(The Bookseller, 8 February 2011)

‘Bloomsbury is adopting a global, internal structure designed to allow it to function better alongside worldwide operations like Google, Apple and Amazon, and react to increasingly globalised and homogenised consumer tastes.’

Inspired by Bloomsbury, my small business, Collier International, is also going global. If it could find a way to do so. It already is global, comes to think of it. But reorganising would give its director a good feeling, and I could put an announcement in the Bookseller….

I will be looking at all functions, from contracts to coffee breaks, but I’m not optimistic. I can come to terms with globalised consumer tastes …but homogenised – well, great if you like milk.

Do I detect delusions of grandeur here? Or maybe a cavalier override of local culture and taste? Tastes may be increasingly globalised, but not, my Bloomsbury friends, to that extent. My travel experience indicates that the taste of milk differs remarkably from culture to culture.