Friday, May 09, 2008

Internet cafe plus

When in Europe, go to Switzerland. When in Switzerland, go to Lauterbrunnen. When in Lauterbrunnen, go to Airtime. It is a combination of booking agency (para gliding, bungy jumping, canyoning -- know what that is? -- river rafting, sky diving, hang gliding, canyon jump, horse trekking), internet access place, book shop, coffee shop, souvenir shop, landromat (!), you-name-it. Daniela Michel and/or Beni Brunner welcome and serve you.

It takes a competitive market to come up with combinations that make the most sense. Internet cafe's have sprung up around the world. But this is the next iteration. Retailers have long dealt with the challenge of which goods to stock on limited shelf space. But the new game is which combinations of goods and services to bundle. And it's great fun to stumble on the real life experiments that are underway.