What I wrote last week
Business
Monzo growth. A fascinating story on the early days of Monzo, a successful fintech company from the UK
The Wolf in Cashmere’s Conglomerate. A fantastic podcast episode on LVMH and the empire that they have built
($) How One Grocery Chain in Pennsylvania Is Preparing for a Downturn. An interesting case study of how a low-margin business in a cut-throat industry is responding to the macroeconomic challenges. I wonder if these companies will keep lessons learned during this period long in the future. You know what they say, never let a crisis go to waste
Deckers Brands: “The Ugliest Shoes of All Time”
Multicultural Grocers Drive Sales by Catering to Increasingly Diverse America. It’s imperative for grocers to closely understand the social fabric of the areas where they operate. Folks from different backgrounds have different preferences. Grocers who make the best use of their footprint, aka maximize revenue per square foot, must appeal to as many customers and sell as many goods as possible. This will require efforts, focus and investments in infrastructure and tools. But there is no other choice in the ever highly fragmented and competitive world of grocery
Ad Tech Revenue Statements Indicate Unclear Effects of App Tracking Transparency. A very balanced and reasonable take on ATT. If you are interested, here is my take on ATT
Landmark “Self-Dealing” Arbitration Found Netflix In “Violation” Of WGA Contracts. It’s interesting to learn about contracts and compensation schemes in Hollywood
Other stuff I find interesting
China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen becomes first city on mainland to regulate fully autonomous, driverless cars on some roads. The Chinese may have autonomous vehicles on the streets before we do. I am not talking about a few vehicles or test drives. This is about a large scale adoption of autonomous vehicles. Technology alone is not enough. There are important questions that must be answered. For instance, who will be liable for damages in accidents? Are there regulations for that? Shenzhen’s regulations already took place; something that is not yet available here in the US, to my best knowledge. For me, that’s an encouraging sign and a big step towards the future that many envision.
Prison Money Diaries: What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars. I felt angry after reading this piece. Even though violators of the laws should pay for their transgressions, as one of the most developed and richest countries in the world, we should build prisons that offer sufficient living environments to inmates. According to inmates, everything in prisons is pricey and they get increasingly more expensive over time. To buy goods, inmates have to work, although the pay is embarrassingly low. One receives $7 for 8 hours of work. And he said this: “If I work two sessions, that’s $6.68 per day. Almost nothing else in the Department of Corrections pays like this. Plus, during Covid, they gave us hazard pay — $2 extra per day. Last July, I made $334. The two primary things I spend on are: my phone credit account and commissary store purchases. The food at the chow hall is terrible and of poor quality — it’s not fit for a dog, seriously.” Google the prisons in Finland or Norway and see how badly we treat our fellow citizens.
Global Supply Chains of EV Batteries. A long yet excellent primer on the global supply chain of EV batteries. As everything around us requires batteries, those who hold power in this supply chain have tremendous advantages in the future
iOS Privacy: Instagram and Facebook can track anything you do on any website in their in-app browser. This is exactly why I support Apple in disabling cross-app tracking. Facebook and other advertisers have all the motivation in the world to collect data on us. They are financially incentivized to do so. It’s up to us and companies like Apple to tell them NO
No Great Stagnation in Guinness. Guinness is one of my go-to beers at a pub. It’s great to read a bit about how unique and quirky the business is
Europe’s remote, lost-in-time villages. “Life in Târnava Mare has barely changed in centuries, offering a precious insight into the age-old traditions that are still going strong in its Saxon villages.”
Stats
35% of Gen Z adults in the US don’t trust colleges and universities in the country. Wow!
Adobe’s Digital Price Index found that online prices dipped down 1% year over year in July
Organic fresh produce tends to be twice as expensive as conventional produce. However, conventional fresh produce had a bigger price hike recently
Minh Quang Duong 