The Best One Yet - 🥉“The 1st AI-lympics” — AI Michaels’ Olympics clone. H&M’s makeover store. Walgreens’ political debate.

Episode Date: June 28, 2024

This will be the 1st ever AI Olympics… because sports announcer Al Michaels will be an AI bot.Zara & H&M are losing to Shein, so they’ve got a new turnaround plan… Sexy superstores.And Walgreens’ stock has plummeted 90%... and it’s connected to last night’s Presidential Debate.Plus, Summer Fridays are disappearing… The seasonal tradition has fallen 80% since 2019, so we need to Save Summer Fridays. Sign our petition here, on Instagram$HNNMY $WBA $AMZNSubscribe to our Saturday Newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletter  Watch us on YouTube Submit Facts & Shoutouts Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn (Nick) & LinkedIn (Jack)About Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.00:00 - intro1:08 - Summer Fridays Petition04:04 - The 1st AI-lympics 09:55 - Walgreens’ political debate. 14:04 - H&M’s makeover store. 18:21 - Takeaways19:00 - OTHER NEWS 20:22 - Best Fact Yet21:57 - Shout outs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday the real Friday, June 28th. Then today's pod. Today's pod. This is the best one yet. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But Jack, I only got three words and three words only for you today.

You ready, my friends? What? Hot Nug Summer. Nobody's gone with that. Someone may say it. Someone may, all right, we'll go with Hot Deal Summer. Big deal energy. We'll work with one of those too.

Yet he's happy Hot Nug Summer. In the meantime, three fantastic. stories for today's show. What do we got, Jack? For our first story, the Paris Olympics start in 30 days, but the star will be an AI announcer. Because sportscaster Al Michaels is getting turned into an Olympics bot. For our second story, in 2015, Walgreens, the pharmacy chain, was on top of the world. Today, Walgreens stock is down by 90%. And their CEO says it's all connected to last night's presidential debate. And our third and final story, Zara and H&M are losing to Sheehan and T-Moo, so they've got a new turnaround plan.

H&M is remixing the shopping mall. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Oh, what a hot nug mix, Jack. Love the mix. Nick and I are flipping open Horters Almanac turn into Week 224. Ah, the Horters Almanac, things were running out in this economy. The latest thing there's a shortage of is Summer Fridays. Summer Fridays.

Yeties, the summer Friday tradition, it is disappearing like the past. pay phone. Summer Fridays, the most valuable work perk since the invention of the weekend. Summer Fridays, you leave work early on Friday or, hey, just take the day off, Sandra. We'll see you Monday. Summer Friday's the best summer tradition since the sandals. I mean, Jack, I'd rather have a summer Friday than dental insurance. I'd rather have summer Fridays than free Sundays. I used to look forward to summer Fridays, more than I look forward to my birthday. And Jack, what happens if your birthday's on a summer Friday? True. Uh-huh. I think you take the whole week off. But get this, The percent of American companies offering summer Fridays has fallen by 80 percent in just five years.

Before the pandemic, 55 percent of American companies offered summer Fridays. Not too shabby, but today, only 11 percent of companies do, according to a recent survey from Gardner. And frankly, that's kind of a problem because the summer Friday was the key to weekend efficiency, baby. Summer Fridays, no stuck in traffic, no delays. You can hit up the Hamptons on Friday morning, beat the LIRR crowd. Still on the Long Island Expressway, and it's still Friday. With summer Fridays, Thursday was the new Friday. And Wednesday was the new Thursday.

So Mondays felt like a fun day. It was an incredible way to start the week. So yet is Jack and I were curious. We jumped in T-boy style. And Jack, what really killed the summer Friday? Ironically, work from home Wednesday. Because your boss now gives you more flexibility during the week. They're giving us less flexibility at the end of the week.

So yet, he's the way Jack and I see. it, we need to save the Summer Friday. Summer Friday is an endangered, beautiful species. Yeah, it's kind of like the polar bearer weekdays. So we created a petition. Yes. On Instagram at T-Boy Pod for you to sign. Yeah, he's go on Instagram, sign your name, tag your boss, and save the summer Friday.

