Business

Blazing a trail: Five movers and shakers rethinking the travel industry

The brand with bags of potentialAn Chieh Chiang, CEO, LojelAn Chieh Chiang has spent the past decade reviving Lojel, a suitcase business that his grandfather launched in 1989. The Taiwanese product-design graduate has squeezed a lot into that time. Lojel led the industry in 2017 with its first top-opening hard-shell suitcase. Two years later it became a standalone corporate entity, distinct from the family’s main luggage business. It is now headq...

Sarah Jones in Business 2026-04-20 11:55

The best luxury gadgets to buy now, from Bang & Olufsen headphones to Technics speakers

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1RIIThe newest Panasonic camera has 44-megapixel resolution – it’s a full-frame sensor, meaning it’s the size of a frame of 35mm film, with advantages including better performance in low light. Advanced features mean the camera can spot human eyes and faces, and focus on them quickly. The camera is smaller than its predecessor.panasonic.comBang&Olufsen Beoplay H100 HeadphonesWhen Bang&Olufsen released its H100 over-ear...

Jennifer Miller in Business 2026-04-17 11:49

Supermarkets have lost their charm. How can we make them better?

At their best, grocery stores are engines for neighbourhoods and platforms for smaller, honest and interesting businesses. By stocking great produce, they boost cottage industries, help local farmers and artisans while delivering the best options for their customers. An excellent grocer’s offers a place to meet, ideally with a café for mingling. Good ones are also sensory experiences. Great ones combine familiarity and personal service. Sadl...

Jennifer Brown in Business 2026-04-16 11:15

Hot property: 10 new buildings shaping their neighbourhoods

The smart people in property right now know that building the building isn’t enough, and that the best structures are engines of street life and commerce. This is the guiding principle of Monocle’s annual Property Survey this year.That’s why we are kicking off with 10 extraordinary developments from around the world that have uplifted, inspired or energised their neighbourhoods. The key metric for us is that these new landmarks and sought-af...

Robert Miller in Business 2026-04-16 18:56

The 20 best pieces of advice from business leaders

For many top ceos and brand founders, running a successful business is about more than just profit and loss. Here, savvy entrepreneurs interviewed on Monocle Radio provide us with top tips on everything from starting a meaningful venture and working as a team to achieving the perfect balance between productivity and play. For more advice from clever companies and people with bright ideas, tune in to Monocle Radio’s weekly business-oriented shows,...

Robert Williams in Business 2026-04-15 18:08

The UAE gets its transport ambitions back on track with proposed rail service

There’s something ironic about standing outside Dubai’s Museum of the Future – a torus-shaped building that has come to symbolise the UAE’s commitment to innovation – and realising that you can’t hop on a train to visit museums in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah. Or, really, anywhere outside the city. Despite the country’s flair for futuristic urbanism, inter-emirate public transport has long been conspicuously absent. While there’s no shortage of highways,...

John Williams in Business 2026-04-14 11:37

How three founders turned their passions into success stories

1.Chris TagFounder, DefyBefore founding Defy, a maker of hardwearing bags, Chris Tag was an art director for Ogilvy. “I would work for nine months on a commercial that would disappear in two weeks,” he tells monocle. “I always wanted to make something a bit more meaningful that would last longer.”Tag set up Defy and started taking on freelance jobs in 2008 while it got going. He challenged himself to have all of the cutting and sti...

David Miller in Business 2026-04-13 11:17

The best places in Austria balancing entrepreneurial ambition with a high quality of life

SET UP HERE 01Bregenzerwald, VorarlbergAiming highWhere the Western and Eastern Alps meet, you’ll find the bucolic Bregenzerwald region – where age-old craft traditions are keeping design and hospitality thriving.Peter and Pia FetzSchwarzenberg’s Hotel Hirschen is run by siblings Peter and Pia Fetz, its 10th-generation family owners. Last summer, seven years after taking over from their parents, they opened a new bathhouse and pool that complemen...

