REDNews January 2015 - Southeast Cover January 2015 | Page 12

Continued from page 10

DALLAS

Tom Falk

David Seaton

Engineering & Industrial Construction
• n July there was a big jump – including a
I
record high – for construction contract values in
Texas. Construction on the new Dow Chemical
plant project in Freeport began, part of a $4
billion Gulf Coast expansion project being built
for Dow by Fluor Corporation. In addition,
Exxon has also announced a new plant in
Baytown
•  hile there is a bright future in industrial
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engineering
and construction
based on pent-up
demand, there
are two areas
of concern
for Seaton:
comprehensive
immigration
reform and
availability of
resources. Seaton
said, “We need
the immigrants to
CEO of Fluor
continue to grow.”
Consumer Package Goods
•  ocusing on today’s consumer, there are shifts
F
in purchasing based on ethnicity, age, earning
power, and most
importantly,
innovation.
• Forty-nine percent
of new births
in Texas will be
Hispanic and
that demographic
shift impacts how
Kimberly-Clark
sells Huggies and
through what
channels.
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
•  y 2020, 35
B
percent of the population of the U.S. will
be over age 50. (Kimberly-Clark also sells
Depend and Poise products.)
•  he middle class is being squeezed because
T
income levels are under pressure, real wage
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2015 ECONOMIC FORECAST
growth is minimal, and health care costs are
going up.
•  alk’s answer to growth is the need to drive real
F
innovation. If you drive meaningful innovation,
you can still convert the consumer.
Retail
•  etail represents 70 percent of economic
R
spending in the U.S. and it’s the largest
employer category in the country.
•  uel prices are low, which is having a positive
F
influence on spending and confidence is high,
so there’s a sense of well being.
•  he next influence to consumer behavior is the
T
AAS factor: Amazon, Apple and Samsung. In
2014, two-thirds of retail sales in the United
States were projected to be from those three
companies.
•  alls are the site of discretionary spending. If
M
you unload the kids at the mall, they disappear
into the stores and their spending is on
technology.
•  alls are global marketplaces. Where there
M
used to be 65 companies operating department
stores in various cities in the United States,
today there are five or six. It’s all about
globalization with companies like Zara and
Mango.
• f you’re innovative and you recognize the
I
consumer that spends online stays online, and if
they spend in the
store, they spend
in the store,” he
said. “If you have
a customer who
spends on both
channels, you
have a much more
valuable, loyal
customer.
• f retailers can
I
adapt to change,
JC Penny
they can succeed.
•  e operate 900 hair salons because it’s very
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hard to get your haircut online.
Mike Ulman

REDNews

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