The Best One Yet - 🎷 “Bubl-ionaire” — Michael Bublé Christmas. iRobot’s RIP. J.Crew’s Ath-ski-surewear. +AI Barbie.

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Tuesday, T-Boy, Tuesday, December 16th. And today's pod is the best one yet this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yeties, Jack and I are already planning our first pot of 2026. Jack, what are we going to announce? We're going to announce our stock picks for 2026. That's right, our 2026 portfolio resolutions.

Starting point is 00:00:24 How's your portfolio, Greg? Yeah. I don't know. You've got to listen to the first episode next year. We'll find out in the new year. All right. That's coming in January. but in the meantime, Jack and I prepared the three best stories we've ever done.

Starting point is 00:00:34 Jack, what's on today's teapoy? For our first story, Michael Boubley is the top earning musician every December, 14 December's in a row. Mikey Boubley is cornered the Christmas music market in a move Jack and I call bublaying. For our second story, I robot filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Your robot vacuum is crying in your closet. So we wrote an obituary for Roomba, and its life story is wilder than Forrest Gump's. And our third and final story. J. Crew Ski Jackets.

Starting point is 00:01:04 Allo Yoga appre wear? And skim's ski gear. Besties, the fashion industry has embraced skiing because skiing ain't a hobby or a recreation anymore. It's something else. Oh, it's something else entirely. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories.

Starting point is 00:01:21 Love the mix for T-Boy Tuesday Jack. It's day three of Hanukkah. Yep. Nine days until Christmas. What gift should you get? Well, Jack and I'll tell you what gift you should not get. An AI toy. Yeah, don't get an AI toy, trust us.

Starting point is 00:01:33 Yeties, you may have heard a story last month about the AI stuffed teddy bears that told kids some inappropriate things. Yeah, like where to find the sharp knives in the kitchen. Not a good look. Well, that's not all. No. According to CNBC, some AI stuffed animals will tell kids where to light a match. Other AI stuffed animals will tell kids romantic advice. It's like Furby and Chat GPT had a baby who sells cigarettes on the playground.

Starting point is 00:01:57 Batteries are not included. huge privacy and safety and developmental concerns are. Oh, and that's not even the wildest part, is it, Jack? Some AI toys are even pitching Chinese propaganda. Get this, if you talk bad about President Xi, AI Teddy Bear is going to report you. MIT Technology Review reports that China now has more than 1,500 registered AI toy companies. But Jack and I suggest you let Santa's workshop do the toy making instead. Because even South Pole elves don't use chat cheap.

Starting point is 00:02:25 Jack, you can't put AI back in the jack-in-the-box. If you tickle that, I'll mo. Just hope he doesn't hallucinate. Stop fighting me. Jack, let's hear that three stories. Fifteen years before this song. Two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm.

Starting point is 00:02:41 It's the best one yet, but the best is an 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

Starting point is 00:03:12 For our first story, Michael Boubley has built a franchise business on a one genre, Christmas music. Michael Boubley also pioneered a strategy that works in any industry that we call bublaying. Yeties, I'm sorry, was that Wham I heard in November? And Jack, was that the chipmunks in October? And I'm sorry, but pause the pod for a sec. Mariah in the middle of September? Because the Wall Street Journal just pronounced Christmas music is a booming industry. Yes, it is.

Starting point is 00:03:43 We're listening to it more than ever, and we're listening to it earlier than ever. By December 10th of this year, 20 of the top 25 tracks on Spotify were Christmas songs. We see you, Brenda Lee. We see you over there. During periods of stress, listeners are more likely to return to familiar comforts. Now, that's what the Wall Street Journal said. But what Jack and I are saying is that this is the Boubley effect. Michael Boubley, the Canadian singer, not songwriter. is the top musician of December once again.

Starting point is 00:04:11 And we have got the data because Michael Boubley's Christmas album is the top-selling Christmas album of the 21st century. Sorry, Mariah Carey. Yep. Sorry, see ya. Sorry, Justin Bieber. And sorry, chipmunks. Doesn't matter what your algorithm looks like.