Robert Johnson in Business 2026-04-12 18:00

A sky-high penthouse is on sale in Dubai – but Emirati luxury is moving down to earth

Visitors to the Burj Khalifa are usually content with a latte at Atmosphere on the 122nd floor and a view of Dubai from the observation deck. But last week I took a different lift – or rather three – for a peek inside what is billed as the world’s highest penthouse, which is now on sale. The sprawling Sky Palace is perched on the 107th and 108th floors of the world’s tallest building, some 700 metres above the ground. A monument to both altitude ...

John Williams in Business 2026-04-11 18:38

10 aviation advancements we’re looking forward to in 2025

1.Air India is undergoing an overhaul under Tata Group ownership. Hundreds of new aircraft are on order, including gleaming A350s with improved cabins on New Delhi to New York and Heathrow routes. Up next? The refurbishing of older long-haul aircraft. 2.The new PDX Airport in Portland, Oregon, was unveiled in August. It might now be the best airport in the US thanks to its top-notch shops, restaurants and bars. The trees and g...

Jennifer Davis in Business 2026-04-10 18:44

Business agenda: Sustainable air travel with Helsinki Citycopter and Canadian companies making the most of Trump’s tariffs

Technology: USAGood vibrationsThis NBA season, blind and low-vision basketball fans have been able to follow the action from their arena seats using a handheld device that describes the game through vibrations. Seattle-based start-up OneCourt was founded in 2021 and its haptic device debuted with the Portland Trail Blazers in January. The technology uses wi-fi and 5G to transmit data from arena sensors and cameras; coupled with a live broadcast, ...

Jane Jones in Business 2026-04-07 18:28

Why the airship industry is on the rise again

You would be forgiven for thinking that the bubble had burst on the airship industry. Finnish company Kelluu, however, remains loyal to the sector. Based in Joensuu, eastern Finland, it operates what the company calls “the world’s largest airship fleet” and has a clear business case, as CEO Janne Hietala explains.“We operate in a niche between drones and aircraft,” he says. “The former have a short flight time, while the latter are expensive, env...

Sarah Brown in Business 2026-04-07 18:54

Inside Bau, the key industry event for builders, architects and developers

At Bau, a biannual get-together in Munich for builders, architects and developers, you will find Bavarian brickies in journeyman cords, a crowd applauding a remote-opening double-glazed window and an Oktoberfest-like atmosphere where steins of beer are emptied among sanitaryware and an occasional outburst of Schlager on the sound system.Brick by brickWith hangar-sized conference halls dedicated to aluminium, glass and ceramics, Bau digs deep into...

Jennifer Smith in Business 2026-04-06 18:22

ILTM – insights, plans and predictions for the luxury travel industry

The premise of the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) is simple: to work out where the well-heeled want to go over the next 12 months. Thousands of travel agents descend on the Palais des Festivals et des Congres in Cannes for the industry’s flagship trade show every December, plotting out client itineraries with major hospitality groups. This year there is near-unanimous agreement about the destination of choice. “Japan has been on steroi...

Emily Brown in Business 2026-04-06 18:26

How AI is lending a helping hand to bionic limbs

A couple of years ago, Tommaso Lenzi, an assistant professor at the University of Utah, picked up his phone and sent a photo to Hans Georg Näder, the owner of Duderstadt-based Ottobock, one of the world’s largest prosthetics manufacturers. The image showed a sleek, red-and-black metallic leg. Lenzi had spent almost a decade developing the robotic limb; after countless prototypes and trials, his lab in Salt Lake City was finally happy with the des...

Sarah Miller in Business 2026-04-05 11:11

Inside the Reserve, Singapore’s largest and most stylish vault

Gregor Gregersen looks down at the bar of gold in his hands. It is a slim trapezoid of burnished, ochre-hued metal, a 12.5kg brick that gleams gently in the light and is worth – at time of writing – about $1.2m (€1.1m). “Gold is intrinsically valuable; it doesn’t depend on the government,” says Gregersen, the founder of the Reserve, Singapore’s newest, largest and arguably most stylish vault for bullion and precious metals. “That’s the philosophy...

Emily Johnson in Business 2026-04-04 18:42

Interview: Alpine CEO Philippe Krief’s driving ambition

Waiting at a red light is a rather dull occasion – but not if you’re at the wheel of an Alpine A110R and it happens to be playtime for the children in a nearby schoolyard. Then it becomes a moment of happy pandemonium, as excited faces swarm the fences and thrilled shrieks fill the air. As Monocle experienced on a recent drive just outside Paris, little can diminish the thrill of driving this diminutive sports car.Alpine has been part of Renault ...

