The Best One Yet - 🍻 “Winner gets free beer” — Budweiser’s World Cup. Apple’s iPhone City. Toys ‘R’ Us’ Inception Retail.

Episode Date: November 30, 2022

Budweiser’s beer was banned last second at the World Cup, so it’s giving the beer away to the winning country. The China protests are a threat to Apple more than any other company — Because China is home to iPhone City. And 400 Macy’s stores are now implanted with a tiny Toys ‘R’ Us store because Macy’s is the new mall.$BUD $M $AAPLFollow 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 Wednesday, November 30th. And today's pod is just the best one yet. It's a T-boy. It's a T-Boy. Not just because Team USA moved on to the round of 16. No, and not just because you're still enjoying

Ann Edna's baked yams over there, Jack. It's a T-boy for another reason. You got to love some leftovers. Jack, what's the first story for today's pod? You already knew that beer is banned at the World Cup this year. So Budweiser just brewed up a brilliant plan B. For our second story, the China protests are messing with one company more than any other. They are.

And that company is Apple. Oh, hey, Santa. Say goodbye to 6 million iPhones. Our third and final story. If you're going to Toys R Us for some holiday shopping, you're actually going to Macy's. Yeah, because Macy's is replacing them all. But yet is, before we hit that fantastic Wednesday mix. Fantastic Mix Jack.

And that Budweiser story, that came out of nowhere today. Remember last week, we mentioned that Kraft Heinz was pivoting? Ah, the craft hines. Pivot from healthy foods to processed foods. You know fewer carrots more Kool-Aid. Well Kraft-Hine's most processed product of all may actually be a little too processed Yeah, get this. A Florida woman is leading a class action lawsuit against Kraft-Hines Corporation. She's suing Kraft-Hines because their instant mac and cheese isn't instant enough. Here's the complaint. The box claims that Velvita macaroni and cheese is ready in three and a half minutes. We're talking about Velvita. Alveda shells and cheese. Like, all you need is a microwave and a pulse, and you can make these microwavable single-cup bowls. But according to court documents, it actually takes five minutes, not three and a half minutes.

So you're saying, Jack, it's cheesy. It's just not easy. We jumped in T-boy style to the court documents in the district of Southern Florida. Literal court documents here. What did they say, Jack? The plaintiff believed and expected that the product would take three and a half minutes to cook and consume. Instead, she got 90 extra seconds of... injustice. So the plaintiff naturally is demanding $5 million in damages for the delayed delicious.

We repeat, she's suing for $5 million of lunchtime deception. Now, Kraft-Heans calls the lawsuit frivolous. On the other hand, if this complaint is true, it is worse than the subway fake tuna funa fiasco. Outrageous, egregious preposterous. Jack, this is the people of Florida versus processed pasta. Justice for hungry people. Bayliff, get ready for more. Spaghetti. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. 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. 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. Start the show. For our first story, Budweiser has a solution to the World Cup beer band.

Marketing is the ability to turn the worst. to the best. All right, drum roll, Jack. Can we open up the hoarder's Almanac, uh, emergency World Cup edition, please? Budweiser is sitting on a surplus of beer. I get this.

Budweiser dropped a whopping $75 million to be the official beer sponsor of this year's World Cup. I was watching USA versus Iran yesterday and I saw Budweiser ads, but I didn't see any Budweiser. Yeah, we didn't see any Budweiser because Qatar banned beer. days before the tournament began. Yeah. Like, they banned the beer. Like, there's no more... Like, closing time,

you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here, kind of a ban. Qatar made a shocking announcement that they were not going to allow alcohol whatsoever in the stadiums. Unless you're sitting in the VIP seats, like bending it like Beckham, you're not getting a beer at the Qatar World Cup. That's right. FIFA execs don't have to

follow the rules, but everyone else does. But Yeties, here is the problem. Budweiser now has a Persian Gulf's worth of Bruce sitting on ice in the middle of the desert ready to serve. There was a ton of beers shipped to Qatar for the World Cup, and now it's just doing nothing in a warehouse. It was the greatest beer ban in all the world.

Yeah, we know what you're thinking. We know what you're thinking. Budweiser does serve a non-alcoholic beer at the World Cup. And those are allowed. Right. But all that real pale ale is about to go real stale. There are so many unwounded soldiers just sitting in Qatar. But what, Yet is?

