Business Daily

Pokémon started as a hugely successful game for Nintendo’s Gameboy nearly 30 years ago. Since then, it's become a billion-dollar global media brand.

Despite the firm's huge revenue, the Pokémon Company remains private. The firm doesn’t release its historical earnings figures, but some analysts estimate it has sold up to $150 billion worth of products, making it the world’s highest grossing media franchise.

Mariko Oi speaks to Pokémon Company president, Tsunekazu Ishihara, about the firm's successes over the years, and the challenges it faces - like counterfeits and the resale market.

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Presented and produced by Mariko Oi

(Picture: Pokemon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara welcomes guests during the 2022 Pokémon World Championships at ExCel, London, UK. Credit: Getty Images)

We look at how to rescue brands on the brink.

We hear inspired sloganeering and learn about the audacious marketing that have helped companies – even towns and cities – to turn their reputations around.

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Producer/presenter: David Reid

(Photo: A businessman covers his eyes and extends his arm to prevent a series of heavy walls from falling on him. Credit: Getty Images)

The outsourcing sector in the Philippines has seen significant growth, positioning itself as a global leader. However, the rise of AI technologies is reshaping the job landscape, potentially displacing traditional roles.

In the second part of our series looking at the Philippine economy, Sam Fenwick investigates how the government is adapting to the change by investing in infrastructure and promoting foreign investment.

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Produced/presenter: Sam Fenwick

(Picture: Customer agents sit behind computers on the AI training in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Credit: Getty Images)

The estimated 2.3 million Filipino overseas workers form the economic backbone of their nation. The remittances they send home are vital; sustaining household incomes, driving consumer spending, supporting community development, and ensuring national economic stability - contributing 8.5% to GDP.

In the first of our two-part series looking at the Philippine economy, Sam Fenwick meets overseas workers who send money home and those who have returned to set up businesses.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Producer/presenter: Sam Fenwick

(Picture: Angel Kho, a head chef, in the kitchen of a care home in the UK. Credit: BBC)

Could Germany benefit from drastic Javier Milei-style reforms?

One business owner in Berlin thinks so, and many others want a reduction in the amount of bureaucracy bosses are responsible for.

As a federal election takes place in Germany, members of the Mittelstand, Germany’s famous small and medium-sized businesses known as the “backbone” of the country's economy, tell Business Daily what a new government could do for them.

Theo Leggett travels to a science and research park on the outskirts of Berlin where the boss of an underwater robot company and other tech businesses are based. There's a lot of innovation happening in the buildings, but confidence in politics is low.

And Anouk Millet looks at the Hamburg businesses trying to modernise and forge a path towards an uncertain future.

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Presenter: Theo Leggett

(Image: Fabian Bannasch, CEO of Evologics,holding a robotic "penguin". Credit: BBC)

Germany's once mighty motor industry is losing momentum, as high costs, low demand and competition from Chinese firms take a heavy toll on company profits.

With elections in a few days' time, we ask, what do Germany's politicians need to do to put the industry on the road to recovery?

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Presented and produced by Theo Leggett

(Picture: View of the production plant of the Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. Credit: Getty Images)

Cosplay is the ultimate form of fancy dress – with fans of graphic novels and video games doing everything they can to emulate their favourite fictional characters. And it's a big money-spinner globally.

We find out why the hobby has grown so much over the past two decades – and meet those who’ve turned their passion for cosplay into a career.

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Presented and produced by Will Chalk

(Picture: Cosplayers pose as Star Wars characters during New York Comic Con 2024, in New York City. Credit: Getty Images)

The festival of Kumbh Mela is estimated to attract 400 million Hindus and other visitors from around the world.

The 45-day festival is a massive economic engine, injecting billions in the economy of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which is hosting the event. And this year, it is a Grand Mela, which only happens once every 144 years.

From big businesses to street vendors and hotel owners, to major brands and digital entrepreneurs, all are looking to cash in on the influx of visitors.

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Presented and produced by Devina Gupta

(Image: Shoppers next to a toy stall at Kumbh Mela in 2023. Credit: Getty Images)

How to make a battery powered plane that can fly long distances, whilst carrying passengers, is a key challenge facing the aviation sector.

As the world tries to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels, researchers are looking to make flight more sustainable to deal with ever growing demands.

We hear about some pioneering projects in the Netherlands which are trying to do all of this, whilst still being commercially viable.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Produced and presented by Matthew Kenyon

(Image: A render of Dutch start up Elysian's fully electric regional aircraft, which it says will have a range of 500 miles. Credit: Elysian)

We speak to a boss whose business has bulked up on the global wellness trend.

Tom Ryder got into fitness supplements as a side-hustle when he was a scaffolder for Liverpool City Council — now he runs Applied Nutrition, which is valued at more than £350million.

He tells Sean Farrington how growing up with his grandparents in public housing shaped his entrepreneurial spirit.

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Presenter: Sean Farrington

(Image: Tom Ryder)