1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:09,040 Here's a lesson in the economics of the last two-and-a-half centuries. 2 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,200 It's one long chase. 3 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:28,000 Someone invents a clever way of making money. 4 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:29,960 Others try to catch up. 5 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,000 We were the first to industrialise, but they caught us, 6 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,840 so we moved on by using our brains rather than our hands. 7 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,280 Always trying to outwit our competitors. 8 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,360 It's all about being more inventive. 9 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:09,520 That has kept us ahead so far, but others are still out to steal, copy or improve on what we do. 10 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:27,240 In this programme, we look at where this chase has taken us. 11 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:36,720 Not to disaster, but to new industries based on brainpower, 12 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,280 like pharmaceuticals or technology. 13 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,960 Or our film and other creative industries. 14 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:49,040 Creativity and innovation are the lifeblood of the British economy. 15 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:13,840 'I'm in China, on my way to the enormous international fair in Shanghai, 16 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:19,840 'the Expo. I want to find out how Britain sells itself internationally. 17 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:25,880 'It's vital we sell more to the world to pay the bills that have arrived since the financial crash, 18 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,520 'but have we got anything the world wants to buy? 19 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:34,680 'In this series, we look at the manufactured goods we sell, 20 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:36,760 'at the services we export 21 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:42,600 'and today at the most nebulous sector of all - intellectual property. 22 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:53,600 'The Expo is a great place to show off our wares to 400,000 visitors a day. 23 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:03,320 'Every nation is represented here. Their pavilions are their shop windows.' 24 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,360 Luxembourg. 25 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,680 'Some are more successful than others. 26 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:22,120 '160 years ago, we started these world fairs with our own Great Exhibition. 27 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,560 'Back then, we were secure in our role as workshop of the world, 28 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:31,080 'but the world has been catching up ever since.' 29 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:37,120 Now we're reduced to just one pavilion between the French over there, the Italians over here. 30 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,360 And we're competing for attention with 186 others. 31 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,520 'But I have to say our pavilion stands out in this crowd.' 32 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,520 Amid the bland stands and the ones that try too hard, 33 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,560 ours is a shimmering beacon of originality. 34 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:02,320 So striking and yet, really, quite subtle. 35 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:11,080 'But other countries sell themselves in a different way - with products. 36 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,480 'The French pavilion has wines on display. 37 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,320 'The Italians, fashion and Ferraris.' 38 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:29,320 Ours is less hard sell. It's more high concept. 39 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:36,080 It's a wonderful idea - quarter of a million seeds embedded in these acrylic needles. 40 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,200 But, you know, the only thing is 41 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,800 there really is nothing in here. 42 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,680 'For many, our empty pavilion symbolises our economy. 43 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,120 '"It's a big void," they say. 44 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,760 '"We don't make anything any more, so we have little to sell." 45 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:06,080 'Many feel we're economically inadequate.' 46 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:13,080 Looking down on this thing from up here, you get that sense of a link between economic activity 47 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,520 and national identity. 48 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:21,200 What do we do? What do we specialise in in the world economy? What's our niche? 49 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,360 What are we proud to produce? 50 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:29,000 'Well, to me, our pavilion perfectly symbolises the best of our economy - 51 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,520 'our inventiveness, our brilliant ideas. 52 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:40,920 'The question is, can we sell enough of them to get us out of our economic gloom? 53 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:50,720 'As the original industrial nation, 54 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,160 'Britain long ago discovered that being clever is highly lucrative. 55 00:05:55,160 --> 00:06:00,800 'There's a rule in the modern economy - you make the most money by being first, 56 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:05,440 'by doing what others can't do. We've made ourselves rich that way. 57 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:11,640 'A good example - the British company that transformed the world's skylines and made billions 58 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,960 'in the process.' 59 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:22,160 It's about 200 metres, 240 metres or so to the top of the building. 60 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:27,880 Wonderful view. Wonderful view. 61 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:36,600 'The company that made the windows for this skyscraper tells you why innovation is such a big earner. 62 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:42,760 'One discovery goes a very long way. It can be replicated again and again.' 63 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:48,560 Now this building has 3,960 panes of glass 64 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:53,000 and they weigh 350,000 kilograms. 65 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:57,040 'The glass was made by the St Helens firm Pilkington's.' 66 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,040 Not only was this glass made in this country, 67 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:07,160 but the process, a wonderfully innovative process which allowed this glass to be made, 68 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,600 was developed in this country, too. 69 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:16,600 'It changed everything. Virtually all skyscrapers are made using it. 70 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:21,720 'It's called the float glass process and Pilkington's invented it in 1952. 71 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:27,160 'It was theirs and theirs alone and it took them from just being one of the pack 72 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,600 'to being well out in front.' 73 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:44,120 St Helens is the greatest centre of glassmaking in the world. 74 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,160 So let's begin with this kind of glass 75 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:55,000 and tell the romantic story of one of the greatest industrial inventions of the age, 76 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,760 the float glass process. 77 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:09,280 'Before float, glass panes were made by pouring molten glass onto a plate. 78 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:14,520 'But there was a problem. The glass produced was rough and uneven. 79 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,760 'It had to be ground and polished by giant industrial machines. 80 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,840 'And this process was hugely expensive. 81 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:30,720 'After the Second World War, the demand for housing and cars created a massive need for glass. 82 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:37,120 'It was a race for manufacturers worldwide to develop a cheaper production process. 