1. Leadership. Steve Jobs has led the company and it is leading the consumer technology field – currently it leading products are iPads and iPhones.

2. Strong Supply Chain. The products are available on demand and at the specified price. Apple maintains “mouth watering” yields for its products,
especially the iPhone.

3. Good Marketing. There is always a demand for Apple products. People love them.

4. Good Organisation within the company. New products are coming quickly and regularly.

Apple Campus - Google Earth view

Looking at the image, there are energy gaps in the North East, South West and South East. Energy gaps are places where the energy can get through to the internal courtyard and circulate within the building complex.

The energy from the NE is the current auspicious energy. Hence, the current success of Apple.

Also, there are energy gaps in both the SW and SE corners. Both SW and SE energy leads it to having good marketing and an efficient supply chain.

For a successful company, more often than not, the head office has good feng shui.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Yauchacha - Broadwick Srreet

 
 
This is an upmarket Michelin star “fast food” restaurant. A short background to Alan Yau (Chinese Restaurateur Extraordinaire)

Yauchacha - Broadwick Street - Google Earth view

It gets its energy from the junction of Poland Street and Broadwick Street. Again, this is energy from a junction – appropriate for a fast food restaurant.

Chachamoon - Ganton Street

Chachamoon (Ganton Street).
 
 

This restaurant is located on Ganton Street which is a side street to both Kingly Street and Carnaby Street.

Chachamoon - Ganton Street - Google Earth view

It is getting the energy from these 2 streets.
(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Alan Yau - Restaurateur Extraordinaire

Alan Yau understands the marketing of Chinese Food in the UK.

I have lived in the London area for the past 30 years. As I appreciate good Chinese Food, I have followed the restaurants and kept aware of areas for good Chinese Food. As a result, I have got to know the owners of these Restaurants, their mindsets and the challenges they face.

They have 2 choices. They could go down the “authentic“ route where the dishes are prepared in a manner in keeping with taste of their Chinese Heritage. The other option is to prepare Chinese dishes geared to the taste buds of the British – preparing dishes like Chicken Chop Suey.

The restaurateurs going the authentic route takes pride in the preparation and pay top dollar for the best chefs. However, the local Chinese population are very critical of the food quality and are not always prepared to pay the extra for this quality. They are in a double bind situation. The cost of maintaining the standard of authentic Chinese food in very price sensitive market is a very delicate balancing act.

How does this involve Alan Yau?

Known as a serial restaurant entrepreneur. He started Wagamama in 1992 and sold the business in 1997 for GBP 60million. He has opened Hakkasan (2001) and Yauchacha (2004) which have won Michelin stars.

When you start any marketing course, you are told about 2 marketing platforms. Market led or product led. Alan is distinctively market led. The other restaurateurs are product led in their quest for authentic Chinese Food,

Alan Yau’s focus
1. The large Local British Market where he can market to the whole population rather than the niche of Chinese Food aficionados.
2. The food served is “fast” food but of an extremely high standard – noodles, dim sum, rice. This minimises the time in the food preparation in the kitchen.
3. At Chachamoon, their noodle restaurant, customers are encouraged to have at least main course, side dish and a drink. This amounts to about GBP 15 per cover. This price is for good wholesome food of high quality.
4. Many of his “fast food restaurants” seat about 150 to 200 persons. With the fast service, I would expect the restaurant to do more than a thousand covers a day.
5. These are large restaurants, it needs to be filled with paying customers.
6. The locations of his restaurants are chosen carefully. I visited a number of his restaurants and analysed it using Feng shui techniques. The energy going into the site are for “fast food” and this would ensure, the restaurants being filled.
7. Does he use Feng Shui? Alan “then enrolled for franchisee training with McDonald’s in Hong Kong”.
8. In Hong Kong, nothing moves without Feng Shui. It could be in his time in Hong Kong that he appreciated the use of the good practise of feng shui to get restaurants filled with customers. Future postings of the feng shui analysis of Alan’s restaurants will be made.