Tagging your boss is a bold move, but we're going to do it because Nick's my boss. It's the least you can do. Thanks, boss. Jack. Hey, boss. Let's hit our three stories. 15 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 50% that's a fat tip T-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 Start the show First a quick word from our sponsor For our first story We are 30 days out from the Olympics Which we think Are gonna be the first ever AI Olympics. They will be the first ever AI Olympics, because you can watch the Olympic Games this year

with AI Al Michaels as your sportscaster. But yet is to kick off this story, Jack and I want to share with you the most famous voices of all time. Was it Christopher Walker? Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. Or is it Barbara Walters? They had to put someone on the air, so they put me on for 13 weeks, and I stayed on for 13 years. Or is it? Or is it? It's a barbara. Or is it, at Michigan man James Earl Jones. Robbie and I didn't see you at the presentation of Simba. That hairball is my son and your future king. Well, yet he's in sports.

The most famous voice of all time is actually Al Michaels. The 79-year-old Brooklynite. He does football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. And hockey because Al Michaels had a cool 6'1 made the most famous call in sports history. Here's Al Michaels from 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, the United States versus Soviet Union in the semifinals of the men's hockey tournament. Let's play the clip. Five seconds left in the middleboard. Are you impressed I knew all that? Drop the gloves. I am impressed, Jack, because Al Michaels is the play-by-play commenter who's been calling Olympic game since 1972. He's got a gold medal voice. He's

literally a Hall of Famer and Emmy winner. And here's the news. Al Michaels will make this the first ever AI Olympics. Because NBC is going to use an AI version of Al Michaels' voice every single day of the games. Okay, now we should point out the fine print here. Al Michaels did sign off on this, didn't he, Jack? This isn't us, Sam Altman, like, I'm going to do it whether you agree or not situation. Actually, Al Michaels described this as a little bit frightening, but... But the impersonation of his voice that he heard samples of was nearly perfect.

98% perfect is what he said. Yetis, this is the biggest Olympic technology advancement since they first televised the games back in Berlin, 1936. Do you believe in AI? Yes! Actually, this is the biggest advancement in technology at the Olympics since the Greeks invented the sandals. Oh, did they? The second reference of sandals in the show. Jack, do you know about the first marathon that was ever run?

It wasn't run in sandals. It was run on bare feet, and he apparently had a whole lot of shin splints, man. Gotta love the Greeks. But yeties, here's what Jack and I find. fascinating about this story. This is a big moment for the Olympics, but it's really the hugest moment we've seen for AI. Because this is going to showcase artificial intelligence in a positive light to the masses of the world in a very strategic way. Jack, let's jump in T-Boy style on this one. NBC set up this AI test to maximize engagement, but also to minimize the risks. And we think the

way they did it is actually brilliant because AI Al Michaels is going to offer viewers a daily 10-minute Olympic recap, which is actually going to be a short, personalized summary that you can watch on Peacock. All right, Jack, you just said personalized, wanting to sprinkle on a little more context there. Because the daily recap video you're going to see is going to include just the nations and sports that you say that you're interested in. And that means that this AI Al Michaels bot is going to create up to seven million different recaps at a single time.

So you can tell Peacock that you're interested in the Jamaican national team and the bob sledding sport. And they're going to go full, cool runnings on this, Jack. AI Al Michael will instantly whip up a 10-minute daily recap of everything that happened with Team Jamaica and with the bobsledding competition. And here's the reason why we think this is actually the

perfect AI experiment. It's a completely controlled environment to try out something new. This is not live, this is not long, and this is not a visual video. NBC limited the parameters to ensure its success. So NBC is minimizing the chances of a freaky

hallucination like AI Al Michaels saying, I don't know, what do you think, Jack? Simone Biles got a bronze medal in archery. It's like, no, that's not what happened. That's obviously a hallucination. Exactly. In fact, this technology could actually scale Al Michaels' his voice to be the Olympic commentator

forever. 2056 games on Mars? Yes. Al Michaels will be covering the high jump. Oh, that is, there's no gravity up there. That's a really high jump. It's a high jump. It's a high jump. An asterisk on that record. You've got to love those intergalactic games. It's going to be fun. in 300 years. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in artificial intelligence?

AI really needs a gold medal moment. Yeties, here's the reality. The AI brand is broken. The term AI, it's associated with negative imagery. Google artificial intelligence right now. Most of the coverage you see is going to be about fear, the risks, who it's going to hurt, and whose job it's going to take. And it kind of makes sense because we're more prone to fear than we are to hope right now, especially when it comes to the risks of AI versus the benefits of AI. So what AI needs is a large scale, positive, approachable use case. And that's what this Olympic Games in Paris provides a platform of positive association for the AI brand. It'll also be a nice wake-up call to America on how good an AI knockoff can be, which we all need to realize.