Budweiser, which again spent $75 million on this whole thing, has a solution. Bud is trying to brew lemons into lemonade. They're trying to turn World Cup blues into Labat Blues. Bud got a red card from Qatar. They're turning it into Red Bull and vodka. They're turning milk into Modellos. Can we try that? Does that work?

Sure. Although milk's good, too. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, I don't like the milk for Madellas. Okay, we'll leave that. Maybe we'll enjoy that. Just forget that one. In the meantime, Yeties, here is what Budweiser is going to do. do. Jack, what are they going to do with all that extra beer? They're giving it away. And who is Budweiser going to give that beer away too? The country that wins the World Cup. Yaddy's Budweiser is literally

going to transport the massive stockpile of undrank beer to the winning country. It plans a victory celebration in the winning nation. Like with an open bar, free Budweiser, only winners can drink at them. Call up your buddies at Sig F. If Team USA wins the World Cup, a million cases of free Bud are going to at the victory parade in Washington, D.C. If Team Germany wins the World Cup, Berlin's going to have a billion Budweiser's. Wolfgang von Wolfhausen's going to be happy. There is a lot of beer logistics, by the way,

that is going to go into this whole thing. Yeah, there's a lot of details that will only be determined after the winner is decided on December 18th. So it looks like Budweiser is going to have to call up some folks from Chicago. Do a little brewery logistics. Yeah, they are. beverage logistics.

Red cups free. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at AB, in-dev Budweiser. Budweiser is not the king of beer. They're the emperor of ads. Besties, most macro beer, it's a commodity. Like Miller Light, Coors Light, Bud Light, All Light, everything's light. Everything's kind of similar. The biggest differentiator of those light beers is the advertising. So that's where Budweiser puts most of their time and money on ads. That's why marketing is Budweiser's biggest expense. In fact, Budweiser spent $7 billion last year promoting 300 beers. Okay, 300 beer brands is in and $7 billion to market those beer brands is insane.

You had to sprinkle on some context here. Bud spent the value of an entire company, a lift, on those Clydesdale commercials. All that spending on sales and marketing is why you pick Budweiser instead of Miller. It's why you pick Bush Light instead of Keystone Light. Well, the way Jack and I see it, this World Cup giveaway is way more powerful than their $7 billion in TV commercials. Because Budweiser turned a ban of their biggest product. into a positive marketing moment. Budweiser isn't the king of beer.

It's the emperor of ads. For our second story, one American company is affected by the China protests more than any other company. It's Apple, because iPhone City is locked down right now. Yeties, yesterday,

Jack and I were telling you about the biggest protests in China in 30 years. There were protests against the COVID-Zero policy that became protests against the censorship policy. They were called the blank paper protest. And Jack and I got an update on the blank paper protest. Protesters chilled out yesterday. They didn't gather because police in China made an overwhelming show of force.

But the one thing Jack and I didn't tell you about yesterday was iPhone City. Odds are the phone in your hand or in your pocket right now that this pod is playing from. You're playing us right now. It was made in Jung Jo China. iPhone City is a nickname of the Foxcon Factory in Jung Joe China. In fact, that factory only does one thing. It produces the latest, greatest iPhone for Apple. Now, Foxcon, the company, actually makes three out of four iPhones in the world.

And their iPhone City factory makes 80% of iPhone 14s that are for sale right now. It's designed in California, but it's made at Foxcon's factory in iPhone City, China. Here's why they call it iPhone City. Yeah, because get this, 200,000 human beings eat. and sleep and live and work in one factory town. They don't just work there. They live at iPhone City. That's a third of the population of Vermont.

Is in this one factory, iPhone City. Making iPhone 14s for the entire world. Yeah, if you want to picture iPhone City, it's like a college campus, but like you're only allowed to do homework. 10-hour work days, no choices. You make one thing, the iPhone 14. But besties, one month ago,

COVID cases started spiking throughout iPhone City. his COVID-Zero policy turned iPhone City kind of into a prison. Yeah, because all those workers living, eating, sleeping, and existing in iPhone City were forced to quarantine in tiny 130-square-foot dorm rooms. And then police and hazmat suits clashed with workers who said they weren't getting paid by the company. So workers revolted. They quit. And iPhone City lost 100,000 workers in weeks. With half of the typical workforce, iPhone City was putting out half the typical number of iPhones. Yetis, if we add all of that up, it looks like you're probably not going to get that iPhone for Christmas. I just tried ordering an iPhone 14 Pro.