Feature 1

Feature 2

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Blackwater Shopping Centre - Farnborough, Hants

A few weeks ago, I visited this out of town shopping centre and was pleasantly surprised that it was really busy. We read in the press that shopping centres are empty, waiting for customers. Not this one. The car park was quite full and shoppers where actually buying as I was looking at the cash tills of each retail outlet. People were not going there to browse. They were doing there to shop and hand over a payment.

Feng Shui Analysis:

Blackwater Shopping Centre - Google Earth view

The shops are built on the South East and South West sides of the Retail Park surrounding the car park. The road entrance to the park is at the top of the image. The energy (red arrow) comes down the hill from the North West direction. This auspicious energy circularities around the car park and passes the surrounding shops.

This retail park would do even better if they could find a way of holding or retaining all the incoming energy. The secret of the outstanding success of Bluewater Shopping Centre is that all the incoming auspicious energy is held or trapped within the site.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Cambridge - Heart of the Silicon Fen

Two announcements in the week of 15th to 19th August 2011 prompted me to write this post.

1. Google, an internet software company has bought Motorola Mobility, a hardware manufacturer of mobile communications for US $12.5 billion. It is reputed to be a defensive action to acquire the reputed 17,000 patents of Motorola.

2. HP, the doyen of the Silicon Valley technology companies, has decided to divest itself of the PC and tablet business and focus on providing its services to business. In this process, it is making a purchase of Autonomy for about US $12 billion. Autonomy is a database company based in the Silicon Fen in the UK.

What does this all mean?
When companies are not concentrating on their main focus, technological innovation for improved products in a rapidly changing market, they are putting their efforts in litigation on intellectual property. This is a negative development. The main proponents involved in the legal issues in the US are Apple and Google who are based in Silicon Valley (San Jose).

HP has just made a dramatic U turn or strategic re-alignment. It is the largest producer of PC hardware and has decided to get out of hardware manufacture and concentrate on business services. It has also aborted its interest in Smartphones and Tablets using WebOS system. They had purchased WebOS for US$1.2 billion in April 2010. The significant part of these developments is the multi-billion purchase of Autonomy. Autonomy is based in the area around Cambridge know as Silicon Fen. This brings to this area 3 internationally recognised multi-billion corporations. This move recognises the significance of this area.
The 2 other are:
ARM – provides the templates for microchips for smartphones and tablets.
CSR – world leader in wireless technology

Feng Shui Analysis:

Silicon Valley: This is located between the “V” of 2 mountain ranges and the sea in the north. The energy from the West is trapped in this valley. The energy is held within this confined space.

Silicon Valley and direction of Auspicious Energy

It is here that technological advances have happened: the invention of the PC, development of internet technology, venture capitalist and the list goes on and on. This is the heart of the high technology world – doing both innovation and VC finance.
As discussed earlier, the litigation events and the inauspicious design of the new office of Apple confirm the decline of this area. Apple is at the moment, the largest US Corporation by stock valuation.

Most of the significant developments happened during the time period of 1984 to 2004. This is the time when the most auspicious energy comes from the West. After 2004, direction of the auspicious energy comes from the North East. I would expect a relative decline in the significance of this area. It will be important but it will not be in the forefront of major developments.

Silicon Fen: Fen is the name for the flat land around the eastern part of England.
The area around Cambridge has been a hub for high technological development since the 1980s. The first major significant product was the BBC micro computer. The company involved was Acorn Computers from which ARM evolved from.

Cambridge has been an intellectual hub for centuries with the University as the focal point. The area where the city is has both a moving water (River Cam) running on a north south axis with a set of small hills (Gog Magog Hills) running East to West. The Energy coming from the North East is held at this point – at the city. It is presence of the auspicious energy from the North East in this time period – 2004 to 2024 that gives rise to the significance of Silicon Fen. It is the combination of all these factors that make it happen.

Silicon Fen will continue to make significant strides in the technological field. Also, the University will continue to make great achievements in the academic field.

