Its shoppers account for only 6% of the world's consumer spending, but, according to figures released by Bain Consulting last month, they now account for 20% of global sales of luxury goods.

ECONOMIST: Free exchange

Bain, another consulting firm, says it has seen several firms appoint executives recently with a specific brief to ensure that price adjustments and service cuts do not damage loyal customers' experience of brands.

ECONOMIST: Consumer psychology

For instance, leading management consulting firms such as Bain and McKinsey have been helping American companies, especially online ones, to launch in Europe, augmenting their management teams and providing local expertise.

ECONOMIST: Europe��s start-up stampede

Seeing the increased investment that was flowing into China, we mapped out plans for a strategic market research firm that would charge more than big management consulting firms like McKinsey and Bain.

FORBES

O.s liked having a house guru, a firm whisperer, on call, and the nature of the relationship gave Bain an interest in something that other consulting companies had little reason to care about after they collected their fees, which was whether the advice they sold actually helped the company do better.

NEWYORKER: Money Pol

After earning graduate-level degrees at Harvard Law and Harvard Business School, for decades he worked for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain Capital in Boston.

FORBES: Why Do Takers Like Obama and Gingrich Attack Makers Like Romney?

In that list, Bain came out on top McKinsey ranked second and Boston Consulting came in third.

FORBES: The Most Prestigious Consulting Firms

Led by Bill Bain, the group wanted to set up a strategy-consulting firm that would not just give its clients a thick report on what they needed to do and then depart.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Then she joined Bain, a firm founded in 1973 by a bunch of defectors from the Boston Consulting Group.

ECONOMIST: Face value