As the consequences of climate change become more pronounced, certain locales, such as California, are expected to see more frequent and severer wildfires. Wildfires aren’t often seen as good news, as they cause danger to life and property. Nonetheless, however grim, growing numbers of wildfires are also likely to expand revenues for three groups of forest industry stakeholders.
February 11, 2020Self-storage facilities are on the rise, particularly in the western United States. Service providers are finding creative ways to pinpoint optimal locations for climate-controlled units and an increasing number are turning vacant commercial properties – the blight of the e-commerce boom – into conveniently-located self-storage spaces.
January 29, 2019Long dominated by massive firms cloaked in secrecy, the model and value of consultancy services delivered by the likes of McKinsey and EY is being challenged. Startups are competing with lower-tier consultancies by making consulting an option for companies that would otherwise be unable to afford it.
April 30, 2019Would you bet on zombies? If you are a millennial, some casino operators are gambling that you will. The problem for these establishments is that millennials tend to prefer games of skill over the games of chance that currently dominate most casino floors, largely in the form of slot machines.
January 9, 2017On December 22, 2008, a wave of coal ash – unleashed by an impoundment rupture – surged across the landscape surrounding the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil plant. The gray sludge buried homes and inundated waterways in its path, and was as much as six feet deep in some places.
January 2, 2017Data breaches have regularly been in the news over the past few years. From the Equifax breach to the Marriott breach – and seemingly every company in-between – it is abundantly clear that data security will grow increasingly complex and critical in the future. Maintaining data security and privacy requires diligent, proactive measures to be taken not only by data handlers, but also by legislators and consumers.
February 22, 2019US telecommunication service revenues are forecast to grow to $734 billion in 2021. Gains will be supported by increased service bundling activity, as consumers are motivated to purchase more options when individual services are offered at a discounted rate.
July 18, 2017Many laundries and drycleaners that focus on servicing households are increasingly attempting to provide convenient pick-up and drop-off options, as well as other amenities, to attract and retain consumers in the face of structural changes that disfavor drycleaning use. New entrants also focus on convenience.
April 16, 2018Bikesharing programs have grown in popularity in recent years and are sweeping cities across the nation as an environmentally friendly form of public transportation. Their presence certainly sparks interest in cycling among a demographic far-removed from bicycles in their daily lives, but will traditional bike sales benefit or be cannibalized by a new rental industry?
July 9, 2019A great deal of electronic ink has been spilled in recent years over the threat Airbnb poses to traditional hotel operators. Pundits often draw on the effects of ridesharing services on taxi companies to support claims that home sharing services will be the death of hotels. So US hotel operators are near collapse in the face of this inevitable march of progress, right?
April 19, 2017