The Best One Yet - 🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

TBOY Live Show Tickets to Chicago on sale NOW: https://www.axs.com/events/949346/the-best-one-yet-podcast-ticketsStocks surged 3% on a Mega Monday of Trump news… Airplanes, tariff pauses, prescriptions, & parties.Vineyard Vines passed $500M in revenue… because “men stick to the fit, women chase the hit.”Dunkin Donuts got a JetBlue Airplane… it’s a flying billboard from Boston’s hometown heros.Plus, is the next surprise Recession Indicator actually… Katy Perry?$JBLU $SPY $RLAbout Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, TBOY Lite is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Our 2nd show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, Tea Boy, Tuesday, May 13th. And today's pot is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, I am looking at a relief rally right here. Stocks are popping to start the week like nobody's business. The S&P 500 jumped 3% yesterday. It was an ocean of green. Toy stocks are popping. Toy stocks are surge. Honestly, you can get more than two dolls this Christmas. I know. It's a major reset. in the trade war. And the reason is the first of our three stories. Jack, what are today's three stories for the T-boy? For our first story, it's Mega Monday. Starting at

3 a.m. on Monday, we got a barrage of business headlines from the White House. And Jack and I will explain all of it using planes, prescriptions, and parties. For our second story, your preppy college formal is calling because Vineyard Vineyard Vine's just got its co-founders back. Their first

moved back at the helm, Vineyard Vine's Vacation Resort? I'm interested. And our third and final story, Duncan Donuts has its own jet blue airplane. That's right. Dahlene is flying direct. Duncan's jet blue airplane is the perfect example of the hometown special. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories. No one else is doing that mix today, Jack. Love the mix. For the past few months, we've been tracking some recession indicators for you. Yeah, recession indicators like Botox, Hairdye, Frozen Pizza, Men's Boxers, Men's Boxers, Men's briefs, man's panties? No, I think we have.

No, we're not tracking that, Nick. But the wildest alternative indicator of a recession, it's Katie Perry. Baby, you're a firework. Yeah, that Katie Perry. Because when was Katie Perry's first concert tour ever, Nick? Jack, that would be the Hello Katie tour back in 2009. And right after tickets went on sale in the fall of 2008, we got a financial crisis and a great recession began.

Yeah, in fact, between her tickets going on sales. and Katie Perry's first concert, stocks dropped 30%. Fast forward to today, and Katie Perry just had her biggest month since then. Katie Perry just flew to space. Katie Perry just released a new album. And this month, uh-oh, Katie Perry started a concert tour. That's right. The ticket drop actually lines up exactly with the beginning of the trade war. The day she launched tickets, stock market's plummet.

It's, you're telling my 401k! It's like Katie Perry's teenage dream was an economic drop. Baby, you're a firework. Because you make the stock market blow up. But yet, it's not just Katie Perry going on tour that reminds us of 2008. Lady Gaga just played Coachella. And Miley Cyrus just dropped an album too. Remember Usher?

He released Love in this club back in 2008. And he's back. He did the Super Bowl halftime show last year. So best, he's out it all up. And Katie Perry once said, you're going to hear me roar. But earmuffs, if there's any stockbrokers listening. Honey, you're going to have to turn down the Katie Perry. Our portfolio needs it.

Jack, let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. 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. For our first story, yesterday was Mega Monday. Here, Yetis, is your synopsis about President Trump's last 24 hours that definitely moved your portfolio. Plains, prescriptions, tariff pauses, and Middle East parties. Here's what you need to know about all of them in five minutes.

Now, besties, this story really begins yesterday at 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Jack, what happened then? At that time on Monday very early morning, the Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, a 90-day trade war ceasefire with China. All right, ceasefire. I like those two words. Jack, get you sprinkle on more context, please. Tariffs between the U.S. and China were so high going into it

that we had an effective trade embargo for a full month. Like, no joke. Ships stopped coming across the ocean to the U.S. from China. They were just in port, not going anywhere. But that is not the case anymore. Because the U.S. is dropping tariffs on China-made goods to 30 percent, and China is dropping tariffs on U.S. made goods to 10%. 10%. Add it all up, and this is being described as a total reset for these epic trade talks.