Update 8th Sept 2011: University of Cambridge is considered to be the Worlds best University.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Battersea Power Station Development Site in London

The press have made comment that there is a re-funding issue with the developers of the Battersea Power station Development.

This London site has been vacant since the de-commissioning in 1983 where it was sold to John Broome of Alton Towers to be developed as a theme park. This project stalled. The site was then sold to Parkview International in 1993 who planned it for mixed usage – retail, housing and leisure complex.
In 2006, it was sold to Irish developers – REO and Treasury Holding who have extended the concept of the mixed development.

The Battersea Power Station is a Landmark site in London with a Grade II listed building status. The Power station was built in the 1930s and extended in the 1950s. It was said to be one of the largest power generators in the UK at that time. As it was coal powered and in central London, it was de-commissioned in the 1980s. The distinctive 4 chimneys architecture has made it an iconic image which had been used in many media events including music group Pink Floyd.

The site has been vacant since 1983, nearly 30 years. Why?

The Power Station building is both icon and nemesis of the site. The site is known because of the distinctive image of an upside down table. Any re-development would have to preserve and re-furbish this building.

Along the River Thames, you will see countless successful riverside developments and many prosperous buildings. There is always a premium for a river side property. In the feng shui analysis, the energy flows downstream with the river and people with their property will attain both prosperity and good health. It is a good place to be.

So, why the problems with the Battersea Power Station site? It has been awaiting re-development for the past 30 years.

In feng shui terms, for a successfully development project, energy needs to flow not only to the site but also the office handling the development. The power station building dominates the site. It is this precise spot where the energy enters the site from the river. This energy stays within the building and prevents it from it from circulating around the site.

Secondly, the development office is located in the shadow of the building. It does not receive any energy from the river. Hence, delivering the plans for the re-development has been hampered and also, the ability to get finance for the next stage.

This is literally, once in a life-time opportunity to re-develop this 38 acre site near the centre of London. This would not only involve a feng shui analysis of the master plan – the location and design of building around the main building but also, the re-siting of the site office,

The opportunity awaits any person with the foresight. This opportunity will succeed only if you know how!

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

However, once you operating the business for real, you will know whether the research is just good enough or relevant. Reports in the media have described the roll-out process hitting a number of problems and there have been 13 closures.

To put it kindly, Tesco has hit a number of problems and hence, are re-thinking the situation.

May I make a suggestion?
It is in two parts.

1. The first suggestion is not new. This was carried out in an earlier generation of Tesco Stores using the techniques of feng shui. The superstores faced the compass direction of either South or West. These stores had the main door facing the car park with one way traffic system. It was in the 1990s that, with this generation of superstores, that Tesco became the market leader in retailing in the UK at the start of the 21st Century.

It has worked before by Tesco. This is not new to Tesco, it is part of their corporate history.

2. The second part is even simpler – just follow the methodology of the largest retailer in the world – Wal-Mart. The stores that I have been to, they face the compass direction of East.

It has worked for Wal-Mart. They are the largest retailer, not only in the US but the world. There is nothing like following what works.

A serious feng shui consultant who knows how to handle landform very well will be able to adapt the store to the land. The business results will flow as shown previously.

Acknowledgement and Gratitude.
I would like to thank my colleague Kim Nguyen for the ground work she had done on Fresh & Easy in California.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

In the first quarter, Tesco “like for like sales” were 0.3 per cent down whereas Sainsbury’s were up by at least 1.9 per cent. “The pressure on UK consumers is the greatest for almost three decades, as they grapple with rising fuel prices, falling incomes and fears of job cuts” Justin King – CEO of J Sainsbury’s.

It is generally accepted that UK consumers are reining in their spending but for Tesco to be affected that badly whilst another retailer is experiencing growth is a point of discussion. Let us look at the sales performance of the other retailers

The figures were obtained from the UK media via the internet . All figures are based on “like for like sales” excluding petrol and tax.

 
Only Tesco has experienced a drop in sales even though the retail climate is tight. Why?

About the middle of last year, Tesco started to place extra doors in front of their previously open entrances. I would suppose this would be to reduce the heat loss by having proper doors.