83 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:44,760 'In 1947, Pilkington's found the first essential ingredient in the creation of a great innovation - 84 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,600 'a genius. Engineer Alastair Pilkington. 85 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:53,200 'Oddly, he wasn't a close relative, but had the same surname. 86 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:59,800 'He experimented with the idea of producing perfectly flat clear glass 87 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,920 'by floating it on molten tin. 88 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:08,560 'No one had made it work before. Early results suggested the method had promise, 89 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:14,600 'but converting this into an effective industrial process was an immense challenge. 90 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:23,440 'You can see the scale of his ambition by walking down the float line today.' 91 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:28,000 This bit is the... The Pilkington bit, the clever bit. 92 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:34,280 That's the float glass. If you want to have a look through, you'll see the ribbon coming through. 93 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:40,920 Oh, yes. Absolutely clear. So the stuff rippling on the top is glass? It's glass, yeah. 94 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:45,760 'Then came the second ingredient for innovation - money. 95 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:53,480 'In 1955, after only three years' development, Pilkington's invested in a full-scale production line. 96 00:09:55,240 --> 00:10:01,560 'It was a massive financial risk, soaking up all the company's profits, month after month.' 97 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:08,240 You need to stand back. That flame's going to come out. 98 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:13,800 There you go. Right. Is there a good end to put first? Just stand to one side... 99 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:17,840 'A year after they started their test line running, 100 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:24,360 'they still weren't producing saleable glass from molten tin, and it was costing a fortune.' 101 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:31,120 OK. There you go, it's gone. 'It was the third ingredient that created perfect glass.' 102 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,400 Wonderful. 'Luck.' 103 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:40,640 A certain critical part of the plant broke and this changed its shape 104 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,680 and by this means we suddenly, to our surprise, 105 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:48,720 found ourselves making our first saleable glass. 106 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,440 The whole section of the line of grinding and polishing could go. 107 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:07,240 You can see the glass here just comes out absolutely flat and smooth. 108 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,560 'After seven years' toil 109 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:17,800 'and £7 million - equivalent to £130 million today - 110 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:24,640 'Alastair Pilkington achieved his goal, beating all competitors to making better, cheaper glass.' 111 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:31,880 So did that initial £7 million investment, which seemed like a lot of money in 1950s prices, 112 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,520 did it pay off? Well, of course it did! 113 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:40,560 Because this was a) so valuable and b) no one else could do it, 114 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:46,000 Pilkington didn't just have an innovation that created float glass. 115 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,080 They had an innovation that generated enormous returns. 116 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,000 Innovation pays. 117 00:11:54,800 --> 00:12:02,280 'For its innovation, Pilkington made billions as other companies paid to use the technology. 118 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:06,640 'Today the company's part of a Japanese-owned glass giant, 119 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:13,600 'but it continues to make glass here, to do research here, and it generates plenty of earnings.' 120 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,320 And you can jump on it? Yeah. No problem. 121 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,360 Oh, yeah. 122 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,960 Seems to be safe. 123 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:31,600 'The huge rewards it earned through the decades derived from coming first. 124 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,560 'We'd all like that kind of success, so where should we look for it? 125 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:42,200 'Well, to understand this, think of the entire production process 126 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,840 'and the different stages in it. Call it the value chain.' 127 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:55,040 When it comes to earning a good living for ourselves, we have to produce things people will pay for. 128 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:59,880 A lot of us assume that means manufacturing, but that's naive. 129 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:04,720 There are three major steps of value creation in the production process. 130 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,960 And the first is about the magic of creativity. 131 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:16,640 Yes, the first is coming up with a new product or process, like Pilkington, 132 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,680 built on the research of scientists and engineers. 133 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,640 Only then comes part two - the manufacturing, 134 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:34,880 the machine in the middle that churns out the product. This is the tangible bit of the process. 135 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:40,920 Now this does add value, of course, but less than you'd think, as so many nations can do this well. 136 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,760 Then there's the third step, 137 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,800 the marketing, advertising and branding. Teams of people 138 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:52,240 with innovative ideas to make products appealing. 139 00:13:54,000 --> 00:14:01,240 Now in the modern value chain it makes sense for us to innovate in the first stage, 140 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:05,480 coming up with the idea, and the third, selling it. 141 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,520 That's where the biggest bucks can be made. 142 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:17,720 I know it's not a very British example, but one study broke down the cost of a 300 iPod. 143 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:24,040 Now most of the price goes to the retailer and to the people who supply all the components, 144 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:29,280 but on the back it says, "Designed by Apple. Assembled in China." 145 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:35,720 For the design, Apple get about 80. For the assembly, China gets less than 5. 146 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:40,720 That is the value of creativity and branding. 147 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,200 'I've said the global economy is like a chase. 148 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:52,680 'The more advanced economies, like ours, run ahead 149 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:58,600 'with the skills to get to where the most money is and where the others find it hard to follow - 150 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,400 'to the end of the value chain.' 151 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:05,840 Of course, we do have a lot of problems at the moment, 152 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:11,680 but the economy was right to concentrate on the most valuable parts of the value chain. 153 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,520 More science at one end, more marketing at the other. 154 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:19,560 The science is built on research and development, or R&D. 155 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:26,800 Many companies have made the journey away from simple manufacturing towards more research-based output. 156 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:36,400 'The history of Britain's biggest spender on R&D, GlaxoSmithKline, 157 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,040 'illustrates the transformation. 158 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:46,080 'In the 1930s, Glaxo made dried baby milk under the slogan, "Glaxo builds bonny babies". 159 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,840 'But then came the Second World War. 160 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:02,040 'The discovery of penicillin offered a potential lifeline to wounded soldiers, 161 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:07,680 'but the problem was scientists only knew how to make it in tiny quantities. 