Daily Archives

4 Articles

Fang

Amazon is coming to a theater near you

Posted on

They are changing everything… so why not movie theaters next? That is what Amazon is asking as they are in the running to purchase Landmark Theaters. Landmark Theaters is a small chain of around 50 theaters that shows independent and foreign movies. However, the company is controlled by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner – a name or two you may recognize.

 

Why do they even want a theater… actually, this is something we touched upon last week with mattress company Casper moving to brick-and-mortar locations. Amazon may see value in having a significant online presence and physical presence in the future. The move could also bolster Amazon’s reputation for their digital entertainment offerings.

 

But unlike pharma… where Amazon showed their intention to enter the market and made investors freak out, the same response was not there upon the theater announcement. Shares of AMC and Cinemark were actually up on Thursday. However, you never know because Amazon has a way of disrupting just about everything – it is possible that movie theaters could be next.

Fang

How close are Google and China?

Posted on

Let’s put it this way… not close at all. Okay, that is not the cleverest wording, but at least you get the point. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company is nowhere close to launching a censored app for China. This is the first time we have heard a peep from Google since reports that a censored search engine was something the company may be working toward.

 

It could never happen… because Google may not be open to creating a censored app for China. However, they are in the “exploration stage” and are seeing if this is even doable. The website would need to comply with Chinese government censorship, which is unfortunate for those that live in China because I don’t think any of us could imagine life without Google.

 

As you can imagine… China represents a massive market for Google that cannot be ignored. At the same time, Google would look hypocritical agreeing to censored terms when the company advocates for free and open internet. But, then again, the amount of money at stake would get many to change their tune…

Mid caps

Will BodyArmor become the new hangover beverage of choice?

Posted on

Coke or Pepsi… which do you prefer? Well, now there is a less senseless debate you can participate in – Gatorade or BodyArmor? The clear choice [to me] is Gatorade. However, Pepsi is joined with Gatorade, and Coca-Cola just became the second-largest shareholder in BodyArmor. The third largest shareholder is Kobe Bryant. Good enough for Kobe? Now I am listening…

 

With their list of shareholders… it is possible that BodyArmor is going to become a player in the sports drink industry. The US market has been dominated by Gatorade forever, and they hold about 75% of the $8 billion market. It is possible we are all ready for a change.

 

Coca-Cola is already friends with… Mike Repole, BodyArmor’s largest shareholder. Repole co-founded Smartwater and Vitamin Water which were both purchased by Coke. We don’t know what Coke paid for this, but it was probably a lot. However, we do know that BodyArmor will remain its own brand and utilize Coca-Cola’s bottling facilities. It’s about time Gatorade saw some competition.

Mid caps

JCPenney is edging closer to trading for an actual ‘penny’

Posted on

Okay, okay… they’re still trading for $2 per share, but that is pretty frickin’ crappy for a company that was once at the top of the retail game. However, the company hit a new all-time low after releasing earnings on Thursday, as the stock dropped 25% – below $2 per share. Stores are closing, sales are dropping, and the CEO is missing-in-action (actually they don’t have one). Getting a CEO is tops on JCPenney’s to-do list because companies need one of those.

 

See what Amazon is doing… JCPenney should do more of that. Oh wait, it actually may be too late to jump on that bandwagon. Companies like Walmart and Best Buy have poured money into digital operations, and their investments are paying dividends.

 

Here’s what they will do… the company will also be focusing on women’s and children’s apparel which were the company’s top-selling categories in the second quarter. JCPenney will follow the money and purchase inventory as-needed to follow sales trends. However, the situation is dire – look at the earnings of other retailers. If JCPenney can’t make money when the economy is set to ‘easy mode’ for retailers, what will it take?