Tell me more. Everybody else was quite happy with their business growth. Fund managers would rather sell through established supermarkets like Egg than set up their own. Only time will tell if this signals the start of the end for distinct online brands. Whilst some new brands have been established successfully, the jury is out on others, particularly those established to tap a new, younger and potentially lucrative customer segment.
Brand building is expensive.
When combined with the start-up investment in IT, even with the much lower marginal costs for internet transactions, it is difficult to make a return on the costs of establishing a new operating entity. Events over the last year suggest there has been a reality check and the industry appears to be taking a more considered approach to e-business development. Maybe the bankers have a point, then. OK, I'm puzzled too. This is a dramatic quarter on quarter fall, and for the first time since September 1998 the number of respondents who expect to reduce capital expenditure on IT is greater than the number expecting to increase expenditure.