The Best One Yet - 🐻 “Babies Off The Floor” — Koala Kare’s diaper monopoly. Paramount’s ultimate nepo-baby. Christian Dior’s $57 handbag drama

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Koala Kare controls 85% of the baby-changing station biz… because they covered their blind spot.Christian Dior sells $3,000 handbags… but a report says they pay just $57 for them.Paramount was just acquired by David Ellison using his dad’s money… and he’s turning the company into dude-tube.Plus, Shark Week just began… but sharks are the unpaid interns of the animal kingdom.$CHDRY $LVMUY $PARASubscribe to our Saturday Newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletter  Watch us on YouTube Submit Facts & Shoutouts Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn (Nick) & LinkedIn (Jack)About Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.00:00 - intro01:43 - Shark Week04:29 - Paramount’s ultimate nepo-baby09:58 - Christian Dior’s $57 handbag drama15:17 - Koala Kare’s diaper monopoly20:35 - Takeaways21:14 - OTHER NEWS!22:52 - Best Fact Yet24:33 - Shout outs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, SaVice Wednesday, July 10th. And today's pod, this is the best one yet. It's a T-Ber. It's a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, tap that maple tree, baby, because I just landed in Vermont, and it is goopy, syrupy good.

And I've got a tour de Ethan Allen planned for you. All right, yeah, and he's last night. Jack and I went to the flagship Ben and Jerry's on Church Street. Fantastic. Tonight, we're going to a monitor. League Baseball game, Centennial Field. All right, ladies, if you are at the Lake Monsters minor league baseball game tonight, Jack and I will see it in like center-left field.

No, that's not where we're going to be sitting. Oh, where are the tickets? We're going to be right next to the home side dugout. Yes. And we're going to be holding mics to make it clear. It's us. I'm glad you upgraded the seats because I was in town, Jack. 17 bucks of pop, though, not too shabby.

Yeah, these, Jack and I are going to be the only ones holding microphones near the dugout. If you see us, we'll see you. Major League Ice Cream, Minor League Baseball. Perfectly put, but the three stories for today's show, Jack, what do we got on the T-boy? For our first story, Paramount was just acquired by the most extreme case of Nepo Baby we've ever seen. And this nepo baby is turning Paramount into a network for dude. For our second story, Christian Dior sells some of the most expensive handbags in the world, $3,000 each. But what if Jack and I told you that the cost to make this $3,000 handbag was actually $57?

And our third and final story. The most adorable monopoly in the history of the world? What is it, Jack? Coala care. The baby changing tables. Coala care, they control 85% of all diaper change stations, and Jack and I will tell you how they did it. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.

Fantastic mix of stories. What flavor you're getting at Penn & Jerry's Jack? Chocolate chip cookie dough. Yes. Chocolate fudge brown. Extra hot fudge. I like where you're going. What are you doing?

I'm going to sample some things and I'll have the side on side. I tell you always do it. I'm going to decide on the moment. Yeties, there's Valentine's Day. And there's Free Pancake Day at I-O-O-O-O. And there's Bring Your Kid to Work Day. But there is only one institution that has its own week. And Jack, what is that week?

Shark Week. It's Shark Week. America's most unofficial national holiday for 36 straight years. Shark Week, it's great for sharks. It's bad for seals. Shark Week. On the Discovery Channel, it's one of the 10 most watched television events of the year. Jack, what are the numbers on Shark?

22 million viewers. Yes. Emmy Award. Shark Week got snubbed again. Now, this year's Shark Week just began, and the host is John Sina, the former professional wrestler. Because John Sina isn't scared of sharks, sharks. You're scared of John Sina. Punch him in the face. Give him a body slap. But, Yetis, this is what Jack and I wanted to tell you the way we see it. There is a compensation issue when it comes to the sharks. Because sharks are the star of the show all week. Yes, they are. But sharks aren't getting paid a dollar for it. In fact, Jack and I jumped in T-Boys.

style sharks are the most used fish in Hollywood movies. The Great White Shark is the most recognizable fish in the world. So add it all up and the shark brand isn't properly compensated for its extensive use. No, they're not. Steven Spielberg hasn't been paying any alimony to job. Find a Nemo needs to find that royalty check. Shark Nato? Uh-huh.

They've been paying shark nada. No, they have not yet. He's the shark. It is the most undercompensated brand in the Animal King. of the food chain in the animal kingdom. Yeah. Unpaid intern in the York chart. Wait, wait, wait, Jack, pause the pot.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, do you hear that? Is that a, is that an oboe? Oh, my God. Oh, no. Jack. Oh, no. Jack. Swim. We're going to need a bigger podcast.

