Hey Snackers,
The Irish government has officially confirmed that Santa Claus is an essential worker, who may enter Ireland without self-quarantining.
Stocks dipped yesterday as Covid cases surged, after notching record highs on Friday.
David's Bridal cruises on "Minimonies" and grooms itself for Sequel Weddings
Remember the jingle?... You'll love David's Bridaaaal. The dress was picked, the ballroom was booked, and the overpriced peonies were arranged — and then the pandemic happened. That spelled doom for David's Bridal, America's largest wedding gown retailer (#flex). Surprisingly, DB's CEO says demand for wedding dresses has proven resilient.
- Yes to the Dress: While sales of prom dresses have fallen, DB's brides still spend an average of $600 on their gowns (same as pre-pandemic).
- "The Minimony": Instead of totally scrapping celebrations, many couples minimized. DB's semi-casual jumpsuits have been in high demand for backyard Zoom weddings.
You can't hurry love... No, you just have to wait (until you emerge from bankruptcy). DB exited bankruptcy in 2019 after reducing its debt. But its struggles forced it to focus on building its digital presence, which has been key during the pandemic. Think: virtual stylist consultations, augmented-reality dresses, and an Instagram account that looks like a Pinterest inspo board.
The Sequel Wedding is coming... More than 60% of American couples had to postpone their weddings, and the 36% that chose to have a minimony plan to have another reception. "Minimony" couples are already planning bigger, flashier round #2 celebrations. DB's also expecting pent-up demand next year as postponed weddings happen. That's why DB thinks it's a perfect time to launch its loyalty rewards program (not as divorce-related as it sounds).
Cheesecake Factory is the first casualty of misleading Covid risk disclosures
Save it for the doggy bag... Cheesecake Factory is the first company to serve plates as large as Manhattan studio apartments. It's also the first company to be charged by the SEC for misleading investors about the pandemic’s financial impact. Regulators think Cheesecake failed to bake some key info into its March and April financial filings.
- Cheesecake said it was "operating sustainably" during lockdowns, while internal docs showed it was burning through $6M per week (with just four months of cash left).
- It also failed to mention that it had told landlords it would be skipping on April rent — for once, it left something off the plate.
Could surf on that chicken parm... Cheesecake ended up getting financially saved by a $200M investment later in April, but it wasn't spared from regulatory consequences: it settled with the SEC for $125K and agreed to stop leaving things out.
The SEC makes the stock market possible... It holds public companies accountable for misleading investors — or even straight up lying (cough, Luckin Coffee). It was created to prevent everything from insider trading and accounting fraud, to this Cheesecake situation. If we didn't feel confident that financial reports were true, we probably wouldn't invest at all. And if we didn't invest, trillions of idle dollars would be laying around collecting dust – instead of fueling the economy.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Vax: The FDA could approve Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine "within days" if Thursday's hearing goes well.
- Booked: Uber sells its self-driving car unit to autonomous vehicle startup Aurora Innovation.
- Comfy: Airbnb boosts the price range of its IPO shares ahead of its expected public debut on Thursday, giving it a valuation of up to $42B.
- Flash: Kodak shares soared 60% after the government reportedly found no wrongdoing with its (now-halted) $765M loan to make drug ingredients.
- OG: Old school telecom company Cisco is buying Q&A polling platform Slido to integrate with WebEx.
- Musky: Tesla's first diversity report shows 60% of its workforce is made up of underrepresented minorities, but 79% of employees are men.
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Tuesday
- Earnings expected from Chewy
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Tesla and Uber
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