The Best One Yet - 🍕 “Quitaly” — Domino’s pie-rish exit. Disney’s streaming kingdom. Planet Fitness’ value.

Episode Date: August 12, 2022

Disney just won the game of thrones — it passed Netflix in streaming subscribers. Domino’s made a bold bet to expand to Italy… but now it’s quietly exiting without telling anyone (pie-rish exit). And Planet Fitness’ earnings reveal that its favorite piece of equipment is the Price Pole — Because right now you’re sliding down it.$DIS $NFLX $DPZ $PLNTFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YoutubeWant a Shoutout on the pod? Fill out this formGot the Best Fact Yet? We got a form for that tooLearn 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. It's Friday, the real Friday. August 12th and today's pod is the best one. Yes. This is a T-boy. It's a T-boy. Jack and I finished recording yesterday's pod, we headed on down to phone brewery.

The dystopian dream girl? Yeah, it was great. Vermont has more pale ale per capita. That is the name of a beer. We should qualify that. Honestly, we have more breweries than any other landlock state. It has the highest hops-to-human ratio in the entire country, Jack. New England, we arrived.

Jack, what's our first story? Disney just won the Game of Thrones. Because Disney has officially more subscribers than Netflix. For our second story, Domino's pizza made a bold bet to expand to Italy. Well, Domino's just served up a bold slice of failure. We call it quiddily. We call it quidly. Our third and final story is Planet Fitness.

Their earnings just revealed their favorite piece of workout equipment. Here it is. Planet Fitness loves the pole of value. Trademark Nick and Jack Studios. We're very proud of that quiddley. whole of value. It's a great name. But Yetis, before we hit that fantastic mix, Jack, just the perfect mix to go into the weekend. For years, we've told you about the pamperification of pets. Yeah, we humans, we treat our dogs better than we treat our fellow humans. Your Cocker Spaniel sit shotgun. The kids, they're sitting in the back. They are. And adopt a Paloosa, Yetis,

adopta Paloosa only accelerated this trend. Now, typically, we've discussed this trend through the lens of pet food. Exactly, Jack. Like you eat a half-eaten burrito that's three days old from the back of your fridge. Meanwhile, Fido eats organic bison filet with a side of heirloom free-range tomatoes. And it's all organic. But Pandora jewelry gave us a new lens to look through this pamphification of pet trend. Jack and I notice Pandora jewelry just kick things up like nine notches. Pandora is selling the first jewelry collection we've ever seen for dogs. We're talking pendants and precious metals, but for your puppy. Because that's not a collar.

No. That's a necklace. Jack, that's not a poop bag. That's a velvet bag for your valuables. We are talking about earrings for your English house. I want a chotchky for that chihuahua. And here's the thing. Poodle parents are paying up.

Because there's no spending limit on blinging out your beagle. But honestly, does a creature that sniffs its own butt need like charm bracelets? I think you're asking too many questions, Jack. It's besides the point. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all of our buddies out there? Who have pets. This all comes back to puppy. Puppy.

People ultimately prioritize puppies. Yeah. Yeah. Let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. It's the best.

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. Or our first story, Disney just beat. Netflix. Disney is number one again.

Because if you give a kid a mouse, he'll ask for a glass of Disney. Someone's been reading to a toddler lately. Yeah. The Podson? The Podson. The Podson. Yet he's after a decade of being king. Netflix is giving back the entertainment crown to Disney.

Here's the news. Disney just announced that if you add up all the subscribers to Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Hulu, which it owns, you're going to get 221 million subscribers. 221 million global subscribers. Where does that rank? You're talking about the standings, the streaming standings? Disney is now number one. They have a million more subscribers than Netflix.

Yeti's Disney just snuck past the inventor of streaming. Netflix has been number one in streaming since forever. Ever. Until now. It's a symbolic victory in the streaming war. Disney Plus, yes. Should be Disney exclamation point. It should be.

Oh, and guess what, Basties? Here's the pixie dust on that big fat turkey leg of Disney news. Disney's jacking up prices. You're going to pay more for this record-setting streaming service. Disney Plus launched in November 2019 at the shockingly low price of only $7 a month.