162 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,720 'Drug companies, including Glaxo, were asked to find a way 163 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,560 'to manufacture penicillin in bulk. 164 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:23,000 'Its scientists worked day and night on the task. It was only towards the end of the war 165 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,440 'they accumulated a significant stockpile.' 166 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,000 On D-Day, the 6th of June, 1944, 167 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,840 156,000 people landed 168 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:43,280 on these very beaches of Normandy. 169 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,160 'On that day itself, 6,000 were killed, 170 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,720 'but 18,000 were wounded. 171 00:16:55,400 --> 00:17:01,640 'Penicillin made an enormous difference. Instead of saving five out of every ten wounded, 172 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:05,280 'medics were saving eight out of ten. 173 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,360 'Bolstered by refocusing its efforts on R&D, 174 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:15,800 'Glaxo emerged from the war a very different company. 175 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:21,880 'It had made a fundamental shift from the relatively easy task of manufacturing powdered milk 176 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,120 'to the tougher job of developing drugs. 177 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:33,320 'And when the NHS was founded in 1948, Glaxo was ideally placed to be a preferred supplier. 178 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:35,760 'It never looked back.' 179 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:42,680 The development of Glaxo mirrors that of our economy overall 180 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:48,320 from manufacturing things to manufacturing innovations and ideas. 181 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:52,800 It illustrates how we've moved up the value chain. 182 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,840 'This is a perfectly natural evolution. 183 00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:01,880 'As economies become more advanced, they have the resources to spend on research and education. 184 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:07,000 'As they spend more on education and research, they become more advanced. 185 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,640 'That's what progress consists of. 186 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:19,720 'And progress is exactly what we've enjoyed in Britain and we need more of it if we're to pay our way. 187 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,760 'Our economy has moved into science-based industries. 188 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:30,080 'Pharmaceuticals is one of our most important. Its exports are worth £18 billion. 189 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:35,920 'Glaxo, now called GSK, is the world's fourth-largest pharmaceutical company. 190 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:40,160 'None of that would be possible without R&D. 191 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,280 'I want to see what that looks like. 192 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:49,320 'This operation in Hertfordshire is where many of GSK's innovations originate.' 193 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:57,560 This is really a double facility - a factory and an R&D centre - with 1,000 people in each. 194 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:05,320 'It isn't easy to invent or discover things, 195 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:09,080 'otherwise everyone would do it. And it's a risk. 196 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,920 'Andrew Witty is the Chief Executive of GSK.' 197 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:17,760 So we have to dress up? We do. There's a very strict protocol. 198 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,800 These are disposable lab coats, are they? 199 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:25,520 They'll be recyclable. Here we go. 200 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:30,720 We need a pair of goggles. Get the goggles on. And we're good. OK. 201 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,560 So the cost of a new drug. 202 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:41,680 What does a drug cost, then? If you look for the industry and take the total amount spent on R&D 203 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,720 divided by the number of successful drugs actually introduced, 204 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,960 it runs at about £550 million each. 205 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:55,600 £550 million. It takes into account the cost of all the failures. It's the only practical way. 206 00:19:55,600 --> 00:20:00,240 For GSK and our competitors, we're all trying to beat that average. 207 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:06,040 'How do you improve the odds? GSK has discovered 208 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:10,680 'it works to get the right cluster of talent together in one place.' 209 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,200 As science has evolved, it's much more multi-disciplinary. 210 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:22,240 The discoveries all occur on the interface of disciplines. Quite often you'll find an IT expert, 211 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:27,080 an informatics expert or a molecular designer who uses computers 212 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:31,560 with somebody who does everything in a test tube. It makes things happen. 213 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:35,400 'Even with such a cluster of brains, it's not easy. 214 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,880 'It's back to that constant chase. You research to stay a step ahead 215 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,720 'and then you watch others catch up.' 216 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:48,360 If you succeed, you can make a very good return with a patent life. 217 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:54,440 When your patent goes, you will essentially make no money from that business going forwards. 218 00:20:54,440 --> 00:21:00,480 That is what drives this industry. Many companies have not been able to reinvent themselves in that 10 years 219 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,720 when you earn the reward. 220 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,840 One of the worst things about my job, a slightly adrenaline-driven moment, 221 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:14,280 is you get data at the end of a 15-year research programme 222 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:20,120 and there's a moment when somebody opens the envelope and it either says success or failure. 223 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:25,680 And the reality is that's what makes this such a high-risk and expensive business. 224 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:32,480 'There's a vast amount of money coming into the UK economy from companies like GSK 225 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:36,320 'who specialise in research and innovation. 226 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:40,120 'But like Pilkington's, GSK innovates 227 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,560 'and also manufactures. 228 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:49,320 'This room churns out billions of doses of respiratory treatment each year.' 229 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,560 Essentially, this is the line. 230 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:06,640 This room here produces 50 million packs of Seretide Advair a year for distribution around the world. 231 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:11,880 Overall, the company last year sold £5 billion of Seretide Advair. 232 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:25,120 'The manufacturing is clever, but the real value has been added by the investment in knowledge. 233 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:32,360 'And that knowledge is not just to do with the ingredients of a drug, but also ways of making it.' 234 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:41,520 20 years ago, this machine would have consumed the entire building space. 235 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:48,000 It would have had 20 or 30 people working on it and you've never have the volume capacity you have today. 236 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:53,200 You can see here - one person keeping an eye on this facility. 237 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:59,040 60,000-70,000 packs already coming off it. We'll get it up to a peak of about 108,000 238 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,400 when it's running full blast. 