đź‘ź Adidas runs with Allbirds
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This week, we're highlighting SnackFacts about racial injustice in the economy, markets, and business. Today's was sent in by a Snacker on Twitter — share yours @RobinhoodSnacks to help us raise awareness.
Markets kept rallying Tuesday as investors focused on (you guessed it) economic reopening. The tech-heavy Nasdaq hit its highest level since February 21st.
Adidas and Allbirds' unusual sneaker collab — it's all about the "brand affinity"
Stan Smith meets Millennial HENRY... Didn't see it coming. Brand collaborations usually happen between companies that don't directly compete — think: Spotify and Uber, Ben & Jerry's and Netflix, Cheetos and Forever 21 (a classic). But Allbirds and Adidas are shaking things up:
- The Team: Adidas, the sportswear giant that's obsessed with stripes, is teaming up with Allbirds, the Millennial-friendly footwear unicorn that's obsessed with sustainability.
- The Situation: The carbon footprint of sneakers made with synthetic materials ranges from 11.3-16.7 kg of CO2 per pair, according to Adidas. Allbirds says its sneakers take about 7.6 kg of CO2 to produce (a leg up, in terms of sneaker footprints).
- The Collab: "Create the lowest carbon footprint performance shoe ever, with the ultimate goal of a net-zero product." Nice.
Put those (sneaker) heads together... Adidas and Allbirds will join their resources to reach their carbon-reducing, performance-maintaining goal. But what's in it for each brand?
- Adidas wants to expand its sustainability rep: It shipped a sneaker made from the ocean's plastic waste, and one made from 100% recyclable material (now its Yeezy brand is working on an algae-foam clog). Adidas also promised to use only recyclable materials by 2024.
- Allbirds wants to expand its performance rep: Its Silicon Valley approved everyday shoes are made out of wool and sugarcane waste (VC vest not included), but now it wants in on your sweat game. In April it released a running shoe made of sugarcane and eucalyptus. Delicious.
It's all about brand affinity... Although Adidas and Allbirds directly compete in the footwear market, they each get a key brand value they need out of this collab. Without having to do a full blown brand/biz makeover, Adidas gains affinity with Allbirds' sustainability market, while Allbirds' gets some street cred with Adidas' athletic/performance market. In an era where brand is everything, collabing with a rival could become fashionable.
Facebook and Twitter are taking majorly divergent paths (and a "virtual walkout") because of Trump posts
Two roads diverged in the social media world... And Facebook and Twitter are definitely not on the same one. Last Friday, we talked about the Twitter feud that erupted when Twitter labeled President Trump's tweet about mail-in voting "potentially misleading." Now, a new Twitter feud is pitting two social media giants against each other:
- It all started with a Trump tweet calling looters "THUGS" who are "dishonoring the memory of George Floyd." The really problematic part: "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." Trump cross-posted on Facebook.
- Twitter flagged and shielded the Minnesota riots tweet, saying it violated its policy against glorifying violence. Users now have to click a box and read the notice to view it (and it can't be retweeted).
- Facebook left the post up as is — its policy is to refrain from fact-checking or removing politicians’ posts, but also to remove posts glorifying violence. Zuck controls 58% of FB's voting shares — unlike most CEOs, he has final say over everything (including this). So...
FB employees (literally) left the chat... Some employees staged a virtual walkout over Zuck's decision. Think: shutting down MacBook, deleting Zoom, signing out of Workplace (FB's Slack copycat). Some even changed their internal company profiles to Twitter's logo. Their arguments:
- Zuck said that despite finding the post "deeply offensive," it's "better to have this discussion out in the open." He argues that FB is helping democracy by not shielding the President's post.
- Twitter argues it's helping democracy by shielding people from the President's post. See the problem?
Government regulation is Facebook and Twitter's biggest threat... And it's even bigger now that Trump signed an executive order threatening their immunity from legal liability for their users’ posts/actions. Despite Trump's consistent portrayal of Facebook as an antagonist, FB has an interest in getting on the government's good-ish side (avoid regulation). But despite their diverging stances, any regulation that applies to Twitter will likely apply to Facebook, too.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Shocker: Zoom's quarterly sales soar 169% on the WFH lockdown life — its mobile app went from 14M users in March to 173M in May.
- Rocky: Luxury giant LVMH’s $16.2B cash offer to buy Tiffany is reportedly looking less certain now (Tiffany stock plunged on the news).
- Tunes: Top record label Warner Music Group IPOs with ticker symbol WMG (we were hoping for JAM).
- Do Less: Samsung starts selling a $2K TV with a mobile-friendly rotating screen (we're calling it "The Quibi TV").
- Overstock: Clothing retailers are dealing with mountains of unsold inventory as fashion sales have grinded to a halt.
- Robo: Volkswagen seals a $2.6B investment in Pittsburgh-based self-driving car startup Argo AI.
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Wednesday
- Earnings expected from Campbell Soup and Canada Goose
- Shares of Warner Music Group trade on IPO day
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Volkswagen
ID: 1204726