Hey Snackers,
Poultry FTW. Olive Garden's officially singled out its chicken alfredo to thank for upping its sales.
Markets kept growing Thursday to a 5-month high as investors enjoy the Fed's decision to keep interest rates relaxingly low.
Levi's jumps 32% on its IPO. Comfortably.
Those shares look good on you... Fresh off the top shelf, Levi's IPO'd Thursday, jumping to a $9B valuation under uncreative ticker symbol "LEVI." Since 70% of its sales are to dudes, it's now focused on convincing women Levi's isn't their dads' jeans company.
Look who's sporting Canadian tuxes now... It's the Haas family. They're decendents of the founder, old man Levi Strauss himself, and that family tree's controled the brand for 166 years. This IPO means they're fashionably cashing out part of their heritage.
- Before yesterday they owned over 80% of the company's voting shares. That means they could add a 3rd back pocket if they wanted.
- The Haas fam's selling 21M shares during this IPO in return for cash — $623M total.
- FYI, this is the 2nd time they've listed shares publicly -- Levi's actually IPO'd back in 1971, then went private in 1985. Now they're trying it on again.
The timing fits poorly... Jean sales globally have only grown 3.5% the last decade, slower than fashion overall (blame athleisurewear, @Lululemon). And Levi competitors Old Navy and Wrangler are getting spun-off into their own publicly-traded companies this year.
Molson Coors takes Bud to court for Super Bowl attack ads
Attack ads... Usually reserved for accusing your political opponent of eating pizza with a fork. But Budweiser brought them to the beer biz. Now Miller Coors is royally suing The King of Beers for it.
Timmy and Dave argue over Beer Pong rules... Bud-owner AB InBev and Miller-owner Molson Coors fight over questionably accurate ingredient accusations.
- The first shot was the Super Bowl ad shaming Coors and Miller Light for being brewed with corn syrup (unlike Bud).
- That’s when a plan for American Macro Brews to unite with a “Got Milk?” style ad campaign fell apart.
- Yesterday, Molson Coors sued Bud, claiming its ads are misleading — it does brew with corn syrup, but the final beer is free of the stuff (and evil high fructose corn syrup never touches the foam at all)
- *The best part: to make Bud's campaign backfire, Coors deployed magic taps to bars nationwide that treat everyone to free Coors Light every time it hears the Bud Light ad playing on a nearby TV.
Craft is thy real enemy... Like Starks and Lannisters, AB InBev and Molson Coors could unite against the craft beer, wine, and spirits — all of which are growing faster than 30-packs of watery stuff stuck in 13-ounce cans.
What else we’re Snackin’
Friday
- Earnings from Tiffany's