The Best One Yet - “Dude, where's my wine suitcase” — Sony’s VR dance. Williams-Sonoma’s generations. Peloton’s influencer army

Episode Date: March 19, 2021

Williams-Sonoma’s stock popped 18% because it doesn’t care about your style, it cares about your age. Sony’s new Playstation whips up the most important Virtual Reality move of the year. And Peloton officially unveiled its apparel line with Adidas that you can buy… but it’s not really for you.$WSM $SNE $PTONGot a SnackFact? Tweet it @RobinhoodSnacks @JackKramer @NickOfNewYorkWant a shoutout on the pod? Fill out this form:https://forms.gle/KhUAo31xmkSdeynD9Got a SnackFact for the pod? We got a form for that too:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe64VKtvMNDPGSncHDRF07W34cPMDO3N8Y4DpmNP_kweC58tw/viewform Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. And this is Snacks Daily. It is Friday, March 19. Rough day for stocks yesterday. The tech-heavy NASDAQ index fell by 3%. Down 3%. But this, but it's Friday.

It's real Friday. That's good. There we go. So this is the best one yet. For our first story, William Sonoma calls itself the world's largest, digital first design-led and sustainable home retailer. Jack, when you got that many descriptors, it's hard like not to be first in all these things.

This is the best weekend that started in 26. and ended in 2017. Second story, what do we got? Peloton, just officially availed its apparel collaboration with Adidas. So the gear is for you, but the gear isn't for you. For our third and final story, America's corporate jewel is Apple. True. Germany's is BMW.

Correct. Japan's is Sony. And Sony's PlayStation just made a move to win virtual reality before suck can suck. But before we hit that wonderful mix of stories today, Jack, March Madness technically began yesterday. Real thing. We had the play in games. Who's going to get those coveted number 16 spots in the bracket? You'll love to see this, Jack. You got Barden University versus the old SCLSU mud dogs. Go mud dogs. Now, you know what else starts this week, Nick?

I know what you're thinking, Jack. March dadness. I got a case of the March dadness. Jack's baby, what is it? The due date's, would you say April 5th, Jack? We've told the Snackers like six times. Let's make it seven. Our baby boy is due on April 5th, which, how happens to be the same day as the NCAA basketball championship team. If you could make it April 3rd that Saturday, that works great for me, Jack. Now, Nick, we started a family and friends bracket called March Dadness to predict the day and hour that the baby will be born. Ifso facto March Dadness.

We've got 27 submissions from friends and family, including Nick Martel. What did you guess, by the way? April 3rd, again, if you could make this happen, I don't know. I mean, it would help. Winner's going to take home like a couple hundred bucks and 25% of the pots going to charity, March Daddness. By the way, are we doing Price's Right Rules on this thing? We're not doing prices right rules.

Are we doing the prop bets on this thing? We may do some prop bets, actually. We're thinking the Born with the Hair or Born Hairless. Where are you coming down on that? I'm going Born with Hair. I'm going Mohawk. And the over under is on seven pounds of birth weight. Feel like that's low.

You should go with the over on that one. The big question on this one, the Pisces or the Aries? Well, Pisces is a heavy underdog considering there's like one day left for Pisces. Yeah, I think you're right. Aries is like the Gonzaga. Pice's is the Canada college situation. Snackers, as a reminder, when the baby does come, when we go into labor, we are pushing the red button and taking a week off from the pot. Honestly, it could be any day. It could be in the middle of story number one. We're recording right now. We have no idea. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us over there? I don't know. No, I can't whip up the takeaways because I'm researching the five S's of the fourth. trimester if you know you're not.

Finish that darn Bassinet and let's hit our three stories, baby. You're tuned in the snacks daily. We spoke to the lawyers. The snacks about to hear ain't food is air candy. They don't reflect the views of the Robin Hood family. It's all informational just so. You know, we're not recommending any securities. It's not a research report or investment advice.

Not an offer or sale of a security. Right. Snacks is digestible. Business news for you. Robahood Financial, LLC. Member Fenra. For our first story, William Sonoma jumps 18% yesterday. It is not about who you are.

No. It's about how old you are at William Sonoma. Was this from a Batman quote? Is that where we got this idea? No. Okay. It's a furniture quote. It's what you do that defines you, I guess.

