However, the internet allows anyone to read news from around the world, advertising has moved online (leading to falling print ad rates), and classified ads took a hit from eBay (EBAY) and Craigslist. Keep in mind how the internet can hurt (or help) your publisher of choice.

Since the rise of the internet, print media companies have had a difficult time keeping up with the pace of the industry. Internet advertising has seen strong fast paced growth in recent years and as a result newspapers and magazines have had trouble attracting ad revenues. In 2006 there were 2,344 total daily and Sunday newspapers distributed throughout the U.S. and newspaper companies earned $49.3 in advertising revenue. U.S. Magazine advertising revenues for 2006 were $24.0 billion. Evidence of the print media industry’s struggle against internet advertising can be seen in decreasing ad revenue figures. The Newspaper Association of America reported that 2007 newspaper ad revenues were down 9.4% to $42 billion, the most significant percentage loss in the 50 years that the NAA has been reporting these figures. Companies that produce and distribute print media such as newspapers, magazines and books include

Gannett (GCI)
Getty Images (GYI)
McClatchy Company (MNI)
New York Times Company (NYT)
News Corporation (NWS)
Barnes & Noble (BKS)
Washington Post Company (WPO)

Television
The television segment of the media and entertainment industry includes a large number of companies that compete directly and indirectly by offering various services to consumers. It has long been a traditional entertainment segment and has evolved in many directions since its beginning. Today there are various offerings for television users including network television channels, cable networks and satellite television services. The latter two options are generally subscription based services which offer programming not available to non-subscribers. In 2007 there were roughly 112 million U.S. households with televisions, or about one third of the entire population.
As the technology supporting the media and entertainment industry evolves, television service providers are required to evolve their services in order to keep up. Television providers have had some success in keeping up with the fast paced and fiercely competitive industry though. Since the TiVo hit shelves in 1997 service providers like Comcast and DirecTVhave produced similar hardware and services for their subscribers. The popularity of the internet however, has not been such a quick fix for companies in this segment. As with print publishing, television broadcasting companies are now competing with the enormous advertising platform that is the internet. Furthermore, programming that was once exclusively available through television service subscriptions can be found (both legally and illegally) with the click of a mouse. Companies involved in television broadcasting include
•
CBS (CBS)
• Cablevision Systems (CVC)
• Comcast (CMCSA)
• Discovery Holding Co (DISCA)
• News Corporation (NWS)
• General Electric Company (GE) (Owner of NBC Universal)
• The DirecTV Group (DTV)
• TiVo (TIVO)
• Time Warner (TWX)
• Viacom (VIA)
• Verizon Communications (VZ)
• Virgin Media (VMED)
• Vivendi (EPA: VIV)
• Walt Disney Company (DIS)

COURTESY OF WIKINVEST.COM – CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS PROFILE

Sources: www.wikinvest.com , www.accenture.com , www.vault.com , www.firstresearch.com , https://www2.deloitte.com

www.dnb.com

Media and Publishing Industry Focus: News Corp, NYT, CNN, ABC, NBC a...

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The Fashion Industry consists of companies that design and sell clothing, footwear and accessories. Product categories include everything from basics, such as underwear, to luxury items, for example, cashmere sweaters and alligator-skin handbags. Traditionally, Apparel companies are wholesalers, selling large quantities of goods to retailers, which mark up items and sell them to consumers for a profit. However, it’s become more difficult to draw a line between wholesalers and retailers; most Apparel companies now have both types of operations.

The Apparel Industry is fragmented and highly competitive. There are several major players, but there are also countless niche stores and private companies that cater to specific demographics. Too, general merchandisers and foreign companies bring more competition to the sector. Consequently, Apparel companies need to be nimble and highly efficient to survive in this cutthroat industry. Having the right product is also essential. Fashion trends change frequently, and companies need to adapt to varying consumer tastes quickly.

Companies in this industry manufacture garments made from purchased fabric and from fabric they produce themselves. Major companies include Hanesbrands, Levi Strauss, Michael Kors, PVH, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, and VF Corporation (all based in the US), along with Prada (Italy).

Global apparel market is expected to have a growth rate of 2.84% between 2023 to 2027, according to Statista. Overall sales are expected to make a full recovery, with growth likely driven by the US, China, and Europe, according to the 2022 State of Fashion report by McKinsey & Company.

The US apparel manufacturing industry includes about 6,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $10 billion.

THIS PROFILE IS COURTESY OF VALUELINE.COM – CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Sources: www.valueline.com , www.britannica.com , www.careereducationadvisor.com , www.dnb.com

Fashion Industry Focus: Hanesbrands, Levi Strauss, Michael Kors, PVH...