239 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:11,160 'Advair Seretide is exported around the world 240 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:16,280 'and even though GSK also has manufacturing plants outside the UK, 241 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,600 'we still earn money from them because the drug was invented here.' 242 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:27,040 The lesson from GSK and Pilkington is that although they both manufacture, it's the brainwork 243 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:30,680 and innovation that adds most value to what they do. 244 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:36,720 What's the logical conclusion of that? Companies that don't actually make anything physical at all. 245 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,760 Nothing? How far can we push that business model? 246 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:47,440 Can we really pay our way in the world by becoming a nation of boffins and geeks? 247 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:58,120 'Well, come to Cambridge, to the area outside the city known as Silicon Fen. 248 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:05,240 '1,400 hi-tech companies have sprung up in these business parks 249 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,880 'employing over 40,000 people. 250 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:17,000 'It's an interesting feature that these businesses like to be near each other, to be plugged in. 251 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:21,440 'They tend to cluster, just like the scientists in Glaxo labs. 252 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:26,480 'One of the companies here has become the runaway success of the last decade 253 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:33,080 'and what they do can be found inside virtually all the digital devices we take for granted.' 254 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:40,760 In here, mobile phone. 255 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,760 And there... 256 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:48,640 Somewhere here 257 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,440 is a little piece of Britain. 258 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:59,840 There we go. There it is. Just under NEC. You can see it says ARM. 259 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:04,480 It's a very successful company, one of our best, actually, 260 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:08,920 and remarkably few people have actually heard of it. 261 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,400 'Unlike Pilkington or GSK, 262 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,920 'ARM Holdings focuses entirely on stage one of the value chain. 263 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:25,160 'They don't make processors. They design them. 264 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:30,280 'It's pure innovation and it's valued at over £7 billion. 265 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,800 'Tudor Brown is its President.' 266 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,240 Hi! Tudor! Hello, Evan Davis. 267 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:43,080 Good to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. Ha! I've heard a lot about you. 268 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,520 So come on through. Let me show you some other technology here. 269 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:55,240 You wouldn't sort of know that this is one of Britain's most successful companies. 270 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,280 I don't know. How do you...? It looks quite plain. 271 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,720 Well, there's no great buzzing machines. 272 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:08,720 This is thinking and whatever. I like the artwork. Those are just a couple of plots. 273 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:14,520 Let's take you into an office. It's quite warm in here. Some of them like it warm. 274 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:20,200 The brain operates better at this temperature. Some people wear hats, even! 275 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:27,600 'It may appear rather dull, but the designs generated in this room shape the future of computing.' 276 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:33,440 Some of the guys are hopefully doing some work. 'ARM started in the early '80s, 277 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:37,280 'designing small, but powerful chips for British home computers.' 278 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:41,720 And actually this chip here... No touch screen. No, no, no. 279 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:48,960 This is the first ARM processor. 'The chips had potential for small portable products 280 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:53,120 'and drew the attention of a US computer company.' 281 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:58,960 Along came Apple, actually, in 1990 wanting to create the Newton, the world's first PDA. 282 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:04,000 Here we've got a Newton. This is why ARM the company was created. 283 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:09,840 And now, you know, you could look at that and think that's the iPhone. It's a bit bigger. 284 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:16,280 Hello. It was a bit too slow and a bit too heavy, but that was the vision behind this product. 285 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:20,800 Then, in the mid-'90s, the mobile phone revolution started. 286 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:25,200 And Nokia was the first company to adopt our technology. 287 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,000 And ARM power is in... 288 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,680 ARM is in pretty much every mobile phone, yeah. 289 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:37,120 And as the phones become more sophisticated, they have more chips. Yeah, absolutely. 290 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:43,160 Something like the iPhone or these smart phones have an awful lot of ARM technology in them. 291 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:49,600 You've got chips in an iPhone. Without giving away your commercial secrets, what are Apple paying you? 292 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,200 Remember, we don't make the chips. 293 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:57,840 We license our designs to semi-conductor companies. For that we get a licence fee. 294 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:03,440 When they make the chips and sell them to Apple or whoever, they pay us a royalty. 295 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:10,640 We get a few cents off each chip. It's not huge... No, but... In the last year, 6 billion ARM chips. 296 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:15,840 You add all that up, it means the company is doing very well. 297 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:23,600 You don't at any point feel, "It's sad that we don't make the chip. Maybe we should." Not at all. 298 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:30,040 We don't want to manufacture. You have to build a factory that costs you 5 billion to start. 299 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:36,080 It's a hugely expensive game. We have no expertise in that. Other companies are much better. 300 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,920 We're damn good at what we do and that's what we want to keep doing. 301 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:46,960 'It's right, of course, to concentrate on the high-value work and it's a huge contributor 302 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:52,560 'to the UK economy, but it does signal a problem with the intellectual property industry. 303 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:58,520 'Only the very cleverest can earn a living in it. We're not all as brainy as these guys.' 304 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:03,360 Come in here on the left and we'll see an office with real hardware. 305 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:07,600 'It raises the issue of how the rest of us contribute to the economy, 306 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,560 'how big we need our unintellectual property industries to be.' 307 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:14,400 Ah, the playroom, the playroom. 308 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:20,240 Yes, it's playing in a way, but there are some semi-serious outcomes from the sort of thing we do. 309 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,640 So this is some Lego 310 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:29,960 that one of our guys here has created and built. It's a Rubik's Cube solver. 311 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:33,440 To begin with, the phone is using its camera. 312 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:39,800 It's pointing downwards to take an image of each of the faces of the cube and it works out the solution. 