Brands and trends amidst the pandemic

In this piece, Henkel CEO and BGA Hungary President Ágnes Fábián gives us her account of the previous business year along with some refreshingly personal insights into the current Covid-19 issue.

Dr. Ágnes Fábián
president
Branded Goods
Association

She starts by recalling how in her previous article in 2019 she did already warn us about the vulnerability of the long supply chains and other threats arising from the overall imbalance in today’s world economy. ‘China sneezes, the world gets a cold’ was never a more appropriate saying though only a few thought it could become a horrible reality. ‘Every day is a war; every day is a Christmas’ starts the next section where Ágnes recalls the constant adrenaline rush of the first few weeks in lockdown when everything fell apart and one had only moments to make tough decisions to ensure business continuity. However, she adds, the business will not continue as usual. There is a huge price we need to pay to be safe in the new normalcy. New corporate land buzzwords will include safety first, smart sourcing, exposure and risk-minimizing; in short, a bit more PPE, a bit less P/E. Oh, and the good news is that we might also hear nicer words in gentler ways as she expects more female leaders on the business frontline just as we saw female politicians more successfully fighting the disease. Ágnes also challenges any comparison of the present Covid crisis to previous ones such as the credit crunch or 911. This one now is really huge, a true evolutional shock, a distinctive social marker. It is not only about the economy but also about the very primordial human fear of the unknown. Yet there is hope, she closes, as strong brands with their strong emotional halo will always help us seeing brighter days ahead.

At the Business Days conference, a panel talk of CEOs took place for the 8th time last year; the panel talk in 2019 was earmarked by topics such as technology, the consumer and sustainability

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Strong Brands for a Strong Hungary

Celebrating this year its 25th anniversary, BGA Hungary is the collective voice of the local FMCG brands. BGA’s mission is to create for brands an environment of fair and vigorous competition, fostering innovation and guaranteeing maximum value to consumers now and for generations to come.//