Deutsche Bank comes to the rescue with a survey, the results of which “Business Insider” publishes, further cementing its status as business “journalism’s” useful idiot.
I have pondered why in particular Bud Light got hit so badly. I think it partly was the issue and partly the following . . .
Here are the only two questions that I see as being relevant to Bud Light . . .
(1) Has the beer market shrunk to the point where there aren't a hundred (or more?) alternatives to Bud Light?
(2) Does Bud Light stand out in any positive way that would elevate them above these alternatives, something a consumer could not find anywhere else?
The answer to both questions is no, which means Bud Light has a struggle ahead of them. So might "Douche" Bank be right that people's attitudes are less negative or at least more neutral? They might be. But that doesn't even begin to translate into more cans bought because there's no reason. People have found an alternative beer by now, those that are going to, and there is no reason to change back. And since Bud Light is less popular, vendors are going to stock less of it, so it now gets less exposure. The MBA from Wharton didn't understand something even I, someone with a BA in English, get: in a market that flooded with options, you really don't want to anger your segment of the consumers because they have no reason to come back once they leave.
Here’s a question for you to ponder. Why do these companies keep doubling down on what looks like sheer destruction? I wondered about this being a Disney fan for decades. I kept thinking “surely this failure will make them see the light” as the failures kept piling up. I watched as they destroyed the Star Wars franchise. I watched as their theme park revenue dropped. I kept thing that the shareholders would start screaming at some point. I finally realized there was no end to the madness and pulled the plug on Disney Plus. The content just isn’t any good irregardless of what you think about the cultural impact. Same with Bud Light. They won’t stop. A lot of corporations have other methods to cushion losses I know but still? It’s the Spirit of the Age. Conservatives think that slowing the money flow will end this behavior but I’ve seen enough to not believe that at all. It might make the individual feel good and from a personal standpoint it’s good to make a stand but the only real solution is a parallel economy and that’s not as easy as it may sound. Thanks for another great read.
Well that’s certainly the case with sports franchises. They make so much from network revenue and corporate money for boxes, etc that they don’t care at all if fans actually show up. As far as the corporations we’re talking about I’m not familiar at all with their business infrastructures. Target is probably the one I most know about. They’ve been doing this for years. They spout the talk but maneuver behind the scenes. For example they had a large corporate headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. There has been strife there for sometime before the latest round in 2020. They were always getting damaged. They continued to espouse support for protesters while quietly shuttering this headquarters and moving to the suburbs. I saw this first hand as I worked only a couple blocks away. Disney is the one that confuses me the most. I know Abigail Disney is a true believer. Puzzling to say the least. I try to keep up for reasons of investing but it’s hard.
I have pondered why in particular Bud Light got hit so badly. I think it partly was the issue and partly the following . . .
Here are the only two questions that I see as being relevant to Bud Light . . .
(1) Has the beer market shrunk to the point where there aren't a hundred (or more?) alternatives to Bud Light?
(2) Does Bud Light stand out in any positive way that would elevate them above these alternatives, something a consumer could not find anywhere else?
The answer to both questions is no, which means Bud Light has a struggle ahead of them. So might "Douche" Bank be right that people's attitudes are less negative or at least more neutral? They might be. But that doesn't even begin to translate into more cans bought because there's no reason. People have found an alternative beer by now, those that are going to, and there is no reason to change back. And since Bud Light is less popular, vendors are going to stock less of it, so it now gets less exposure. The MBA from Wharton didn't understand something even I, someone with a BA in English, get: in a market that flooded with options, you really don't want to anger your segment of the consumers because they have no reason to come back once they leave.
Here’s a question for you to ponder. Why do these companies keep doubling down on what looks like sheer destruction? I wondered about this being a Disney fan for decades. I kept thinking “surely this failure will make them see the light” as the failures kept piling up. I watched as they destroyed the Star Wars franchise. I watched as their theme park revenue dropped. I kept thing that the shareholders would start screaming at some point. I finally realized there was no end to the madness and pulled the plug on Disney Plus. The content just isn’t any good irregardless of what you think about the cultural impact. Same with Bud Light. They won’t stop. A lot of corporations have other methods to cushion losses I know but still? It’s the Spirit of the Age. Conservatives think that slowing the money flow will end this behavior but I’ve seen enough to not believe that at all. It might make the individual feel good and from a personal standpoint it’s good to make a stand but the only real solution is a parallel economy and that’s not as easy as it may sound. Thanks for another great read.
Well that’s certainly the case with sports franchises. They make so much from network revenue and corporate money for boxes, etc that they don’t care at all if fans actually show up. As far as the corporations we’re talking about I’m not familiar at all with their business infrastructures. Target is probably the one I most know about. They’ve been doing this for years. They spout the talk but maneuver behind the scenes. For example they had a large corporate headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. There has been strife there for sometime before the latest round in 2020. They were always getting damaged. They continued to espouse support for protesters while quietly shuttering this headquarters and moving to the suburbs. I saw this first hand as I worked only a couple blocks away. Disney is the one that confuses me the most. I know Abigail Disney is a true believer. Puzzling to say the least. I try to keep up for reasons of investing but it’s hard.
What I failed to include in my last post is that when Target made this move they laid off about a quarter of the workforce who worked there.
Against the foolishness of Man the gods themselves contend in vain.