Daily Archives

If you haven’t heard… the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the who’s who of the advertising and marketing industries. But lately, tech companies have been showing up in full force. The most successful companies seem to sponsor the most impressive things at the festival, including actual beaches on the coastline of Cannes, France.

Not just keeping up with the Joneses… because they are the Joneses. Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Spotify all sponsored the most prominent beaches at the festival. Facebook and Pinterest splurged on their own piers and Google had way more moving boats than the Wall Street Journal. While advertising agencies were in attendance, it became clear that these companies have been cutting back.

Spotify was a huge beach… to the competition. In addition to their beach, they brought in Miguel, The Killers, Travis Scott (yes, Kylie was there, too) and Chvrches to perform. It is safe to say Spotify was the life of the party and made other companies feel a little left out. It is probably also worth noting that Snapchat (SNAP) cut back on their beach-sponsoring ways as a means to save money. This caused some executives to question the state of the company. If you think this all seems a little petty – I am right there with you.

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Without breaking a sweat… AmazonBasics killed it in the battery market. Now, they are selling around 100 private label brands, including: kids clothing, men’s underwear, dog food, and home furnishings. So yes, Amazon will be making and selling their own stuff to compete against everyone else’s stuff. Analysts believe nearly half of all online shopping in the US will be on Amazon in the coming years – creating the perfect storm for massive sales of the company’s private label offerings.

Home-field advantage… is exactly what Amazon has because they have the ability to lead shoppers toward their brands and away from competitors. If you type the word “batteries” into Amazon’s search bar you will get a screen filled with AmazonBasics batteries. Energizer actually pays [a fortune] for ‘sponsored’ advertising on the site to be listed above AmazonBasics on the Amazon website.

Or is it an unfair advantage… because Amazon could eventually be looking at antitrust charges. Although, we have yet to experience the market power of a tech giant like Amazon which makes for some unchartered territory. If there is a case for antitrust, there has to be proof that Amazon is harming the consumer with either higher prices or lower quality. However, as you or I can probably attest – Amazon is cheap and usually freakin’ awesome.

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Fidget spinners, the dab, the man bun… are all casualties of a cringe-worthy 2017. Fortunately, bitcoin is not in the same category.  It may seem that way, though; bitcoin came crashing back down to Earth from a $19,500 high to hovering around $6,000, currently.

It’s not so bad… especially if you consider that bitcoin was priced around $2,500 just a year ago. When you look at the price decline, it includes tax selloffs, multiple exchanges getting hacked and $10 billion funding in initial coin offerings.

It’s a work in progress… and Japan just stopped multiple crypto exchanges from having new accounts come in. This caused bitcoin to drop further Friday morning. This may hurt bitcoin in the short run, but really, they are just trying to clean up and improve the system. So sit back and relax – because bitcoin is not done yet.

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Why Uber… when you can LimeBike, Jump, and Bird around your city? These are three electric scooter companies that provide a quick, convenient and environmentally friendly way to get from point A to B. They are becoming a big deal to investors, too. In fact, LimeBike and Bird have made over $100M in funding and Spin was acquired by Uber earlier this month.

And it’s really easy… just one tap of an app and you can pick up a nearby scooter; and when you’re done, just leave it. Although “just leave it” has been met with complaints from people tired of seeing the scooters unattended on just about every corner of their city.

But not so fast… because San Francisco stopped the e-scooters…for now. This has not deterred investors, however, and these companies have supported efforts to regulate the e-scooters. This includes finding places to park the scooters and working with public transit. I hope it works out – it’s 2018 for god sake, we shouldn’t be walking anywhere.

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So long, another part of my childhood… because Toys “R” Us is officially going out of business in the United States, closing their remaining 200 stores on Friday (the company will be open for business in other countries, such as Canada). I know you are probably thinking Amazon is to blame – but that is only partially true. The toy company also had an unsustainable amount of debt stemming from a 2005 transaction that took the company private.

Employees are also protesting… because they were not paid severance after, well, being severed from the company. The remaining employed employees will be helping to close up shop. The remaining unemployed employees will be staging another round of protests next week.

You may think ‘who cares?’… and Toys “R” Us closing was a long time coming. However, both Hasbro and Mattel lost tens of millions in sales due to the closings. While toy companies do sell their product to large retailers, their full line of products could always be found at the famed toy store. From 90s kids, and probably many others, farewell and thank you Toys “R” us, you will be missed.

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What more do you want… other than revenue that was up 10.4% for the quarter? Apparently much more because Carnival shares still closed down 7.85% on Monday. This coming after the company cut its full-year earnings outlook from between $4.40 and $4.20 to between $4.25 and $4.15. Carnival cited something that may be near and dear to even your wallet – rising fuel prices, as the reason for the correction.

But there’s hope… and Carnival is doing their best to offset the increased fuel costs. They believe the demand for their cruise offerings, along with increased ticket prices will offset the pesky fuel costs. It is worth noting that advanced booking for the cruise line are on pace with last year, but at higher prices, so their claims do have merit.

They’re not alone… with Norwegian Cruise Line dropping 7.2% and Royal Caribbean Cruises also down 5.1%. If you plan to take a cruise in the near future, expect to pay just a little bit more.

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Maybe we jinxed it… by declaring FANG stocks and the Nasdaq were relatively safe. However, new reports came out on Monday stating the Trump plans to crack down on Chinese investment in major technologies in the United States. Gotta love him.

Here’s who suffered… including the Nasdaq which dropped 2.1% (coming down from an all-time high last week). Netflix was down more than 6%, while Twitter and Amazon were down more than 3% each. The Dow also continues to drop, down 1.3% at one point.

There was a saving grace… in the form of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who stated there are no plans to impose investment restrictions and called the sell-off an overreaction. However, overreactions aren’t uncommon during the tense and uncertain times we are in. Bank of America reported that while the odds of a “full blown trade war” are low, the risks are “rising.”

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We’re not talking Facebook… but Kraft Heinz definitely “likes” Campbell Soup. Campbell Soup went up 10% following the announcement that Heinz is very interested in acquiring the company. This is welcomed news for a company whose soup sales have been cold and their organic food endeavors less than fresh.

You don’t need alphabet soup to spell this out… because it appears Campbell Soup is [probably] for sale. This may be a good thing for the struggling company, and it’s struggling counterparts (including Kraft Heinz), because the current plan isn’t working. In order to remain competitive, they need to find a way to compete with Amazon, Walmart, Costco, and even Kroger now, who have been keeping prices insanely low.

So just like LeBron… it may be time for Campbell Soup to give up the one-man band act and find a super team. Even with the 10% increase, the company’s stock is down 25% over the past twelve months. Having said that, they won’t be a cheap date for any potential suitor – with a valuation of nearly $13 billion. I mean, come on, it’s Campbell Soup we’re talking about here.

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