Santa Claus & Birkins 🎅🏻
This Week in Review☕️: Coca-Cola launches new Christmas Holiday campaign | Hermes sales rise as shoppers splurge on pricey handbags | The company with the biggest cash pile | Vaping is on the decline
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Quick Bites:
Fashion👛: Hermes sales rise as US and European shoppers splurge on the company's pricey handbags.
Revenue rose by 16% despite analysts predicting a gain of 13%.
Growth in the Americas topped estimates, while the performance in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) was in line, Bloomberg Pursuits reports.
The name's Birkin. Jane Birkin.
On a fated flight from Paris to London in 1984, a fashionista (our girl, Jane Birkin) and an Hermes executive came up with an idea.
A bag. A functional yet stylish bag. A sign of exclusivity and luxury. Accessible yet unaccessible.
And that is how the iconic Birkin was born👛
Fast forward to today, some 40 years later💡: Seems like the madness for this "exclusive" bag- a status symbol of rarefied wealth- is such that not even rising interest rates, high inflation and a slowing economy can can dull demand for it!😲😲😲
This comes as analysts have cut their estimates for the luxury sector as people are spending less on high-end fashion due to economic headwinds.
The uncertain economic outlook has seen many luxury brands struggle as the post-pandemic 'revenge spending spree' dies down.
But Hermes, which caters to wealthy clients who can afford items like the coveted +$10,000 Birkin model, is known for surviving the turbulence more than others, Reuters.
Our Thoughts💡: Umm.. Ladies how y'all want a birkin if you ain't even workin?!🤔
Better work hard and become rich OR.. wait for it..
Become hot af and marry rich.. otherwise what y'all want vs what y'all gonna get 👇🏻
Finance 💰: And the Oracle of Omaha strikes again.
Berkshire Hathaway reports a 40% jump in operating earnings, as cash pile swells to a record $157 billion.
When Buffet's style of investing is better than bae's aggressive approach of get rich or die trying 😫
He might have a net worth of almost $120 billion but Warren Buffet usually eats the same breakfast at McDonald's everyday for $3.17
$3.17 is a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, but if the market is down, he ditches the bacon and only spends $2.95
FACTS💯
Key Highlights, according to CNBC:
💡Berkshire held a record level of cash at the end of September- $157.2 billion
💡Buffet has taken advantage of rising bond yields, buying up short-term Treasury bills yielding at least 5%
💡Geico (car insurance company and Buffet's "favorite child") reported another profitable quarter of $1.1 billion
💡The stock has rallied nearly 14% this year and hit an all-time high on September 19
Our Thoughts💡: Buffet inspiring us to get rich even at 93 years of age.
Are we rich? Umm.. only on the weekends when the stock market is closed🙄
PS. We NEVER let our portfolio determine our mood. We let our spouse do that.
Marketing🎄: Coca-Cola has launched its 2023 holiday campaign, featuring a city of Santas.
The message is that the "The World Needs More Santas" which conveys the idea that through acts of kindness, anyone can embrace their inner Santa, Marketing Week reports.
Instead of being product-centric, the company is focusing on “kindness”, which is also one of Coke's "core values".
So much talk from Coke about how any man or woman can channel their inner Santa 🤔.. WE JUST WANNA CLARIFY:
Santa Claus is a MAN because:
He shows up late, never replies to your letters, the chances of him giving what you ask for are zero, eats all your cookies, wears the same clothes, empties his sack, comes only once, calls you a ho and leaves while you're asleep
Coke's 2023 holiday campaign imagines a world where everyone is Santa Claus, from firefighters and skiers to taxi drivers and gym goers.
The new ad will also have digital AI-backed elements such as "Find your Inner Santa" quiz on the brand's app.
In addition, there will also be QR codes on cans, that lead to the quiz and a chance to win prizes in select markets, including a trip to Rovaniemi, Finland- the "official" hometown of Santa Claus.
The global effort will be adapted for more than 80 markets worldwide.
Background💡: The beverage company has a long history with Christmas and Santa Claus.
Its iconic ad ‘Wonderful Dream (Holidays are Coming)’, featuring Coca-Cola Christmas trucks first aired in 1995.
Despite being years old, the advertisement consistently performs well against more modern ads from other brands in testing, Marketing Week.
Our Thoughts💡: Our Christmas tree is already set up, our home is spotless, vacuum lines in every bedroom, hot coco on the stove and we in red fleece jammies while listening to Mariah Carey Xmas carols all night long.
Santa, we ready for ya🎄🎄
Health 🚬: High school students are vaping less, CDC says.
This is due to the government pursuing aggressive action against companies selling illegal vape products.
Recent data showed that between 2022 and 2023, e-cigarette use among high school students declined to 10% from 14.1%, a drop representing about 580,000 fewer high schoolers, CNBC.
The decline comes as overall tobacco smoking among this group hits an all-time low, CDC.
Curbing e-cigarettes has been a top priority for health regulators.
The problem hasn't been easy to tackle with new companies flooding the market.
The biggest seller and culprit, a Chinese brand called "Elf Bar", can still be found on shelves despite being banned by the FDA.
Quicker Bites:
WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy.
Apple saw its sales drop for a 4th straight quarter, marking its longest slide in +20 years.
Bed Bath & Beyond CEO resigns.
ChatGPT hits 100 million weekly users.
Donald Trump takes the stand in real estate fraud trial.
Israeli closes in on Gaza city, pressure mounts over civilian casualties.
Russia-Ukraine war not a ‘stalemate’: Zelenskyy claims.
Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of fraud.
‘World Vegan Day’: was celebrated globally on November 1st last week.