Since the financial crisis, family businesses remain wary of taking on too much debt. Simultaneously the credit crunch in the last decade has pushed family businesses towards non-banking channels to raise capital. A 2014 KPMG International survey showed that 58% of family businesses are currently seeking external financing to fund their investment plans. Crowdfunding, as [...]
Family businesses often face a dearth of long term capital from established financial institutions. In an effort to meet the growing need for capital many innovative financial products are being developed around the world by family businesses. Mini-bonds or crowdlending is one such product, fast gaining popularity in Europe. Like conventional bonds, mini-bonds usually [...]
A family firm, Angels Costumes, celebrating its 175th anniversary received the BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema on 14th February 2016. Since the emergence of cinema in the early 1900s, Angels Costumes has worked with some of the most iconic directors in the industry, including Alfred Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger, David Lean, Richard [...]
Luxottica Group, with annual revenues of $8.2 billion and more than 7,000 retail outlets, is the world's largest eyewear company. It is a vertically integrated designer, manufacturer, distributor and retailer of eyewear. Its best known brands are Ray-Ban, Persol, and Oakley. Luxottica also makes sunglasses and prescription frames for a multitude of designer brands such [...]
Big C, or Big C Supercenter, is a grocery and general merchandising retailer headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. With 697 stores, a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, it is Thailand's second-largest hypermarket operator after Tesco. It has operations in three countries - Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The chain of stores was started in 1993 by the [...]
As per recent estimates, around 80% of the companies in the gulf region, producing more than 90% of its non-oil wealth, are family-owned or controlled. These family firms are mostly fairly recent creations—the products of the oil and property booms of the 1970s and 1980s. They have received generous support from the state, which is [...]
National Amusements was founded by Michael Redstone in 1936. He was succeeded by Sumner Redstone, 92, who recently announced his retirement as chairman of the family’s media empires. Third generation, Shari Redstone is currently president of National Amusements, and also runs Advancit Capital, which invests in new media. Through National Amusements, the Redstones control both [...]
As per the recently released Northwest Family Business Survey 2015, about one-third of family businesses in the North West US, anticipate a leadership change in the next five years. However, majority of those businesses have not yet identified the new leader (58%), but most (52%) believe the next leader will be a family member. Among [...]
The trend of working outside the family business, especially outside the country, by Indian business family scions is gaining traction. As per Professor Kavil Ramachandran of ISB, “this global exposure prepares the new generation directly for senior roles in the family business. It enables them with the experience to work with non-family professionals, offers networking [...]
As per the recently released Kreischer Miller Family Business Survey 2016 titled ‘The Impending Perfect Storm Facing Family Businesses’ the global financial crisis has disturbed the retirement timelines in many US based family businesses. The survey was conducted among 100 privately held businesses in the Philadelphia region, including South Jersey and northern Delaware. The survey [...]