Besties, what AI needs is a use case that is comfortable, relatable, and entertaining. A familiar your voice covering the global peaceful competition tradition that is the Olympics. Not a freaky AI that is like doing a rando, deep fake version of Drake's latest song. AI Al Michaels could change the trajectory of AI. This could be AI's gold medal moment. For our second story, Walgreens stock is down 90% from its all-time high, so Walgreens is closing up to 25% of its stores. But Walgreens CEO used the announcement yet. yesterday to comment on American politics.

Now, Yiddies, you may think that the presidential candidates are old, but Walgreens is 123 years old. In that time, Walgreens has managed to put a location on just about every street corner in America. And Walgreens is using the old, let's just put Walgreens everywhere strategy. Get this, Yeties. Walgreens has 8,600 U.S. locations. Jack, can you sprinkle on a little more context for us over there?

There's nearly twice as many Walgreens in America as there are. Walmarts. Oh, in fact, Jack and I jumped in T-Boystile in Midtown Manhattan. We found two, count in two Walgreens locations within 0.2 miles of each other. We jumped in T-Boystall at Google Maps is what Nick's planning out. Jack, I once walked out of a Walgreens, and then I walked into another Walgreens. Without touching the sidewalk? I don't even touch the sidewalk. I can't explain how it happened. It's like a rushing nesting doll. I don't know how these things work, but it happened. Well, here's the news, Yeties. Walgreens is closing up to 25 percent of their U.S. Walgreens locations, especially the ones close to other locations, like that one in Midtown Manhattan,

Nick just mentioned. Like that time wormhole one I walked into, that was a Walgreens or then a Walgreens. They're shutting it down. Walgreens simply has too many Walgreens. So Walgreens just prescribed itself some anti-Walk Greens cream, and it's applying it three times daily, it appears. Now, we should point out, Walgreens says this will not significantly reduce the number of employees.

So I guess the remaining Walgreens will have more employees per Walgreens. Which is a nice move by Walgreens, but yet he's here's what Jackson's. and I wanted to know. How sick exactly is Walgreens, Jack? Very sick. The stock is down nearly 90% from Walgreens's 2015 all-time high. Get this guy some Pepto-Bismol! One huge problem for Walgreens is mismanagement, including their decision to invest in Theranos 10 years ago. Yeah, that was a whoopsie. But the CEO of Walgreens also made an interesting diagnosis yesterday. Walgreens CEO went on to CNBC to discuss their results, and he admitted that he was wrong about a big assumption he made about the business. He said that we assumed the consumer would

get somewhat stronger in the second half of the year, but that was not the case. He added that the consumer is absolutely stunned by the absolute price of things. Because Yetis, Walgreens customers don't see inflation at 3%, which is what prices are compared to from last year. Consumers see inflation at 23%, which is how much higher prices are than before the pandemic. So what they're saying is that psychologically, we're not anchored to recent price changes. We're anchored to when prices started to change. We're not comparing prices in the aisle to what they were one year ago. We're comparing them to what they were before the pandemic. Back when like they weren't popping so much. And the result? Walgreens CEO said that consumers are simply fed up. But Jack, are they fed up

with Walgreens or are they fed up with the economy? We'll know that answer in November. But we'll try to answer part of it in our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Walgreens. The deciding point for this November's election could be who to blame for inflation. Yeties, last night, Trump and Biden debated each other and a big subject was inflation. Team Biden blames inflation on two things. The pandemic and corporate greed. They point to record high stock market and profits as proof that corporations are to blame for high prices. On the other hand, team Trump blames inflation on Biden. They point to timing when Biden was president. That's when inflation started rising. Yeties, inflation hasn't been a major presidential issue in the last 40 years.

Now, Jack and I should point out that an election is way more than just an inflation and the economy, right, Jack? It's about democracy or government and America itself. It's not a one issue thing, but this one issue, inflation, this could tip consumers to vote one way or the other. The deciding point for this November's election could be who to blame for inflation. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Zara and H&M are both losing the fast fashion race. So Zara and H&M are both betting big on a new turnaround plan. Literally. Wait, how's that literally? It's big. We'll get to that and it's big. Oh, in the meantime, Jack, did I ever tell you about my first experience at H&M the first time I went? I never told you

mine. I got a good one too. Oh, okay. Gap year. I was in Italy, but then I traveled to Vienna, and I kept getting rejected from like all the nightclubs and then, Finally, a bouncer said to me, your shoes are ugly. So he went to Zara. Yeah, I went to an H&M and I bought like a $10 pair of nicer shoes. So I had that training program in London, remember? Okay, classic. I forgot to pack underwear.

