The Best One Yet - Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Lululemon’s new #sweatlife selfcare shampoo, and Best Buy’s new FitnessTech strategy

Episode Date: June 19, 2019

Facebook unveiled details of its new cryptocurrency, Libra (aka “ZuckBucks”), so we jump into the key details you need to know. Lululemon’s going hard into its #sweatlife lifestyle push by launching its new shampoo, deodorant, and more, while athleisure keeps winning retail. And Best Buy introduced a new FitnessTech strategy as it aims to become the Apple Store for Baby Boomers.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 snack. Daily, it is Wednesday, June 19th. We got a T-boy for you. This is a straight-up TV-O-W. This is the best one yet. Really, we worked hard on this. Markets rose by about 1.3%. Solid debt. Not too shabby. On news that President Trump and President Xi in China are having an extended meeting. We don't know who's scheduling these things. Sounds fancy. Have these calendars. But we got three incredible stories.

Oh, what a mix here. You want to kick it off with the big? Okay. Facebook. Yes. Wow. They just unveiled the Libra, which is a bold plan to become the Bank of the World. Did we mention this is a bold plan? This is like Venmo for the entire planet. Speaking of slightly less bolder plans, what's number two? Lulu Lemon, the sweat is real over there.

They just gave us hashtag sweat-life-approved self-care products. Lulu wants you at the gym and now it wants you all up and after the gym. It does. Third and final story, Best Buy, just dedicated parts of its store to selling exercise equipment. Consumer Health Tech is having a moment. But first, Nick, let's talk about ShakeShack, your favorite burger chain. I'm already sitting in line in this thing. Shake Shack is testing out the four-day work week.

Right. 40 hours a week of work, but only for four days a week. Yeah, and this is an industry where workers typically, or not typically, but it's not unusual to work seven days in a week. Right, and it has like the highest turnover of any industry in the country, 70%. A lot of us had our first jobs in restaurants. It's a hard gig. 10% of the U.S. workforce works in restaurants right now. The floors are slippery.

You have like that mopping duty, which is really hard. No one wants the mopping duty, especially Danny Meyer, the founder of ShakeShack, who's like known for instituting. these kind of things. Danny Meyer is a progressive restaurateur. At a couple of his restaurants in New York, he packed the tip into the bill. Nicely bundled. So like the menu has tip included. But when it comes to this four day work week, we're huge fans. We think this needs to go nationwide, global. Nationwide, global. We need to all have this. Right. The big question is which day do you take off? You take off Friday. If anyone tells you Wednesday because it's more optimized, they're wrong. Right. If you work four days a week and you have a three-day weekend, you're going to work better those four days.

Right, because Friday becomes a new Saturday. Saturday becomes a new Sunday. Sunday becomes, just don't do anything. Take off Sunday. We need to treat it like Germany and France. And that makes Monday not like Monday. Great intro. Let's listen to these keywords before our three stories. You're tuned in the snacks daily. We spoke to the lawyers and we got to get something legal out the way.

It's snacks about to hear rain food. It's air candy. They don't reflect the views of the robberhood family. It's all informational just so. 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 Robberhood Financial LLC Member Fenra slash SIPC For our first story This one's big

Facebook just unveiled Libra Its own cryptocurrency Yeah you think Facebook's too deep into your life We're a little bit too intimate with you Great news They want to get more intimate with you

Facebook has announced A financial system Basically for the entire world Yeah it's called Libra Which we're calling Zuckbox I think it's shorter I think it's got more of a ring Libra is the cryptocurrency. It's also a zodiac sign. So this is a bold, bold plan. And the head of

crypto at Facebook said, this is something that could be a profound change for the entire world. It's also a bold plan B for Facebook. Yeah. If it's ad sales dry up because of regulation or just users don't trust it, it's planning to expand this Libra cryptocurrency into like lending, investing, and banking stuff. A bunch of other financial services. Now, the big thing here is straight up, and we'll get in some more details, but the impact, because this could bring cryptocurrencies mainstream. So far, the only time you hear about crypto is on the TV show billions when they're like, here's a USB drive. It's got 20 million in crypto. Or when your parents ask you, what exactly is crypto and you go through a little explanation

where you're kind of making things up. Right. It's also used a lot for online drug sales. But this could change that. Right. There are a few keys that you got to know about this new Facebook cryptocurrency. First, Libra is professionally branded. Very nice. It's got a symbol. Like the US dollar is the S with the two lines there. Libra is three little waves on top of it. It looks like a tattoo you would have. got it in Tulum. Or a Hawaiian Lua dance. Yeah, you're going to start noticing this thing more. The second is it's super easy to use because if you want to pay someone, you can just send the Libra to anyone with a Facebook account. That's simple. Anybody with a Facebook account,

they want to make it as easy as texting someone or sending someone a picture, you can send money. Third key here is the cost because there's basically low or no transaction costs. And that was a key detail. So the first thing you do is you take your money, like you ask dollars and you convert it into Libra and put it in your Facebook account. Right. If you want to send that money then to pay for the boat ride into Lume before you got to. the tattoo, it's going to convert into pesos when you send it over. And if someone pays you money, you can convert your Libra into whatever your currency is anytime for basically free. Fourth key here is the built-in network effects. Two billion people already have an account.