Swim. Jack. Go! We're going to need a bigger podcast. Hey, quit. Let's hit our three stories. Fifteen years before this song. Two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm.

They had an idea to come. cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea boy city on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, Paramount Plus has a new owner who's about to give it a macho, manly makeover. There's a new media mogul in Hollywood. Yes, there is. And he's the ultimate nepo baby. Wait

till you hear this takeaway. But first, yet he's Paramount Plus. Jack, how would you describe Paramount Plus to the layman out there? It's the streamer you subscribe to. Just watch the Super Bowl a couple years ago. That's it. And then you unsubscribed. Honey, do we still have Paramount Plus? No. You might have Paramount Plus, actually, if you love Yellowstone. Good point. And you're waiting to watch the prequel sequel. Ah, the prequel sequel of Yellowstone. 1840, whatever. Global, it is more than just Paramount Plus. This is a serious movie and TV studio with some huge Hollywood brands. Paramount Global. It includes MTV, Nickelodeon Comedy Central CBS. I could go on, Jack. Every movie that starts with that big Paramount Mountain logo. Yes. Stars that line up above it.

And here's the news. Paramount is merging with Skydance, a privately owned movie studio. And this ends months and months of highbrow media drama. Oh, Yetie. this was drawn out like succession in real life. The New York Times deal book newsletter had a headline story about this drama about 71 times in the past year. And in the end, the Redstone Media family sold to the Elliott Tech family for $8 billion. More on that in the takeaway. Yes. But first, let's look at the new Paramount Global.

Because Yet is the New Paramount Global has one theme that Jack and I noticed. What do we say that theme is? Men. Yeah, it's men. It's guys. It's dudes. Paramount is the most male studio we've ever seen. It's got fellas. It's got gentlemen. It's got guys. We jumped into the presentation for investors.

Yeah. The entire leadership team of the new Paramount Global is men. And those men over at Paramount Global are turning Paramount into a dude studio. You can tell from the franchises that they plan to build up. For example, the movies. Paramount is focusing on Mission Impossible. Top Gun, Reacher, Jack Ryan, The Terminator. Your father-in-law is going to love this.

And sports, they're focusing on March Madness, NFL games on CBS, the PGA Tour golf. Your uncle is going to love this. And the TV shows, they're focusing on Yellowstone, NCIS, Tulsa King. Your dad already loves this. And he's like Jack and I said, this is the Tom Cruise of movie studios. Now, Paramount is inheriting some shows with some diversity. Yeah, yeah, not all the shows are like injected with Y chromosomes. Good point, Jeff.

They have Grace and Frankie. They have SpongeBob Squarepants. Yeah. But most of the shows have, like, chest hair growing on the camera lens, Jack. Chest hair growing on the biceps. Yeah. Because Paramount Plus is going to become, as we see it, dude tube. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sylvester Stallone. Kevin Costner. And Kevin Costner's biceps. And chin. And chaps. And his calves. Animal or body part? Yellowstone.

You've never watched it clearly. But I'd like to tell people that I did. That is the new CEO of Paramount plans a $2 billion in cost cutting and layoffs as part of this deal. And he's going to use the savings from that cost cutting to fund $1.5 billion of new shows and new movies to impress Hollywood talent. But Jack and I had to ask the question, who is the new CEO of this major media company? That is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who are everyone who watches TV? The head of Paramount is now David Ellis.

Listen, a 41-year-old Nepo baby. Yeah. The ultimate nepo baby. That is a funny thing. As a couple of 36-year-olds here, Jack and I were pretty, would you say humble, Jack? I would. We were humbled when we saw that this merger was orchestrated by 41-year-old David Ellison.

We were humbled because he's not that much older than us. No, he's not. We looked at his LinkedIn and we're like, wow. Yeah. This young guy has become one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. Which leads to the big question. How did this four? 41-year-old becomes so powerful.

Oh, that's how. He's the son of Larry Ellison, the fifth richest person in the world. Using his dad's billions, David launched Skydance in 2010, and that company was a huge success. Despite that huge success, he's using $6 billion more of dad's money to now acquire Paramount Global. Dad, forget the allowance this week. I'll just take a media company. Yeah, Dad, I like that media company. Can I please have it? It's going to be a fun Thanksgiving. Yet he's now, David plants a... turn paramount into a media and tech hybrid, according to the press release.