That compares to Netflix's $15 a month. Well, in December, Disney Plus is going to now cost you $11 a month. That's a big price hike. It is a big high. But if that feels like too much, they're also introducing their first ever ad-supported Disney Plus

for $8 a month. But yet he's just like any fairy tale. There is more to this charming story. You can't compare Disney and Netflix subscribers. No. Because they're not apples to apples. Uh-uh. In fact, Jack and I jumped into the actual prices and you get a different story because Jack, Disney Plus,

it's kind of free. Yeah, we actually jumped into my credit card statement. We did. Because I don't pay for Disney Plus. No. I get it free with my Verizon subscription. Oh, and if you live over in the country of India, Disney Plus only costs a dollar and 20 cents a month. So the average Disney Plus subscriber doesn't pay that full price that we were just talking about.

No, the average Disney Plus subscriber doesn't pay that we were just talking about. No. the average Disney plus subscriber is only paying $4.35 a month. So Disney did just pass Netflix in terms of subscribers. Congratulations, you get the crown. But Netflix has way higher streaming revenue and Netflix has streaming profits unlike Disney. But Disney's going to tell you guys, think big pictures. I have a mouth-shaped popsicle and take a seat.

This is all part of our master plan. It's all part of Mickey's plan. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Disney? If you give a kid a mouse, he'll ask for a whole glass of Disney. That is, Disney offers Disney Plus at an absurdly low price. It does. To make your kid obsessed with Disney. It subsidizes Mickey Fandom because the end goal isn't Disney streaming only.

No. It's Disney World in real life. Which funny thing. What did we also just learn yesterday, Jack? Disney just had a record quarter for their theme parks. this, Yetis, Disney has 22 U.S. hotels and they were 90% full over the last quarter. Young millennial parents, my little brother included right at this very moment. Classic, hey, Teddy, enjoy.

Are loving the Disney experience with their family. And if you think record theme park attendance is something happening like across the United States, it'd actually be wrong. It's not. It's a Disney specific thing. It is. Six flags just announced a 22% decline in theme park ticket sales while Disney announced record theme park Disney sales.

Disney's differentiator is the Mickey Magic. Disney Plus is driving visits to the Magic Kingdom. Because if you give a kid a mouse, she'll ask for a glass of Disney. For our second story, Domino's has 29 pizzerias in Italy. They planned to expand to 900. But now, Domino's is retreating in defeat. Like the barbarians after being vanquished by Julius Caesar. Oh, take it from there.

I am Maximus Desmus Meridius. to a bankrupt pizza chain. Husband to an eaten pie. Yeah, these Dominoes. It's the number one pizzeria in America. They literally put Michigan on the map for pizza record sales rate. And I will get my calzone in this life or the next. You're going to get your calories when you get with Domino's.

That's what you're going to get. And finally, Domino's in 2015 made the holy pilgrimage to Italy. After 55 years and after entering 90 countries, Domino's decided to enter Italy for the first time. In 2015, they launched 20, stores over on the boot, and they planned an empire of 900 American Italian pizzerias. All right. Yeah, it is.

Jack and I know what you're thinking. The Romans, they don't like pineapple on their pie. Jack, you know, it would go great with this glass of Brunella, a slice of nacho pizza. With extra cheese with. The one obvious thing in this world is that Europeans generally don't like American versions of the thing that Europeans invented. Yeah, like everyone who's under 36 is vacationing on the Amalfi, right now with a glass of Prosecco, they don't want a barbecue pizza.

Sorry, Ricky Bobby. The Americans didn't invent pizza. But yet, here's what Jack and I find fascinating about this Domino's situation. Domino's actually had a very Italy-specific expansion strategy. They were going to enter Italy with empathy. It was all about empathy. Like Neapolitan pizza, that's the classic Italian pizza pie. Naples is the home of pizza. Naples' bakers invented pizza.

Like, that's what they did. So Domino's actually went back to basics and recreated like Neapolitan pizza. They were going to emulate Italy's most fundamental, most famous pie. Domino's was going to enter Italy with deference and respect. Yeah, they weren't going to put Wisconsin cheddar on these things. No. They were only going to use Tuscan mozzarella. They were not going to do New Jersey tomatoes.

They were going to do some San Marzano. So Domino's localized the product. Yes. Their plan was to use service as a differentiator. Because here's the funny thing, Yeties. as I and others notice studying abroad in Florence, you know you got a walk to get your own pizza. Yeah. They don't do much delivery.

Italy doesn't do delivery. It's just not something they historically do. Yeah, local Luigi's Pizzeria is like, you're going to come to us for that margarita pie. So Domino's was going to make Italian-style pizza. That wasn't going to be any different. No. The difference was going to be the only place that delivers. Which leads to the shocking but not shocking, but shocking news.

