Special Reports

Twelve months ago, architect Jean-Mic Perrine began commercial production of his modular housing system, called the 'perrinepod'.

Blake Dawson partner Roger Davies may be one of Perth's top corporate lawyers, but it wasn't the business world that attracted him to Perth.

Tourism developments aren't immune to the rising cost of development and construction delays affecting major projects in this state at the moment.

Emirates has confirmed its A380 aircraft will service Western Australia on a daily basis following the launch of its aggressive expansion program this month, when the first of Emirates' eventual fleet of 58 A380s flew from Dubai to New York.

The vision of creating one of the Asia-Pacific region's best airports - with 45 aerobridges and costing just $1 billion - has become a major challenge for Perth Airport.

While the short-term macro-economic picture looks increasingly bleak, many still believe in the Western Australian story, driven by an insatiable demand for raw materials from China and other developing nations.

Accountant Rami Brass received a shock last week while helping a newsagency client raise some money to buy the neighbouring business.

Former academic Tim Atterton believes Australia's tax system sets up small business for failure in times like these by discouraging the retention of profits, distracting management and undermining strong balance sheets.

When prominent Perth accountant Frank Cooper was asked to join the WA Opera board, his initial reaction was: "The fat lady with horns? Not my cup of tea".

Mining engineers, scientists and technology entrepreneurs should collaborate with innovators in the arts sector to produce outcomes that benefit all sectors, the WA Business News boardroom forum was told.

Ensuring the ongoing strength of the arts sector in Western Australia beyond the boom will only be achieved by building relevance of the arts in the community, according to participants at the WA Business News forum.

The value art sponsorship can bring to the commercial sector is often underestimated by the broader business community.

Perth's planned new sporting stadium at Subiaco could include innovative venues for the presentation of theatre and music to sports fans attending big games.

Franchisor of the Caffissimo coffee chain, Mike Barr, believes a good coffee franchise is all about 'location location', and a viable rent.

With almost half of the top 50 fastest growing franchises in Australia food businesses, there is no reason to go hungry.

The Bank of Queensland's aggressive push into Western Australia has highlighted a growing trend of franchising within the finance industry.

A lot can happen in a year. Just more than 12 months ago, Western Australia franchises were concerned about the difficulties in finding new areas of growth, with the sector subject to the same labour market pressures as other industries.

It may be isolated, but Western Australia has become one of the country's hotspots for producing quality franchise chains.

The federal government is expected to complete its review of the franchising sector by the end of the year, following a state government inquiry into the sector handing in its final report in April.

Jani-King has emerged as one of the fastest growing franchises in Western Australia, measured by number of outlets.

RAC has achieved top ranking for the second year running in the annual WA Business News branding survey.

Bankwest has again topped the waning brands list in a survey of WA's leading marketing, advertising and PR executives.

Two advertising campaigns launched at the same time by the same agency have made iiNet and Murdoch University the most improved brands in this years' WA Business News branding survey.

The Perth Convention Bureau has engaged advertising agency Marketforce to develop a business events brand for Western Australia to promote better the state as an international meetings, incentive and convention destination.

Flicking through the professional recruitment pages, its clear to see the intense competition for candidates in the Western Australia's tight employment market.

Local agencies are starting to tap into the rapid global expansion of online and digital marketing.

Having formerly been named among the most recognised and best corporate brands in Western Australia in WA Business News' previous branding surveys, the more recent fortunes of Alinta have taken a protracted and well-documented fall.

Microbrewers Gage Roads Brewing and Little Creatures have featured in the top five emerging brands in the WA Business News branding survey every year for the past four years.

Western Australia still lacks a unique and cohesive branding strategy, according to some of the state's top advertising agencies.

Drought in much of the country and rising commodity prices will ratchet up the pressure on the state's food manufacturing industry, the WA Business News forum heard.

Although boutiques such as Tiffany's and Gucci have descended on King Street, the inner-city strip is about a lot more than gold, glitter and luxury.

The food-manufacturing sector requires urgent action from government if it is to remain viable in the future, according to industry representatives at the WA Business News forum.