Michael Brown in Business 2026-04-02 11:07

10 hard-earned business lessons from car salesman Patrick Moylett

Patrick Moylett is director of Harrington’s of Fulham, a used-car dealership in west London. He has also found success selling tweed, property and condoms. Here he shares 10 of his top tips.1.In the beginning, sell quickly and…When I was in property, I noticed that customers were slow to pay because negotiations took so long. If the setting-up costs are too big, you might become one of the 60 per cent of new businesses that fail. So I m...

Jennifer Brown in Business 2026-03-31 18:36

Innovations in gifting, architecture and property

Knut R HolmøyCEO, Holmøy MaritimeFounded in 1973 in Norway’s High North, seafood group Holmøy Maritime prides itself on sustainable wild fishing – and great architecture. In 2014 it partnered with celebrated architecture studio Snøhetta to develop its headquarters in Vesterålen. A decade later, Snøhetta has delivered a 16,000 sq m facility at the fishery’s neighbouring Liland site, which will process 150 tonnes of salmon a day. The group’s C...

David Davis in Business 2026-03-30 11:59

Mipim, the property industry’s annual meet-up, is finally breaking new ground

Mipim, held in Cannes every year, is the biggest global event for property players, be they developers, venture capitalists, architects or national, state and city leaders with ambitious plans to develop sectors from housing to hospitality. The trade show pulls in exhibitors and attendees from Europe, the Gulf, North Africa and the US, all vying to make the best deals.This year, Mipim took place under grey skies – literally and metaphorically. Yo...

John Davis in Business 2026-03-29 18:58

Keeping it real: Why meeting prospective employees in person yields the best results

The job interview’s reputation is almost universally negative. But outside of TV sitcoms, are old-fashioned, in-person meetings with prospective employers ever that bad? The alternatives certainly are. As with so much else from the analogue world, we might already be suffering from the job interview’s increasingly endangered status. When UK-based recruitment consultants CV Genius surveyed 625 hiring managers on what they look for in a successful ...

Sarah Johnson in Business 2026-03-26 18:34

How Europe’s tech sector is quietly gaining ground

Europe is often portrayed as a tech underdog, lacking a single giant firm of the calibre found in Silicon Valley. In February, during an AI summit in Paris, US vice-president JD Vance poured scorn on Europe’s regulatory regime, arguing that it stifles progress. But all that is to miss the bigger picture: there are companies across the continent proving their competitiveness; you just need to know where to look. In northern Italy, Ephos is de...

Robert Miller in Business 2026-03-25 18:20

Turning the tide: The shipbuilding company reviving a small Midwest town

Wisconsinites are well accustomed to harsh winters but the deep freeze that descends upon the northern part of the Midwestern US in the first months of the year can test even the hardiest. When the temperature dips to minus 34C, schools close and workplaces shutter. Yet in tiny Marinette, a town on the icy shores of Lake Michigan, some 2,000 welders, fitters and engineers report for work as usual to build the next generation of American warships....

Emily Williams in Business 2026-03-21 18:46

25 property insiders on the next big market opportunities

1.ArchitectTosin OshinowoOshinowo Studio, Lagos, Nigeria“Growing up in Lagos, I’ve seen a growing property market that is maturing and doesn’t yet use data sufficiently to understand the needs of its residents. Lagos has a saturated luxury industry. It’s incredible to see these exceptional-looking properties but there isn’t enough spending power in the market for this product.“What the data shows is that there is a need to develop appropriat...

Michael Miller in Business 2026-03-19 11:09

Want to make lasting memories? Here’s why you should keep your phone in your pocket

Why do we feel the compulsion to photograph or film everything that we deem important? Technology has amplified this impulse but what if we didn’t view the world through our phone screens? Studies suggest that keeping them in our pockets is a more considered way of making memories.Maybe Kate Moss had drunk a little too much. Perhaps her high-heeled shoes got tangled up in the deep-pile carpet. In any case, the way that she walked into the Ritz in...