Oh, there you go. Now, William Sonoma is the home good store that your mom dragged you into for years and years. Okay, great. Another pasta strainer. Fantastic. Also, we can't confirm this. But we think they may have invented the wedding registry. I think so.

Because this store is more sconces than the palace of Versailles. We jumped in snacks down. By the way, wild trivia when it comes to William Sonoma. In 1986, they acquired pottery barn from what company? The catalog store. You're never going to guess this. The Gap, the Gap used to own pottery barn. Well, the Gap in William Sonoma, they're both headquartered in San Francisco.

Lovely. So maybe they figured out on a lunch day. It was kind of a synergy kind of a thing. But the biggest shocker in the William Sonoma earnings was this line. We have a substantial gear and luggage business. Really? Well, what? News to us.

William Sonoma was trying to brag to Wall Street that the resumption of travel after their pandemic will actually be good for their business because they have luggage. So we tried to call their bluff and did some research, but actually they weren't bluffing on this one. It was kind of impressive. Yeah. They have a wine suitcase. And they're sold out of the version called the Grande, which can hold

12 bottles that you can check for your airplane. Just big two cases of the Pino in this thing. Travel Palm Springs to Pittsburgh nonstop. Okay, didn't know that about you, William Snowman. The second shocker is its band of brands that will impress you. All right. So when it comes to clothing, there's like urban outfitters, which owns free people, anthropology, and urban outfitters.

It owns all three brands. And the Gap, they own Old Navy, Banana Republic, and the Gap in Atlanta, too. Now, when it comes to these band of other brands, these companies, it's like up and down at one brand is doing fine, one brand is doing horribly. It's always all over the place. It's like a diversified portfolio. For William Sonoma, all of their brands are shockingly consistent and shockingly good right now. Get this, Pottery Borne sales, Jack? Up 26% last quarter. West Elm sales, how are they doing? Up 25% last quarter from the year before. And then William Sonoma's very own sales, how they doing, Jess? Split the difference up 25 and a half percent.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies? over William Sonoma who own all of these brands. They don't target customers. No. They target a life stage. Yeah, Snackers. Jack and I were checking out the earnings deeper. And the theme of these earnings?

Generations. Slide 13 literally shows a timeline of one's life with baby at the far left. Adorable. And like empty nester on the far wreck. Case and point, let's kick it off with fifth grade. What are you working with in the room, Jack? Fifth grade, they got pottery barn kids. Okay, you grew up a little older.

You head off to college. What are you going to throw in the dorm room? They've got PBT waiting for you. Okay, you're out of school. In the second job, 27 years old, you're moving in with your significant other. It's a lifestyle moment. West Elm. That's what William Sonoma's got.

Deck out the place in mid-century mod. And then finally, the kids are gone. You got the new condo in Del Boca Vista. What's going in your home? Pottery Barn. Yeah, the OG. William Sonoma graduates you to a new furniture as you age. Yep.

With a new brand waiting for you at each life milestone. Most bands of brands, they focus on the style. But William Sonoma's band of brands, they focus on your life stage. From birth to retirement. Yep, and that is how William Sonoma pulled off such consistent sales growth last quarter. And that's why the stock jumped 18% yesterday. For our second story, Sony's new PlayStation controllers are the biggest virtual reality move in years. The race to virtual reality, it's coming down to Facebook versus Sony.

Jack, I love the way you described virtual reality earlier today. Can you please share this? Instead of playing a video game, virtual reality lets you be the video game. If you got two hours, watch Ready Player 1. It's the ultimate escapism. You're going to get it if you know, you know. You'll get what we mean. But if not, you should know a bunch of companies are racing to virtual reality fortunes,

which could someday dwarf what the video game industry is today. And then you got a bunch of smartphone and video game companies that are also in the race, but Facebook and Sony, they are the leaders. They are your Uber and your Lyft. This is kind of freaky. There are 10,000 Facebookers doing work at a place called Facebook Reality Labs. This is a separate campus we're talking about in a different state working solely on Facebook's virtual reality. Facebook started this project when they acquired Oculus, a virtual reality company back in 2014, and today they sell these goggles you put on your face for $300. It's called the Oculus. I'm looking this up live. Lyft has 5,600 people working at Lyft. Facebook has twice as many people as Lyft, just working.

