The Best One Yet - 🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.

Episode Date: March 10, 2025

The #3 retailer in the world? It’s TJMaxx… because TJ is tariff-proof.The South By Southwest tech-tainment is this week… because the conference biz is booming.Ryan Reynolds’ investment in one crappy soccer club… just got a 4,900% return.Plus, one Jurassic Park startup just invented a new species… The Woolly Mouse.$TJX $HESAY $LVMUYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Susper Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, March 10th. 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. Stocks just had their worst weekend monks, but Jack and I are wearing the same outfit today.

Unplanned. I wish it was planned. You look fantastic. I think I look fantastic, too. Yeti is three toys for today's show. Jack, what are we got on the T-boy? For our first story, get this. The number three clothing company in the world is actually T.J. Matt.

T.J. Max. T.J. is at an all-time high because their business model is tariff proof. For our second story, the South by Southwest Festival is this week. So we looked at the business of Southby. And that business involves Johnny Cash, the handsome brothers, and the first ever tweet. And our third and final story. Ryan Reynolds invested in one underdog Welsh football club, and that investment has paid off. Oh, our XMASC just got a 4,900 percent. Return. And they're almost in the primary league. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories love the mix today, Jack. A new animal has been invented by mankind. And it's the biggest breakthrough in genetic engineering since the seedless watermelon.

The new animal that is now alive and well is a woolly mouse. A woolly mouse. It is one part little mouse, one part woolly mammoth. It's like mini mouse and Dumbo the elephant out of baby. Jack, could you please sprinkle on some contacts to that fantastic visual? We've told you about colossal, which is a genetic engineering startup. We've covered it a couple times on the pod. Colossal, they're trying to bring back the woolly mammoth naturally. Their business model is basically the plot of Jurassic Park. Yeah, like an animal's extinct. They want to resurrect it using DNA found in fossils because life finds a way.

Well, their first animal is the woolly mammoth. Good choice. But, Jack, to get to the first step to reach that woolly mammoth, what do they do? They have to see if the woolly mammoth gene can survive in a mouse. Well, spoiler, it can. The moly mouse is alive and it is well and it is woolly right now. You got to see a picture of this. It looks like a regular mouse, except with a lot more hair and a lot more weight.

Did we mention it's woolly? Yeah, we mentioned the hair. Now, ironically, adding DNA of an extinct animal to a non-extinct animal, that's the plot of Jurassic Park, too. Paging Dr. Grant. But instead of a vicious genetically monosophobic, Dinosaur. They made a precious genetically modified mouse.

It feels like the Woolly Mouse should get their own Disney movie, by the way. I mean, Jack, I'm looking at this thing. It's cuter than Baby Yoda. I want one. Let's just leave it at that, Jack. Hey, Klausel, we found your new business model. Woolly Mice, pets. Let's make it happen, Jack.

Let's sit on three stories. Fifteen years before this song. Two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause 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 T-Boy City on your at list If you know 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 TJ Max, their stock Just hit a fresh new All-time high Because TJ Max is tariff proof This discount retailer is more valuable

than Nike And it's almost as big as Aramaise. True story. And we'll tell you why. But before we tell you why, I got to share something. I just got to let the Yetis know about this, Jack. You know, when we walked into our freshman year dorm room, I opened the door and I almost choked in my phanta. Why? Because I saw you wearing a $20 bright red T.J. Max polo shirt, Jack. Well, it was a polo shirt that I bought a T.J. Max. Fair point. For only 20 bucks. But Jack, if you had bought stock in T. T.J. Max, instead of buying that $20 K-TOP, what kind of money would you have right now?

It'd be up 25x. True story. That's right. 20 bucks of T.J. Max stock from 2009 is worth $500 today. Yeties, T.J. Max, the apparel retailer, is a $130 billion company. That's like 20 lifts. It's more valuable than Nike, which I find wild. In fact, T.J. Max has only two clothing companies in the world that are worth more.

And who is it, Jack? Hermase and LVMH, which means frame. Ham, Massachusetts looks like Paris, France. Not possible. Forget Birkenbags. Get me a dirty T.J. Max tote bag. Make it too. Because yet he's unlike luxury goods, bargain clothing is not a cyclical industry.