Yeah, pretty easy. When your dad bought you a media company and your dad owns Oracle, a tech company. Now, Jack and I should point out, Hollywood, it's known for Nepo babies. Children of famous people becoming famous too. It's common. It happens all the time. Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller. Zoe Kravitz. Zoe Kravitz. Lennie Kratz. Kate Hudson, Goldie Hahn. But this is on a different level. Totally different scale. The richest person in tech just anointed his son as the most powerful person in media. Yet he's added all of and the newest media mogul in town is turning paramount into dude tube. And the newest media mogul in town is the ultimate nepo baby. But Kendall got a media company. I want a media company too. For our second story, Christian Dior's $2,800 handbags cost,

get this, just $57 to make. That implies they're charging a 49x mark. Which would be the biggest markup we've ever seen. Now that 49x markup's a little exaggerated, but the damage to Dior's brand isn't. But Jack, what have you and I been saying has been the hot new investment these days? Because it ain't stocks, it ain't bonds, and it ain't crypto. Buy a designer luxury handbag and then sell it on eBay for more. Clutch that clutch and don't let go yet is because Arame's handbags have gained more value than the S&P 500 in the last two years. For a while, the Birkenbag has been the new bit.

If you want to diversify your portfolio, get a Gucci. And Christian Dior has been the top of the handbag game. Yes, they have. Christian Dior, they're owned by LVMH, and sales of their $3,000 handbags have doubled in the last five years. But a strange new customer just walked into a Christian Dior store. And Jack, who is that customer? The cops. The Po Poe Poe.

That's who's walking in. Police in Milan, in northern Italy, just raided factories where Christian Dior's handbags are made. Again, it was not the real housewives of Orange County walking in the factories. It was the police. And here's what we learned from this police investigation. Technically, Christian Dior's handbags are made in Italy, but they're made in a Chinese-owned factory in Italy. And that Chinese-owned factory in Italy was less spaghetti, more sweatshop. The website of Christian Dior says that their handbags are constructed with the utmost savaboard fare and creativity.

Did I say that right? You said it perfectly. It's like, Christian Dior is like, it is not possible. That we would do it any other way. But according to the court order in Milan, Dior's bags are produced using exploited foreign and migrant labor. In fact, get this wild statistic. In the court order, we learned that to make a $3,000 handbag from Christian Dior,

they pay their workers just $57 per bag produced. The biggest profit margin in history. They're selling something that costs $57 to make for $3,000. Now, best is, the courts are going to be. to decide whether Dior, Armani, and LVMH are breaking the law with this insane markup. And with these alleged exploitations of foreign and migrant workers. But Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and we want to sprinkle on a little more context to the economics of that 49x markup.

The $57 cost of a Christian Dior handbag that makes for a nice headline, but it's actually a little misleading. Because $57 is actually just the labor, isn't it? You have to add in the cost of the leather. the factories and the machines that make it. That gold interlocking C platinum buckle, it ain't cheap. You also have to add in the cost of sales, like marketing and advertising, which luxury firms spend a bunch of money on.

That billboard ad on the Chamzalise, that also ain't cheap. So, if you add in those non-labor costs, then the cost to produce Christian Dior handbag is actually $1,400, according to the Wall Street Journal. A $1,400 cost on a $2,800 bag. So they're not really charging a 49x markup. they're charging a 2x markup. Because that bag doesn't cost $57 to make, it really costs $1,400 to make.

Still, Dior brands itself as a positive luxury, a brand to trust, according to their website. But there's enough truth to that $57 handbag headline to dent that trust. And that is why I didn't get you a Christian Dior handbag when I visited you this week, Jack. Good excuse. Honestly, it was convenient timing.

Did I tell you I'm going to Paris this August? It's a European Carriol. I couldn't remember if you were, but I'm glad you confirmed it. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Christian Dior? If a function is core to your brand or business, don't outsource it. Control it. Ah, the Shakespearean question of business. To outsource or not to outsource, that is the question.

Outsourcing can be tempting. It is. Because it lets you quickly scale production for cheap. And Jack, outsourcing is faster because hiring and expanding factories, that takes a long time. Now, why did LVMH's Dior decide to outsource to these Chinese-owned factories? To keep up with the insatiable demand for their luxury leather products. Which has doubled since 2019. So they supplied that doubling demand thanks to these third-party factories, but they did so at a cost.

The cost was the damage to their made in Italy label, which is a huge hit to their brand. A huge hit to a luxury brand. Because Yetis, let's pause the pod for a sec. If you were going to drop $3,000 on a handbag when Jack's on his trip to Italy, which maybe you could get me one, Jack. I'm going to France, not Italy. Are you still going to do it when you hear this Christian Dior News? Made in Italy is nice.

