The Empire Strikes Back

Paris. The restaurant in new "urban resort" hotel Murano on Boulevard du Temple has been acclaimed even by the Gourmet staff, and the truffles on almost-melted cheese and spicy rhubard slices were indeed very good. Old European luxury in a revamped stylish setting. The well-dressed Chinese couple in the corner seemed to agree.

I was at an SEB (Swedish bank) breakfast meeting a while ago. The debate was about the bleak future of Europe. When the bank's chief analyst quoted an american know-it-all stating about Europe that "I guess the world needs a museum too", everybody laughed and I got really pissed. "So what, if we're the world's most profitable museum?" Interestingly, nobody on stage could argue against it.

We worry about the Asian tiger economies and about how the Chinese will take over just about everything. I say let them grow. If nothing else, the Chinese are helping us to press margins out of pure production, leaving all the profit linked to advanced design and smart sales. (Thanks, China, that happens to be our key strengths.) Plus: for every new Chinese millionaire, we will have one more sucker for his or her part of European history and heritage. We just have to relearn how to be more imperialistic about it.

We might not work 80-hour weeks (and will never again want to), but we have a good old story to tell - through our products and services - that is genuine. And that is sexy. And as you know, sex sells, if you only understand how to use it. At Murano, they seem to get it (and I'm sure that the popcorn on the fois gras was just a deliberate little joke...).