Business

The new scapegoats: Brands are blaming Temu & Shein for poor business performance. The competition from Temu and Shein exposes the lack of enduring competitive advantages that some retailers have. That’s competition. That’s capitalism.

 He Built a Trillion-Dollar Company. He Wouldn’t Do It Again. “Nvidia’s unofficial motto is his mantra from the startup’s early, uncertain years: “Our company is 30 days from going out of business.” At this point, Nvidia is worth more than the other American chip giants put together, and AI would have to destroy the world for Huang’s company to be out of business in a month. But he’s still driven by that fear. Even after three decades on the job, Huang remains actively involved at Nvidia. He still manages 50 senior executives who report directly to him and attends product meetings with junior employees who weren’t alive when the company was born.”

A Trip to CosMc’s, McDonald’s New Space-Themed Takeout Chain. I am fascinated by the draw of the McDonald’s brand. The new concept doesn’t have bathroom, customers have to wait in line for quite a while to even order food and the food is nothing different from what McDonald’s normally offers. Yet, there are still scores of consumers that want to test it out. It’s a testament to the brand power of the iconic company. And why would consumers come here? If this concept gains in popularity, it will benefit the likes of DoorDash and Uber. Who prefers waiting in line to pick up food when they can have someone else pick it up?

The American Store Is Shrinking. “Rather than filling sprawling department stores with an array of merchandise, many retailers have started using data from online orders, social-media and foot-traffic analytics to customize smaller inventories to the local population. They have also bolstered store infrastructure to make it easier for customers to pick up and return items bought online. This allows them to keep fewer items in stores and shrink their footprints to fit into the open-air shopping centers where customers are increasingly shopping.“

A business owner discussing the benefits of selling gift cards at Costco

Other Stuff I Find Interesting

How I got hired by Amazon.com (2008). What Simone described in this post is more relevant than ever. Why? The more folks are laid off, the more competition there is for each open position and the more candidates have to stand out. Aspirational candidates need to get brave and creative to attract hiring managers’ attention.

The 24 Best Places to Go in 2024. In case you are looking for inspiration to work hard or where to go in 2024.

Jerome Powell’s Inflation Fight Is Succeeding, Raising Questions About Rate Cuts. 2024 is going to continue to be the year of efficiency. Uncertainty over the interest rates, the high borrowing cost and the impact on capital investments will have serious consequences on business operations. Understandably, consumers and companies have complained about high rates, but if we compare the current levels against the historical precedents, there is still room for the Fed to go before they think about cutting rates.

We Can’t Stop Writing Paper Checks. Thieves Love That. “Even as check usage has rapidly declined over the past couple of decades, check fraud has risen sharply, particularly since the pandemic. The cons may start with stealing pieces of paper, but they leverage technology and social media to commit fraud on a grander scale, banking insiders and fraud experts said. Banks need to talk to other banks to get to the bottom of these schemes, and that alone can be a challenge. The American Bankers Association created an industry directory recently so that bank employees working in their fraud departments could more easily find their counterparts at other institutions who may be on the other side of a fraudulent transaction. After they do connect, the most difficult task may be figuring out which bank is on the hook — an investigation that can take months”

That QR Code You’re About to Scan Could Be Risky, F.T.C. Warns. Be vigilant. Turn on two-step authentication, when you can.

9 great architectural sites in Rome that you must see

20 key principles to understand the world

Stats

“49,449 lives were lost due to intentional self-harm in 2022”

S&P 500 Around U.S. Presidential Elections pic.twitter.com/T5X4ej9s9B

— Kourosh (@kouroshshafi) December 9, 2023