🍎 Apple’s headset bet

Party like it’s 2021… Apple could tap back into tech’s old New Big Thing: the metaverse. At its annual software conference this week Apple is expected to reveal long-awaited details of its mixed-reality (both VR and AR) headset. It would be the company’s first new major product line since 2014’s Apple Watch — and has been called Tim Cook’s riskiest move as CEO.

• The rumored $3K price tag is steep, about 6X the cost of Meta's recently announced $500 Quest 3 and roughly 3X the price of Sony’s PSVR2 (including the PS5 needed to use it). Analysts expect fewer than 500K Apple headset shipments in year one.

• Standout specs could include a live POV view-sharing feature called “copresence,” 4K displays, and screens on the front of lenses that digitally display users’ eyes (not creepy at all).

• Keep in mind: Apple is rumored to have been developing the device for seven years, and it faces pressure to release it before its hardware becomes outdated.

Virtual reality bites… There have been better moments to jump into the metaverse as companies reroute their virtual-world investments into the new buzzword: AI. Disney shut down its metaverse strategy division this year, and Microsoft scaled back its team building AR goggles. Globally, VR/AR device shipments fell 12% to fewer than 10M last year, while Sony’s new headset badly missed its launch-window sales target of 2M units. Use of the tech has been mostly limited to gaming. And consumers have yet to embrace face gadgets (flops include Google Glass, Snap Spectacles).

Not dryer-shrunk jeans… “Retail shrink” (the loss of inventory) is a growing problem in the US, and retailers are blaming rising theft. Target recently said that organized retail crime would lead to $500M more in losses this year. Dollar Tree, Home Depot, T.J. Maxx, and others have cited shrink and theft as a hit to profits. FYI: shrink cost retailers $95B in 2021. In December, Walmart said rising theft could even lead to store closures. Now retailers are bulking up precautions (think: more items behind glass).

Brands get “Bud Lighted”... This Pride Month is off to a tumultuous start for several companies. Last month Bud Light faced backlash after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted about beer that the AB InBev-owned brand had sent her. Bud sales fell by as much as 40% in some Southern markets. Target and Kohl’s have been boycotted because of their Pride merch, and Target pulled some products over threats to employees. Lots of companies still plan to move forward with their Pride plans, including Coors Light’s Denver Pride Parade.

The soup’s hot… Campbell's is set to report Wednesday, and the 153-year-old canned-soup icon's been on a roll since shoppers started snapping up pandemic pantry staples. Before Covid, its sales were falling. In Q2, its sales grew 12% as consumers kept stocking its snacks like Goldfish and Milanos, despite price hikes (FYI: half of US consumers now eat 3+ snacks/day). But as Big Foodies like Campbell, Pepsi, and Kraft get accused of profit-padding prices, snackers could scale back on brand names.

Never an outfit repeater… Rent the Runway could drop ’Gram-worthy results this week as shoppers pay to rent their fits and keep things fresh. In April, RTR posted record revenue and subscribers after adding an extra item to its monthly subscription. Meanwhile, Urban Outfitters' Nuuly rental service more than doubled sales last year, and Urban thinks it could become a $1B biz. While RTR has yet to turn a profit, rentals are trending up: the value of the digi-fashion rental market is expected to 2X to nearly $3B by 2030.

• IOU: The US debt deal will end the pandemic pause on student-loan payments, after three years, restarting repayments (and interest accrual) for millions of borrowers in August. The average paused balance = $37K.

• Jet: From Tesla's Elon Musk to JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, America’s top CEOs are flocking back to China for the first time in years. US-China relations are at a low point, but big biz can’t detach.

• Sus: Delta has been sued over its carbon-neutrality claims, with plaintiffs arguing that its carbon offsets are “junk.” There’s growing backlash against the unregulated offsets market, which Greenpeace has labeled a scam.

• Check: Low-income workers have made historic earnings gains during the pandemic, narrowing the wage gap between lower and higher earners. A labor shortage sparked the trend, but it could soon slow.

• Icy: The hottest new home amenity: cold plunges that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Freezing dipping pools are part of a wellness trend as spa amenities become must-haves in bougie backyards.

• Precious: Once a paper mill, Albemarle became the most valuable lithium producer after investing $6B nearly a decade ago on a hunch that the metal used in EV batteries would pop off. TL;DR: it was right.

• Monday: Apple WWDC keynote. Earnings expected from GitLab and Sprinklr

• Tuesday: Earnings expected from Cracker Barrel, Dave & Buster's, J.M. Smucker, and Stitch Fix

• Wednesday: Earnings expected from Campbell Soup, GameStop, and Rent the Runway

• Thursday: Jobless claims. Earnings expected from DocuSign, Planet Labs, Signet Jewelers, Toro, and Vail Resorts

• Friday: Earnings expected from Nio

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple, Delta, Disney, Google, Kraft Foods, Nvidia, Planet Labs, Tesla, Walmart, Snap, and Microsoft