313 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:44,640 Would you like to race it, Evan? Here's a cube that I scrambled just now. 314 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,280 I have a feeling your system will be better than mine. 315 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:50,600 On your marks, get set, go. 316 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,360 Well... 317 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,080 I think it's going to win. 318 00:29:55,080 --> 00:30:00,320 The key is to think of them as cubes, rather than as surfaces, I think, isn't it? 319 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,960 OK, he's won. 320 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:16,920 Very nice. Very nice. 321 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:22,960 So, hopefully, you'll remember how to fly this. I'll pop it down about here. Here we go. 322 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:28,440 So we've got these ARM chips in so many different objects, you wouldn't... 323 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:35,480 'ARM has evolved from being at the centre of one of the most rapidly growing industries - mobile phones 324 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:39,680 'to being partners of the computing world's giants.' 325 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:41,800 Up... Ah, there we go. 326 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:45,560 'Warren East is the chief executive of ARM Holdings.' 327 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,400 You are friends of, partners to all the big ones - 328 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,240 Google, Apple, Microsoft, 329 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:57,400 the three behemoths of American software, hardware culture. 330 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:02,920 You're there with all of them. That's absolutely the philosophy of our business model. 331 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:05,360 We enable and we don't pick winners. 332 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,960 We believe sharing a slice of a very big pie 333 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:13,800 is a lot better than having the whole of a much smaller pie. 334 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:16,720 Come on, come back, come back. 335 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:23,560 'ARM's strength has been built around having a highly skilled and highly educated workforce. 336 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,200 'It's no coincidence that it's found in Cambridge. 337 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:37,240 'These old colleges are the key to Britain's modern success in research and science. 338 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:42,280 'Universities help companies innovate and the economy reaps the reward. 339 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:48,480 'That clustering effect, it works in our favour in that great chase that is the global economy. 340 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,920 'Top talent likes to move to where other top talent is, 341 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:56,960 'so the more success you have, the more success you get.' 342 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:04,000 Now, the great hope for the British economy is that we remain front-runners 343 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,840 at this whole business of creating intellectual property. 344 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:13,400 That hope rests on the fact that it is quite hard for other countries to catch up with us, 345 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:19,440 so a country like China can come to the west and buy a factory, remove it lock, stock and barrel, 346 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,920 take it back home and replicate exactly what we're doing, 347 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,400 but could it come and buy this? 348 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:31,960 What is it? It's an academic business network. It's hard to get your hands on it. 349 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:40,640 Clustering is great for the UK and it's great for Cambridge. 350 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:45,200 But there is a problem. Clusters suck in resources from elsewhere, 351 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:51,720 so while Cambridge is packed with top-class firms, it's left other parts of the UK behind. 352 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:55,160 The economy clearly needs jobs elsewhere - 353 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:59,280 good industries in every corner of the land, to use all of us, 354 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:01,680 all the resources at hand. 355 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:10,560 Well, we've seen how our economy has evolved towards the science end of the value chain. 356 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:14,920 Now we have to see how and why we've made another move over the decades 357 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,400 to the other end of the value chain 358 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:21,920 where marketing, advertising and branding put the creative icing 359 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:23,960 on the manufactured cake. 360 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:52,560 When people enjoy a good education, they become more affluent. 361 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,200 Their whole way of consuming changes. 362 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,440 They have more time. They can afford more than basic subsistence. 363 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:04,760 They begin to think about self-expression and what they say about themselves. 364 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:11,080 Fairtrade chocolate - it tells me that I care about other people or that I can afford to care. 365 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:15,840 The Italian and the Brazilian menu choices tell me how worldly I am. 366 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,760 The newspapers remind me how clever I am. 367 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:24,920 Then we have the dazzling array of different coffee choices which says so much about oneself. 368 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:28,720 I'll have a mocha with white chocolate, please. 369 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:41,120 It's a funny thing, but the more affluent and the more educated consumers are, 370 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:43,760 the more frivolous they tend to look. 371 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:49,800 They seem to be more worried about the froth on the cappuccino than the coffee itself, and why not? 372 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,840 If you've got enough coffee, maybe it's a bit of froth that you want. 373 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,680 But there's a really interesting feature of modern economies. 374 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:01,040 They tend to respond to those kinds of consumers. 375 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:06,560 They adapt and produce things to serve the more trivial needs that rich consumers have. 376 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:12,600 Douglas Adams puts it rather well in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. I'll paraphrase his line. 377 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:18,880 "There are three phrases of human development - will I eat, what will I eat and where shall we do lunch?" 378 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,600 Well, Britain is in phase three. 379 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:42,840 Visit a supermarket in Britain or any advanced economy 380 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:47,360 to see how much effort in rich countries goes into marketing, 381 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,400 packaging and all the fripperies attached. 382 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:54,240 They may be frivolous, but they're valuable activities, 383 00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:58,280 elevating bog-standard commodities into something special. 384 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:04,720 Right, let me walk down the biscuit mile. There are so many biscuits. 385 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:07,960 Chocolate Orange Viennese Biscuits, 386 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:12,280 Plain Chocolate Butter Biscuits, Oreos, of course, Digestives. 387 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:15,320 How much shortbread does a society need? 388 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:21,360 Choc Chip Shortbread Rings. Why have a hole in a piece of shortbread? What difference does that make? 389 00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:24,400 It makes it more pleasurable to eat, doesn't it? 390 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:29,800 It costs the manufacturers a lot, offering this proliferation of biscuit choices. 391 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:35,040 But it makes money because enough consumers shun the cheaper, boring options. 392 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,240 Because so many of our basic needs are fulfilled, 393 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:42,640 we tend to worry less about quantity and functionality these days 394 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:46,240 and more about the aesthetics of the products we buy, 395 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:49,080 the packaging, the meaning they give us. 396 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:55,440 Adding value through marketing innovation is one of Britain's strengths. 