John Williams in Business 2026-03-18 11:33

Sticking around: How the Post-it changed the way we work

The origin of sticky notes is the stuff of r&d legend. Spencer Silver was a research chemist at 3M, the Minnesota-based industrial and consumer products company, seeking to concoct an adhesive strong enough to hold airplane parts together. Instead, in 1968 he developed acrylate copolymer microspheres, a sticky adhesive that came off surfaces easily and didn’t leave residue. Silver evangelised his invention within 3M and patented it in 1972 bu...

Emily Miller in Business 2026-03-17 11:23

US philanthropist and billionaire Nicolas Berggruen’s plans to reshape global power dynamics

Nicolas Berggruen is adamant that ideas have always been more attractive to him than material wealth. “I was always more interested in philosophy and politics,” says the US philanthropist and billionaire. “But I took a long detour into business.” The detour to which Berggruen refers is a decades-long career in private equity and property, achieved by buying repossessed buildings in New York. He created Berggruen Holdings in 1985, now one of the w...

John Smith in Business 2026-03-16 18:02

Editor’s letter: Andrew Tuck on adapting to change to run a thriving business

This handbook of entrepreneurship is designed to entice you to start your own venture, question the business that you already have (or find yourself employed by) and also to meet people who have managed to leap over some of the hurdles that companies inevitably encounter. We also hope that this magazine will provide you with glimpses of some of the more fun moments in an entrepreneur’s life.Much has changed in the world of business since we first...

Emily Davis in Business 2026-03-15 11:51

Skin in the game: How Indonesia’s largest cosmetics company transformed into the giant it is today

On the outskirts of Jakarta, at the factory of Indonesia’s largest cosmetics company, thousands of staff in mint-blue uniforms are working around the clock to keep production running. For Paragon Corp, which owns 14 beauty brands and 43 distribution centres across the country, business is booming. Flagship lines such as skincare and cosmetics label Wardah (“rose” in Arabic) have already surpassed brands from multinational corporations such as Uni...

Michael Williams in Business 2026-03-13 18:04

Andalusia’s aerospace industry is providing a clear runway to major players in aviation

More than 2,000 years ago, the Romans transformed the settlement of Hispalis, now Seville, into a centre of shipbuilding and trade. Some 90km from the Atlantic, the inland river port was ideally placed. Today, five centuries since the colonisation of the Americas brought Andalusia to its apex as a seafaring hub, the Guadalquivir river continues to carry ships laden with olive oil and wheat products.But walk along the river’s banks, as holidaymake...

Jennifer Johnson in Business 2026-03-10 11:35

Why one unassuming US grocery chain is a perfect lesson in the power of community building

Stewart’s is a chain of 400 convenience stores across New York state, New Hampshire and Vermont that seems to appeal to everyone. It’s where contractors grab coffee at dawn (some branches open at 04.30); where people in retirement go to buy the paper; and where Daniel Day-Lewis is rumoured to grab an eggwich (four million-plus sold in 2024). When my Brazilian friend visited from São Paulo, she declared Stewart’s “the best hangout in town”.With b...

Michael Jones in Business 2026-03-09 11:47

Torque of the town: Luxury car brands swerve into the sector of high-end fashion

Cars are everywhere in Milan during Salone del Mobile (except in the form of taxis when you need them the most). On Corso Venezia are the shops of Bentley Home and Bugatti Home, where customers can buy furniture that makes living rooms feel like the inside of a sports car. Around Cassina’s showroom on Via Durini circulates a Lancia Ypsilon with sapphire-blue interiors courtesy of the Italian furniture titan. Audi is presenting its latest models i...

Robert Johnson in Business 2026-03-09 18:50

Ten disruptors taking aim at modern warfare

The heat is on for Europe to start taking its own defence and security more seriously, with the US signalling that it will no longer be the guarantor of peace on the continent. European defence stocks are soaring as investors watch budgets track up for the first time in years. Countries claim that they want to “buy European” – yet those shopping around for new kit soon realise that while there are big local players such as BAE Systems, Thales and...