From 145% to 30%, huge de-escalation between the world's two biggest economies. Now, yet he's Jack and I jumped in T-Boy's style, and we believe this tells us two big things. First, it tells us that the U.S. and China are talking again. Both sides are seeking a deal. Both sides are working to come to an agreement. Second, it tells us that Scott Besson, the Treasury Secretary, not Domestic. Trump appears to be leading those trade talks. And Wall Street seems to be thrilled by that development. Now, yeties, we should point out that the U.S. hasn't won concessions yet from Beijing. But stocks rose 3.3% yesterday on hopes that our Treasury Secretary can lead us to a more fair status quo with the

Chinese. As you know, Jack is a musical guy. So Jack, I know what you're thinking about this, right? We've said Treasury Secretary three times already in this story. Not since Alexander Hamilton has the Treasury Secretary of the U.S. has been this important. Scott Besson, not going to give up his one shot. But, Steve, pause the pod for a moment. That was just the top headline. Three other stories blew up our phones with notifications. First, Cotter, or Cotter, because we've heard it pronounced both ways for the record.

I think it's Cudder. I've been to the region plenty of times. I hear both pronunciations. Well, Cotter is trying to gift President Trump a 747 jumbo jet as the temporary Air Force one. Now, when Nick and I worked in finance, we couldn't legally accept any gifts worth over $100. This airplane's worth $400 million. Yeah, we did the math on it. It's actually worth 100 times more than the Statue of Liberty adjusted for inflation.

Wow. Yeah. Either way, this cutter offer to give President Trump a 747, it makes Boeing look bad, that's for sure. Yeah, because Boeing, which makes the Air Force One, hasn't updated the plane since 1990, and their new version isn't coming out until 2027. It's just very delayed. Okay, so the second huge announcement we got yesterday was that Trump had an executive order

that totally rocks the pharmaceutical industry. He announced a 30-day deadline for pharma companies to lower prices for prescription drugs. If they don't lower the price on like thytastrosol, then Trump threatened to use presidential powers to force prices down as much as 80%. So now, RFK Jr. is in talks with the pharma companies trying to get Americans the same price for drugs as the rest of the world gets.

Now, add all of this up, Yetis, and we've talked planes, we've talked prescriptions, we've talked China, tariff pause. Jack, I'm pretty sure there's only one topic left that begins with P. Parties? Parties. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching the markets? Trump's first foreign trip has a fundraising goal. One trillion dollars. One trillion dollars.

Yeties. President Trump's first foreign trip in his... first administration was to Saudi Arabia. And that was supposed to be the case for his second administration, too, until the Pope died and he went to the Vatican. Now, Trump arrives today in Saudi Arabia, and he'll visit Qatar and the UAE as well this week. His reported goal is to bring home one trillion dollars worth of deals and investment pledges. You know what? We're looking at the situation. Honestly, President Trump and these rich Middle East oil nations, they are a match made in geopolitical Tinder. They go perfect together. Oh, it's lovely. Because Trump wants foreign investment into the United

States. And Middle East kingdoms, led by Saudi Arabia, won opportunities to diversify away from oil. Barack Obama pivoted to Asia. Joe Biden embraced NATO. Well, Donald Trump is making money in the Middle East. Yeti's presidential trips are a signal. And Trump's first foreign trip has a fundraising goal. One trillion dollars. For our second story, Vineyard, Vineyard, Vine's is back, baby. The co-founding brothers are returning to run the business. And that's big, because Vineyard Vineyard Vines hasn't even started the lifestyle life cycle. Yeties, there's a little thing Jack and I learned in finance we should share with you. Every time a Vineyard Vineyard's tie is bought, an analyst gets his wins. Yeah, because it's the unofficial dress code of the Morgan Stanley internship. Yeah, although it's the