Yeah. So this is like Venmo, but the whole world has already downloaded it because it's Facebook. That means Facebook doesn't have to worry about pushing you to download the app in order to use Libra because you already have the app. Yeah, that like download barrier is a huge barrier and Facebook can grow so much faster. So those are the four things we notice. But there are a couple two kickers here we want to hit on that not many people realize that you really want to know with this thing. This Libra thing, it's not just Facebook.

There are actually 27 other companies involved. You got Uber, Spotify, eBay. This is like a Lord of the Rings kind of crew you got going on here. There are 27 partners currently, and that's going to expand to 100. It's going to be treated like a condo association board. Like any big decisions that happen are going to be all those partners are going to be involved. And it allows Libra to grow into becoming a company. its own alternative financial system where you're transacting using blockchain instead of using

banks. Exactly. The second kind of key kicker you want to know here is that it's a stable coin. Yes. Or a stable coin. You can go with either pronunciation. Right. So one thing we know about Bitcoin is the price has been wild. It goes from like 20,000 down to three. We don't know where it is now, but it's scary. So Libra, on the other hand, is pegged to real hard currencies like the U.S. dollar and to the euro. So it's only going to swing in prices like any currencies swing in So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Facebook with the new Zuckbucks? This is targeting developing nations. Right.

Users in the U.S. and developed nations, they tend not to trust Facebook these days because of privacy issues. There's been a whole lot of scandal. So Facebook is responding to that by trying to beef up, like, trust points. Like, it's requiring a government-issued ID if you want to deal with Libra currency. It has fraud protection. And it also promised that it's not going to use your financial data for ads if you use Libra. But here's the thing. Facebook's reputation in developing nations.

is still very strong. Right. In emerging countries, Facebook has a very different appeal. There aren't the same privacy concerns. So even if this is a big failure in the U.S. because you don't trust Facebook and you don't want to give your money to them,

it could still be a huge success globally. Where billions of people have no bank account and they don't want to pay bank fees. For our second story, Best Buy is making a huge move into fitness tech. The old fitness tech. We all know what we're talking about here. By the way, where would you buy an elliptical? I would go...

You don't know because no one knows. I would find a gym going out of business in my hometown. And then it's a whole thing because then you need someone to like schlep it around with you in their truck. I'd find a buddy who has a truck and I'd find a bunch of friends who can carry it into the bed of the truck. And then they're like, why is Jack using an elliptical now? And then you're like, I'm trying to get into wedding shade. So best buy to the rescue. So we don't have to go through that whole ordeal.

Best buy is selling spinning bikes and treadmills in 100 of its stores by the end of the year. We're talking not just any kind of treadmill or anything here. We're talking fitness tech. We're talking workout equipment that. has a fancy, like, iPad screen. Whatever you're built in. You're talking or typing on right now. This thing is more technically efficient.

Let's give some examples. Nordic track treadmills. Didn't know was still around. Yep. Based in Utah. Everyone's mom was on that thing 20 years ago. Those things have interactive coaching built into monitors. Flywheel, the spin class chain, has its own bikes now, kind of like Peloton.

By the way, getting sued by Peloton because of that. Those will be sold at best buy. And then finally, hydro rowing machines, which have, like, giant screens that make you feel like you're rowing down the Hudson. Right. Just like, you know, when you're at the gym and there are a couple people on the rowing machines near you. So this is part of Best Buy's store within a store strategy. Right.

There's going to be an entire dedicated section to tech-focused workout equipment. So apparently Best Buy, which used to sell just big screen TVs, now sells workout equipment. Right, because they've got a lot of shelf space now where the DVDs used to be. And because workout equipment has big screen TVs. Right. This is a unique combination of internal and external trends, and that's why Best Buy is jumping on. So Best Buy is. looking at its own performance the last few years, and they're thinking, okay, wearables, which are like

Fitbits and Garments and fitness trackers, those are the things that are performing best at our stores. And then externally, they're looking around, and one of the execs just said, there is a growing intersection between fitness and technology. Look at snacks daily. In just the last month, we've covered Peloton, which is a spinning bike company getting ready to IPO. Right. And then we've covered mirror, which is a really, really fancy mirror that will bark workout commands at you. Yeah, and a lot easier than a bark last. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies working hard over at Best Buy? Best Buy is trying to be the Apple store for Baby Boomers.

It's using this consumer health tech trend to become super relevant to an aging population in very strategic ways. Look at seniors. Seniors are like, wait a minute. Best Buy acquired Life Alert. You know the little button you can walk around with? They did that. You fall down and can't get up.

They did that last year for $800 million. And Best Buy also owns critical signal tech. Similar to Life Alert and it just bought it last month. And then look at some of the products Best Buy is selling. The Apple Watch, it has an electrocardiogram that, like, focuses on the health of your heart. Apple's got lawyers working around the clock to get FDA clearance on a bunch of things they're with now. And then another Best Buy top seller is the Fitbit fitness trackers. They have partnerships with health insurance companies.

