The Boulder Stop is an equipment store and cafe specializing in premium appeals gear and coffee/espresso drinks.
Wellpoint's California Blue Cross unit, which covers 850,000 individuals in the state, is also trying to give consumers more options, lowering premiums to appeal to individuals without insurance.
And the Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways has refurbished its business and first-class services, inflight entertainment system and airport premium lounges to appeal to the long-haul business traveler.
Torsten Stocker of AT Kearney, a consultancy, observes that foreign brands are doing well in sectors they introduced to China (chewing gum, chocolate); those that have "heritage" appeal (premium cars, luxury goods) and those where local brands are not trusted, such as powdered baby milk.
Danny Stein, the chairman of eMusic, a music download service, said there needed to be Internet service that remained open and neutral, "but that doesn't mean there can't be premium options to appeal to some amazing consumer experience outside of the garden of net neutrality".
Boch has a simple business plan: charge $5 to $10 a month for premium features that appeal to businesses and designers such as removing the Wix logo and letting them connect the Web pages to their domains.
What's different about Rocketmiles, besides the fact that it's a new way to accumulate miles, is that it's also focusing on delivering a hand-picked selection of premium hotels that appeal to business travelers, as opposed to the hundreds of search results which aggregators offer, while also offering the same prices.
Pang Qingnian, chief executive of Youngman, said his company had "been in contact with Saab Automobile for quite some time" and added that "Saab as a premium European brand appeals strongly to the taste and preferences of the Chinese customer".
(Future versions will generate revenues for the firm by offering premium upgrades that will appeal to some of the more paranoid punters).
Even if outsourcing shoes and handbags could plump the bottom line, the strategy of Tod's has paid off — and seems likely to keep doing so as long as it stays a premium brand with universal appeal.