Just on virtual reality, which you probably didn't even know Facebook was doing. Yeah, if so fact, though, Facebook is two lifts. Now, if you want to know how well Facebook's virtual reality situation is going, they've basically shared with us one data point. Yeah, they have told us that there are 60 video games for these Oculus headsets that have sold a million dollars at least in the past year. So before you get impressed by that, Sony, just unveiled something beyond virtual reality goggles. Yes. They already have the goggles, so they brought in virtual reality controllers for the new PlayStation 5. Now, these next generation controllers, they basically merge the two. They're like an OG PlayStation controller, but they're way more. Jack, it was hilarious watching you describe this earlier. Well, I've had a PlayStation 1, 2, and 3.

Impressive. I skipped 4 and I haven't got into 5. Must be nice. But Snackers, if you take an OG PlayStation control, you got the X, the square, the triangle, and the circle on the right. This is hard. And the directional pads on the left. It's not easy to do this on a podcast. You basically, yeah, I wish I had a video to show you.

You basically split that controller in two, and it's become like a virtual reality censor-fied tech boxing glove. I'm trying to support here with the sound effects. And instead of like a pointing crossbow with a joystick, with this whole contraption, you're going to point your arms. And instead of punching in a video game with a button, you can punch in a video game with your fists with these gloves. And it's like Mike Tyson in space.

Plus, you're getting the haptic feedback, Jack. Plus, you're getting finger-touch detection. Plus, you're getting the adaptive triggers. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Sony? Upselling is way easier than just selling. Oh, yeah. Facebook, they haven't said how many headsets they've sold. But, according to multiple sources,

it's about 2 to 3 million people who own a Facebook Oculus virtual reality headset. For 10,000 people working on this, that's a pretty tiny user base, and it's not enough to attract the game developers to make more good games. And honestly, it's because convincing someone to buy a whole new product, the Oculus, it's a tough sell. It's $300, and then you've got to get the games. But, Nick, there's already over 100 million active PlayStation's out there. They're there. And asking those video gamers to spend a little bit more for a virtual reality upgrade, that's an easier sell.

It's like a whole country. So PlayStation has managed to sell over five. million virtual reality goggles so far, double what Zuck's been able to sell. Now, these new virtual reality controllers, there's no word yet on when they'll come out and what the price will be. No, there isn't. But they could upsell even more PlayStation faithful. Because Sony's advantage, it's in the built-in, giant PlayStation user base they already got.

Because upselling is easier than selling from scratch. For our third and final story, Peloton and Adidas, they're making an exclusive clothing line. It's official. now it's actually happening. This apparel line is designed by Peloton's instructors. Good point. And it's also for Peloton's instructors. Yeah, that last part, that's key.

Keep that in mind. Last week, Snackers, we told you that Adidas got a deal with Peloton to do apparel. Yeah, they did. Well, we finally got the details. Yeah, it is. March 25th, this comes out. They kicked it off with like a pump-up video on the West Side Highway. Yeah, they're all like doing very cool things on the high line.

It's acrobatics on the high line is this whole thing. Now, if you're trying to picture this new Adidas Peloton gear, Think like this is anti-under armor. That's what it is. Yes. It's fitness clothing, but it's not like the cold gear, sweat-wicking spandex you remember from high school. Yeah, there's no like tricep worshipping tank top involved in this stuff. The clothing is actually, it's loose, it's bright, adorable, and it's comfortable. It's a shade of orange that I'd wear to like a flea market check. Now, it's clear why Adidas wants to partner with Peloton because they want to generate sales to Peloton's users.

Who wouldn't? But why is Peloton doing this deal with Adidas? So Jack and I went through the old whiteboard checklist on this first thought. PR. They're doing it for the PR. Get people talking about Peloton like we just said about Peloton. I wouldn't say so. This is not a new thing. Like SoulCycle has partnered with Lou Lemon.

And Hydro, a rowing company, has partnered with Fablatics. So then we're like, all right, maybe it's the financial. People post-pandemic, they're going to be splurging on the stretchy crop tops. False. Actually, Peloton's very honest about this. Apparel is not a strong revenue driver for the company. We appreciate that candor. So it's not the PR.