Emily Jones in Business 2026-03-08 11:25

Aviation updates: Greenland opens for business while South Korea spends big on defence

New York’s seafood fans and Icelandic hoteliers can both expect to feel an effect now that Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, has an international airport. Larger planes, such as Air Greenland’s Airbus a330-800, can now fly to the southwest coast of the self-governing territory, which – despite Donald Trump’s recent bluster – is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Previously, travellers to Nuuk had to stop, often overnight, at Keflavík in Iceland or at Kange...

Michael Williams in Business 2026-03-06 18:18

What makes a great leader? Five business minds share their vision

1.Gen FukushimaCEO, SanuIt’s a balmy afternoon as Gen Fukushima inspects the greenery dotted around the new headquarters of Sanu, a Tokyo-based company that provides second homes through subscription and co-ownership models. The 37-year-old ceo points out the species endemic to various regions and altitudes, brought together to add a forest-like feel to the ground-floor café, taco stand and event space. The company’s offices upstairs are fitted o...

Sarah Jones in Business 2026-03-04 18:10

Business and entrepreneurship in Austria

Time for a reset?Who hasn’t daydreamed about beginning another life in fresher climes? You know, the reverie in which you saunter out of work and hit a ski slope, then take in a new restaurant during a deal-sealing dinner? We mean the sort of place where you can picture yourself living better and breathing a little easier – somewhere that’s well connected but offers ample opportunities for escape, where things are well made and traditions are res...

Jane Johnson in Business 2026-03-03 11:57

JSX is the hop-on, hop-off jet service disrupting short-haul aviation

Alex Wilcox once came up with a plan to beat Concorde. In 1997, as a young pilot from Vermont, Wilcox had worked his way up the ranks at Virgin Atlantic and presented an idea to his boss, Richard Branson. Wilcox argued that by flying Gulfstream jets with lie-flat seats from Westchester County Airport in New York state to London City Airport, Virgin could beat the supersonic jet on door-to-door travel times for customers in Connecticut. Travelling...

Michael Johnson in Business 2026-03-02 11:29

Interview: AIX events director Archana Dharni on what airline passengers need

Archana Dharni was recently appointed events director for Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), an aviation fair that takes place in Hamburg every spring.How are people’s travel habits changing?People are taking longer flights and airlines are doing a lot to accommodate for this. How do carriers put passenger safety first? And, while safety is key, how do they ensure that travellers are comfortable? Passenger expectations have evolved significantly over...

Michael Williams in Business 2026-03-01 11:43

Could Kigali become Africa’s Dubai?

Rwanda might be synonymous with some of the worst crimes in recent human history but the predominant feeling in the country today is that of an optimistic future. Under the aegis of its 68-year-old president, Paul Kagame, who last year won a fourth consecutive election victory with more than 99 per cent of the vote, the country has experienced rapid economic growth, with GDP increasing by about 8 per cent every year since 2007...

Michael Brown in Business 2026-02-28 11:41

Swedish firm Heart Aerospace’s new hybrid electric aircraft

In the race to build a viable electric aircraft for commercial use, we have seen countless grand ideas but few fully realised planes. That’s why the recent unveiling of Heart Experimental 1 (HEART X1), a prototype for what will become the ES-30 aircraft from Sweden’s Heart Aerospace, is so exciting. It’s a real aeroplane that will fly and the first that we have seen of this size and class. Scheduled to be airborne in 2025, it will be the heaviest...

John Smith in Business 2026-02-27 18:30

Bjarke Ingels and ARM Holding are redrawing Dubai’s map – making it greener than ever

You can tell a lot about where a city is headed by the changes being wrought on its skyline. Dubai’s rapid rise and increased affluence is reflected in its built environment, composed of glass-clad towers and grand, palatial villas. Yet as more people put down roots in the Gulf city there is a growing market for a different style of development, which is human-scale and decidedly more grounded.ARM Holding is one developer betting on such blueprin...

Jane Jones in Business 2026-02-26 18:48

Tech corner: Four innovative releases to buy now

1.Fujifilm GFX100RFThe latest release from Fujifilm builds on the classic design of its hugely popular X100VI camera. The larger, medium-format 102-megapixel sensor on this camera produces remarkably detailed images, while the 28mm-equivalent fixed lens is suitable for both landscape and close-up shots.fujifilm.com2.Bowers&Wilkins PX7 S3The latest over-ear headphones from UK audio brand Bowers&Wilkins are the PX7 S3. The sound is as clear...

