Many people are suspicious of globalisation. Sometimes I just find it depressing: the nasty shock of stumbling across a McDonald's in Mumbai or a Starbucks in Saigon. These experiences are the opposite of romantic. But lately, perhaps driven by the state of the global economy, consumers have become more proactive. Last week, a crowd of demonstrators gathered outside a Dolce & Gabbana store in Hong Kong. Their protest was apparently sparked by a security guard, who had banned a local citizen from taking a photograph from the pavement outside the store. After news of the incident spread across social networks, Hong Kong residents gathered to protest against the arrogance of the Italian brand. What right did it have to stop someone taking a photo outside? Did it own the street now? The end result was a flashmob of people outside the store, all taking pictures of it. But the subtext was a growing dislike of big international brands and their perceived power.
In the long debate about global versus local, perhaps more consumers will embrace the local. Among the characters satirized by the US TV series Portlandia are people who will only buy locally-produced goods. To the extent that vegetables from Seattle, 230 km away, are not local enough. They have to be grown on the same street. It's an exaggeration, but it may be a taste of things to come.
