Numerous guests from the worlds of business and politics gathered in Hamburg yesterday for the second Hermes Future Forum. Entitled "The Coherence of Markets - Sustainable Global Economics in a Context of Worldwide Changed", distinguished speakers discussed developments in world economics and their impact on companies and the retailing industry. Besides football icon Franz Beckenbauer and US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, distinguished guests included author and economist Prof Jeremy Rifkin, Chinese economist Dr Olin Liu and Ralf Kleber, CEO of Amazon Germany. The Hermes Future Forum is an element of Hermes' sustainability strategy and takes place every two years.
The highlights of this distinguished conference - "The Coherence of Markets - Sustainable Global Economics in a Context of Worldwide Change" - were certainly the discussion triggers presented by key guest speakers: Buzz Aldrin (astronaut and second man on the moon), Prof. Jeremy Rifkin (author and economist), Ralf Kleber (CEO at Amazon Germany), Jacques Antoine Granjon (founder of Vente Privée) and Dirk Müller (TV stock market expert). Afterwards, prospects for business and retail, especially in the light of the euro crisis and rising national debt, were discussed in detail with experts from international business and politics, including Dr Olin Liu, chief economist at China International Capital Corporation Ltd., Dr Michael Otto (Chairman of the Otto Group Supervisory Board) and Hans-Otto Schrader (CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of the Otto Group). Sabine Christiansen chaired the event, which also featured guest of honour and football icon Franz Beckenbauer.
Eighty-five invited guests from international worlds of business and politics attended the second Hermes Future Forum in Hamburg. "Politics - the state - has to provide society with a certain framework and has to regulate the markets, though this is not an end in itself," says Hanjo Schneider, Member of the Executive Board at the Otto Group and CEO at Hermes Europe. "Indeed, non-regulated markets tend to destroy themselves and are no longer capable of pursuing their goals of generating and maintaining social prosperity. This was clearly demonstrated to everyone's detriment most recently with financial markets speculating on illusionary values."
The Third Industrial Revolution
Prof Jeremy Rifkin also appealed to the rationality of politics and business in his talk: "When we talk about growth, we have to ask ourselves, what kind of growth makes sense. Focusing on gross domestic product doesn't go far enough because it doesn't say anything about the distribution of growth, neither across social classes nor across individual industries and companies." At the same time, he demanded a thorough rethink against a background of ecological sustainability. Dr Michael Otto seconded the issue, emphasising that the Otto Group has been successfully pursuing binding sustainability goals since the 1980s. Dr Olin Liu highlighted the differences between the European internal market and the emerging Asian markets, referring to the considerable potential for growth in the local markets.
Quo Vadis – Prospects for Business and Retail
In a second discussion, Jaques Antoine Grajon, Ralf Kleber, Dirk Müller and Hans-Otto Schrader discussed the future of retailing and the continued development of e-commerce. The Hermes Future Forum 2012 widely agreed that consumers will increasingly be calling for sustainable products, with speakers concurring that goods produced in line with ecological and socially fair standards will continue to have a growing impact on the market. Corporate initiative in this respect will play a key role it was argued.
Speakers
Moderator: Sabine Christiansen, TV journalist and media entrepreneur