His firm takes design specifications for shoes from its customers and then manages product development and quality control in factories in China (and now in India and Vietnam, too).

ECONOMIST: Brazilians in China

David May, director of global marketing at Goldman Sachs, argues that whereas firms can control almost every aspect of the brand of, say, a soft drink or a pair of shoes, in financial services the brand depends heavily on the people who are employed by a firm.

ECONOMIST: Banks are trying to develop better brands. About time too