The toymaker heading for the FTSE 100
Nike, digital advertising and marketing mishaps.
Hello,
It’s been a full-on year. We’ve had elections, assassination attempts, Euros, the Olympics, the whole Brat thing and never-ending memes. So many memes.
2025 will undoubtedly be a big one with the incoming US executive set on disrupting both America and the global world order... “More disruption!?” I hear you ask after several years of inflation, pandemics, wars and general chaos. Yup, the curve is exponential, there’s no slowing down. But fear not, the good ship Business of Stuff will be here to help you navigate whatever lies on the horizon.
In the meantime, however, it’s time for a sit-down and a mince pie. Thank you for reading and a special thanks to Q5 for all the support.
Merry Christmas,
Hugo
Captain Stuff
The Business of Stuff
The Stuff
It looks like we might be heading to the end of free returns 📦 - returning items costs retailers a lot, to the point that it is cheaper in many instances just to let you keep the thing. This has been massively compounded by return fraud where people say they haven’t received something or send back a box of rocks. They’ve started making it much more hassle to return things and could just start charging as it is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
Nike boss says they need to refocus on sport 👟 - the company has tried to be all things to all people in recent times, which has led to a huge inventory and lots of discounting. Elliott Hill wants to focus on its core sports like running and basketball rather than worrying about kitting everyone out in a million different types of trainers. They are currently being eaten alive by companies like Hoka and On.
Digital ad spending has topped $1 trillion this year 💻 - the revenue taken by online adverts rather than those on television, radio and out-of-home has been growing for years. Billboards are still doing well but digital ad revenue has grown from 53% to 71% in the past five years. The reason physical ads are still doing OK is probably because they’re the only brainwashing not done via a screen.
Soho House shares spike as an offer is made to take it private 📈 - the group has expanded a lot in the past couple of years but the share price hasn’t been too healthy. They have struggled to decide whether they’re mass-market or exclusive which has made it an incredibly expensive business to run whilst leaving them unable to charge ultra-luxury prices. Anyway, Ron Burkle of all people has waded in and offered $1.75bn for the joblot.
AI is being used to spot warning signs in blood tests 🩸 - it’s not all just scams and very average poems, artificial intelligence can do some pretty impressive stuff. Researchers are training it to spot biomarkers for different types of cancer in samples of blood. The whole area of diagnostics is set to improve dramatically over the coming years as this technology evolves, hopefully increasing successful treatment rates.
Games Workshop is due to join the FTSE 100 tomorrow 🎲 - the makers of Warhammer have seen massive growth since the pandemic as people started painting and playing with little figurines and haven’t stopped. This is ahead of an expected deal with Amazon which will likely see Warhammer 40,000 (the future-y one) brought to life by Henry Cavill. Exciting, if that’s your sort of thing.
Airships are back baby 🎈 - several companies are redesigning these floating bags of air to make them more efficient and safer. The goal is for them to be used for transporting freight and slow travel. I think this is super exciting, I’m all for an Edwardian x sci-fi cross-over and imagine just floating about, not burning loads of jet fuel.
YouTube is changing the Christmas toy market 🧸 - like most people, children are no longer watching as much linear television but 80% are using YouTube meaning the toy industry has had to adapt. Creators like Mr Beast and Skibidi Toilet (I think I saw him at a rave once) are using their massive sway to flog toys.
FedEx is going to spin off its freight unit 🚛 - the logistics company will form a new publicly-traded entity in an attempt to streamline its operations. This news pushed up the share price 10% in after-hours trading which has been struggling thanks to the old global cost-of-living crisis.
Vodafone celebrates UK deal with a picture of Germany 🤷 - the merger with Three has finally been approved after a review that’s been rumbling along for the best part of this year. The telecom company decided to post this advert which shows Gechingen in the Black Forest in Germany. An absolute marketing classic. Vodafone declined to comment about their choice of image.
Really good stuff
It’s getting pretty last minute now I’ll be honest but if you’re running out to the shops tomorrow you could consider the following.
Somewhere to live - a castle in North Devon
Why wouldn’t you buy a castle?
Something to sail - Columbia
This is one for the collectors, a stunning yacht built as an exact replica of the American-built Schooner. It can sleep 12 so you can get the whole family and a few pals on, no problem.
Something to put stuff in - Louis XV chest thing
If you want a regular reminder of what life was like before the glorious revolution, there’s nothing like an ornate piece of furniture owned by Louis the Beloved to do the trick.
Quote of the week
“Christmas is all around us” - Billy Mack, Love Actually
Hello Hugo, you have a great newsletter, I am genuinely impressed by the quality and depth of your posts. It’s clear that you put a lot of thought into it. I’m excited to dive into your future emails as a new subscriber.
On a related note, I hope it’s okay to ask this here—are you open to a partnership? We can provide you with 1k subscribers.