There is always a demand for cheap clothing. Case and point after the 08 financial crisis, consumers flocked to T.J. Max. During the pandemic, same. And during the recent inflation situation, T.J. Max added more Maxineistas than ever. That's why T.J. Max's sales. today are nearly triple what they were in 2010. And you know what? Their best days could be right now. Sit down, stand up, and put us on the sale rack. Because T.J. Max is about to become America's back-to-back trade war champion. And we will explain, Jack, let's open up your closet and whip out that

$20 red polo shirt. The shirt sleeves, they're so tight. They make you look huge. Now you're just talking about your biceps. But yet, he's that $20 cute top that Jack bought, it was actually made in China. But unlike with Ralph Lauren or Nike or The Gap, T.J. Max is not vulnerable to made-in-China tariffs right now. That's the key, and here's why. Because T.J. Max fills its stores with extra inventory that other retailers were not able to sell. If a Ralph Lauren polo shirt is made in China, Ralph Lauren has to pay a tariff when it arrives in the United States. And then T.J. Max buys that polo shirt from Ralph Lauren if Ralph can't sell it as his own stores. But they don't pay a tariff because they just pay. bought it directly from Ralph Lauren.

Ipsifacto, T.J. Max's business model is tariff-proofed. It's one of the rare companies with trade war immunity, and yet they still benefit from the low prices of made-in-China stuff. It's like they got trade-war white blood cells over there. It is. And during the first trade war, back in 2018, T.J. Max was a safe haven for low-priced made-in-China clothing. Well, during trade war, too, right now, it's looking the same for T.J. Max.

In this economy, its discount deals look even more. like deals. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in aisle six at TJ Max? T.J. Max's competitive advantage isn't low prices. It's their army of 1,300 buyers. Yeties, even though they priced their t-shirts for five bucks, T-J. Max made $5 billion in profit last year. You'd think someone would come in, offer t-shirts for four bucks, and make a $4 billion profit. You'd think that, but it's not that easy. Like, T.J. Max can only offer such low prices because of their huge buyer network. T.J. Max's parent company, TJX, has 1,300 people across four continents in 12 countries

who find the discount clothing that eventually gets into the stores. Basically, T.J. employs 1,300 treasure hunters who are at secret sauce for deal discovery. These 1,300 people have decades-old relationships with apparel companies who trust them. They trust them to handle overstock inventory without damaging their brands. Like if Ralph Lauren bought a thousand too many polo shirts, Ralphie's first call is to his representative at TJ Max. That's T.J.'s advantage. Another chain can't just say,

we'll offer a lower price than T.J. Max. Because how are you going to offer a lower price? That's the real secret to T.J. Max's discount advantage. An army of 1,300 bargain buyers. For our second story, South by Southwest, the biggest tech media entertainment event of the year, is this week in Austin, Texas. We dove into the business of Southby.

We did. Because there's an economic explosion happening in Austin right now. Yeha! But first, Jack, a billionaire makes an indie film about his blockchain startup at a burrito restaurant.

And he's wearing cowboy boots, right? Where did that happen, Jack? South by Southwest. Yeah, it happened at South by. South by Southwest, the tech music entertainment event. It's basically Coachella for people who don't do Coachella.

Come for the hot takes from thought leaders, stay for the LinkedIn connections. Rumor has it, that Sachinadella still wears his lanyard from 2015 every day in the shower. And we just call it Southby because the whole name is too long, right? If you say the whole name, Jack, you can't sit at the cool table, man. The drama at Southby this year is in self-driving cars. It is.

Because Waymo just launched the robotaxy business in Austin, while Rivian is sponsoring the conference, all in Tesla's new home city. But few attendees know the real history of South by Southwest or the business of South by Southwest. Because South Buy actually existed pre-millennial, and it used to have nothing to do with tech. Back in 1987, before Jack and I were born, it was a music festival. Johnny Cash actually rebooted his career with a concert at South by Southwest in Austin.

And it wasn't just Johnny Cash. The three Hanson brothers, they did Mbop and debuted at Southby. John Mayer signed his first record deal at Southby. And all in all, there was no technology involved in the first decade of South by Southwest. By 2014, South By was the large. music festival in the world, with 2,000 performances happening across this music-crazed city. It's about 20 times more than Lollapalooza. But the business of South by Southwest, which is a for-profit company, by the way, good point, Jack.

Blew up in the 2000s because they embraced technology. Get this. Back in 2007, Twitter actually launched at Southby. Pretty wild. But the Twitter origin happened at a booth in the Austin South by Southwest conference. And it wasn't just Twitter. Airbnb, where did they get their first big surge in demand, Jack? They marketed their short-term rentals in Austin because all the hotels were sold out. Now, today, South by Southwest, has become, by our estimates, a half a billion dollar business, even though they don't share that publicly. 300,000 people are expected to attend Southby this year. And with an average ticket price of $1,000,

that's $300 million just in ticket sales. That's just the easy money math on it. But that's not the only way that they make money, is it, Jack? Last month, we covered TED Talks, and remember that half of their revenue from events was sponsorship of those events. So, South By is probably doing another $200 million in revenue because Porsche is sponsoring the Scott Galloway interview on stage. Or more likely Land Rover, because I'm seeing their ads all over podcasts right now. And Scott seems like a Land Rover guy jack. So South By makes about a half a billion dollars in revenue in just one week of music, tech product launches, film festivals, and barbers. But Jack and I have a suggestion because we've noticed something interesting about the Southby-Southwest brand.