And that's exactly why Best Buy is trying to roll all this up into a dedicated space so it can become the Apple Store for Baby Bowlers. Fitness Tech and health tech. For our third and final story, Lulu Lemon just invented Lulu Lemon self-care, a new line of personal care. It's going to be selling in four. 50 stores and online starting stat. Go to yoga post? It's obvious. What are you thinking?

Shavasna. Anybody who says it's not Shavasna's life. You start with Shavasna, you do the Midway Shavasna break, and then you end with Shavasna. I actually once did a one-hour Shavasna. I don't remember that. I don't remember that. Now, the background on this is the power of three. Lulu Lemon's aggressively overhyped five-year plan that we covered on this pod two months ago.

Right, exactly. It had a great name. Not so much great stuff in there. It was full of corporate status quo. Right, basically, nothing too bold and exciting. Actually, doubling the men's biz, I'm excited about that. That was cool. Second, quadruple international sales.

And third, double online sales. Yeah, that was the power of three that they were focusing on. But one thing they weaved in into that PR release was that they want to become, quote, unquote, the experiential brand for people living the sweatlight. Hashtag sweat life. And it mentioned some wellness products. Well, yesterday, we got those wellness products. They went full circle sweat life.

You use Lulu Lemon Clothes, when you're sweating. sweating. And then you continue using Lulu Lemon stuff later. It's meshing fitness with life. Shower optional. Seriously. This is pure a pleasure and this is sweat life, a term that Lulu Lemon coined. Now, what we thought was really fun here was the way Lulu Lemon released this. Because... If you're looking at the self-care page on Lululemon.com... Which you should check out. They talk about some elements that these products can fix. This is not just a small-time product. This is solving hot yoga face. Yeah. You got hair, high-intensity interval training. You want some O de burpees?

No, you got some O to Burpees. Oh, yeah. Some deodorant. Jackie, you know about burpees. Lou, I love a burpee. Who does burpees anymore? I do burpees. It's like a full-body thing.

Berries makes you do burpees. The list goes on and on about things Lou Lemon will solve. Solving athletes needs. They claim that they are the authority on sweat. They are solving the sweatiest problems. Do you get the point? They're big on sweat. They're kind of pushing this sweat life thing right now.

So what are they doing? They're offering dry shampoo for $34. They got deodorant for $18. A lip bomb that's unisex. 14 bucks on that and then finally face moisturizing cream for 48 bucks more costly on that one now they're not including some things in here like there's going to be no aluminum and no sulfates no gluten Apparently, because we all of that friend who's like, no, I really don't want gluten anywhere near me. This is a corn-based deodorant. Actually, the shampoo is algae-based and it's a dry shampoo.

So, like, no shower. And finally, these self-care products, I appreciate this. They're gender-neutral. Very interesting. At the top of the website, they have the men section, the women section, and the self-care section, which is for men or women. And they've made the branding so it's not like Axe Body Spray. We're like, you only have it in a men's situation. Right.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway with our buddies over at Lulu? Athletic retail is thriving because it's tied to the. millennial wellness trend. Now, one of the analysts nailed this in this description of what's going on with Lulu. One of the bright spots in tough retail environment right now is athletic wear. Yeah, sweat life's not going to work unless people are sweating. And people sweat with active lives. And we've seen Lulu Lemon Stock, it's at an all-time high. Guess who else is at an all-time high? Nike, or it's very close. Now, while the rest of retail is struggling, there are pockets of retail like athletic wear that are thriving. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us?

Facebook's creating an alt-finance system based on its new crypto Libra. You've got to feel bad for those like September, October Libra babies out there. They're going to feel a lot like Alexis. Stealing thunder. How did their zodiacs not see that? Second story, Best Buy used to be an electronics company. It still is, but fitness electronics. Gigantic rowers are going to be like flocking to Best Buy.

They really are. Third final start. Arms. Third and final story, Lulu Lemon just roll that gender neutral self-care products because it's becoming a lifestyle brand. And that lifestyle brand is basically sweat life, one compound word. Now, time for our snack fact of the day. This one, we're going to get right to it.

The most popular category to donate money to by philanthropic billionaires last year. Billionaires with a B was education. In fact, 61.7% of the world's billionaires spent on education. Money well spent, education, the silver bullet. So now a couple other key stories we're covering in our Snacks Daily newsletter. One is the Paris Air Show. This is a big deal. And every single, like, plane company out there had big news yesterday.

You got to keep an eye on that. and also Pinterest stock rows because an analyst said it's a different kind of social network. Snackers, that was a T-boy. Thanks for potting. Love having you guys on with us. Let's do this tomorrow. I'll see you that. I'll be wearing this. Everybody, this is Jack and I own Lulu Lemon Shares. The Robin Hood Snacks podcast you just heard reflects the opinions of only the hosts 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, 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.