397 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:59,720 Just as much as the work of a Glaxo lab or a Cambridge business park, 398 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:03,920 this is the natural direction for our economy to have taken. 399 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:10,840 Every single item is designed to appeal to somebody, to add a little bit of colour to their life, 400 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:13,640 to give them a little bit of identity. 401 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,840 My favourite is down here. 402 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:18,360 Here we go - Skinny Water 403 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:24,320 with the bottle in a nice, skinny shape as well for people who are concerned about their shape. 404 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:30,160 As the world becomes more affluent, so consumers want more sophisticated products. 405 00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:33,680 We shouldn't regret being big players in the industries 406 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:37,720 like design, marketing and advertising that serve these tastes. 407 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:41,560 Exporting these skills helps us pay our way in the world. 408 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:55,040 Britain's strength in this area goes right back to the 19th century. 409 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:59,040 Sunlight Soap was one of the country's great exports, 410 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:02,520 working its way into the far corners of the world. 411 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:08,040 # As long as my sweetie is by my side, doing the dishes with me Now there's no moonlight... # 412 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:14,080 It transformed humble Wirral grocers William and James Lever into multi-millionaires. 413 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:21,520 Back in 1884, instead of cutting slices of soap from blocks, 414 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,280 they pre-wrapped it and branded it Sunlight Soap. 415 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:30,000 It was their guarantee that each bar was of the same standard as the last 416 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,960 and this idea was a roaring success. 417 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:38,560 In 1886, they were producing 1,000 tons of soap a year. 418 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:44,000 Ten years later, it had risen to 40,000. 419 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,880 By the 1930s, it was the largest company in Britain. 420 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:55,880 And today, as the global corporation Unilever, 421 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:59,520 it continues to produce some of our biggest brands. 422 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:09,760 A lot of people are apt to think it's all fluff. 423 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:14,800 How can a nation earn a living or pay for its imports through marketing? 424 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:20,360 It may not make a living for everybody, but it can certainly make a lot of money. 425 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:23,920 There's a revealing tale of the takeover of a company 426 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:27,440 that's been one of Britain's best brand inventors, 427 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:33,640 the company behind one of our greatest contributions to the world of confectionery - the Kit Kat. 428 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:36,440 That company was Rowntree. 429 00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:41,040 In 1988, it was fought over by two Swiss food giants - 430 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:45,080 Nestle and Suchard who wanted to buy it. 431 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:49,320 After a long boardroom battle, a selling price was finally agreed 432 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,560 that had the value of the brands at its heart. 433 00:39:55,520 --> 00:40:01,360 Rowntree, the British firm who make Kit Kat and Smarties, are to be bought by Nestle, 434 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:04,200 the Swiss food giant who make Milkybars. 435 00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:09,040 The successful bid topped all earlier offers at over £2.5 billion. 436 00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:11,240 Morning. Morning. 437 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:22,160 Rowntree's factories and machinery and so on were valued at half a billion pounds. 438 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:27,680 The value added by the brands accounted for much of the additional two billion. 439 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:31,520 If you look at the manufacturing base or buildings alone, 440 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:34,560 that doesn't explain at all the final price. 441 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:38,520 It's all to do with Nestle looking at those brands and thinking, 442 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:42,760 with these properties, we can build a big, successful, global franchise. 443 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:47,880 Nestle paid handsomely for the brands. 444 00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:53,800 Britain pocketed the money and Nestle's investment in them has taken that old British Kit Kat 445 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:58,960 into global markets that previously it couldn't afford to reach. 446 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:05,920 Today, the seemingly innocuous snack bar has become a global super brand. 447 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:14,000 Dubai Airport has the privilege of being the single largest place where Kit Kats are sold in the world. 448 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:18,040 Over a tonne of Kit Kats are sold in Dubai Airport every single day. 449 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:28,480 '17 billion Kit Kat fingers are sold every year in 70 countries. That's more than any other confectionery. 450 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:33,320 'Even under Swiss control, Britain continues to earn money from it. 451 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:39,360 'Nestle invested in an R&D lab in York and the city still makes a billion Kit Kat bars a year, 452 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:45,200 'a formidable demonstration of the value of a brand and its potential for export too. 453 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:53,840 'So we've seen why there's an impeccable economic logic 454 00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:59,040 'in Britain specialising in the high value ends of the value chain, 455 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:01,440 'the science bit and marketing. 456 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:04,600 'It made us rich, but here's the bad news. 457 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,160 'It hasn't made us rich enough. 458 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:13,000 'There's a gap between what we've been buying from abroad and what we've been able to sell 459 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,440 'and now we have bills to be paid.' 460 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:20,200 Hello, could you take me to China, please? That would be terrific. 461 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:29,320 'Now I want to see how much further our brainpower and creativity can go to help close the gap. 462 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:35,560 'With many millions of new, affluent middle class, China is the place our brands should be heading. 463 00:42:56,800 --> 00:43:00,720 'Despite appearances, this isn't Reading or Basingstoke 464 00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:03,880 'or any other British town. 465 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:09,040 'This is Thames Town on the outskirts of Shanghai. 466 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:20,640 'It was a commercial venture built by Chinese speculators 467 00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:26,080 'who used British architects Atkins to create a traditional British town. 468 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:32,040 'But when the rail link to it was cancelled, it became more of a ghost town.' 469 00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:37,600 I'm sure the developers here really had intended it would be a thriving community - 470 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:41,240 retail, accommodation, apartments, houses. 471 00:43:42,240 --> 00:43:48,720 They must be slightly disappointed that really it's a kind of glorified film set. 472 00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:55,040 Every corner you go round, there are more people taking photographs. There's another group over there. 473 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:01,840 Churchill. 