Current Business Trends in Brisbane

Current Business Trend in Brisbane

Charlotte Snow

Griffith University, Brisbane

Key Terms: Business Trend in Brisbane, Economic Trend, Business Performance in 2018

Introduction:

Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland is according to Dun & Bradstreet Global Risk
Indicator, one of the safest cities for investment not only in Australia but also across the world. Brisbane
is by far amongst the strongest and the major business hubs in Australia.

With the reputation of a top performer, Brisbane is outshining the others with untraceable speed. Not
only the top notch Australian companies, but also the many eminent International companies have their
offices located within the territory of Brisbane making it a common Economic zone for the countries
around the world.

Along with far reaching businesses, DHL Global's Oceanic distribution warehouse as well as the Asia
Pacific Aerospace's headquarters is also located in Brisbane, making it the centre of focus not only for
Australia, but other countries as well. The internationalisation of the economy along with the
abundantly available pool of regional talent, competitive nature of the economy and collaborative
business culture provides Brisbane a strong hold on the economic environment and conditions which
are favourable for its growth and development, allowing it to outperform other economies of the world.
With its progressive approach and far-sighted business vision, Brisbane has gained the confidence of the
investors, making them believe that investing here will help them in their quest to increase return on
investment. T

he roots of this confidence uprise from the political stability, its controlled population growth rate and
committed private and public sector directed towards building a stronger and impactful capital base.
Apart from all the above adding to the successful economic results, many of its home grown companies
are not unknown on the international platform. Some of these are Virgin Australia, Boeing Australia,
Suncorp-Metway Limited, Krome Studios, Thiess Pvt Ltd.

According to Canstar, as of May this year, there were more than 2.1 million businesses trading in
Australia. Add to this reports that new businesses (particularly start -ups) have the capacity to
contribute a further $100 Billion to the economy and generate more than half a million jobs by 2033.

In other words, those in the know have opportunities galore for you to own. So, what about those
business trends?

Economic trends
Australia remained steadfast during one of the most turbulent periods of global modern economics,
demonstrating remarkable resilience. During the worst of the global financial crisis, Australia maintained
strong growth, outpacing all other advanced economies and securing a 22nd consecutive year of
recession-free growth in 2013. The Queensland economy has consistently demonstrated above-average
growth, growing at an average annual rate of 4 per cent real gross state product in 2016-17, 2.5 per cent
above the Australian average

Dun & Bradstreet Global Risk Indicator rates Australia as one of the safest countries in the world for
investment. The continued internationalisation of the Brisbane economy, combined with a local pool of
talent and a collaborative business culture, provides a strong, competitive environment for Brisbane’s
economy to continue to outperform its neighbours. Brisbane’s progressive and far-sighted business and
economic environment gives investors more confidence in their quest to optimise investment return.
This confidence is built around Brisbane’s stable political environment, its proven and forecast
population and economic growth, and ongoing public and private sector commitment to building a
stronger economy and intellectual capital base. Australia’s economic growth remains solid, with the
resources sector benefiting from China’s economic stimulus, a related jump in commodity prices and
state governments spending up on infrastructure

Local Economy

Brisbane is a major hub for large resource and energy companies, a global hub for the mining,
equipment, technology and services (METS) sector, a significant centre for research and innovation, and
the engine room of much of Queensland’s continued economic growth. The city’s $146 billion economy
(Source: Brisbane City Council - Key Economics Fact 2016) is predicted to grow to more than $217 billion
by 2031, having been a key driver of the Australian economy as it enters its 26th year of continuous
growth

Businesses trend of 2018

Thanks to advances in technology consumers are expecting more than ever from businesses. Nowhere is
this more prevalent than in the area of customer experience. If your business fails to keep up with the
latest trends you could wind up losing out to a competitor.

Over the last few months, there has been a lot of talk about what we can expect to be trending next
year in the experience design and management industry. Now that there are so many options to give a
little more to their customers, businesses refusing to utilise any of the available technology are really
putting themselves behind the competition.

