Brand owners stand to gain substantial benefits from targeting the rapidly-expanding middle class in a range of developing economies around the world, a new report has argued. According to a study by McKinsey, the consultancy, the inexorable rise of this demographic spans "a dozen emerging nations, not just the fast-growing BRIC countries" of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

You may read the article written by David Court and Laxman Narasimhan in McKinsey Quarterly July 2010 issue here (you may need to be registered as a member  first to access).