474 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:06,520 "Corner store", just like any British corner store. 475 00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:09,200 And next door to the "Apoolo". 476 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:12,240 It's sort of almost there, isn't it? Just... 477 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:14,240 Just not quite. 478 00:44:16,240 --> 00:44:22,440 I mean, this place brings up a bit of a worry I have about British brands and their success here, 479 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:28,840 a worry that Britain is somehow seen as a rather sort of exotic backdrop, a curiosity, 480 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:31,880 rather than a driving, modern economy. 481 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:35,920 Certainly we can sell, certainly we're good at marketing, 482 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:40,120 but the worry is that we're slightly better at marketing to ourselves 483 00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:43,560 than we are outside of our own country. 484 00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:52,080 'But it doesn't take long in China to find one bit of encouraging news.' 485 00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:02,800 Xiexie. 486 00:45:07,720 --> 00:45:09,640 Hmm! 487 00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:13,120 There are so many teas in China. 488 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:17,080 There's one here that's good for the eyes. 489 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:22,600 There's one that reduces the symptoms of excess internal body heat. 490 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:25,640 The one I've got is a cleansing tea, 491 00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:28,600 a sort of Chinese detox. 492 00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:31,720 But of all the teas in China, 493 00:45:31,720 --> 00:45:36,360 guess which outsells its nearest rival by two to one? 494 00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:38,880 A little bit of show and tell here. 495 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:43,280 Yes, it's Lipton from Unilever. 496 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:50,440 The Chinese buy around 300 million pounds of Lipton's tea every year. 497 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:56,160 If we can sell tea to the country that gave it to the world, surely we can sell anything. 498 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:03,160 Looking around, there are some successes here, 499 00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:06,800 such as the luxury brand Rolls-Royce and Burberry. 500 00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:11,840 And retail giants Tesco's and Marks & Spencer have also got a foothold. 501 00:46:11,840 --> 00:46:14,880 Does that mean we can sell anything? 502 00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:17,480 A test of how our brands are doing 503 00:46:17,480 --> 00:46:22,520 is to see if they're getting into the homes of the burgeoning middle classes. 504 00:46:22,520 --> 00:46:26,400 As we've seen in Britain, a rise in education and affluence 505 00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:29,560 leads to a more sophisticated consumer culture 506 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:32,000 and this is happening in China now. 507 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:35,760 These are the people we should be targeting our brands at. 508 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:47,880 COMMENTARY IN CHINESE 509 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:54,160 'This is Yuan Ming. She does what I do. She presents business programmes. 510 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:59,240 'She also hosts Call Me Boss, the Chinese equivalent of Dragons' Den.' 511 00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:01,480 CONVERSATION IN CHINESE 512 00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:05,120 APPLAUSE 513 00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:08,840 'But where my programmes reach a few million, 514 00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:12,240 'Yuan Ming's are seen by tens of millions.' 515 00:47:12,240 --> 00:47:17,920 Hello. Hello. Yuan Ming? Hi. I'm Evan. Lovely to see you. 516 00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:23,200 'Who better to find out if British brands are reaching the affluent classes?' 517 00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:25,880 Come in, please. 518 00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:28,400 CONVERSATION IN CHINESE 519 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,000 I want a bit of a snoop around. Why? 520 00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:42,520 I want to see what sort of brands you buy, whether you're a bit of a fashion person. 521 00:47:42,520 --> 00:47:46,840 No, I'm not. Well, I'm a gadget maniac. You see, I have an iPad. 522 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:49,880 Yeah, I've already seen number one there. 523 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:55,920 Maybe we have something in the refrigerator. This is... No, this is from France, I guess. 524 00:47:55,920 --> 00:48:02,240 Let's see what we have... Tsingtao beer. Champagne. Oh, champagne, French. Nice. 525 00:48:02,240 --> 00:48:05,560 Orange juice. Oh, we have some... Spanish. 526 00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:10,760 This is depressing. You've got something from everywhere apart from Britain. 527 00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:13,120 I'll try to find some British one. 528 00:48:13,120 --> 00:48:16,280 No. No, it's not very British, is it? 529 00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:22,320 No, it's slightly depressing... What do we have? I don't know. This is what my quest is to find out. 530 00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:25,960 I have Laura Ashley and also I have some Earl Grey. 531 00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:30,760 Phew, we got there, we got there! Laura Ashley. Thank you, Laura. 532 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:35,800 I'd love to hear what your mum thinks. OK. I mean, Rolls-Royce, not the car... 533 00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:38,080 CONVERSATION IN CHINESE 534 00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:42,800 My mum says, "Is it British?" 535 00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:46,520 She said, "Is it British?" Oh, how could you not know? 536 00:48:50,960 --> 00:48:55,280 Can we eat another dumpling, by the way? We've slightly ignored the... 537 00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:59,880 'My overriding impression is what a small player we are. 538 00:48:59,880 --> 00:49:02,840 'It's hard work finding British products. 539 00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:07,760 'I know we sold around £8 billion of exports to the Chinese in 2009 540 00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:13,880 'and the figure's growing, but it's not much, considering their £3 trillion economy. 541 00:49:15,680 --> 00:49:21,720 'We aren't selling enough yet and the evidence in China is that it's not going to get any easier 542 00:49:21,720 --> 00:49:24,240 'because China itself is changing. 543 00:49:24,240 --> 00:49:28,280 'Remember the chase - some countries advance, others follow? 544 00:49:28,280 --> 00:49:33,120 'Just as we concentrated on the most valuable sections of the value chain, 545 00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:36,640 'that's exactly what the Chinese are beginning to do 546 00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:40,680 'as their economy develops away from low value manufacturing. 547 00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:57,840 'Look at this advert for trainers from a Chinese sports manufacturer, Li-Ning. 548 00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:00,640 'It was made in fact by a British ad agency, 549 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:06,280 'but China clearly wants to own the brands, as well as make the footwear.' 550 00:50:07,400 --> 00:50:11,200 Thank you very much. Brilliant. Lovely. 551 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:17,000 'I've come to Li-Ning's flagship store in Shanghai 552 00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:22,440 'to see if China is catching up with the west in developing sophisticated brands. 553 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:27,560 'Cindy Wu is head of brand development.' 554 00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:33,120 Cindy Wu? Yes. Hello. Evan Davis. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. 555 00:50:33,120 --> 00:50:35,880 Lovely store. Welcome to our store. 556 00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:40,600 So how long has it been like this? Is this brand-new? 557 00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:46,720 Yes, this is actually our new flagship store in Shanghai. It looks a little bit like Nike Town. 558 00:50:46,720 --> 00:50:51,760 Did you go to a Nike Town store and think, "Let's make it look like that"? 559 00:50:51,760 --> 00:50:57,000 We just want to establish our own flagship stores which could represent our brand. 560 00:50:57,000 --> 00:51:00,280 'This place looks good, if slightly familiar, 561 00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:04,400 'but can Li-Ning do anything more than copy western brands?' 