The End of WFH💡
This Week in Review ☕️: Pharrell x Louis Vuitton | Amazon wants employees back at the office | Luxury bets on celebrity status to increase business | Blue Tick Verification becomes accessible for all |
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Quick Bites:
Work📈: Amazon will require staff back at the office at least 3 days a week. The new policy will take effect on May 1st.
Hmm.. clever move given the timing.. Just as the company's 10,000 layoffs, this back to the office policy is Amazon's 'how-to-get-your-employees to quit voluntarily to avoid paying severance and health insurance'
We on to you Bezos🤔
"Invention is often sloppy. It wanders and meanders and marinates. Serendipitous interactions help it"
-Amazon CEO Andy Jassy
Personally, we think Andy has marinated a little too long
The truth is- we all tried a giant WFH experiment. Not only did we see that it was obviously possible, but even preferable with the flexibility and lack of long commutes. The idea that so many companies saw those results and now want employees back in-person is PREPOSTEROUS
Can't put the genie back in the bottle y'all 🤷🏻♀️
Key Highlights on the Companies resuming in-person work, according to BBC:
💡Disney: In January, Disney announced it requires staff to report to the office at least 4 days a week as of March
💡Starbucks: mandates at least three days of in-person work
💡Apple: mandates 3 days in the office
💡Activision Blizzard: The gaming firm announced plans for a similar policy this week
💡Netflix: CEO Reed Hastings doesn't "see any positives" of working from home
💡Tesla & Twitter: With a CEO like Elon Musk at the helm, who ended remote work completely at both Tesla and Twitter, Musk has long made his dislike of the practice known
Despite the changes, many employees have resisted the changes, and in some cases, employers have backtracked.
Our Thoughts💡: Just finished our first full week in the office since March 2020 (still in our WFH attire though; all hail the elastic waistband🙌🏻)
We’re fried and about to open a bottle of wine. Here's to a mid-week fiesta filled with booze and bad decisions 👇🏻
Big Tech📱: Meta is testing a subscription service, called 'Meta Verified' that allows Instagram and Facebook users to pay to get verified.
Damn, just when we thought FB couldn't get any worse.
PS. Elon pioneering as usual. Guess the Tony-Stark-wannabe not only has influence in transportation, space and shitposting but also in social media
Key Highlights, according to Reuters:
💡Users can verify their accounts using a government ID and get a blue badge
💡Meta claims this is to help content creators grow and build communities
💡The subscription bundle for IG and FB, also includes extra protection against impersonation
💡Pricing starts at $11.99/month on web or $14.99/month on iOS and Android
💡Meta's play into paid subscription follows Twitter, which announced last month that Twitter Blue will be priced at $11/month
Our Thoughts💡: This comes as Meta’s most recent annual reports showed that the company spent $14 million on Zuckerberg's security this year, up from $10 million the last few years.
Guess the extra cash via Meta Verified can't hurt. We mean it is efficient for Meta to keep their CEO alive.. If Zucks dies, who else will sell our data to teenage crimean hackers?!
Fashion👠: Pharrell Williams has been appointed Louis Vuitton’s new men’s creative director, opening a new chapter for the world's biggest luxury brand following the death of Virgil Abloh.
Hmm.. Is this a true endorsement of the influence that hip-hop has over contemporary fashion today or is it just a marketing play by LVMH?
Key Highlights, according to NY Times:
💡Last year, Louis Vuitton's annual revenue crossed €20 billion
💡LV said Williams' appointment reflects its status as a "cultural maison"
💡Pharrell, who was the 1st male ambassador for Chanel, has worked on and off with LV since 2004
💡More recently, he did a collaboration with Tiffany & Co., also owned by LVMH
💡His 1st collection for Louis Vuitton will be shown in June at Men's Fashion Week in Paris
Our Thoughts💡: Virgil Abloh x Louis Vuitton was a match made in fashion heaven. Sure, LV is betting on celebrity status to take the men's business forward but Pharrell still has HUGE expectations to live upto. Excited to see his vision for the house though
We're thinking LV-monogrammed hyper hats, ultra coats, super chains, big jeans... A mix of tucked in & tailored and unstructured & blasé ..classic Pharrell
Luxury🚗: Driving a swanky new Benz may soon become a distant dream for many as Mercedes hikes prices by a whopping 43%, Bloomberg reports.
The average price of a Mercedes reached approx. $77,000 last year- a 43% jump since 2019.
That hike been further felt by the carmaker focusing mainly on top-end models like the S-Class sedan to increase profits.
In addition, Mercedes has even hiked the prices even of entry-level models like the A-Class sedan.
Mercedes isn’t alone. Around the world, automakers are focusing on selling fewer but more expensive cars.
In the US, average monthly payments for a new car nearly doubled from late 2019.
Moreover, as electric vehicles are more costly than the average combustion-engine car, the shift to EVs may make the affordability crisis even worse, according to Bloomberg.
Our Thoughts💡: Parents always be naming their kids after expensive sh*t like Diamond, Mercedes and Tiffany. In 2023, watch out for Gas, Diesel and Eggs.
If crime is up, just don't go outside
If there is a food shortage, just don't eat
If a Benz is too expensive, just walk
Welcome to Joe Biden's America, everyone
Quicker Bites:
Netlif co-CEO says: Netflix is heavily invested in India.
China’s billionaire CEO Bao Fan disappears.
Air India New York-Delhi flight diverted to London due to emergency.
If US conducts nuclear tests, so will Russia, says Putin.
A new earthquake hits Turkey, as teams still respond to earlier quake.
Biden makes surprise Ukraine visit, pledging more US aid.
Millions brace for US coast-to-coast winter storm.
Ghanian soccer player Christian Atsu found dead under earthquake rubble.
Qatari royals plan £5bn opening bid for Manchester United.
Youtube CEO is stepping down.