Starting point is 00:04:25 Every comment online seems to agree on this, Jack. Christmas is not complete without listening to the songs of Michael Bubley. It ain't Christmas until Michael Boubley snaps his fingers 14 times on the downbeat, Jack. Nick, every woman in my life seems to have a crush on Michael Boubley, and it's pretty annoying. I know, I know you've been working through that the last few years, Jack. But besties, Jack and I found this part fascinating. All 10 of Michael Boubley's top 10 songs on Spotify are cover songs. That's why we call him singer, not songwriter.

Starting point is 00:04:56 Now let's sprinkle on some context. In the early 2000s, Michael Boubley kind of looked like a one-hit wonder, right, Jack? You probably made out with your high school sweetheart to his song, Home, which was a huge hit in 2004. I think this is where your Boupley issues began, by the way, Jack. Well, I was 16 in 2004, so yeah. But in 2011, Michael Bubele made a decision that made his business manager extremely, extremely happy. Yeah, he did a Christmas album. Show me the money. It's called Michael Bouget Christmas, and it's become an ATM machine that prints cash for Michael Bucle every December, even in November now. Jack, why do you sing some of the numbers for us over here?

Starting point is 00:05:32 That album, from 14 years ago, still has two tracks in the global Spotify top 50 right now. That's right. And it's platinum in 15 countries. Oh, that's not all. According to Forbes, Michael Boubley became the fifth highest grossing musician on earth that year. Again, sorry, Justin Bieber. That's right. Boubley beat Bieber. So, Missile Toe Mike, as he's been known since, pivoted hard to presents. He published a deluxe 10th anniversary edition of the same exact album, Nick. Oh, and having a song in the top 50 for the entire month of December is worth $1 million in revenue from the music streamers. But he's not just getting streaming revenue.

Starting point is 00:06:10 No. Michael Boubley has gone full Frank Sinatra, touring as the top billing item at every live Christmas spectacle. All right, Jack, I'm checking the calendar here. What's going on December 3rd? He performed at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting in New York. Oh, and what about December 6th? He performed at the Vatican for a live audience that included the Pope.

Starting point is 00:06:28 Oh, and since 2024, he's been a celebrity judge on NBC's The Voice, as his agent would say, Extremely dapper, always wearing a tuxedo for some reason, and a velvet baritone, Mick. He's making bank. He's our generation's Frank Sinatra. You are still working through this. And we're here for you and support you, Jack. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for the Boo Billionaire Michael Boubley listening to today's podcast? It's called Boo Blaying, when you see a market void and hit it hard. Yeties, Michael Boubley's strategy is that he saw a huge consistent demand for Christmas music,

Starting point is 00:07:02 but a lack of novel takes on the classics. So he went into a recording studio and sang 16 famous Christmas songs. That's it. Jack and I call that simple phenomenon of fill in a market demand, Boo Blaying. And we've seen lots of examples of it before.

Starting point is 00:07:17 Adam Sandler Boubleed with his $500 million Netflix deal. Netflix needed comedy, so Sandler shamelessly delivers two a year for half a billion bucks. Martha Stewart is blueblaying right now with her collabs with American Eagle and Crumble cookies.

Starting point is 00:07:31 She's the boomer who can collab with the Gen Z brand, and so she's done a bunch of them. We think there's a huge opportunity for somebody to bublea Halloween music. What do you mean bubling Halloween? Talk to me. Every Halloween, people throw Halloween parties. That's like one of the big parties of the year. But there's no obvious music to play at Halloween, like there is obvious music to play at Christmas. Or Jack, like Spirit Halloween, that's an example of bublaying retail Halloween, right?

Starting point is 00:07:56 They go all in. Yes, everybody needs Halloween costumes, and there's nowhere in town to buy them. Yeti's added to the T-Boy dictionary, it's boob-ballaying. When you recognize a predictable market void and you shamelessly fill it. For our second story, I-Robot filed for bankruptcy on Monday, its Chinese supplier is actually taking over the company. So we wrote an obituary on the Roomba robot vacuum because its life story is wild. Oh, wait to you hear this. But Yeti's, to start, pour one out for Roomba. And then summon your Roomba to come.