562 00:51:05,560 --> 00:51:09,520 Now, you've got to tell me about this swoosh, Cindy. 563 00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:12,040 We've got this swoosh. 564 00:51:12,040 --> 00:51:17,880 First of all, we don't call it a swoosh. No, that's what Nike call theirs. We call it a logo. 565 00:51:17,880 --> 00:51:21,280 And you can see that there's actually a difference. 566 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:25,000 This is our original logo and this is our new logo. 567 00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:30,800 You admit that one looks a bit like some other logos, but this one is a bit more original? 568 00:51:30,800 --> 00:51:33,840 Really? They come from different inspirations. 569 00:51:33,840 --> 00:51:38,400 That one was inspired by the Chinese red flag flying on the podium 570 00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:43,320 and this new logo came from one of the actions of our founder. 571 00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:49,560 He was a gymnast and he has an action named after himself with his feet... Oh, a position. Right, right. 572 00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:54,320 There's something I want to ask you about these shoes over here. Sure. 573 00:51:54,320 --> 00:51:57,720 'They've got the branding bit. What about the science?' 574 00:51:57,720 --> 00:52:03,240 If you go to one of the established, big manufacturers that we're all used to, 575 00:52:03,240 --> 00:52:08,280 they have teams of people designing these, so they're really good for the feet. 576 00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:13,760 Now, are yours just bits of sort of plastic and fabric or are they designed? 577 00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:16,600 Have you got scientists working on them? 578 00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:23,520 We have a lab established in Beijing and also our global innovation centre in Portland in the USA. 579 00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:26,560 So you really are putting a lot of money into... 580 00:52:26,560 --> 00:52:32,720 We believe that to become a world-class sports brand, we have to own our own technology. 581 00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:35,080 'They've also got the ambition.' 582 00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:39,120 We have gone through a lot of R&D product design plans 583 00:52:39,120 --> 00:52:44,120 to prepare ourselves to be one of the top five brands by 2018. 584 00:52:44,120 --> 00:52:46,440 Top five Chinese brands? 585 00:52:46,440 --> 00:52:51,000 No, top five sporting goods brands in the world. Right. 586 00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:56,360 So you really do have plans to be conquering the world. 587 00:52:56,360 --> 00:52:59,200 I mean in a good, commercial way. Sorry. 588 00:52:59,200 --> 00:53:04,720 'Although I'm taken aback by what I'm seeing, I shouldn't really be surprised. 589 00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:10,160 'We've moved beyond "pile 'em high and sell it cheap". Why shouldn't they follow us?' 590 00:53:10,160 --> 00:53:12,720 You are profitable as a company? 591 00:53:12,720 --> 00:53:17,760 Or are you still investing in it so much that you're not making any money? 592 00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:19,800 We are profitable. 593 00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:26,240 In 2009, we have made 8.3 billion RMB in our revenue. 594 00:53:26,240 --> 00:53:30,760 8.3 billion - that's about £830 million. 595 00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:33,120 Yes, more or less. That's a lot. 596 00:53:33,120 --> 00:53:36,760 And then we made 0.9 billion RMB revenue. 597 00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:41,040 £100 million of...of profit, of profit. Of profit. 598 00:53:41,040 --> 00:53:45,880 Crumbs! Yeah, profit. That puts you in quite a big league, actually. 599 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:49,720 I wonder whether we in the west should be terribly worried 600 00:53:49,720 --> 00:53:55,760 because we've been waiting for China to be rich enough for us to sell lots of things into China 601 00:53:55,760 --> 00:54:00,800 and the day you become rich enough for us to start selling loads of things to you, 602 00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:04,840 pay back all the money we borrowed from you in the last ten years, 603 00:54:04,840 --> 00:54:11,560 you'll be selling all this nice, fashionable stuff to yourself. Crumbs! What are we going to do? 604 00:54:11,560 --> 00:54:15,560 'And that's a question many people are asking. 605 00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:21,400 'What happens when the next hip chocolate bar is Chinese, not British? 606 00:54:21,400 --> 00:54:26,000 'We might have been great at inventing things in the past, 607 00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:29,920 'but why shouldn't others be as good as us in the future? 608 00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:34,800 'National champions like GlaxoSmithKline run out in the front now... 609 00:54:36,320 --> 00:54:39,840 '..but companies elsewhere are chasing behind.' 610 00:54:42,480 --> 00:54:46,440 We run constantly with that feeling just behind our neck 611 00:54:46,440 --> 00:54:52,640 that if we don't succeed on the next round, you aren't going to be here in 15 or 20 years' time 612 00:54:52,640 --> 00:54:56,680 and in many ways that creates the energy in the organisation. 613 00:54:59,600 --> 00:55:03,640 There are no guarantees. There is no 11th commandment which says, 614 00:55:03,640 --> 00:55:07,760 "There should be a drug company in Britain called GlaxoSmithKline." 615 00:55:12,520 --> 00:55:17,160 You'd better succeed because if you don't, nothing will save you. 616 00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:23,960 But there's no need to be alarmed. 617 00:55:23,960 --> 00:55:26,800 From what I've seen, at our best, 618 00:55:26,800 --> 00:55:29,520 we're among the world's best. 619 00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:33,680 UK designers are very good. 620 00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:38,080 They're very versatile, problem-solving types. 621 00:55:38,080 --> 00:55:44,240 The world changes, the problems to be solved change. New industries come, old industries go. 622 00:55:44,240 --> 00:55:46,760 The UK can't do everything. 623 00:55:46,760 --> 00:55:51,800 It has to focus on the highest value activities it can find. 624 00:55:53,800 --> 00:55:56,560 The best answer comes from a blend 625 00:55:56,560 --> 00:56:02,600 of some of that British problem-solving mentality, 626 00:56:02,600 --> 00:56:06,840 together with some specialist, but quite narrow expertise 627 00:56:06,840 --> 00:56:12,680 that you find in engineers in some other regions of the world, for example, in America. 628 00:56:13,680 --> 00:56:17,640 We can't be complacent, but our whole economic history 629 00:56:17,640 --> 00:56:22,640 is one of running to stay ahead and getting richer in the process. 630 00:56:22,640 --> 00:56:24,800 It's no different now. 631 00:56:24,800 --> 00:56:27,960 It all comes back to the value chain. 632 00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:33,480 As the world changes, as other countries get richer, new opportunities arise. 633 00:56:33,480 --> 00:56:40,120 We have to find new nooks and crannies which best use our skills and will enable us to pay our way. 634 00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:45,600 Britain is in the global top division when it comes to science and creativity 635 00:56:45,600 --> 00:56:51,120 and the income they generate will continue to pay many of the country's bills. 636 00:56:54,560 --> 00:56:57,360 But one important observation - 637 00:56:57,360 --> 00:57:02,320 we can never be entirely reliant on intellectual property alone. 638 00:57:02,320 --> 00:57:07,680 That reminds me of those old sci-fi movies where there's some evil brain in a jar, 639 00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:10,720 trying to survive without any kind of body. 640 00:57:10,720 --> 00:57:12,760 We don't want to be like that. 641 00:57:12,760 --> 00:57:16,800 We need people who are not cut out to wear white coats in laboratories 642 00:57:16,800 --> 00:57:19,640 or black collars in advertising agencies. 643 00:57:19,640 --> 00:57:25,680 We need them to be productive as well. We need regions which don't have clusters of knowledge workers. 644 00:57:25,680 --> 00:57:28,720 We need them to have industries of their own. 645 00:57:28,720 --> 00:57:33,200 We want to be clever, but we don't ONLY want to be clever. 646 00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:37,600 'Next time on Made In Britain, 647 00:57:37,600 --> 00:57:41,640 'our services economy where over three-quarters of us work. 648 00:57:41,640 --> 00:57:44,440 'From call centres in Sunderland...' 649 00:57:45,520 --> 00:57:49,280 This is a bedroom or a lounge? It is a bedroom. It is a bedroom. 650 00:57:49,280 --> 00:57:51,960 '..to estate agents in London. 651 00:57:51,960 --> 00:57:55,160 'Can this help us pay our way in the world?' 652 00:57:55,160 --> 00:57:58,480 Very nice indeed. Again the views over the park... 653 00:57:58,480 --> 00:58:02,320 To discover more about how Britain pays its way in the world 654 00:58:02,320 --> 00:58:07,760 and to contribute your own experiences to the Open University's online toolkit, visit... 655 00:58:10,520 --> 00:58:14,040 And follow the link to the Open University. 656 00:58:32,960 --> 00:58:37,000 Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011 657 00:58:37,000 --> 00:58:40,040 Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk