Made famous by Pete Townsend of the Who, who famously wore Dr Martens on stage when rebelling against flower power fashion and the flamboyant colours of the psychedelic era. The dark, drab boots were originally conceived in the late 1940s, and sold primarily to Britain’s working classes. Today the brand tries hard to stick to […]
With sales of $1.4b and a solid market position in the US and Australia, Greek yogurt brand Chobani joins a long list of start-ups going public. Chobani was founded by a Turkish immigrant in 2007 who bravely invested in a yogurt plant Kraft Heinz was selling in Columbus in 2005. Like many success stories, Chobani
As Greek yogurt pioneer Chobani heads for the Nasdaq, what can it learn from Oatly? Read More »
SuperDry is the tale of a British company that masquerades as a Japanese icon. It is ironical that for those of us who live in Japan, there are no SuperDry clothing stores. Founded by an entrepreneur who took a liking to Asahi SuperDry, the brand leverages SuperDry’s image and is especially popular in western markets.
I confess to being a GoPro user. Their small action cameras are a self indulgence which I mainly use on snowboard trips, though I did once record a webinar video on one. At GoPro’s peak in 2015 the company sold over 6 million cameras a year. Unfortunately that number is now less than half. The
Wattbike creates bikes for indoor cycling, a pastime that soared during the Covid pandemic. The business was founded in 2007 by a former rowing champion in collaboration with British cycling. Its USP is technology, the Wattbike hub app allows riders to collect data for training and performance improvement. The software is agnostic, allowing friends to
Wattbike, favoured workhorse of the All Blacks, aims for global presence Read More »
Last year, the Japanese convenience store industry suffered from a slump in sales due to Corona. The pandemic drove away shoppers, particularly in city centres. 2021 interim results show the pace of recovery has been somewhat sluggish with none of the major chains able to increase sales on 2020. Although basket size has grown due
Japan’s CVS sales still struggle from Covid; low shopper traffic to blame Read More »
American icon the Cheesecake Factory is navigating the pandemic by dialling up take home sales and using its 208 restaurants as delivery depots. It also chalked a deal with Doordash to smooth online order cycles and relieve staff pressures. ‘Talk triggers’ and ‘viral marketing’ are key components of the company’s playbook. There’s a menu that
Cheesecake Factory pivots to take-home & dials up indulgence. Naughty but nice! Read More »
Beyond Meat is not having a stellar 2021. Full year revenue guidance has been cut to just over $100m down from $120-140m, a forecast issued just 3 months ago. The company has come up with what I consider to be lame excuses. One is ‘Delta coronavirus in the US’ and another is ‘retail labour shortages.’
Beyond Meat is fast running out of excuses to tame investors Read More »
Rent-the-Runway subscribers can browse luxury fashion online and rent attire. Its accessories, handbags and jewellery come from over 750 designer brands. The business meets a consumer need of wanting ‘new’ styles and since the goods are returned after a month, is arguably more responsible environmentally. The company was founded in 2008 and has around 120,000
High profile Rent-the-Runway IPOs. Is it the pin-up for Do Good capitalism? Read More »
As some of you may know, I’m a former Nestlé executive. I learnt a lot there, met many great people and parted on good terms several years ago. Whilst I follow many companies in the consumer products industry, one I follow very closely is my former employer. Last week Nestlé produced very strong third quarter
Nestlé’s cash cow partnership with Starbucks: a dream made in heaven Read More »