Domino's is quietly closing all 29 Italian locations. If you go to the Domino's website, all the Italian locations have been wiped from the Domino's map. They didn't announce it. No. But Domino's is doing Quiddly. Or they're doing Torto Levy. It's a Pirish exit. It's a Pirish exit.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Domino's? Delivery isn't a differentiator. Delivery is simply a difference. Yet these, Domino's actually revealed the reason for its Italy failure on a recent call. They said local pizzerias caught up with Dominoes. The Domino's executive said they saw significantly increased competition from mom and pop shops in Italy, and they called it unprecedented competition. Because when the pandemic hit, local pizzerias added delivery to neutralizing Domino's key

differentiator. And looking back, Domino's Italy plans seem destined to fail. But not because of culture. Delivery, which Domino's pinned their hopes on. They did. Is a fundamentally flimsy differentiator because the competition can simply add delivery. Yeah, during the pandemic, every local Luigi Pizzeria signs up his pizza spot with any delivery app. Boom, that's simple.

Uber, Just Eat Takeaway, DoorDash, boom, boom, boom. Domino's pinned its success in Italy on delivery. That was the only differentiator. But the quickness that mom and pop Italian pizzeria's added delivery shows that delivery is not a differentiator. Delivery is simply a difference. And now worried about our sponsor, Robin Hood. We see ads all the time. All over the place, $10 off this $5 promo code for that, Jack.

You can buy three suits. You can get one free. But something we always thought was cool about Robin Hood, the free stock promo. Yeah, this was wild. The promo isn't like some X amount of dollars. It's one stock. If you signed up for Robin Hood, they'd thank you with a single share in a publicly traded company on the house.

And that free stock promo, it actually helped drive Robin Hood's growth and got new users in the stock market right away. One of the most creative moves in promotional history. So when Robin Hood became our sponsor, naturally, Jack and I said, we got to do the free stock giveaway. If you're not on Robin Hood yet, you want to get started, go to robin hood.com slash t-boy and get cash to select your free stock. That's Robinhood.com slash TBOY. Certain limitations apply. All investments involve risk.

Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, Robin Hood is no longer affiliated with us or the podcast. For our third and final story before the weekend, Jack, buys or tries? Both. I was going to say calves. Third and final story, 15% of America's teens are working out at Planet Fitness. Planet Fitness isn't low price. No, it's high value. And there's a difference.

You want to tell me what you did? Do you want to admit it on the pod? This is the only company. Are you going to admit it on the pod? When I got to your house, what you did? Did you put extra weights on your squat rack to make it look like you're squatting more than you actually are? Whenever I have guests, I put all the weights on the barbed out.

I got to Jack's house. basement and what I see is like 4,000 pounds on either side. 1001. 1002. Jack like got his neighbors to put weight on the barbells. Yadis, let's transition back to the story. Yeah, we can. This is the only company we remember covering that's based in New Hampshire.

Yeah. This is $7 billion worth of living free or dying. We're talking about planet fitness, a company that was miserable at the start of the pandemic. They suffered five straight quarters of sales shrinkage as people avoided the mouth breathers spitting out germs on the treadmill. But Jack, what's been going on for the five straight quarters since? Planet Fitness is here to pump you up. A leg day all day. They just boasted 63% revenue jump in the second quarter. 16.5 million people are sweating in Planet Fitness's 2,000 gyms. And our favorite part, Planet Fitness loves serving underage minors. It turns out

3.3 million U.S. teens are Planet Fitness members. Planet Fitness says nearly 15% of all high school age teens in the U.S. are Planet Fitness members. So yet, he's Jack and I cranked up some Metallica and jumped into these earnings, T-Boy style. And the first sentence honestly told us everything we needed to know. It was very New Hampshire of them. It was. Planet Fitness described itself in its first sentence as our high quality affordable fitness experience. That's how Planet Fitness is positioning itself in this inflation economy. First of all, us Americans were sick of squatting in our basement. Yeah. So for Beach Body Ben and Waste Wary Willie, it's time to get out. and seeing people lift with them in real life.

But interestingly, not once does Planet Fitness earnings mention the word price. Not once did Planet Fitness mention their $10 a month lowest industry price point. Instead of talking about their low price, Planet Fitness keeps repeating the same word instead. They say value. Get this, Planet Fitness, mention that word value 10 times in their earnings report. Price zero. In this high inflation economy, they stress the high value of their product. Right.