Oh, my. I went to H&M. Hey, ladies, that's how Jack and I ended up at H&M. H&M and Zara, they pioneered the fast fashion industry. Which was the top fashion trend of the 2010s. $9 for a cute top. $8 for a sling back stiletto. $7 for a skirt?

The gap couldn't keep up. Because you treated clothes back then like it was a fast food like package. Yet he's that. And the innovation of H&M and Zara was this. Instead of waiting for a summer and winter fashion season, Zara and H&M just updated their inventory monthly. Fast fashion. But the problem?

Fast fashion is now slow. Yeah, because Chinese apps like T.M. And Shian, they update their inventories weekly, not monthly. We've called it real-time fashion on this podcast. Yeah, yeah, we did. And yet he's that is why Shian is. about to IPO at a $60 billion dollar valuation. But much older,

much more established H&M is worth just a third of that. In fact, H&M's shares have been falling for 10 straight years. Because as Ricky Bobby said, if you ain't first fashion, your last fashion. It is a fashion faux pop. But yet

here's what Jack and I find fascinating about this story. H&M has a turnaround plan to save fast fashion. Basically they're trying to remix the shopping mall. Yeah, H&M is remixing the shopping mall. They're going to create a store so big, so unique, so experiential that it's basically a retail theme park. At 250 locations, H&M is going to add beauty bars and hair salons to turn H&M into a destination. At those locations, they're not just

serving coffee. They've added a Japanese tea shop serve and imported Hojicha. Hojicha? They even added in-store florists. You could come for the dress, stay for the chrysanthemum. Have you seen these bouquets? the bouquets, honey, it's beautiful. After 10 years of being on defense, these European retailers are finally going on offense. Okay, but Jack, we kind of saved the surprise for last. What's the surprise, man? They're not just making bigger stores. They're also going to have fewer stores.

Because H&M is renovating 250 stores, but they're shutting down 160 stores. Still, it's a net increase in spending on their stores of 43%. Those florists, that ain't cheap. So, Nick, why is struggling H&M spending a billion dollars? on a self makeover. Well, I kind of want to ask Ricky Bobby, now that you brought it up, Jack. He's not that wise. But instead of we'll just do our takeaway.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at H&M? Retail's not dead. Bad retails, dad. Yeah, it is H&M's strategy of fewer, bigger stores. It actually has the perfect precedent. Their rival, Zara. Zara tested the same strategy. They doubled the size of their store in Miami,

and they added a whole bunch of experiential features. And Jack, what was the financial result? of that new Zara store? Revenue per square foot at Zara's Miami location rose by 16%. Consumers were flocking by like it was a tourist destination. Now strategically, this makes a lot of sense. H&M and Zara can't beat Shian and T-Mu on speed and price. But H&M and Zara have physical stores, and Shimu don't. No, Shimu don't. So H&M and Zara are leaning into that difference because it's an advantage. They're putting in florists, hairdressers, and Japanese tea bars inside their stores.

Did we mention the Ho Chi-Chi-cha? I hope we mentioned the Ho-Gicha. Now, we'll see if this turnaround plan works, but it's a bet that even with low-cost online e-commerce from China has competition, physical retail is not necessarily dead. Because retail's not dead. Bad retail's dead.

Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us before the weekend? AI Al Michaels will provide viewers on Peacock their own daily personalized recap of the Olympics. AI's brand is broken, so this could be AI's battle. needed gold medal moment. For our second story, Walgreens is shutting down up to a quarter of their U.S. locations, but the CEO says consumers are simply fed up.

The deciding point of this election could be who to blame for inflation. And our third and final story is H&M. They're spending a billion dollars to renovate 250 locations, hacking them with pleasures of a shopping mall. Because retail's not dead, bad retail's dead. But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Nike stock plummeted 11% on word that Nike expects sales to fall 10% in the current quarter from last year.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal just did a whole story on how Nike missed the current running craze. Yeah, odds are you're not running in Nikes, you're running in Hokka's, Ons, or A6s. Or my favorite, Brooks. Maybe the Olympics can give Nike a second wind. And second, SpaceX, Elon Musk's private rocket company, is raising money at a $200 billion valuation. Sit down, stand up, and take off again because 200 Bill is the most valuable non-public company in the world and they're leading in rockets. The closest competition is Boeing, which, by the way, is having trouble bringing its astronauts back from the International Space Station. And finally, the L.A. Lakers just drafted, get this.

