Weekly reading – 3rd September 2022

What I wrote last week

Business

($) Disney’s New Pricing Magic: More Profit From Fewer Park Visitors. As a shareholder, I am more concerned than happy after reading this article. Annual pass-holders are loyal customers and should be valued. Instead, the recent changes signal to them that money is more important than the long-standing relationship forged with the company. Disney’s theme parks are unique and hold precious memories in a lot of folks, but there is a price for everything. At some point, customers will realize that however fond some memories are, it’s just too expensive to bring the whole family there. I hope Disney executives wake up today, read this piece and take some actions before any revolting can happen.

Where Amazon is heading in health after the Amazon Care failure. Amazon is known for running lots of experiments and tinkering till they find a solution that actually works. Amazon Care is an example of that. They realized that they were not able to venture into healthcare by themselves. Hence, a string of acquisitions ensued, namely Signify Health and One Medical. There are risks still with this strategy, though. Cultural conflict between acquired companies, and even between them and Amazon. Difference in data infrastructure. Market cannibalization. It’s just the start of a multi-year and likely very expensive project.

Cash is king for EV makers as soaring battery prices drive up vehicle production costs. A good round-up of EV makers

($) Starbucks Is Rethinking Almost Everything, Including How to Make Frappuccinos. What seems to be a straightforward operation at a Starbucks store may be more complex than you think. Read this piece to learn more how Starbucks is adjusting to changing tastes and responding to complaints from baristas

Be good-argument-driven, not data-driven. Data is your prisoner. If you are motivated enough and if you torture the prisoner enough, it will say whatever you want it to say. Whether it’s intentional misrepresentation of data or incapability to analyze data properly (no apples-to-apples comparison, for example), it’s easier to preach “data-driven” than implement it. Too much of anything can’t be a good thing. There must always be balance. There is indeed a place for data, but since it’s just a tool, its effectiveness hinges a lot on how we use that tool.

Medium’s new CEO on the company’s journalism mistakes, bundle economics, and life after Ev Williams. I used to like Medium a lot. So I can’t help but feel like the company missed a gigantic opportunity to strengthen its advantages and grab market share. Now, it’s too late for Medium to rectify its mistakes.

Zenly is still hugely popular, so why’s Snap shutting it down? It’s sensible to reduce headcount when Snap already gets its hands on Zenly’s technology. It’s also difficult to argue against avoiding cannibalization between the potential Snap Map and Zenly. What should be questioned is whether this plan will come to fruition or will be a massive write-down. Why do I say so? Snap introduced a mini drone not long ago only for it to abandon the plan completely later to be more focused. In case you haven’t noticed, Snap’s latest forecast is disappointing and what investors don’t know is how this $250 million acquisition can help the company move forward

Going Private: How to Succeed in Store-Brand Sector. “In the past, retailers could rely more on the in-store environment to promote their store brands. Today, in our omnichannel world, consumers can find a product anywhere, so retailers must have an online presence for their brands. FMI’s report notes that there’s an opportunity for more retailers to tie their loyalty programs to their private brands — particularly when it comes to the online side of the business. Only a third of shoppers using their grocery store’s loyalty program said that they receive extra points for purchasing store brands. This is a way for retailers to promote more online private-brand purchases including the use of digital coupons.“

Other stuff I find interesting

The Godfather of South Korea’s Chip Industry. “His experience at Fairchild solidified his belief, first inspired by his father, that a true “engineer’s mind” requires practical skill as much as theoretical knowledge. In addition to performing experiments, he made a habit of reading internal technical reports and memos that he found at the company library, some of which he later brought to KAIST and used as teaching material.“

Live cheap or live expensive: The choice is yours in Ho Chi Minh City. As a Vietnamese, it’s interesting to me read about expat life in Vietnam. I have my reservation on the $10 daily budget on food for him and his wife (and a beer). Having lived in the US since 2016, I am not too familiar with electricity bills in different areas of Saigon (a local name of Ho Chi Minh City) either. But he made a good point that it’s important to live close to where you work. The traffic in the city is egregious. Even a 5km commute which is like peanuts in the US can take a lot of time and cause so much frustration that a little bit more rent to help you avoid that is worth it.

The Midwit Trap. “An intelligent person will know that there is no correlation between the simplicity of a solution and the sophistication of the reasoning that led to it”

Why A4? – The Mathematical Beauty of Paper Size