Starting point is 00:08:33 clean it up. Because I-Robot, the inventor of the Roomba robot, vacuum filed for bankruptcy on Monday. Honestly, sad to see it. It's super innovative company. Rumba is the only thing I ever summon. And I really like that word summon. Man, you really are working through a lot of booblay issues, Jack. Rumba, their I-Robot stock fell 72% to just $1 a share on the news.

Starting point is 00:08:55 And the situation is honestly kind of weird. And it's a weird situation because I-Robot based just outside Boston. only designs their robots that don't actually build them. And now I-Robot owes $100 million to their Chinese manufacturers who do the building and are now taking over the business. I-Robot even owes $3.4 million to the U.S. borders and custom control for unpaid tariffs. Oh, and this weird situation is now also a sad situation. Because three years ago, I-Robot was supposed to get acquired by Amazon for a $1.7 billion

Starting point is 00:09:28 payday. And here's why it's sad. The Biden administration effectively bled. blocked that deal when it looks like they shouldn't have. Regulator said that Amazon was just too big to buy another company and it would be bad for competition. But you know what's even worse for competition? Irobot going under.

Starting point is 00:09:43 Plus, there's the whole dog poop scandal in Irobat that kind of messes with the whole thing and doesn't help. I think we covered this on the pot a few years ago. It was called poopageddon. Yes, yes, yes. Rumba didn't recognize if the dog had an accident and so it would run over the thing and spread it around like abstract art on your living room floor. That just made a sad situation even sadder.

Starting point is 00:10:01 But besties, Jack and I dove in T-boy style, and we wrote an obituary on Rumba. That is insane. I-Robot was the first consumer robot. It bridged 20th century tech with 21st century more than any other company. You see, I-Robot was founded back in 1990 by three researchers over at MIT. Pre-W-Fi, pre-Amazon, pre-DJ Roomba from Parks and Rec. And those three founders were inspired by insects. They wanted to replicate the movements of bugs for human work.

Starting point is 00:10:29 Without internet connection, the early Roomba vacuums crawled around your living room like an ant, figuring out where to go with just their little antennas. It's a wildlife story because IRobot's early client was NASA. Before Y2K, space rovers were using IRobot software. And then on September 11, 2001, IRobot searched World Trade Center rubble to search for survivors. In 2004, IROB was in Iraq and Afghanistan, aiding the U.S. military to diffuse bombs and IEDs. And then in 2010, it was an oil spill hero. They built an underwater version of their robot to monitor the well at the bottom of the Gulf Mexico

Starting point is 00:11:06 to try to stop the oil spill. Bessie, see where we're going here? Add it all up. And Rumba has like a Forest Gumpian story, right, Jack? Yes, it is, Forrest Gumpian. It's been everywhere in American history. Plus, Jack, there's the I-Robot movie with Will Smith. I'm pretty sure that's unrelated.

Starting point is 00:11:24 But I love the extra credit. It's not related to the company, but still, there's even a movie. element to this story, I-Robot. And guys, we've barely even gotten to the main product, the profit puppy. It wasn't the big things with NASA or deep water horizon. It was the little thing. It was the crumbs off your kitchen floor that became their profit puppy. In 2002, they introduced her flagship robot vacuum, the Rumba, eventually selling 50 million robot vacuums, which is enough for one out of three American households. That's right. Sorry, Waymo, Rumba was really the first self-driving vehicle. And definitely traveled more miles. But Basties, today,

Starting point is 00:11:58 revenues for iRobot are down to less than one-third of their peak in 2021. And the business is basically being foreclosed on by its lenders. Which made Jack and I want to study the story and lead to this takeaway. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at iRobot? In the age of automation, does brand even matter? Yeti's iRobot is a great reminder that you can create an industry, but not necessarily win that industry. Rumba was the first consumer robot, but now it's a bankrupt consumer robot.

Starting point is 00:12:27 And a key reason, in our opinion, is that the market got crowded with dupes, cheaper knockoff rumbas made in China. Not rumbas, fumbas. My in-laws actually own two fumbas. They go for half the price on Amazon, but have 90% of the quality as a Rumba. Oh, you see what you're doing over there, Maria. Now, this brings up an existential question to Jack and I. You see, if a product provides an automated service, do we care about the brand? Rumba cleans while you're sleeping, and it hides in the closet all day.