Brony James in the NBA draft. Why is that a big deal? Because Brony's dad plays on the Lakers, too. Who's Brony's dad, Nick? Oh, it happens to me, Mr. LeBron James on the Lakers. This means LeBron James and his son may play together on the same team next season, something that's never happened in the NBA. Jack, this is like if you and I started a podcast with our baby son's Wilder and Maximus, can you imagine that? That's great.

This is Nick. This is Jack. This is Wilder. This is Maximus. It's just like, it's exactly like that. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by our cyclist yeties over in France. The 111th Tour de France starts tomorrow. The most prestigious and difficult bike race in the world, but we found some interesting stats. What do we got, Jack?

It actually begins in Florence, Italy, not France. Down the street where I used to live, and this year, it's ending in Nice, France, because of the Olympics. It's the first time in 35 years that the Tour de France does not end in Paris. The tour lasts three weeks with 21 day-long stages and only two days of rest. Nick, in one of those stages, the riders have to climb nearly 12,000 feet. 12,000 feet of elevation in one day. 12,000 feet in one day, they do 87 miles horizontal and 2.5 miles vertical. 12,000 feet.

Imagine biking that the next time you're biking up a hill. You know what that is, Jack? Not possible. Yeties, you look fantastic this week. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our newsletter to get more T-Boy tomorrow morning in your inbox. And if you want summer Fridays to be a thing. Yes. Like and share our post on Instagram at T-BoyPod.

We got a petition going on Instagram. Jack and I, we don't take summer Fridays. We record the pod. But we still think you should get summer Fridays. We're ending a little early. Actually, those Speedos don't SPF themselves, Nick. We got to get Jack's tan prep for France. Yeties, Jack and I will see you Monday.

Happy summer Fridays and celebrate the wins. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti and my dad, Michael L. Martel, from Skokie. Connecticut, New York now on the Upper East Side. Attorney-at-Law, Esquire, J.D., and Rangers fan. 94. Great year. And a happy birthday to Meg Dwyer, my mother-in-law, over on Nantucket, Massachusetts, the maker of the finest gazpacho.

And this next one is for the Paula Hauer of Grafton, Wisconsin. Who is absolutely gorgeous, and the mother of our creative director, Rachel, we're cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers with her while she's golfing. And happy birthday to Awaiiwai. Khan in Sacramento, California. And Manny, Adderon in Boston, just outside Boston, just graduated from Kellogg's MBA program, and everyone in his class is now a Yeti, thanks to Manny. Mani being Manny.

And Nico Hayet, happy birthday. And congratulations on moving down to Phoenix, Arizona, the dry heat. And happy birthday to Michael Speltz in Omaha, Nebraska, whose wife and baby Mateo just freaking love this guy. And Calvin Wang, happy birthday celebrating in Palo Alto, California. Kelly Medina in Tom's River, New Jersey, who just became a U.S. citizen. Congratulations, what a win to celebrate, Kaylee. And Katie Caniff and Paul Lowe in Quincy, Massachusetts just got married.

Just outside Boston. And congratulations to Jorge Garza and Scarlett in Oklahoma City, who are just getting married. Let's see those picks in Genevieve and Brian Bland and Saratoga, California, had their five-year anniversary celebrating in lovely Hawaii. Happy 22nd anniversary. Ken and Land in Lake Worth, Florida, who are still just wonderful together. And Keisha Fox and Stephen Clyde and Salt Lake City have got a one-year anniversary celebrating with a fantastic time together.

Happy 20-year anniversary to Jose and Carla in Las Vegas, Nevada. And Jen and Taylor in Redondo Beach, California just bought a house not too shabby. And happy anniversary to Shruda and V. Wake Hurrian in Arlington, Virginia. And to everyone enjoying a pride parade this weekend. Have a blast. Black down in Austin, congratulations on taking charge of the Flugreville Pride. And good luck to Adam Leo Geekbrock of Rochester, Minnesota, who's running a 15K tough mutter this Sunday. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a t-boy. Happy hot nug summer. This is Jack,

nickel and stock of Nike. And one time I rode a thousand feet of vertical on a bike, 1,000, not 12,000, and I almost lost a lung.