It's a rare brand of technology that's positive. Most tech brands these days are experiencing negative sentiment, right, Jack? But not South Buy, which is why we wonder, should they scale the brand to South By Copenhagen? Or a South by Breckenridge ski retreat? Or a South by Cruise? If you're going to do seven days in Austin, why not do seven days in the Pacific? But South Buy is actually hubbed in Austin's Convention Center, which leads to our takeaway. So, Jack, could you toss on some fleecy allbirds and tell us the takeaway for our buddies over at Southby? The convention is the third place of the workplace.

I love how you said that. Yeties, the convention industry, it's actually living its best life these days. Attendance jumped 20% from last year. ComicCon had another record year. GamingCon had a record year. Southby's having a record year. Wherever conferences are happening, those cities are having more. visitors than ever. Exactly. That's why Cincinnati is spending $300 million for a new convention center to give their city the economic boost that Austin enjoys for South Buy. Austin enjoys $400 million

of estimated spending on hotels and tacos from all the visitors this week. And we think the key reason for the surge in convention attendance is that it's the rare place of overlap between work from home and work from office. Remote workers come to conferences to attend and make connections face-to-face, while office workers attend to meet those remote workers. That's fascinating, because we hear so much about the divide between remote work and in-office work these days, but not at conventions. Conventions aren't work from home, they're not work from office. They're a third place where both convene.

They're a third place of the workplace. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Rexum AFC over in Wales, the soccer team bought by Ryan Reynolds, has grown in valuation by, get this, 5,000 percent. But it's not because of a celebrity. That valuation jump is because of a documentary. Yeties, you know BTD buying the dip? Like when your buddy Timmy started day trading during the pandemic when stocks fell, buy the dip. Well, Ryan Reynolds actually did the same thing in 2021. He did. But he bought the dip of a soccer team. True. He bought the football dip. Yes, he did.

Seats were empty. Sports valuations were falling. So Ryan and his chiseled chin brought out the checkbook to buy a team. He and fellow actor buddy Rob McLehaney bought Rexham AFC, one of the most historic teams in the United Kingdom for just two million pounds. Well, here's the news, Yetis. According to Bloomberg reporting, only four years later, that club is now worth 100 million pounds. Because Reynolds sold 15% of the club to a wealthy American family for 15 million pounds. And now let's look at the math here. That implied valuation. of 100 million pounds, it means that orexum is worth 50 times more than when Ryan first bought it. Jack, the extra math? A 4,900% return. Not too shabby. By the way, that valuation, that's equal to

five times the club's annual revenue of 20 million pounds. Which happens to be the same as the five times multiple that Chelsea FC got when they were sold in 2022. Remember what we shared with you last week, besties. Multiple are how Wall Street calculates what something is worth. And for European soccer clubs, they're worth five times their revenue. But Jack and I got curious about the story. And I got to ask Jack, what is Ryan Reynolds going to do with all the new money from his equity sale? Like, is he going to make, you know, Blake lively, the coach man? Like, what's going on over there? No, he's actually going to add 5,000 seats to that historic stadium. Because in 2023, Rexham actually rose from the UK's fifth tier league up to its fourth tier league. And

League. And last year, they got promoted again because they keep on winning. They're actually on the cusp of being promoted to the second tier league in England, which is known as the Championship League. Yeah, that's what happens in European sports. Like, you actually go to a new league, the better you do. Yeah, like the winner of Division III football would get promoted to Division 2 the following year. By the way, if you watched Ted Lasso season 2, like, that's literally the plot, right, Jack? Yeah, the championship league that Rexum's about to join maybe is the league from Ted Lasso season 2.

It's one tier below the primary league. It's kind of a funny part of the sports industry that's straightforward, but no one talks about. The more you win, the more money your team brings in, the more valued you actually are. And as Wrexham keeps getting promoted to higher and higher leagues, its revenues are growing too. Those revenues doubled last year. They're almost in the Premier League, and now they need a bigger stadium. But you might be asking, is Ryan Reynolds King Midas? How has his arrival in Wales improved everything about the team so quickly?