Starting point is 00:12:55 You never actually see the product. Yeah, it's kind of like how if a robotaxie gets you from A to B, do you care which Robotaxie did that for you? In the age of automation, does brand even matter? Before we go to commercial, leave your answer in the comments. We want to hear what you think. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story,

Starting point is 00:13:19 the appra scene this ski season, it's ath-skisierware. It really is. Because skims, aloe yoga, and J-Crew are all full send this ski and snowboard season. Skiing ain't a hobby anymore. Skiing is a lifestyle. Yeties, the 2025-2020s ski season is extremely young. But there's proving to be an inversion in two different ways. I'm sorry, Jack, I'm checking the numbers in my apps here in the east.

Starting point is 00:13:44 Is getting more snow than the west? Jay Peak, Vermont has 188 inches of snow so far. Uh-huh. Veil, Alta, and Palisades out west, 50 inches or less. Uh, Tahoe right now is Ta-No. The second inversion in this young ski season is that, Vail is actually dropping prices for single-day lift tickets across all the resorts, not increasing them like they always do.

Starting point is 00:14:06 It's the money. As Yeti, Michael Benderchick pointed out, Vail is probably dropping the prices only because the lack of snow. The backballs do need a bailout out west. Yes, they do. But what Jack and I found most fascinating about this ski season is the new flock of apparel collapse. For the first time ever, J.Crew is bringing their prep to the powder

Starting point is 00:14:27 in a partnership with Italy's brand, Kappa. That's right, not available until early 2026, but Jay Cruz unveiling their apparel at the U.S. ski team events leading up to the Winter Olympics. This is also the second year that Skims is in the ski industry in a collaboration with the North Face. Kim Kardashian Skims is now selling an $800 one piece ready for the catwalk or the snow cat.

Starting point is 00:14:47 And Allo Yoga has an entire section on their website for Apre Ski. The first thing we saw, a cable knit, cropped, turtleneck, long sleeve. That's a lot of syllables, Jack. I didn't know those four words could go together. I'll tell you what it goes together with, Jack. A $30 hot chocolate martini in the apra scene. True. Now, are you noticing something, Yetis?

Starting point is 00:15:07 Nick and I are seeing fashion companies going from downward dog in the yoga studio to downhill on the slopes. You see, historically male-created brands dominate the ski apparel industry, but now female-first brands are booming. A couple explanations for this. First, everything is social media. If you didn't post that you were skiing, did you even get first, share? That's why new women's ski brands are form fitting and flattering like athleisure is. You can't apprae without slim fit. The second reason that fashion is going full send is our takeaway.

Starting point is 00:15:36 And warning, you're going to want to open your safety bar before we get to the takeaway. So now it'll be the time to do so. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the ski leisure wear industry? More than ever, skiing is a lifestyle choice and the data proves it. You see, Eddie's 50 years ago, there were twice as many more ski areas in America than there today, and they probably cost about a tenth of price. With climate change and industry consolidation, there are fewer casual skiers in this very expensive industry. You see, today, skiing is a luxury lifestyle choice. It's less like tennis or golf, and more like horseback riding or sailing. Because

Starting point is 00:16:12 like horseback riding or sailing, skiing requires a huge upfront financial commitment for a passing gear. And increasingly, with remote work flexibility, ski weekends are three to four days long. You're opening up your laptop and taking Zoom calls until 12. Skiing in the afternoon, and then apprait at 3. It's a lifestyle. Add it all up, and the fashion first ski and snowboard brands are reflecting this lifestyle transition. Today's skiers and borders are all in on skiing and snowboarding because it's not a hobby or recreation anymore. It's a lifestyle choice. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Michael Boubley is the top grossing musician every December, 14 December's in a row.

Starting point is 00:16:54 Sorry, Mariah. Missletone Mike invented boo-blang. You find a predictable market void, and then you go all in on it. For our second story, despite a forest-gumpian life story, I-Robot declared bankruptcy three years after its deal with Amazon got blocked.