Jack literally went to the store and tried to do this. Apple told me it's going to be like a month. And that is because Apple has already confirmed they're expecting 6 million fewer iPhones this holiday season. The most profitable company in the world expects 6 million fewer of their profit. Literally, each week of unrest in iPhone City, that costs Apple $1 billion in sales. We crunch the numbers for you. That's $100,000 per minute in missed iPhone sales because iPhone City is not running at full capacity. $100,000 a minute.

They're missing out. Jack can't even get an iPhone. That also shows the insane production of this one factory. $100,000 of sales a minute. Like we said yesterday, when China gets sick, the world's economy costs. Now Foxcon is offering bonuses. to workers to come back to iPhone City. And when the world economy coughs,

Jack is stuck with an iPod Nano from 10 years ago. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple? iPhone City has become Tim Cook's biggest risk, but it was also his idea. Yet he's the technical business school term for iPhone City, they call it a closed loop, like a factory that is its own world. And who pioneered the concept for Apple's self-sufficient megafactory in China?

Well, Jack, it was their head of supply chain, a man named Tim Cook, 20 years ago. In fact, iPhone City has become such a profit machine for Apple that Tim Cook was rewarded with the CEO job in Steve Jobs' footsteps. iPhone City is basically why Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple today. But now, at a crucial time, the most profitable period of the year, Santa is missing 6 million iPhones because iPhone City has shut down. Apple's dependence on Chinese production it's probably their biggest risk at Apple today.

That's why the stock just fell. iPhone City is Tim Cook's biggest risk, but it was also Tim Cook's biggest idea. Now a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. A lot of Yetis don't realize how much prep work goes into this pot. We spend hours every morning jumping in T-boy style to earnings reports, CEO tweets, breaking news headphones. Yeah, Jack and I are toggling tabs like you toggled IM Convo's in 2004.

Having eight tabs open can be stressful. You don't need that. especially when invested. Robin Hood offers it all in one app. Whether you want to trade options, ETFs, or stocks through Robin Hood Financial, or you want to buy some Bitcoin on Robin Hood crypto. You can do it all on the Robin Hood app. If you're not investing in Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to Robinhood.com slash T-Boy and choose your free stock. That's robinood.com slash TBOY. Limitations apply. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, all investments involved it. By the way, this podcast is not owned or part of Robin Hood. We are not employees of

Robin Hood. For our third and final story, if you want to shop at Toys or Us this holiday, you're going to have to pass through Macy's. Yeah, because Macy's new strategy is to become a mall. That's basically what it is. All right, but Jack, first of all, all right, most important childhood brand in our millennial imaginations, what is it? Jeffrey the giraffe. Yeah, it's Jeffrey the giraffe. If you saw a gift with like Jeffrey the D giraffe on it, you were like, you're like, that's going to be a Tamagachi or like a stretch Armstrong. I remember Toys R Us is the first time I saw Jeffrey spelled with a G. Didn't that kind of freak you out?

I did not know how to pronounce it at the time check. I didn't know how to spell either. I was like, who's Gioffred? He's Jeff's British cousin. Well, yeah, if you're trying to find a plush panda these days, you can actually still go to Toys R Us. It's back from bankruptcy. The brand has been resurrected in the flesh exclusively at Macy's.

Bankruptcy, it's not the end. It's a new beginning. And at all 400 Macy's locations, there now is a Toys R Us, like within the Macy's. A tiny little Toys R Us. It's a store within a bigger store. Toys R Us controls the store, but it shares revenues with its landlord, which happens to be Macy's. And here's the news. Macy's just added another store within their store.

Clares, the retail chain Clares, like the tween brand, is coming into Macy's. Clares is where a 12-year-old buys a dress. Clares is training wheels for Anthropod. Jack, what kind of stores are now within the Macy's stores these days? Within a Macy's, you will find a Toys R Us, a Clare's, a Pandora jewelry, even a Starbucks. These are all separate stores within the bigger Macy's department store. So, Jack, Macy's doesn't really look like a department store anymore. What does Macy's kind of look like?