New entrance at Tesco Guildford – it is like a “T” shaped extension. The 2 new doors are that the extreme end of the “Ts” and a screen blocks the old entrance from the energy from the car park. The new doors are at right angles to the old entrances.

The previous entrances did not have any doors as it was part of the “feng shui” design of the superstore to a generation of stores built in the 1990s.

The old entrance to Tesco Guildford. The energy from the car park went straight into the superstore.

By changing the energy flows, this would change the energy flow into the superstore. With the feng shui affected, I would therefore, expect the sales of the superstore to decrease.

This is confirmation that, by altering the direction of energy flow, there is an effect on the business; a change in the sales figures. This would have more effect on Tesco’s because of a generation of stores are built facing either South or West. Should this renovation been carried out at the other supermarket retailers, this significant drop would not have been noticed as their buildings are positioned in random directions,

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Did they use feng shui in the design of the head office?

In the application of feng shui to a corporation, the most important consideration is the head office. This is where the major decisions are made and the effect of feng shui is the most important.

The description of the building:
A relatively new building in Cheshunt in the county of Hertsfordshire, outside London. Cheshunt is near the main orbital road around London – the M25. The building has the characteristics of a building designed and built with feng shui from the start.

Location:

It is on Delamare Road where the energy moves from north to south. The building faces East. There is a building across the street that runs parallel to the facing of the Tesco building. This is to ensure the smooth, even and uninterrupted flow of energy moving past the building.

The building:

It has a regular shape with a multi-storey car park acting as the “tortoise” at the rear. There are the buildings on either side acting as the “dragon” and “tiger”.

The entrance:
The entrance is positioned to collect the energy from the North East. This energy is the best available for this time period (2004 to 2024). Secondly, a characteristic of this energy is team work. One of the strengths of Tesco is their team structure as shown in their operation.

Note the blue protrusion coming out of the building? This is to capture the oncoming energy to go into the door.

At the entrance, there are 2 Chinese temple lions. Why should a Western organisation have these Chinese lions there? Perhaps, it could be a signature of the work a Chinese feng shui master?

Entrance to the Tesco HQ; note the White Chinese temple lion on the dragon side of the door. (post 2004)

Other observations:
There was a noticeable refurbishment to the entrance in 2004. A change happens in February 2004, from period 7 to period 8. It is normal to make specified changes to a building that has been designed with feng shui at this time.

Tesco HQ entrance pre-2004. Note the presence of the white Chinese temple Lions on either side of the door.

Conclusion: There is enough evidence to determine that building was built with feng shui from the start. This would explain the success that the company has had for the past twenty years.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

I heard Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK, a major pharmaceutical player in the UK, in a TV interview on the BBCnews. He used the right words in our times – corporate social responsibility, sustainable approach, priority of public health over commercial interest. This could be said in any PR campaign but then, he expressed his personal view which made me notice.

I had previously written about the financial implosion of at least 2 pharmaceutical corporations. – Pfizer and Merck. Both these corporations had decided to go for profits aggressively before the welfare of the patients but this strategy got them into serious financial problems.

The history of successful entrepreneurs are of persons who not only solved problems for their clients but had put their clients first. For the pharmaceutical industry, it was the entrepreneurs who put the patients first. This was the founding ethos of the entrepreneurs who founded Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Wellcome Boroughs (forerunner of the Wellcome Trust) had the philosophy where the patient would come first, do the right thing for the patient and the business will follow.

In the interview, Andrew Witty expressed his personal view of putting the patient first. He also explained that there is a new generation of leadership with a more enlightened approach where profits is not the only goal. He also described the new pricing policy for his products. There would be price cuts for the poor countries.

There are 2 points to this post.

1. There appears to be a wind of change in the leadership of GSK. They are going back to the values that were at the heart of the success of the original business.

2. If you want to know the methodologies that work where real people have become successful from it, just look into the history books. It has been done.
Why invent a new completely “mousetrap” when the best designed “mousetrap” is already out there. Just do the research in the history books and then add your take on it.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.