7 minute read
That’s Odd
ecutives are surveying the damage that the companies are facing after losing those deals.
The road back to normalcy will be much rockier for Adidas than Nike. Adidas’s breakup with rapper and designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, over his outbursts ended one of the most lucrative sneaker arrangements in the industry’s history and leaves a gaping hole in the company’s earnings that may be as large as $251 million. Nike’s suspended its shoe line with basketball star Kyrie Irving after he refused to disavow antisemitism.
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Adidas’s CEO, Kasper Rorsted, is on his way out. His successor will now have to figure out how to sell Yeezy designs to customers without the brand name and whether to rethink celebrity partnerships, all while contending with global supplychain snags and declining market share in China.
Adidas became heavily dependent on Yeezy since hitching itself to the celebrity in 2013. The Yeezy line grew to almost $2 billion in annual sales, or about 8% of Adidas’s total revenue, according to analysts. Premium pricing gave the collection high margins, and it represented more than 40% of profit at Adidas, according to Morgan Stanley. Executives are expected to tell investors how they plan to mitigate that shortfall on an earnings call on this week.
“The saga of Ye, not just with Adidas but with brands like Gap and Balenciaga, underlines the importance of vetting celebrities thoroughly and avoiding those who are overly controversial or unstable,” Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Plc, noted. “Companies or brands that fail to heed this will get stung, especially if they become overly reliant on a difficult personality to drive their business.”
In 2019, Nike Executive Chairman Mark Parker singled out the Kyrie shoe line as a key piece of the company’s basketball future. Nike had planned to release the latest version of his signature sneaker, the Kyrie 8, this month. For now, that’s canceled, and the company hasn’t yet said what it’ll do with the excess inventory. Irving’s shoe deal is set to expire next year.
Leaving Irving behind won’t hit the company as much as Adidas. Nike has several big basketball stars signed to long-term arrangements, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. It also has the sneaker world’s biggest celebrity asset, Michael Jordan, whose Jordan brand generates more than $5 billion in annual revenue for Nike.
Celebrity and athlete partnerships come with inherent risk for the companies that work with them — even a one-off advertising campaign ties a face to a brand. Even so, it’s rare to see them explode with such potency. Often the worst that happens is that a spokesperson apologizes after a gaffe, and it’s back to business as usual. But Ye and Irving were unapologetic when confronted with their antisemitic comments, going so far as to double down on their hateful views.
Side Dish Seltzer
For those who like to drink their side dishes, this drink is for you.
Beverage company Aura Bora is now offering Green Bean Casserole sparkling water. Want to know what it tastes like? The beverage has a “sweet, earthy, and buttery flavor” and is like taking a bite out of a “perfectly crunchy, succulent green bean.” Yum.
The company thought that their consumers would be excited to drink
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and not just eat their favorite foods at their Thanksgiving meal.
According to the company’s CEO, “Everyone knows side dishes are the best part of a Thanksgiving meal. So we upped the ante. Green Bean Casserole was inspired by Aura Bora superfans, who LOVE daring and unassuming sparkling water flavors. We like to say, ‘Our Green Bean Casserole is better than your mom’s.’ I hope you think so too.”
The refreshing sparkling water is set to come out on November 8 and is only available to select customers.
Or you can just dunk a shriveled green bean into your glass at your Thanksgiving meal and enjoy that refreshing taste.
The Big Cheese
Out of 4,434 cheeses from 42 countries, a gruyère from Switzerland nabbed the top slot at the world’s best cheese competition last week.
Last Wednesday, hundreds gathered at the World Cheese Awards in the United Kingdom. Two-hundred-fifty judges sniffed and nibbled on delicious offerings. Judges described the winning Le Gruyère AOP surchoix, entered by Swiss cheese maker Vorderfultigen and affineur (refiner) Gourmino, as a “really refined, hand-crafted cheese” that melts on the tongue and has notes of herbs, fruits and leather. “A cheese with a lot of taste and bouquet.”
A matured cheese, the gruyère is slightly crumbly and made from raw cow’s milk.
Coming in second place was a Gorgonzola Dolce DOP, a soft, blue buttery cheese made by De’ Magi from Italy.
There were so many cheeses on display last week – towering blues, flat creamy medallions and imposing cheddar slabs. There were cheeses the shape of witch hats and flowers, cheeses wrapped in nettle leaves or covered in ash. There were plain, simple cheeses. There were cheeses resembling cakes, elaborately garnished in fruit.
There were whites, oranges, blues – even purples.
At least one cheese looked like it was painted by abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock.
With all this good cheese around, life is so gouda.
Do Bees Have Fun?
It’s busy work being a bee, but that doesn’t mean it’s all work and no play.
A study recently published in Animal Behavior notes that bumblebees, when given the chance, like to fool around with toys.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London conducted an experiment in which they set up a container that allowed bees to trav-
el from their hive to a feeding area. Along the way, the bees could opt to pass through a separate section with a smattering of small wooden balls. Over 18 days, the scientists watched as the bees “went out of their way to roll wooden balls repeatedly, despite no apparent incentive to do so.” The finding suggests that, like humans, insects also interact with inanimate objects as a form of play. Also similar to people, younger bees seemed to be more playful than adult bees.
“This research provides a strong indication that insect minds are far more sophisticated than we might imagine,” Lars Chittka, a professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, who led the study, said.
Other studies have shown that bees will learn new tricks for food and other rewards.
Scientists are noting that bees’ ability to play is proof that these insects can actually experience feelings.
“They may actually experience some kind of positive emotional states, even if rudimentary, like other larger fluffy, or not so fluffy, animals do,” the study’s first author, Samadi Galpayage, said.
We can’t bee-lieve it.
Runaway Train
A Swiss railway company claimed the record for the world’s longest passenger train over the weekend with a trip on one of the most spectacular tracks through the Alps.
The Rhaetian Railway company ran the 1.9-kilometer-long (1.2-mile-long) train composed of 100 coaches along the Albula/Bernina route from Preda to Berguen.
The route was designated a UNESCO World Heritage in 2008 and leads through 22 tunnels, some of which spiral through mountains, and across 48 bridges, including the curved Landwasser Viaduct.
The entire journey took over an hour. Rail enthusiasts lined the valley to watch the train’s 25 sections wind their way about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) through the Alps.
Rhaetian Railway director Renato Fasciati said the record attempt was intended to highlight some of Switzerland’s engineering achievements and to celebrate 175 years of Swiss railways.
Sounds like they’re right on track.
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