official dress code of formal night over at the La Crosse Sig SIG-E App House. I think that's literally true. Yeah, no Vineyard Vines, no punch. Because there's no brand that is more prep than Vineyard Vines. Vineyard Vines looks like Jay Crewe went to an Ivy League boarding school on the coast of Cape Cod. When I arrived at college, I almost drowned in Vineyard Vines silk. Full disclosure, because I had six of them, and I insisted on wearing them when I was with you. I borrowed like three of your ties over the years for formal dances. But Bessies, Jack and I should point out, Vineyard Vines is not just some pastel punchline. We actually think Vineyard Vines was an early disruptor in fashion. And one of the best run fashion businesses. Because it was founded in 1998 by two

brothers, Shepinian, who had jobs in New York City in finance that they did not like. They'd never wanted to wear ties again, although ironically, they launched a tie company. And the first drop they did on Martha's Vineyard, they sold 800 ties in one single day. Yeah, it was like 40 grand of ties in a single day. And Jack, what was the real disruption here exactly? These two CE bros, we can actually call them that because they're brothers. They noticed that all the ties in the finance scene were the same color, same patterns, and same conservative look overall. So Vineyard Vines was the first to introduce pink or hot dogs or Flamengo designs on the ties. Basically any symbol that represents not being at work, that might be on a tie from Vineyard Vines. The key was the lack of symmetry. These were

asymmetrical designs. And today, they bring in $500 million a year in clothing sales, and they're probably valued over a billion dollars, although we don't know for sure, because it's a lot of $1 million. Because It's private. Add it all up, Vineyard Vines, they are a unicorn whale. Their logo is a pink whale. But here's the news. After stepping down a few years ago, the bros are back, baby. Those two founding brothers are returning as co-CEOs. Shep and Ian are Boomerang CEOs at Vineyard Vines. Yeah, boomerang CEOs, at Bumble and Bob Iger at Disney. Boomerang CEOs, they return back to the company. But here's what Jack and I found fascinating about the story. Vinders is 27 years old. Yeah. Which is past middle age when it comes to the fashion industry.

And yet, Vineyard Vineyard Vines' business is wildly stable and consistent. First of all, those two founders still own 100% of the business. They didn't sell a single thread to private equity. Or Jack, how about their store growth? That's been consistent. Five stores a year, and they're now up to 126 of them. $500 million a year in revenue is impressive, by the way. It is. Let's bring on some context. That's twice as much as Allbirds.

It's the same as ditch fix, and it's half as much as skims. Now, Bessies, the reason Jack and I think Vineyard Vines is such a consistent business is because of males. Men, men, males, dudes, guys. Men literally shopped differently than women, according to the CEO. You see, men buy and commit to a brand that works for them for years. Women tend to switch it up. Yeah, what we're saying is that men stick to the fit. Women chase the hit. And nearly 70% of Vineyard Vineyard Vineyard Cucs are men.

So basically, your boyfriend finds Vineyard Vineyard Cackies that fit well. and then he wears him for the next two decades. Yeah, Jack, I've always been trying to find, like, a fleece for San Francisco weather for like six years. It's like her Eldorado. We've got, like, a fleece graveyard in the closet of every fleece she's tried. Meanwhile, you have your outdoor voices pullover that you've had for like 15 years. Still loyal.

Still loyal. But here's our big question. Is Vineyard Vineyard Vine's too stable? Yeah. Has it missed out on growth opportunities by not expanding more? Jack and I think we've got the answer. And it's our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Vineyard Vines?

There's a life cycle of lifestyle brands. Uh, Yeti's spoiler. On our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet, Jack and I are going to publish an episode next month on Tommy Bahama. And Sir Bahama is the perfect case study in the evolution of a lifestyle brand. Because Tommy Bahama started with clothing, but then expanded to restaurants and then furniture and then hotels and resorts. It was able to expand to all those verticals because top of,