They're not doing it for the financials. Our next thought, all right, Peloton's doing this for the growth. Get them buying Peloton T's, then they'll buy a Peloton treadmill. No. Peloton's famous at this point for not having to market. Like, they make so many sales organically because people are talking about Peloton. So, Jack, what's the takeaway slash answer for our buddy spinning over at Peloton? These workout clothes aren't for us consumers.

They're actually all about the instructors. Snackers, let that sink in. we think this is actually a Peloton HR move. Here us out. When Peloton IPOed in 2019, in the S-1 document, they mentioned the word bike, their core product, 49 times. Yeah. But they mentioned the word instructor.

Their fitness instructors, 52 times, more than the profit puppy. Yep. And we didn't stop there. Jack and I scroll down to the old page 24, checking out the risks. Risk number like six, we rely on the creativity of our instructors at Pelot. We must retain our quality fitness instructors or our finances at Peloton will be adversely affected. Bold call there. This Adidas gear, it wasn't designed by Adidas. It was a collaboration with Peloton influencer instructors. They whipped this stuff up.

Specifically, Ali Love, Cody Rigsby, who I love. Fantastic. And Robin Arzon. My buns are still feeling it. Now, each instructor designed it. Each is in that hype video and each promoted to like a whole group of millions of followers online. Peloton's classes are content. Content is king. Content comes from creators. And the fitness instructors, those are Peloton's content creators. The terms of this partnership, they weren't disclosed. But honestly, Jack and I wouldn't be shocked if those instructors are taken home a percentage of sales on this stuff. Yeah. We think Peloton did this to make the instructors happy. Check. So they make better spinning content? Check. So Peloton's revenues boost even bigger.

Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us over there? Sony's new VR controllers, kind of awesome, and they could convert more PlayStation video gamers to VR. Upselling. Easier than selling. William Sonoma had the home goods and the e-commerce setup to thrive last year. It's really just a suite of brands for every life stage. Peloton did an apparel deal with Adidas for its instructors. The tank tops, they're not for you. They're to keep the instructors engaged.

That's why they're there. Now, time for our snack fact of the day. This one sent in by Jennifer Price from where else but lovely Detroit, Michigan. In 1985, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources officially declared Arita Franklin's voice a natural resource of the state of Michigan. Jack, you got Lake Michigan, you got Sleepy Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and then what's number three? R-E-S-P-E-C-T, the Natural Wonders of Michigan. What a hat trick. Snackers, before we go, drop down and give me five.

No. It's five-star follow Friday. You drop down. We get five stars. You'll leave a review. You follow. We'll see you on Monday. It has nothing to do with push-ups.

If you know, you know. And before we go, happy birthday to Cui in Singapore. And happy birthday to Neil Daphari in Ahmedabad, India. And happy birthday to Zhao Paolo Pino in Sao-Zao diMod, Portugal. And David Hernandez in Mexico City, Mexico. And Tommy Daly in Midtown Manhattan. Where?

And Andy Planets in Columbus, Ohio. And Ezra Miran in Providence, Rhode Island, East Side Pockets. And Stephen Shea in Chicago, Illinois. And Jeremy Bowen in Charlotte, North Carolina. And Rachel Thompson in Los Angeles. And Max Anderson, St. Paul, Minnesota. And Ananya Davida in Chicago. And Callie Bowers, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

And Cher McKinney in Montvail, New Jersey. And Adam Sue and New Rochelle. And Sophia Dunlap in lovely Fort Lauderdale. And happy birthday, Jesse Lynch in Boise, Idaho. Melissa Lucas in Manassas, Virginia, HBD. Oh, and Jack, Ben Bernard, just got a med school match over in Kansas City. Nick, Jason Fukuda, he just got into UCLA nursing school. Let me try to up you, Alex Schultz, new job at Carter, not bad.

Pete Morris just got a huge app release. We don't know if it was iOS or Android, hopefully both. A huge is anyone else celebrating something today. Make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins, including just getting through a week, happy week. We'll see you much. This is Jack. I own stock of Peloton.

The Robin Hood Snacks podcast you just heard reflects the opinions of only the host who are associated persons of Robin Hood Financial LLC and does not reflect the views of Robin Hood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a recommendation to buy or sell any security and is not an offer or sale of a security. The podcast is also not a research report and is not intended to serve as the basis of any investment decision. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.