John Johnson in Business 2026-02-25 18:12

New York isn’t blinking in its congestion-price standoff with Trump

There have been many calls for resistance against president Donald Trump since he returned to the White House in January – but surprisingly little action. New York, however, appears to be stepping up and taking the fight against executive overreach to the streets – literally. Just weeks before Trump’s inauguration, New York introduced the most expansive congestion-pricing scheme in the nation. Under the plan, drivers travelling below 60th St...

Jennifer Jones in Business 2026-02-25 11:05

How Older made restaurant uniforms cool again

Morten Thuesen has a specific soundtrack for uniform fittings. Up on the fifth floor of a period apartment building just off Milan’s Corso Indipendenza, 1990s Japanese ambient music is spinning on a record player stationed on top of a striped Carolino drinks trolley made by the studio. In one corner of the showroom and living space, near a reupholstered Anfibio sofa from Alessandro Becchi, models are trying on the studio’s latest bespoke collecti...

Emily Miller in Business 2026-02-24 11:03

Why small electric vehicles are making a big impression in Cuba

Havana’s traffic might be best known for its brightly coloured classic cars – stately Chevrolets imported from the US before Cuba’s socialist revolution in 1959, boxy Soviet-made vehicles that followed during the Cold War and an array of antique Fiats, Minis and others. But increasingly, commuters are opting to use a new crop of small electric vehicles (EVS). These include dinky electric cars, tricycles and cargo trucks, as well as electric bikes...

David Brown in Business 2026-02-23 11:21

Monocle’s rundown of five grocery stores reinventing food retail

Grocery shopping often feels like a chore. But across the globe, smart retailers are showing that it can offer far more than just loud packaging, harsh strip lighting and busy, unappealing displays. Here, Monocle meets a few entrepreneurs who are going the extra mile to entice and excite their customers, whether by offering fresh, locally sourced products or by scouring the world for the best brands and suppliers. Some of these retailers are neig...

Michael Johnson in Business 2026-02-22 18:24

Neiman Marcus closes the door on a gilded age of American retail

An aura of legend exists around America’s mid-century department stores. The May Company in Los Angeles, for instance, had models walk around its restaurant wearing select garments and holding up a number so that diners could order an outfit directly to their tables. (Photo: Nina Leen/The LIFE Picture Collection)Today the old May Company building is a museum about films. Most of the US department stores that defined the era are either teeter...

Michael Jones in Business 2026-02-20 11:39

From Singapore to Bangkok, community-centric shopping spaces are redefining retail

One of the most talked-about artworks at Singaporean boutique art fair S.E.A. Focus this year was artist Jiaqi Sheng’s lightbox piece that declared “I need to breathe shopping centre air.” It’s a sentiment that any Southeast Asian knows intimately, as shopping malls are often their go-to spot to escape the tropical heat and humidity. While the shopping mall is an undeniable part of the region’s cityscape, the homogenous experience leaves muc...

Michael Johnson in Business 2026-02-19 11:31

Interview: Jony Ive joins OpenAI. The designer on his new venture in San Francisco

The hand of Jony Ive is all around us: on our desks, in our pockets, in our palms. More than any other living designer, Apple’s former design chief has shaped and contoured our day-to-day experience. Yet unlike the buzzing, attention-hungry iPhone – his most earth-shaking effigy – the man himself is much less forthcoming.Jony IveInterview-shy, Ive was never a fixture onstage during the Steve Jobs-era product launches. He often worried as a y...

David Williams in Business 2026-02-19 18:16

How banning vehicles is transforming Tempe into the US’s most walkable city

Late last year, Gabriela Vargas was apartment hunting with her husband in Tempe, a midsized city in Arizona, when she came across a new development called Culdesac. “I fell in love with the layouts,” she says, sitting in the complex’s beer garden. As they were about to sign the lease, her husband asked her what they would do about their car: the lease specified that Culdesac was a walkable community with no provision for parking. As the mother of...

Sarah Williams in Business 2026-02-18 18:52

Business

Newsletter Subcribe