Marketers await the ageing generation Australia’s ageing consumers are well-informed, have high expectations of their later years and wield significant spending clout. So are healthcare companies, which stand to benefit most from the dramatic expansion of the 55 years-plus demographic in the coming years, ready to cash in on this lucrative market? Pfizer Consumer Healthcare undertook a major research project[Read More…]
People are living longer, at a time when investment returns have fallen. As a result, many occupational pension schemes have big deficits and the retirement incomes of millions are in jeopardy. The government yesterday published proposals to protect the rights of pension scheme members but the other questions on funding retirement remain unanswered. The crisis in occupational pensions is dire.[Read More…]
Jodie and Marilyn grew up in the shadow of the Great Depression. They did not have much money back then. And like so many in their generation, they’ve worked hard since, and tucked away their savings. The two friends recently drove south from their hometown of Bangor, Maine, for a shopping expedition in a Boston mall. “We’re ready[Read More…]
Jodie and Marilyn grew up in the shadow of the Great Depression. They did not have much money back then. And like so many in their generation, they’ve worked hard since, and tucked away their savings. The two friends recently drove south from their hometown of Bangor, Maine, for a shopping expedition in a Boston mall. « We’re ready to enjoy[Read More…]
Michael Jacobsen says his trendy teenagers are rarely impressed with the clothes he wears. But the 45-year-old got a different reaction after buying a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors, the high-top sneakers popular when he was a kid. « The funny thing is that kids see them and say, ‘Those are cool,’ « said Jacobsen, a writer for a communications company[Read More…]
As the baby boom generation that has fired the world economy for the past half decade gets ready to retire, the multi-trillion dollar global industry steering their savings is about to hit uncharted waters. Analysts and academics are warning governments and market players that over the next 50 years, pension funds in industrialised countries will be expected to pay out[Read More…]
When outdoor gear and apparel retailer Recreational Equipment Inc. Launched REI Adventures in 1987, the travel division catered mostly to hard-core outdoor enthusiasts. REI still leads an array of rugged excursions, including a Himalayan trek and a Kilimanjaro climb, but these days the Kent, Wash.-based company’s travel division also touts a growing menu of less-risky adventures : a walking tour of[Read More…]
No matter how fit she is, no matter how flat her tummy, a 50-year-old woman in ultra low-rise jeans is going to raise eyebrows. Fashion has left the boomers behind. To a generation focused on youth and accustomed to seeing itself reflected everywhere, it’s galling that the key fashion statement of the day is not meant for them. And here[Read More…]
The statistic would give any mortgage banker pause, but Jack Haynes chose to point to the big picture. Haynes, the executive vice president of the National Builder Division at Dallas-based Countrywide Home Loans, said there was an enormous opportunity with homebuyers age 50 and older despite a recent survey indicating that 60 percent of those buyers would prefer to pay[Read More…]
As the twentieth century ends and we begin to move through the twenty-first century, Australia and other nations such as Canada, Japan, Great Britain, New Zealand, Western Europe and the United States will begin to experience one of the greatest demographic movements and cultural shifts of focus in history. As this great wave breaks around 2021, the focus of the Australian population will[Read More…]
