Hey Snackers,
Happy Friday! Science says you should take micro-breaks (before the weekend macro-break).
Tech shares dropped yesterday on interest rate worries as bond yields ticked up. Also: jobless claims unexpectedly jumped last week.
More women are leading corporate America — and their companies are performing better
Hester has seen it all... Hester Ford is the oldest living person in America. A lot has changed during her 115 years of life, including how women are shaping society. When Hester was born in 1905, American women were 15 years away from getting the right to vote in elections. Now, women are also voting on the boards of all of America’s largest corporations. Since Katharine Graham became the first woman named CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 1972, corporate diversity has increased — but there’s still a long way to go to reach gender parity:
- All S&P 500 boards include at least one woman. In January, women gained 22 more S&P board seats, the biggest jump in nearly two years.
- But men still make up more than 70% of all S&P board seats — and over 90% of all S&P 500 CEOs. While the number of female Fortune 500 CEOs hit a record in November, women still make up only 40 (out of... 500).
Profits and performance... Diverse representation is key to achieving equal opportunity, but is also correlated to financial benefits. Many studies indicate that companies with more gender diversity perform better.
- Profits: When women are well represented in leadership, companies are 25% more likely to outperform their peers on profitability.
- Stocks: Shares of companies with female CEOs outperformed those of companies led by men by an average of 20% over two years — and have outperformed them almost every year since 2010.
Pushing for change... from the top down. Governments and corporations are making moves to improve corporate gender diversity. California requires all public companies to have at least one female board director. Companies like Starbucks, Chipotle, and McDonald's have tied exec pay to diversity goals. The Nasdaq is pushing for SEC approval to implement a board diversity rule for the ~3K companies listed on its exchange.
Top-down policies aren’t enough... if there’s a “broken rung” problem. Executive diversity targets don't solve the full equation — women also need equal opportunities on their way to the C-suite. Women are underrepresented at every level of the corporate ladder, from entry roles to exec positions. For every 100 men newly promoted to manager in 2020, only ~85 women were promoted — and this number is even lower for women of color. What’s more, women’s representation drops as seniority rises. For women to be equally represented, change needs to happen from the bottom-up, too.
Williams-Sonoma has its best year ever with its Milestone Brands (they're with you for life)
Dude, where's my wine valise?... Williams-Sonoma is the furniture and kitchenware retailer that probably invented wedding registries. It calls itself “the world’s largest digital-first, design-led, and sustainable home retailer” (with that many descriptors, it’s hard not to be first). WS just had its best year of sales growth ever, thanks to the House Hype.
- Growing together: All of WS' brands — William Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and West Elm — saw double-digit growth for the quarter and the full year.
- Growing faster: Total sales jumped 26% last quarter from 2019, accelerating from previous quarters.
- Growing post-pandemic: WS isn't worried, saying people will decorate homes to entertain guests. It also has a “substantial luggage business” to complement travel. See: wine valise.
More than hype... It's no surprise that WS thrived in the coronaconomy — its mission is literally to “enhance the quality of people’s lives at home” (womp). But it also benefited from something that's rare in the home goods industry: a digital-first strategy. WS launched ecommerce waaay back in 1998 — now, online-first is one of its key differentiators.
- 80% of all US home goods sales come from stores. But 70% of William Sonoma's sales happen online.
- That online expertise prepped WS to thrive in 2020 and reach Millennials, who have driven its recent growth. But it has another differentiator, too...
WS has a full "Milestone Brands Suite"... It's winning on the cradle-to-retirement strategy, with brands catered to every life stage. Just had a baby? Go to Pottery Barn Kids. Tween wants their own room? Head to Pottery Barn Teen. Tying the knot? Hit William Sonoma for the wedding registry. Moving into your first home? Try West Elm. Just retired? Upgrade to Williams Sonoma. These milestone brands create lifetime loyalty and recurring sales — and an edge over Millennial-focused Wayfair and luxury-focused Restoration Hardware.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Vax: President Biden could hit his goal of delivering 100M Covid-19 vaccine shots in his first 100 days by Thursday.
- Fung: Crypto marketplace OpenSea raises $23M to become the "Amazon of NFTs" (aka: non-fungible tokens).
- Zone: Amazon Prime Video snags exclusive streaming rights for the NFL's Thursday Night Football package. The 'Zon is reportedly paying $1B/year.
- Ouch: Starbucks shareholders rejected its exec pay proposal (almost never happens), which included $50M in retention pay for its CEO.
- OK: European countries resume using AstraZeneca's (previously suspended) Covid vax after regulators signed off on safety.
- Confirm: The Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra as Health and Human Services secretary. He'll play a major role in the vax rollout.