Scott R.’s Post

Highly Recommended Podcast - Acquired   Before you say, oh no another podcast, please read on. Recently a friend recommended the podcast Acquired to me for listening. I am definitely not much of a podcast guy, but the episode I started with was about Costco. Now I never joined Costco, never thought it was for me, and I definitely did not know anything about the company. But I put it on when I was going out for a training run and I was totally hooked. Not only did I find out the history of the company’s start, but I learned about their business strategy, their revenues, and how they have owned the membership shopping experience. Not only do I want to join Costco now, but as a business owner, I am hooked on this podcast. The hosts present similar stories across the entire business world including LVMH (fantastic), Porsche (not a car person, but fascinating), and Visa. There is something for every person (business or otherwise) and my runs now go much faster. #acquired #business #podcasts

How to create a conglomerate? Study the bests, LVMH (+70 brands) or Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet). Some keys that a conglomerate needs to have from Roger Mitchell: - You buy up companies in an established industry that is normally fragmented, lacking a dominant player (sport is ideal, so was luxury). - You buy these companies well, at a “bargain”. - At the centre of the conglomerate, you are allocating capital and finding the best C-Suite operators for your subsidiaries. - In some categories, like sports, it needs empathy for the traditions, like football team and fans history relationship. If you want to discover the full business story of LVMH, listen the 3h podcast at Acquired https://lnkd.in/ejQyA6sU, an amazing disclosure.

If you're a fan of Costco Wholesale this is a few hours well spent. The guys from Acquired dropped it last summer, but the story of how the third largest retailer in America grew from humble beginnings as a buyer's club for federal employees in Los Angeles is evergreen and amazing for many reasons. 1. The company has always had ethics at its core. Not just higher pay and better healthcare for employees, but even when then had inflection points on big deals as the company scaled the founders went out of their way to be nice. Really. 2. It has made few stumbles, and even the ones it has made (being late to e-commerce) have worked to their advantage. 3. It has created that rarest of things in retail - a genuine moat/flywheel of innovation and growth. And real value for consumers. Er. Members. So many great tidbits - kind of why you listen to podcasts. And more proof that the best of the medium is driven by subject matter experts with a passionate knowledge of their subject. #podcast #business #strategy https://lnkd.in/gXVUKPh6

Thanks to the Journal for this story on Acquired, which hadn't hit my podcast radar. After listening to a handful of episodes (on Novo Nordisk, Hermès, Nike, Costco Wholesale, Peloton Interactive...), I highly recommend it. If you're a business nerd like I am, the time commitment - like 2-4 hours per - is well worth it. The format includes a deep dive into the history of each company, and excellent analysis of strategy, business models, financial performance, company "powers" using Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers framework, and future prospects (bull and bear cases). Of course, nobody bats 1000%. The episode on Peloton Interactive aired in February 2022, just after Barry McCarthy took the reins, and it desperately needs an update. At the time, the hosts of the show, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, were gushing about the new CEO and generally bullish about the company's prospects, although they're always careful to hedge in their scenarios. Rosenthal thought McCarthy could turn the company around and that it could possibly regain it's former glory and $50B market cap. Gilbert was less optimistic but still thought Peloton could be acquired for $20B in the next two years. Fast forward to today - McCarthy failed in his turnaround bid and left in May of this year. Peloton now has a market cap of less than $1.4B, and during his tenure, the stock price fell ~ 90%. He may have saved the company from complete chaos and Chapter 11, but it remains in critical condition. It would be instructive to hear the post-mortem on the McCarthy period from Gilbert and Rosenthal. Where did their analysis go wrong? https://lnkd.in/gAVjjR-s

Acquired is one of my all-time favorite podcasts. And this recent show on Costco does not disappoint. Insights abound. Here's one example: When environmental complexity increases, organizations can respond in either of two ways. They can work to increase their agility (defined as the organization's ability to reconfigure itself in response to external pressures) through improvements in process or technological adaptation, or through upskilling and decentralization, etc. This is typically the route discussed when we talk about complexity. But there’s another, less glamorous option as well: rather than increase their agility, they can reduce their exposure to complexity by narrowing their focus and/or limiting their offering in some way. And if that sounds like it would be bad for business, think again. This is one reason behind American low-cost retailer Costco's success. As co-host Ben Gilbert explains on a recent episode of the Acquired podcast: While your typical Walmart store stocks up to 250,000 products, Costco has chosen to reduce complexity by limiting their assortment to less than 4,000! https://lnkd.in/ge4YNf4z

I’m fascinated by #Costco’s approach to success, which is brilliantly dissected in the #Acquired podcast. 🎧 Costco’s magic lies in their mastery of low SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) numbers. This isn’t just about reducing inventory—it’s a philosophy that resonates across industries. By focusing on fewer products and services, we can dedicate more resources to quality, customer satisfaction, and employee well-being. Embrace the power of simplicity! #Leadership #Innovation #BusinessStrategy #ProductManagement

Spent this week’s school runs listening to the Costco episode of the Acquired podcast. As a recent signup to the Costco membership I was amazed to learn: 🛒Costcos revenue per employee is over $700k (revenue not margin, but still in comparison to public SaaS companies at $2/300k - impressive) 🛒Costcos own brand Kirkland Signature on its own does more revenue than all of Nike 🛒Costco sells more high end wine ($20-100 a bottle) than any other retailer 🛒Costco limits the margin it will make on any product at 14% but targets 11% - it wants members to get an amazing deal 🛒Because of this over 70% of their $7bn profits come from membership fees Amazing deep dive - for anyone that does a regular drive or commute I highly recommend the Acquired podcast - I’ve recently learned about Porsche, LVMH and Nike. https://lnkd.in/eVgtWyk6

Highly recommending this podcast about Costco. 1. They have creative approaches to reduce turnover and promote from within. 2. They outline a pathway to draw and retain top customers. 3. They strategize how to increase value for customers and set a maximum margin - looking for ways to lower their prices. 4. They continue to dominate their industry by treating their customers with the utmost respect. We can all learn a lot from them. This is worth the 1.5 hours on 2x speed. https://lnkd.in/eeymmyuy

In this episode, you’ll hear: -How merchandising is a great way to gauge what your customer wants before diving into creating a custom line. -The importance of hiring people on your team who have experience and truly know what they’re doing. -The realities of what costs you will be looking at and the time you should plan to invest in building an apparel line. -Monthly retainer vs. Hourly costs + real costs associated with each step of the development process. -How profit can be used correctly to help push your brand forward. Make sure to check out this week's new podcast episode on your favorite streaming platform, or on YouTube! https://lnkd.in/gmADwSbY #apparel #productline #apparelmanufacturing #apparelindustry #garmentfitting #garments #fashionindustry #unmarkedstreet #thecuttingedge

📰 Stay informed with our latest post covering the top business news of the week! From Wendy's dynamic pricing to Apple's surprising decision on the Apple Car and the FTC blocking Kroger's merger, swipe through for all the latest developments. Want to dive deeper into these stories? Tune in to Episode 130 of our podcast for in-depth analysis and insights! 🎙️📈 #BusinessNews #StayInformed #Wendys #Apple #Kroger