We have summarized the top 10 consumer transcripts of the past four weeks, which you can find below. We’ve organized by market cap and limited ourselves to three AMZN transcripts.
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Extra Large Cap (Market Cap >$1 trillion) aka AMZN
AMZN (Amazon.com Inc.) – Former Competitor Believes AMZN Is Ahead of Competition, but the Edge Is Rapidly Eroding as off-the Shelf and Open-Sourced Voice AI Models Are Getting Better – Read Full Transcript
- Amazon’s voice AI moats are drying up. Anyone can rent servers, open AI mostly solves speech-to-text, leaving one remaining edge: deep natural language processing (eg, understanding the meaning of, “Will I need a raincoat tonight?”). “Kids these days… with their Python and AI” will soon cross that last moat.
- Automotive voice AI is generally comparable to Alexa when connected to the cloud, but remote functionality depends on edge compute within the car and/or devices distributed throughout the environment (ie, in the mountains)
- Separately, RBLX and NVDA lead in AR/VR hardware, and notable startups include BadVR and Niantic (creators of Pokemon Go).
AMZN (Amazon.com Inc.) – Former Sr. Manager Believes AMZN Prime Video Has a Lot of Room for Improvement – Read Full Transcript
- Amazon Prime has seen some success but has not yet caught up to competitor Netflix, who established their name as a leader in the crowded streaming space with widespread hits like House of Cards, Stranger Things, and Bridgerton.
- Streaming providers need to think about competition from a wider perspective than other streaming platforms. Anything that competes for consumer screen time — including video apps like YouTube and TikTok — are equal competition.
- Like Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video has a potential competitive edge in their ability to offer bundled services beyond streaming.
AMZN (Amazon.com Inc.) – Former Competitor Sees Industry Wide Labor Pressure and AMZN Competition Looming – Read Full Transcript
- Clinical delivery across the healthcare sector is experiencing a labor shortage that includes nurses, nurse practitioners, and PAs. It is projected that more than 45% of current clinical delivery staff will look to move out of the field. As a result, travel nurses and other travel staff are able to demand 2X to 4X of normal pay from service providers.
- Amazon’s power to impact healthcare lies largely in its lack of budget limitations and its AI capabilities. This expert believes Amazon could leverage both to eliminate many healthcare costs and build more seamless networks across state lines.
- Amazon needs to work on building partnerships within the healthcare system to truly make their Amazon Care initiative successful.
Large Cap ($10B+)
EL (Estee Lauder Cos., Inc.) – Former Competitor Believes Niche Brands Like Jo Malone Have the Most Growth Potential – Read Full Transcript
- Niche brands have the advantage of direct-to-consumer relationships, influencer awareness campaigns, higher pricing power, and a personalized shopping experience that combine to make them poised for growth going forward.
- Estee Lauder is likely to focus on production of high-margin products to combat supply chain challenges.
- Larger brands like Estee Lauder and top niche brands like Jo Malone will have an advantage over digitally native brands even on digital channels thanks to their wider and more established brand awareness.
EL (Estee Lauder Cos., Inc.) – Former VP Believes Varying Tastes and Preferences Across Geographies, Time, and Generations Is Emotionally Driven – Read Full Transcript
- Beauty consumers make emotional buying decisions. Estee Lauder has often been able to raise product prices without consequence thanks to their strong brand presence and established emotional connection with their customer base.
- Millennial and Gen-Z consumers are showing higher demand for skincare products, while makeup has declined. This trend accelerated during the pandemic.
- Estee Lauder and other established brands perform better with younger audiences in China than the United States. China’s Gen-Z consumers want well-known and high-end label products.
TJX (TJX Companies, Inc.) – Former VP Thinks That Off-Price Supply Chains Need to Be More Nimble and Flexible Than Traditional Retail Supply Networks – Read Full Transcript
- Off-price supply chains are generally less efficient than those of traditional retailers because they cannot plan for the kind of merchandise they’ll receive.
- To improve supply chains, off-price retailers like TJX and Ross need closer relationships with carriers and better consolidation networks to optimize inventory shipments.
- Off-price retailers are positioned to have a good year going forward. Supply chain challenges for traditional retailers have actually benefited off-price retailers by creating a higher volume of unused inventory.
Mid Cap ($2B – $10B)
CVNA (Carvana Co.) – Former Founder of a Competitor Believes Despite Its Recent Hiccups CVNA Is Still Best Positioned to Win in the Used Car Market – Read Full Transcript
- Carvana’s speed of scale is an indicator of its likely future success. Their strategy of building regional centers (like in Phoenix and the Northeast US) have proven that they don’t need to buy up individual storefronts or take on their associated costs in order to serve a wide market.
- Online car sales are likely to be considered the norm in the near future. VR technology has made it possible for consumers to feel like they’re truly testing the car before making a purchase.
- Carvana’s recent purchase of physical auction locations is a huge strategic move from a sourcing, data, and relationship-building standpoint in the industry.
BME-LN (B&M European Value Retail S.A.) – Former Competitor Is Not Positive on BME-LN’s Storefront Expansion Strategy and Believes the Competitive Necessity to Match AMZN Prime Is Unsustainable – Read Full Transcript
- B&M, a leading value goods retailer in the UK, plans to grow their brick-and-mortar footprint by 50%, adding 300 new storefronts. This strategy is directly opposite from competitor Wilco’s plan to close 20 shops and grow ecommerce operations.
- UK’s value retailers struggle to compete in the ecommerce delivery space because courier costs are often higher than the profit margin per order.
- Amazon Prime’s next-day delivery prices are impossible to compete with for value retailers. Wilco is trying to bridge the gap by selling products directly on Amazon at a slightly higher price.
THO (Thor Industries, Inc.) – Former Competitor Sees Little Room for THO to Grow – Read Full Transcript
- Thor, a recreational vehicle manufacturer, has reached maximum penetration in North American markets and has little room left to grow. Its bigger priority should be to prevent new entrants from earning market share.
- The industry’s labor shortage experienced during the pandemic has resolved, but sales talent remains a challenge as many of the industry’s top talent reaches retirement.
- The RV industry is experiencing new growth with younger buyers who are purchasing RVs for personal use (vacations, continuous travel, etc.).
CHGG (Chegg Inc) – Former Product Director Doesn’t Think CHGG Is Broken but Believes It Is Difficult to Forecast Growth Trajectory Going Forward – Read Full Transcript
- Chegg, a textbook and student services provider, has felt the impacts of the pandemic and inflation as more young adults are entering the labor market rather than attending two-year or four-year colleges (Chegg’s target demographic).
- Chegg’s pivot toward professional development, interview prep, and workplace bootcamps will likely keep them competitive and profitable.
- Automation presents a huge opportunity for Chegg to reduce the cost of goods over the next 3-5 years.
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Austin’s primary experience is in consulting and private equity, though he’s also a published author.
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