Made in a sweatshoppy Italian factory? Not so nice. For 57 bucks, Yeti's the lesson here. If a function is core to your brand or business, don't outsource it. Control it. Outsourcing lowers your financial costs, but including, increases another cost. Risk. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story, 38 years ago, Coalachare invented the bathroom baby changing station. Today, koala care dominates in the diaper changing station. Yes, they do. Thanks to one pivot they made 40 years ago. Jack, can we talk about the bathroom? The architecture of the bathroom. It's a pretty simple.

standard template of what belongs in there. It's like a remarkably replicable room. You got the toilet, you got tissues, you got a sink, a mirror. It's basically all the same stuff in every bathroom, your bathroom and McDonald's bathroom. The only variable is whether you use towels to dry your hands or a blow dryer to dry your hands. But yet it is the most interesting bathroom item of all, in Jackson, my opinion, is one that you may not use, but one that you've definitely seen. That rectangular gray thing on the wall in every public bathroom. Oh, the changing table.

You and I've gotten a little familiar with this the last year, I would say. I'm very familiar. One sec, it's not working. Oh, you've got to pull it down like this. Yeah, we've gotten used to it with kids. We're specifically referring to the koala care baby changing station. And you've seen this yet, he's. Because, Jack, what does the koala care baby changing station look like?

It's a parent koala bear and a baby koala bear. And the baby is smiling. You always smile. Because he's got a brand spank a new clean diaper. Coala care, the company, though, is actually a privately owned business that is currently based in Colorado. And guess what? It's the only brand in baby changing stations. They're basically the dominating brand in baby changing stations. They're the Exxon Mobil of diapers. Yeah, this biggest innovation since like the pleaded toilet paper. Yet is this company, Coalachare, has 85% of the baby changing

table market. Coalachare is the cutest, most cuddly monopoly on earth. No one in the government is going to break up a diaper-related monopoly. What Coalachare did was they got kids off the floor. Literally. And sales were a blowout, figuratively. But here's what Jack and I find fascinating about this clean story. When Coala Care was invented, the company almost failed. Until they made a surprising pivot, which led to all their success. Jack, let's go back to 1986 before we were born. Jeff Hilger, a young man in Colorado, had $15,000 and an idea. A changing station to change babies, diapers in public bathrooms that fold down when you need it and fold up when you don't need it. So Jeff Hilger took that $15,000 and patented a design, added a cute logo, but he couldn't sell it.

He'd go to the local McDonald's with a brochure. A family, a baby held by the mother, but no one had any interest in buying it. He noticed a trend. Yes, he did. Every person he was pitching his product to was a fast food manager who was typically a 50-year-old man. And that 50-year-old man had never changed a diaper. He realized that is why his product wasn't resonating. Yeah. The managers at fast food restaurants just didn't get it. And that is when Qualicare made a very specific pivotal change.

They didn't change the product. They just changed the brochure that they were using to sell. Yes, and what did the new Qualicare brochure look like, Jack? It showed the same woman changing a baby's diaper, but it put that woman on her knees on the floor in the bathroom, on a dirty floor. It showed the reality of what you had to do

at the time to change a baby's diaper to McDonald's. Without a baby changing station, you have to get on the floor where it's dirty, there's germs, your knees are, you know, on a hard tile,

the baby's probably crying. And that new image in the brochure, that tapped into the guilt of the McDonald's managers. Ronald McMannager was like, wow. Yeah.

I guess I, oh, I do need these things. Yeah, he wasn't the user of this product, but now he can empathize with the user of this product. That marketing changed. the brochure was the key to unlocking sales. Boom. After that brochure change, the entire Burger King Chain signed on with koala care.

Every olive garden chain got on board with koala care. Gas stations, museum, San Diego Zoo got more koala care stations than koala bears. Do you know koala's not technically a bear? It's something else. I'm not sure what else. It's a stuffed animal. I think it's a stuffed toy. I don't even know they exist at this point. They're so cute. My son Brooks looks exactly like a koala bear. He's got great koala qualities. Jack wants the takeaway for our buddies over at KoalaCare.

Some of the biggest opportunities are the blind spots of business. Yet he's just like driving a car. We all have blind spots, things we simply do not see. It's not for bad intent. We simply don't experience some problems because of the circumstances of who we are. Well, Koala Care became a multi-million dollar business because it recognized those blind spots. That male fast food restaurant managers didn't understand the need for a baby-changing station. So, Qualicare made a pamphlet redesign that shined a light on a problem that

those managers simply couldn't see. And that didn't just transform the company sales. It improved the lives of parents and babies who needed a diaper change. Coalalachare, it got kids off the ground, parents stopped kneeling on their knees, and Qualicare became the world's most adorable monopoly. And it pulled it off by seeing a blind spot. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for Civeche Wednesday? Paramount Global is now the property of Day. David Ellison, the new media mogul of Hollywood. His dad bought him the company for $6 billion. It's a case of Nepo Baby to the extreme.