Just tossing Auntie Anns in there, and it's a mall. I can smell the buttery pretzel goodness, Jack. I can smell the hot dog wrapped in a swirly twirly pretzel. Let's put a faux marble fountain over there. Now, Yeties, Jack and I have talked to you about stores within stores before. It's Inception Retail. That's what we call. Inception Retail. It's like a dream within a dream.

It's Inception Retail. Right. If Christopher Nolan critteracting movies started selling clothes, he'd do it this way. Well, Inception Retail isn't new, but Inception Retail is growing. Last year, Coles got into some Inception Retail. Coles added 600 Sephora locations, mini makeup stores, within Cole stores. And now Nordstrom has Glossier makeup stores within their Nordstrom store.

And even Target has got 17 Apple stores within its Target stores. Within this podcast episode is a little podcast episode. Within that episode is our takeaway. And within that is Leonardo DiCaprio. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Macy's? Inception retail is working. Yeah, it is. Here's why Macy's is doing this.

It's because of the cross shop. The hope is that you come in for the mini store, but then stay for the other store too. Well, just last week, Macy shared the data on this store within a store inception retail strategy. 85% of customers who come for Toys R Us end up cross shopping at the rest of Macy's. 85% come for the Toys R Us Barbie, but they browse for the blouse at Macy's on the way out. Coles is the same store. Stores that have a Sephora within the Coles, outperform Coles without a Sephora within the Coles.

Within, without, out of the within, Jack. Yetis, they're doubling down on Inception Retail because Inception Retail looks like it's working. And I'm going to go read an article to try to figure out what the hell the movie Inception is actually about. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us over there? Budweiser found a solution for their World Cup beer surplus. They're giving it away to the winning country. They're not the king of beers. They're the emperor of ads.

For our second story, the protests in China threaten Apple the most of all companies. iPhone City made Tim Cook's CEO, but now iPhone City is his biggest risk. Our third and final story is Macy's. They planted a tiny Torres within all 400 remaining Macy's stores. Inception retail. It looks like it's working. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Michael Brous.

Bert originally from Scotland, now in Virginia Beach. Michael tells us about mini golf, the great American pastime. Which was invented in 1927, and get this, mini golf boomed throughout the 1930s. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, 25,000 mini golf courses were built across these United States. They were built throughout neighborhoods across the United States. Mini golf, mini golf, mini golf. Interestingly, though, the mini golf boom ended thanks to the federal

housing authority. And new rules were put in place encouraging neighborhoods to build houses, not shared spaces. So the mini golf boom busted by the 1950s. And now every mini golf course is basically in Maine, the state. Yeah, by the beach. Yeties, you look fantastic today. And if you've got the best fact yet, or if you want to get your voice on this pod, send us a voicemail. Send us a We got a link in our description for you to send us your best fact yet. In the description of this pod, right here in this episode, we got a link. Send us a fact of the day. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, happy birthday to Yeti Jan Sprung down in New York City.

And a big happy birthday to Carly B. Celebrating her birthday on Calm Ave just outside of Boston. And Madeline Egan just made the best avocado toast yet over in Sarasota, Florida. And a big shout out to Big Yeti, Sidney and Jacob. In New York for a wedding right now, hanging out in the village. enjoying some shimony. And to anybody else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.

This is Jack, Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Robin Hood. Now, a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. A lot of you listen to our show while you're driving. Two hands on the wheel. Keep it 10 and 2. You might be cruising Chris, no rush. Stay in the right lane. Or you might be dolling from Duncan, dotting from lane to lane.

And there are different drivers on the road. They're different investors too. Maybe you're cruising down the long-term lane with stock investing, or maybe you're a more advanced full-speed trader. Well, the Robin Hood app helps put you in the driver's seat wherever you're at in your investing journey. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to robin hood.com slash T-Boy and choose your free stock. That's Robinhood.com slash T-B-O-Y. Limitations apply. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, all investments involve risk. By the way, this podcast is not owned by or part of Robinhood, and we are not employees of Robinhood.

but Apple is averse to discount. I always seem to buy these weak ones. Every time I buy an iPhone, it's like, oh, this year's version sucks. I'm like, I don't even buy one every half a decade. Are you kidding me? Like, next year, it's going to be amazing iPhone.

iPhone extra cool. I think you got the 7 and the 11, which were both like really bad ones. Yeah, I did. Next year, Tim cooks me like, we're just going to give them to you. And like, the iPhone serves you a food. Are you kidding?

It's paid for one, man. Thank you.