What I Wrote Last Week
Business
Walmart Uses Emerging Tech to Improve Produce Sourcing. We had trouble with supply of Sirancha, olive oil and cocoa due to climate effect. Given how important grocery is to Walmart, it totally makes sense for the biggest retailer in the US to do this so that they can make plans and act when Mother Nature acts out again.
The Crazy Economics of the World’s Most Coveted Handbag. It’s mind-blowing to me how people are crazy about a handbag like that. To the point that they are willing to splurge thousands of dollars and kowtow to Hermes to be able to get their hands on one. The way that Birkin became a mystique is also intriguing. The brand didn’t have a meteoric rise, but for some reason, after the 2008 economic crisis, it started to become such a coveted name. For Hermes, it must be fantastic to enjoy 10x margin and not have to spend as much money as rivals.
Responsibility Over Freedom: How Netflix’s Culture Has Changed. Culture is probably the one that is the hardest to replicate in business. Netflix’s is definitely unique and it is changing over time to adapt to the new reality that it is so much bigger than it was. What caught my eyes is that there is no labor contract and people consider it a great achievement to stay for 5 years. It’s hard to argue against Netflix’s success now, but will this cultural feature backfire in the future?
‘It’s All Happening Again.’ The Supply Chain Is Under Strain. This will not help ease inflation. And if inflation is not curbed, the Fed won’t lower rates.
The Clock Is Ticking on Jane Fraser’s Citigroup Turnaround. A quick review of how Citi has gotten itself into the current trouble and how its CEO is trying to turn it around.
Is Lidl poised to finally turn the corner in the US? Lidl has its work cut out. The chain has been relatively new to the US, entering the market less than 10 years ago. On the other hand, rival Aldi has been here for almost 40 years. Lidl has to learn how to adapt to the American shoppers, carve out a niche positioning for itself and differentiate from a fierce fierce competition. Not an easy task.
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
Fast Crimes at Lambda School. An investigative long piece on Lambda School. When I first read about the School 7 years ago while I was in school, I was excited about the concept. At the time, I could not enroll because I was not a permanent resident. I got lucky. I didn’t know at the time about the historical facts regarding ISAs. Nor did I know about how shady the company was. I should have known better.
Microsoft shelves its underwater data center — Project Natick had fewer server failures compared to servers on land. “40% of data center consumption is in cooling systems” and the popularity of AI-enabled data centers are interesting pieces of information.
Germany’s autobahn bridges falling apart. Since the Germans are known for their engineering and autobahns, it’s astounding to read about their struggle to maintain such important infrastructure. I am also surprised to see another example of how mismanaged argubaly the biggest economy in Europe is. Remember the over-reliance on Russia for gas and the discontinued use of renewable energy? Or the social unrest due to influx of refugees? Or the high inflation and the sluggish economy?
Stats
Consumers spent $16.3 billion online on cosmetics in the first 5 months of 2023
51.3 million people watched the first 2024 presidential debate between Trump and Biden
Minh Quang Duong 
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