For our second story, Christian Dior. They're using a shady third-party factory in Italy to produce their luxury handbags. For $57 bucks. The lesson here, if something is core to your brand, don't outsource it. Control it. And our third and final story is KualaCare. The privately held diaper changing station dominates the industry. They've got 85% of the market because they recognize.

a blind spot. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, crack one open for athletic brewing. The non-alcoholic beer brand that we covered last week just made a major fundraise. They raised $50 million to double their private valuation to $800 million. Now, Jack, back in June, we said that the drink of the summer would be the jukebox alcoholic mall, beverage thingy thing. I'm seeing it all over the place, by the way. Well, we actually may be wrong because athletic non-alcoholic beer may be the drink of the summer. I'll take a beer, hold the alcohol. Where you hold it, we don't know and we don't care. And second, one of the biggest mergers of the year just went down at your fanciest mall. Sacks and Neiman Marcus are merging

their luxury department stores. Together, Sacks and Neiman will have $10 billion in extremely good-looking annual sales. But for context, yes. Amazon makes that much revenue in less than two days. Nice job. sprinkling on that context. And finally, if you are in Spain right now, watch out, you may get sprayed by some water. In Barcelona, local residents have purchased super-soakers to protest tourists coming into their neighborhood. Mass tourism. It's caused such high rent, housing, and other price jumps in Spain that local residents are pushing back. They're shooting people with squark up. Yeah. Oh, and local Spaniards are not a fan of the new Taco Bell that opened up in the middle of Barcelona for American tourists. I think the lesson here is that there's nothing more vocal than a local opposed to a yokel. Stick that on a t-shirt, Jack.

Sell it to some tourists. Actually, some locals. And now time for the best fact yet. This one set in by Grant Bowen from lovely Truckee, California. Lake Tahoe in California is so freaking deep. How deep exactly is it, Jack? The deepest point is 1,645 feet. Jack, you did such a good job before. Can you sprinkle on some context to this fact? The lake holds so much water that if you were to pour it out over the entire state of California, it would cover the entire state with 14 inches of water. We repeat, California's state would become a swimming pool 14 inches deep if you filled it with Lake Tahoe water. Lake Tahoe could turn California into a kiddie pool.

It is so deep in Lake Tahoe, you could put the Empire State building in there, and there'd still be plenty of room. There'd be plenty of room. It's so deep that there may even be sharks at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. Okay, now you're scaring myself. In honor of Shark Week. You know, I kind of sort of went to Lake Tahoe for my honeymoon. You did.

You did your honeymoon. It was beautiful. My honeymoon got canceled Nittalys who went to Lake Tahoe. And that's why I're going to France this summer, right, Jack? Well, Alex says it wasn't the honeymoon. Because she was pregnant with Wilder and had morning sickness. So she's like, that was not the honeymoon. And that's why you're going to France.

That's why we're going to France. Although I don't think this counts as the honeymoon either. Yeties, if you have got a favorite. shark fact for shark week or anything involving a body of water, hit us up at T-Boypod. Or fill out the form at T-boypod.com slash shoutouts. We also got a link in the episode description. And we'd love to get your voice on the show. Either way, Nick and I are going to go get some ice cream and watch some minor league baseball.

Extra hot fudge, and Jack and I, we'll see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Napoleon, who's turning seven years old in Chesapeake, Virginia. Dragon Ball Z. That is the theme of that birthday. And Kim Carroll's turning 45 years old in Quantico, Virginia. Her 12-year-old thinks she's the best, and she is the best. We agree.

And Anvich Kokanti in Dallas, Texas is celebrating a birthday. We assume with barbecue, we hope with some barbecue. Happy 39th birthday to Eric Osorio in St. Petersburg, Florida. And to Jeff Rowland and all his 4.5,000 cornhole buddies, we still hope you're playing cornhole every single day, so keep crushing it out on that court. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, including the baseball fans at the minor league baseball game tonight.

We'll see you later. Make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both own ETFs of the SMP 500. We got a sample that was so big, Jack. Molly didn't order an ice cream. The sample was so big, I had to overcompensate.

Molly was like, no, I'm good with this. So I had to get an extra ice cream. You got an extra scoop. I just felt bad because I also didn't want to discourage big samings. You know, I want to encourage that. We should have a story about too much free sample. No, no, there's no such thing. I think it hurts the business if you give out too much for free.

I think I'm going to check your numbers on that, Jack.