Customers expect a great experience at all touch points, including awareness on social media, the
transaction itself, and afterward. Successful businesses understand that it’s more time consuming and
costly to attract new clients, than it is to maintain existing ones. Unfortunately, some businesses are
simply too large to remember all of their clients by name, and it can be difficult to maintain contact with
their client base. However there are many digital platforms to make your own, for the purpose of
maintaining awareness with your clients, and the options grow frequently.
With this in mind, a number of new methods and technology platforms have emerged and will be
shaking up the industry in 2018. Here is a list of what they are:

1. Speech self service

This year, we have seen a lot of ads about the latest Google device that responds to your voice
commands. Google Home is really making inroads into our domestic situations. It still feels odd to ask
the device out loud to turn on the lights and music, but I have heard that children are already using it for
their homework assignments. Clearly they are not shy and in time, neither will we be, as the technology
continues to get smarter.

2. Digital Privacy and Safety

Just because they share their entire life on social media, this doesn’t mean that Gen Y is not concerned
about safety measures online. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The digital rights and governance group
at the University of Sydney conducted a survey of 1,600 people and found that the majority of people in
their 20s and 30s were most concerned. Online platforms like FortKnoxster are taking advantage of
blockchain technology, decentralized storage, and advanced encryption, and creating potential solutions
to help protect user safety as it becomes more important.

3. Hollywood Technologies

I call these Hollywood Technologies because the very abilities we have seen in the movies are finally
making their appearance. Passwords will become a thing of the past as we start to see voice print as
identification and with biometrics embedded into hand held devices, like iris scanning and face
recognition. One company (Prellis Biologics) can now print organs on demand with a 3D printer. What
was once the realm of sci-fi is now real.

4. Blockchain

A major mainstream credit card company is already using blockchain, a more secure and transparent
method to pay, as it is said to be a more efficient method of paying. It also removes the need to swipe a
credit card. MasterCard’s blockchain operates independently of a cryptocurrency, and instead accepts
payments in local currency.

5. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is becoming more mainstream and businesses are staring to utilise it. We built a
basic chat bot utilising an AI platform in just a week and a half. The great thing is that no longer are large
enterprises leading the way – anyone can be involved. Companies are now making their AI tools
accessible and easy to use, so we will see more experimentation and innovation from smaller
businesses..

Brisbane’s Performance

It is not an unknown fact that Australia has maintained commendable stability and has remained
steadfast in every challenging as well as turbulent situation composing itself with remarkable resilience.
During the global financial crisis, Brisbane’s economy remained unaffected unlike other advanced
economies of the world, helping Australia to maintain a strong growth and achieving the 22nd
consecutive year of recession free performance and growth.

For long, its economic growth has been fuelled by migration of people coming into Brisbane from mostly
Southern states attracted by the employment opportunities available. With consistent economic
structure and manufacturing services as a primary income generator along with specialisations in
industries such as Agriculture, Mining and other business services has to a great extend helped Brisbane
achieve its present growth.

Along with this, there has been an evolution in the field of intensive knowledge oriented services,
government policies and investment along with boom of resources has helped Brisbane’s economic
growth. Brisbane is also the centre of concentration of white collar industries which includes the
Information Technology Sector, Financial services, public sector administration which is concentrated
around the central business district of Brisbane along with many recently developed and established
office areas.

Blue-collar services such as petroleum refining, stevedoring, paper mining, QR railway workshops which
are located along the Brisbane River running along the new industrial zone have provided the required
boost to the economy along with tourism which is an equally important part of Brisbane’s economy in
its own individual capacity and as an access passage to the other areas of Queensland.

Further, it is of importance to add that irrespective of the on-going strength of the Australian dollar,
Brisbane individually has managed to increase its export volumes in 2010-2013, where more than 70
percent of the exports were shipped to the Asian region. It further aims to single-handedly embrace the
global online market with the release of its digital strategy framed to capitalise 20 trillion dollars by
which it will be able to double the number of the local business engaged in the selling of goods and
services.

New Trends in Business

The Rise of Subject Matter Experts

The long held practice of relying on subject matter experts in the B2B (business to business) space is
picking up steam in the broader business world. Now more than ever businesses of all sizes are
ensuringthat there are definitive experts involved in their strategy and sales planning. Such experts help
the business consider the actual facts of the product and industry – this in turn minimises confusion and
reduces gaps in communication.

Video is Essential

This trend has been growing, and growing, for the past few years. YouTube has reached a point where it
has a subscription service and Facebook prizes video over all else; this is the platform all businesses
need to use in one way or another to communicate with customers and even staff in today’s business
environment.