Starting point is 00:17:10 Ultimately, Chinese dupes killed I-Robot, raising the question, in automation, does brands still matter? And our third and final story. Ski-bunnies aren't limited to Arcteric or the North Face anymore. Skims, Allo Yoga, and J. Crew are all in. Gortex. Because skiing ain't a mere recreation, it's now a lifestyle choice with more fashion to pair with it. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

Starting point is 00:17:36 First, sad one here, but Ford Motors is sadly waving the white flag and basically admitting defeat of their electric vehicle business. Ford is ending its F-150 lightning program, the flagship EV pickup truck they bravely launched four years ago. Interestingly, Ford's taken a page from Toyota and plans for half its cars to be hybrid by 2030. Not all electric, not all gas either. The hybrid Goldilocks, that seems to be what America wants right now. And second, Zillow's stock fell nearly 10% yesterday because of a new threat, Google. A blogger noticed this weekend that Google was putting real estate listings at the top of its search results. Yeah, like if you Google, homes for sale in Denver, the top results will now let you contact a real estate agent through

Starting point is 00:18:19 Google. Google says this is just a test, but if they add this to Google Maps, it could cut Zillow completely out of the real estate equation. That would hurt the Zexting out there. It would hurt the Zexting. And finally, America's final pennies have officially been sold, and they raised 16.7 million bucks at auction. The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia minted the final 696 pennies, and the final set was sold for 800 grand. Now get this, the mint even tossed in some gold pennies in there to give Abe a good little last hurrah, and that juiced the prices even more. And also, 699 of this final batch had a little omega symbol, which is apparently the Greek symbol for the last one.

Starting point is 00:19:00 So you find an omega petty. You hold on to that omega penny. Now time for the best fact yet. This one, an answer to our T-boy trivia question we asked you yesterday. What is the top performing Christmas movie of all time at the box office? And because Jack's a double double econ major over here, he said this should be for highest grossing movie, both inflation adjusted, and not inflation adjusted. So the nominal winner is The Grinch from 2018 with Benedict Cumberbatch. That's right. That movie brought in $540 million.

Starting point is 00:19:31 It is the not inflation adjusted highest grossing Christmas film. For that, you'd have to go back to 1990. Home Alone, the first one with McCauley Calkin and Joe Pesci, brought in $476 million in 1990. So if we adjust the original home alone for inflation, that becomes the highest grossing Christmas movement. movie of all time. And Home Alone, too, lost in New York, is number two adjusted for inflation. The sticky bandits, yeah, they did know where the money was.

Starting point is 00:20:02 Yet is, you look fantastic today. And if you could take a second, we are this close to 10,000 ratings and reviews on Spotify, and we would love to hit that round number. We're actually this close on Apple, too. So we're really close to 10,000 on both of our key platform. So if you could drop down and give us five stars a rating review, we love reading them. And also, Jack could, you know, really use the emotional boost to get over Michael Bublay. Yeah, I mean, his handsomeness is frustrating to us all, except to my wife apparently. Jack's got to get to that boobloid therapy session. Jack and I will prepare tomorrow's show and we'll see you for the pot, if you know.

Starting point is 00:20:39 And before we go, happy birthday to Payton Gia down in Hotlanda, Georgia on the best birthday yet. Happy 35th birthday to Terris Millenchenko in Austin, Texas. His first birthday is a proud dad, Terris, we can't wait to see in Texas. to Shazia Arroyo in Houston, Texas. And Sean Lee down in Riverside, California, starts his one-on-ones with his direct report the best way yet by whipping up the takeaways on the latest T-boy.

Starting point is 00:21:10 Happy birthday, Sean. Happy birthday to Akshire Ajaan, in Roanoke, Virginia, who's also recently had a brand-new baby, Avanya. And to anyone else, celebrating something today, Nicky to T-Boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.

Starting point is 00:21:26 I own stock of Netflix and Ford. Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Spotify and Nick on stock of Zillow. I hate this picture of Boubleau. Do you see how douche he looks in this? Yeah, it's like, why is he always wearing a thin black tie? I know, that's it. Like, get a normal size tie, dude.

The Best One Yet - 🎷 “Bubl-ionaire” — Michael Bublé Christmas. iRobot’s RIP. J.Crew’s Ath-ski-surewear. +AI Barbie.

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