Miami is a lifestyle brand. Right. The lifestyle is vacation by the beach. Now, Ralph Lauren, they've done this same thing too, the same evolution. Started with clothes, then bars, then coffee, now hotels. So it feels like Vineyard Vineyard Vines impressively owns one particular lifestyle. Preppy New England coastal chic lifestyle. But maybe Vineyard Vines hasn't completely capitalized on that lifestyle like its lifestyle peers have. How does Vineyard Vines not have a resort on Nantucket yet? Jack, how does Vineyard Vines not have an oyster shucking bar down to in Charleston yet. We think that's the challenge of the new and old co-CEOs. Because ultimately, there is a life cycle to a lifestyle brand. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and

final story, Duncan Donuts, their brand has taken over an entire jet blue airplane. This is a flying billboard. Because the most overlooked strategy and collaborations is the hometown hookup. Oh, Yeties. Pour out. your diet coke in a plastic cup for JetBlue. It's been hard for JetBlue lately, right, Jack? Their merger with Spirit Airlines got blocked. They missed out on the post-pandemic international travel craze, and their stock is down 95% from their all-time high. That's right. JetBlue stock is trading at four bucks a share, so JetBlue is trying to turn around their life the same way we humans do. Reach for a cup of coffee. Here's the news. JetBlue has turned an entire airplane

into a Duncan ad. I wish you could see a picture of this, but it's an entire Airbus A320 airplane painted with Dunkin' Donuts branding. 100% Dunkin branding. Like JetBlue, they're not getting a government bailout right now. Instead, they're getting a Duncan cold brew, apparently. Now, we should point out,

JetBlue has a tradition of promoting causes by painting one of their airplanes with branding of that cause. They've done NYPD branding, Boston Bruins branding, the nation of Puerto Rico. So each of those got a JetBlue airplane at some point. But now JetBlue is going full corporate billboard. It appears Duncan's paying for this.

It's even going to name the plane, brewing altitude, like a Duncanette. I think the FAA, like, Flight Control Center is calling it brewing altitude, is approaching, like, runway AB. Yeah. This is an Airbus A320 airplane with zero blue on it. It is just orange, pink, and brown with a huge donut on the tail. Seriously. Yeah. Now, the key here is that Duncan Donuts is based in Boston.

And Jeff Blue is the biggest airline carrier in Boston. So, add it all up, and this is basically an all-New England deal. Ben Affleck's not flying private anymore when he hears about this. One sec. Hey, Dahlene, where are we flying? At an iced coolada 30,000 feet, son. That's pretty good. You clearly married someone from Boston.

It stuck the land in on that. But yet he's, here's what Jack and I find fascinating. As we have told you before, where there are eyeballs, there will be ads. Last year, we told you that United Airlines was pioneering targeted ads on their airplanes. That's right. United knows that a 42-year-old father from Florida is sitting in seat 34B. So what is United going to do, Jack? Show them ads for a 12-pack of titleist golf balls. Yeah, they're going to start targeting your screen with ads just like Instagram or Facebook would. So airlines have already dipped their toes in the advertising business. But now JetBlue, they're flying an airplane right through the whole industry. JetBlue is going even bigger on this, but also kind of going backwards, right, Jack?

A 100-foot-long billboard that flies at 30,000 feet and can fly 500 miles per hour. Technically, this JetBlue Dunkin Airplane is the biggest flying ad since the Goodyear blimp. Yeah. But Jack and I got to ask, is this a slippery slope? Is JetBlue opening Pandora's advertising box? Yes. In 10 years, we bet you JFK's tarmacs are going to look like Times Square. Every plane is going to be painted with a corporate ad.

I could see this, Jack. I mean, we were talking about it before the show. Like, does Delta really need every 767 in their fleet to look the exact, exact same? It's nice to have a uniform fleet. It is. But Delta's going to cave at some point when Starbucks offers them 100 grand. Oh. To paint a green.

A quarter million bucks to make this look like a Frappuccino? I think our painters can make that happen. Sports is doing it. Airlines will, too. There's going to be ads everywhere. Yeah, and JetBlue, the next time they give us their earnings report is probably going to have a new line item in the income statement. Ticket sales, check bag fees, advertising. Yeah.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at JetBlue and Duncan? When it comes to Collabs, start with the hometown heroes. Yet is the top marketing trend right now, it's Collabs. Two brands hook up for a mutually beneficial combo product. The risk of a collab is that it looks like a marketing gimmick and that customers roll their eyes. So, one overlooked strategy, we think, for avoiding collab blowback is to partner with another hometown hero. Focusing on one region may feel niche, but it actually drives higher enthusiasm from everyone.

