A letter from the CEO

If memory serves me correctly, Global Sources CEO Merle Hinrichs hails originally from Nebraska. Taking a leaf from that other famous Nebraskan investor, otherwise known as the Sage of Omaha, he has produced a letter to shareholders. It may lack the folksy style of Buffett's missives but is, for those of us who follow B2B in Asia, perhaps of more immediate interest.

On B2B trends, he notes;

We are now witnessing several behavior changes related to media use, formats and, accordingly, marketing and advertising. Here are some of the areas that we are watching as both challenges and opportunities:

•	New media innovations including podcasts, RSS feeds, blogs, social networking and video.
•	Pay for performance, improved targeting, ROI measurement, search, and Web 2.0-type technologies that facilitate user-generated content and content aggregation.
•	Potential non-traditional competitors including those with new business models and cost structures.
•	Customers that increasingly require greater market specialization and personalization.

He goes on to outline a four point business strategy built around:

1. Market penetration.
2. New product development.
3. Expansion into the domestic Chinese B2B market.
4. Acquisitions and alliances