The Millennial Status Quo

It turns out that tech isn’t the only force redefining the workforce – Millennials are making their own
waves, and as of 2017 they will be the new normal. Inc tells us that the needs of this growing cohort of
young professionals will change the what and how of businesses of all sizes.

Retail Business Trends

The Exciting World of Retailment

Retailment is the next era of real world shopping – stores are going out of their way to create unique
shopping experiences that play off their brand’s strengths and into the waiting hands of eager
consumers.

Small Is In

A fun size take on classic retail outlets that offers an easy-access variant of the standard store-front with
a focus strictly on the items we buy most. Everyone from IKEA through to Lincraft and Target are eying
this concept as a way forward. This, alongside retailment, creates opportunities for those with a solid
understanding of consumer trends and visual merchandising.

Australia’s International Business Survey 2018

Australia’s International Business Survey 2017 (AIBS 2017) is the fourth in a series of studies of
Australia's international business activity. Commissioned by the Export Council of Australia (ECA) with
the support of Austrade, Efic (Export Finance and Insurance Corporation) and UTS Business School, AIBS
2017 was conducted by amr Australia between April 2017 and May 2017.

AIBS 2017 reflects the opinions of 941 firms from 19 sectors undertaking international activities in more
than 90 overseas markets.

Analysis of key survey findings is available from the Economics at Austrade blog.

AIBS 2017 provides detailed information on:

 i. the demographics of participating businesses including size, experience and the role of
international earnings
ii. the nature of businesses’ engagement with the global economy, including trade, inward and
outward investment, R&D and other activities as well as the markets in which they earn their
highest revenues
iii. the profiles of goods and services exporters to FTA markets, including the mode of delivery of
services exports and the nature of the barriers faced
iv. the reasons why companies are not engaged in international activity and the most valued forms
of support for companies to start exploring international activity
v. the outlook for their international operations and views on the impact of key international
events comprising the US presidential elections and the UK vote for Brexit

Austrade invites Australian organisations that are undertaking international business activities to share
their insights and experiences in Australia’s International Business Survey (AIBS).

Now in its fifth year, the AIBS collects information about the challenges, opportunities and issues faced
by companies of all sizes and across all industries as they engage in global trade. The survey is one of the
largest studies of its kind into Australia’s international business behaviour.

The results will provide a deeper understanding of the business, regulatory and market issues that your
company must navigate, the support you need to succeed, and the outlook for your operations.

The survey takes 20 minutes to complete and individual results are confidential. Austrade’s survey
partners are the Export Council of Australia (ECA) and the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation
(Efic).

By participating in the AIBS, you are eligible to receive a discount on ECA membership and a copy of the
2018 survey report. In addition, you can attend an exclusive webinar where Austrade’s Chief Economist
Mark Thirlwell along with the chief economists of Austrade’s survey partners will analyse the results of
the AIBS and provide you with economic insights on trends in global trade.

Conclusions

Brisbane has some of the strongest economic prospects in the world of the developed countries. The
demand for the city’s natural resources has brought Brisbane to an enviable position. Due to its
positioning it is able to capitalise on its present position of strength and consequently an estimated
growth of 6 percent in 2015-16 is not an impossible target. Further, it should not be left unnoticed that
the Queensland State Government has been determined towards developing science and technology
industries not only in Queensland but also in the cities that compose it, in particular Brisbane as a part of
its ‘Smart State’ development initiative. Along with this, the government has made a big investment in
the establishment of various biotechnology, research and analysis facilities in many of the prestigious
 universities in Brisbane with a motive to help maintain the swift development and progress of its
economy. Some of these Institutes are The Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Saint Lucia Campus and in
respect of its initiative for research and innovation the same is currently being emulated at the
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

References

i. The Mind of a Leader, Rasmus Hougaard, Jacqueline Carter

ii. How to Build an Online Business, Bernadette Schwerdt
iii. Creative Business in Australia by Lisa Andersen, Paul Ashton and Lisa Colley
iv. https://www.business2sell.com.au/businesses/qld/brisbane/latest_listings
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xxviii. https://www.business2sell.com.au/businesses/qld/brisbane/Caboolture