After all, branding is driven by love beyond reason, and so is a person's passion for their home. So socially, that's called hometown pride. In business, we call that the hometown premium. So with Duncan and JetBlue, Boston Flyers will love it. People from the Midwest will tolerate it, and us New Yorkers will just ignore it, like we do everything out of Boston. Nice. But still, this Bostonian Duncan JetBlue collab

unlocks a whole lot of hometown premium. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Tea Boy Tuesday? President Trump moved markets with the tariff pause, a plane, pharmaceuticals, and a Middle East party. President Trump and the rich Middle East oil nations, a match made on geopolitical Tinder. For our second story,

Vineyard Vines is getting their two co-founding brothers back. Next, they should launch a restaurant. Just look at Tommy Bahama. Lifestyle brands follow a life cycle. And men stick to the fit. Women chase the head. And finally, Duncan Donuts has taken over one jet blue airplane completely. It's a flying billboard, because when it comes to collabs, start with the hometown heroes. But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, shares in Coinbase jumped after hours on Word. They are joining the S&P 500 index. It's a big milestone for the number one crypto exchange. It means the finance just got validated by the most prestigious club in finance, who they're trying to disrupt.

Coinbase is now officially one of the top 500 stocks in America. And second, since Pope Leo chose his Pope name, we're expected to see a baby bump in Leo's out there. Nick, Leo actually began trending after the year 2000 because of Leonardo DiCaprio. Hey, I still don't see Titanic, but I trust it. Today, Leo is 20. 20 times more popular than it was in the year 2000, thanks to Leo and Titanic. Although we should point out, Jack, we may have hit peak Leo last week.

Not only is the Pope named Leo. Yeah, he's the 14th Pope named Leo. Maybe he'll spell it differently. Maybe throw like a silent H in there. He's not spelled it differently, Nick. And finally, the partner of Elizabeth Holmes has launched a new startup in, guess the sector, blood testing.

No joke. His name's Billy Evans. He has two children with the confidence. fraud, Elizabeth Holmes, and he's trying to raise money for a blood startup. I mean, what blood type is he, Jack? Like, be positive? As in be positively sure you're not defrauding investors. Move fast and break laws. It's on slide three. Now time for the best fact yet. This one's sent in by our buddy Rachel, our cycling buddy Rachel, because it happens to be National Bike to Work Week.

I wish so badly I could bike to work today. I know. I'm sorry. But I just don't have a good biking situation. I'd have to drive on a road that's like 40 miles per hour. We can't lose you, Jack. We've got to have you for the pod tomorrow. But we should point out, Yeti's for National Bike Week, there are actually more bikes on planet Earth than there are cars. That's right.

There's two billion bicycles, one and a half billion cars. And what's really the capital of biking in the world, Jack? You could guess this one, I bet. Yeah, it's Doss. It's the Dutch. It's the Netherlands. That's right. In the Netherlands, they have an average of 1.3 bikes per a human being. the highest bike per capita ratio in the world.

A typical house of three people in the Netherlands has four bikes. Yeah, I remember you're actually a wonderful biker. I should point, I mean, because I can't bike very well. You basically taught me how to bike and had a throw football. And I gave you Vindred Vines ties. Yettys, you look fantastic for T-boy Tuesday. If you haven't yet snag tickets to our Chicago live show, we got a link in this episode description.

And then, hey, tell your buddies today, H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. Have you had the best one yet? Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. That's how we grow the show, if you know. And before we go, a happy birthday. Tieti, A.J. Richardson, turning 37 years old in Norfolk, Virginia. Love the Power Rangers, and he thinks we should do one for the best idea yet. I agree.

It's confirmed. That is a good idea. Happy birthday to Jamie Cohen from San Diego, who is either walking the dogs, at the gym, probably listening to this pod for either one of them. And a happy 10th birthday to Daniel Ramirez down in San Jose, Costa Rica, who is celebrating the best birthday yet. And a big shout-out to Karen Schneider of Waymouth, Massachusetts. Just outside Boston. Karen is officially a professional photographer. And if you want to get a shout-out for yourself or a buddy on this show, we've got a link in the episode description, fill out the form, and we'll make it happen.

This is Jack. Island Stock and Bumble and Disney, and Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500.