Not the low price. Key distinction. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Planet Fitness? The most popular workout these days is sliding down the price pole. That is the price pole. It's not a piece of bulky Planet Fitness gym equipment. No. Picture a fireman sliding down a pole at a fire station, but from high prices down to low prices.

Well, the way Jack and I see it, American consumers are sliding down the price pole as our wallets get pinched. We're still buying stuff because we have to, but we're sliding down the pole to the lower priced options. Like sliding down the price pole from an Equinox membership to a Planet Fitness one. Yes, inflation did pause last month, but Americans are still stretched thin. So companies like Planet Fitness are waiting at the bottom of that price poll just waiting to catch us on the way down. Trustfall. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday. Disney has more streaming subscribers than the inventor of streaming. Because when you give a kid a mouse, he'll ask for a glass of Disney. Our second story is Domino's just pulled a pyrish exit over in

Italy. Delivery isn't a differentiator. It's simply a difference. Our third and final story is planet fitness. They're really growing fast and huge, especially with high school teams. Because wallet-punched Americans are sliding down the price pull. Trust fall. Now time for the best fact yet. This one in by Allison Kennedy from lovely Dallas, Texas. Allison discovered this fact when she was slamming some salmon over at the sushi bar. Wasabi, we've all had it with sushi. It comes actually from a spicy green vegetable. But get this, 95% of the wasabi that comes with American sushi isn't wasabi at all. No, that wasabi you've been eating is actually just horseradish with green dye.

Reminds us of imitation crab. It does. It hits a little too close to home. 95% of the spicy sushi wasabi in the U.S. is imitation wasabi. We should ask the server if it's actually wasabi and they probably don't know the answer. The real question here is who's got the 5% that's real wasabi? And what does wasabi even taste like? And maybe that's what we had at that nude barn yesterday. Yeties, you looked fantastic all week.

And if you want to see Jack and I be the only guys not driving a Subaru in Vermont right now, they're the only ones. Follow us at T-Boy Pot on Instagram. We do have all-wheel drive. We've ripped up some good stuff today, actually. Have a fantastic weekend. We'll see you Monday. And before we go, happy birthday and happy bachelorette party recovery weekend to Emily Brinkman over in Boston.

And happy birthday and bachelorette to Laura Ponchick as well. Oh, and Kate Hent just passed her CPAs. Congrats to Adam Geekbrock for running a 5K up in Minnesota. And Rachel the Mango Anderson is defending her economics PhD over at Princeton. Defend it well. And congrats to Bonnie and Stephen who are getting married this weekend in San Diego. Nick and I will be toasting an apparel. Sprints just for you.

And a happy 22nd birthday to Mia Spire over in lovely Los Angeles. Happy birthday to Michael Hope in Keller, Texas. And Ronnie Torres turned 27 in Azoosa, California. And happy 27th birthday to Mara Chabin in El Segunda, California. And Stephanie Williams, enjoy that 24th in Elmer, New Jersey. And happy birthday to Ramya Ravi Chardon in Jacksonville, Florida. And you know, happy birthday on Strong Island, get some east side pockets, too.

And happy fourth birthday to Diego Lester in Washington. And a happy fourth birthday also to Camilla Lester in Washington. Twin siblings. I wish I had one. And Andy and Ken Hay, happy birthday to you both, a father and son with the same birthday. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.

This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Netflix, and we both own stock of Robin Hood. And now word from our sponsor, The first time we swiped up to buy a stock on Robin Hood, whoa. Yeah, Jack, you get like that. Like a little vibration, boom, you've done a trade. It wasn't just an incredible app.

Robin Hood added incredible resources too. It started with the Help Center. Everyone has that. Then came Robin Hood snacks, digestible financial news. Then came the news feed, providing free third-party news from trusted sources. And then came Robin Hood learned. A huge trove of articles explaining what the heck in ETF is. Yeah, spoiler.

It's like a stock smoothie. Jack and I actually wrote the article in that one. If you're not on Robin Hood yet, want to get started, go to robinode.com slash t-boy and choose a free stock. That's Robinhood.com slash T-B-O-Y. Certain limitations apply. All investments involve risk. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC. And by the way, Robin Hood is no longer affiliated with us or the podcast. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.