Again, a 5,000% return in four years. To that, we would say it wasn't his celebrity. It was his documentary. Which leads to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Ryan and team Rexum? There is no better promotion tool than a video memoir. Yeties. The newest genre in film, we call it the video memoir,

a firsthand account of something all recorded on video. Because when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhaney were talking about buying Wrexham, they started recording everything on video. They got all the footage. They got the Zoom calls, their visit to Wales. First time meeting the team, they pressed record and they had video of all of it. It was a massive Google Drive folder, probably. It was a gigantic video diary, which eventually got professionally edited into a multi-episode documentary that they sold to Hulu. And that documentary, that is the...

the real reason for Rexham's rise. That documentary has been watched by millions. Rexham AFC now has fans across the world. They have new sponsors who want to be on the jersey, and they have players who want to play on the team. That's what drove that 5,000 percent return, the documentary. Because in life, you can always cut material, but you can't get back what you didn't record in the first place. Exactly. So if you're doing something epic, document it with a video. That was the genius move by Rob McElheny and Ryan Reynolds, recording everything. Besties, there is no better way to promote yourself and boost the valuation of what you're doing than with a video memoir. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week?

TjX companies is at an all-time high as TjMax, Home Goods, and Marshalls are all tariff-proof. Low prices aren't their competitive advantage. It's their workforce of 1,300 deal buyers. For our second story, South by Southwest is now a film, music, and tech festival, probably a half a billion dollar a year, Because conventions are surging right now. They're the third place for the workplace. And our third and final story is Rexham AFC. They're now a 100 million pound company. Its valuation is up 50x in four years. But it's not because of their celebrity. It's because of that documentary. Remember to press record. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Wait, Nick, did we remember to push record? Oh boy. That's a podcast is a nightmare.

what else you need to know today. You scared me then. First, the S&P 500 rose on Friday, but still notched its worst week since September. On the economic front, the economy added 151,000 jobs in February. Kind of surprisingly high growth given the firing of federal workers last month. But the stock market is still feeling whiplash by all that tariff flip-plopping. And second, reports have come in that Apple is planning to build a foldable phone. The iPhone 17 might be a little bit thicker when it's folded clothes, but then it opens up into a tiny iPad for you to watch some videos. It's got to be crease-free, though. That's the key. When you open it, the screen has got to be as flat as still water. Apple's not going to launch this thing until it's crease-free,

which is why it won't arrive until 2026 at the earliest. Where is the eye toilet? Just make us an apple toilet. And finally, Sam Bankman-Free, the disgraced former Crypto King, is in jail right now, but also just got interviewed on a podcast. Sam Macbent-Feed-a-podied. Sam-free did a podcast, interview with Tucker Carlson from a prison. We didn't know that was possible. Neither did Sam's PR rep, who had no idea this was happening. He's actually seeking a pardon from President Trump, so SBF says he switched from Democrat to Republican. Good luck, SPF. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yetty, Alex Hughes, down in lovely Denver.

It's about the business of stuffed crust pizza, because last week, we told you that Pizza Hut pioneered the concept 30 years ago. But here's the interesting detail. It actually began back in 1987, when Anthony Mangelo patented a stuffed pizza shell for putting cheese inside the crust of the pizza. And he came up with that idea years before Pizza Hut eventually launched it in 1995. So when Pizza Hut's version came out and became a $300 million success, Mangiello sued for stealing his idea. Although, unfortunately, he lost in court. Pizza Hut got the last laugh, but Mangielo in our book is the true inventor. Yeties, you look fantastic today. Jack, you are looking like a pretty woolly mouth in that sweater there.

A woolly mouse? Yeah, a woolly mouse. A woolly mouse. I wonder if that's giving me the Christmas gift of 2025. Hopefully, hopefully. And yeties, if you're down in Austin, Texas for South by hanging with your buddies over at Franklin's barbecue, share the show with them. And then tell them H. Y, H, TBOY. Have you had the best one yet? If you know, you know. Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Alex Dressler over in lovely Oceanside, California. And happy birthday to Mustafa Hussein, in Dallas, Texas. And Sushin Bissach over in New Brunswick is celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy fourth quarter birthday to Kristen Cruz in Farmington Hills.

Yeah. That's a whole birthday, right? Looking at the earnings report and it says whole birthday, Jack. Full fiscal year, 2024 birthday. And Marie Gregg's turned 87 years old. enjoying the show and crushing life in Winfield, Kansas. Happy 40th birthday to Joy Neumann in Whitehaven, Pennsylvania. Who's also got a new job in Wawa Country, if you know, you know.

Oh, and if you need a shoutout on the show, we got links in the episode description. Fill out our easy form. We'll give you a shout out. We can't wait to get you on the pod. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney, and Nick and I both on stock of Apple.