An introfesto
#1 Putting my money where my mouth is
What’s in a name? Astute observers will be reminded of the set of cards that often feature in my stories: Oblique Strategies. Created in 1975 by musician Brian Eno and artist Peter Schmidt, the set of cards presents a suggestion of a course of action or thinking to assist in creative situations. Some are direct, some more cryptic. This is the one I pulled as I decided to relaunch my newsletter:
The borrowed from the French word “oblique” takes on a new meaning in English:
I’m ready to explore the ambiguous, and perhaps the more obvious too, together. We’ll see how my forecasting skills hold up.
💰 What I’m investing in
🏦 Actual financial education for everyone. If I ever hear again the word “investment piece” to talk about an expensive bag or pair of boots… I may lose it. It’s been proven that women are better investors than men. They outperform men at investing by 1.8% each year. [source: Charles Stanley]. Yet time and time again, we see condescending or downright infantilising phrasing used to talk to them:
⇒ What do I mean by investing in it? I obviously can’t legally give financial advice without disclaimer, but I’m interested to comment on how certain consumer trends have a correlation to bigger financial events.
One great example I often quote is the lipstick index: certain items such as lipsticks sell more in times of recession because consumers still want to indulge in small luxuries at times when big purchases are out of question:
“Estee Lauder chairman Leonard Lauder created the lipstick index during the economic downturn following September 11, 2001. He noticed that the purchase of cosmetics, lipsticks in particular, tend to be inversely related to the economy because women replace more expensive purchases with small pick-me-ups. In fall 2001, US lipstick sales increased by 11%. And back during the Great Depression, cosmetics sales overall increased by 25%.” [CNN]
👟 Tchau Samba, what’s next? adidas Sambas have been over, after becoming the brand’s second best-selling sneaker of all time, following the Stan Smith. Much ink has been spilled about the sneaker’s death, and yet: I went back-to-school shopping with my 17 y.o. niece and they were still flying off the shelves!
The obvious alternative is the Gazelle, but other popular searches point to the Spezial and the Campus. The Wales Bonner collab’s popularity is decreasing, I’m almost positive it’s due to the amount of dupes available on DHGate and Alibaba. The real heads will reach for the Predator, which I’ve just added to my bag. They also have a vintage profile but the curvy riff on the 3 stripes adds a certain je-ne-sais-quoi.
⇒ The popularity of one specific style won’t affect the stock price of adidas (valued at 204 EUR as of writing). If I may though: the Stock Market goes down every year in September, without fail. If there was a time to invest in something one believes has long-term potential… now would not be the worst time. [Disclaimer: No guarantee can be offered that projections or estimates will actually occur. Actual results may be materially different from projections or estimates. Additionally, past performance should not be relied upon as a forecast of future performance.]
💸 What I’m divesting from
👃 Random collabs. Computer brand Asus is collaborating with fashion designer Anna Sui on a scented computer. There’s a fragrance diffuser at the centre, and you can pick from 3 fragrances [source: Tom’s Hardware]. This seems ill-advised at best, and more likely headache-inducing. I also don’t get the brand pairing: Asus may be a moneymaker ($15B in 2023, a 13% decrease from 2022 though), but it’s never had any cool factor, and Anna Sui arguably peaked in the early 2000s. A quick glance at her wiki reveals she’ll collaborate with anyone.
⇒ Asus has a primary listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (ticker code 2357) if you disagree with me and want in. This collab is but a blip on the radar but imho… the vision isn’t there.
🐦 Elon Musk in general. “A global survey by market research firm Kantar found that a net 26% of marketers plan to decrease their spending on X in 2025, the biggest recorded pullback from any major global ad platform. Only 4% of marketers overall think X ads provide brand safety” [CNN].
I’m not sure why we’re not talking about this $13B loan more: “Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Is Now the Worst Buyout for Banks Since the Financial Crisis” [WSJ]
⇒ Twitter/X went from public to private in 2022. I would strongly urge anyone to spend their ad money elsewhere though.
📈 Bullish news
🛍️ US private equity group TPG is in talks to buy stake in Vinted at a €5B valuation. The Lithuanian secondhand shopping app, where I used to work at, became profitable last year. [Financial Times]
🥂 Cheers! Nonalcoholic brand Ghia launched a new product this week, Le Fizz. After their Spritz-inspired apéritifs, this is their alternative to Champagne. Knowing the founder Mélanie Masarin is French, I wonder if she too hated Champomy as a kid? (For our foreign friends: sparkling apple juice was bottled like Champagne to allow children to partake in the festive spirit.) More from the founder in Feed Me. As a sober-on-weekdays person, I’d personally love to see more sugar-free nonalcoholic options on Parisian mocktail menus!
To put things into perspective: “Gen-Z drink on average 20% less than millennials, who also drink less than the previous generation”; “The non-alcoholic category surpassed $11 billion in 2022”; “The non-alcoholic category is expanding thanks to both higher demand and innovation within the space, with volumes expected to grow by 25% between 2022 and 2026.” [Forbes]
That being said, is a sober dating app the answer for this growing demographic? Meet Club Pillar. Interesting to note that one of their advisors’ background is at Campari and Moët Hennessy [Yahoo Finance].
👠 Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford. A perfect match in my opinion: a sensual yet tasteful designer appointed at a brand known for selling S E X. [NYT]
📒 Is print coming back? The Cut’s first solo print issue is available on newsstands, with a Chloe Sevigny cover and an Usher one too. The Usher version features a detachable centrefold 😛 Meanwhile, the J. Crew catalogue is back, with Demi Moore on the cover no less! Followers of lostjcrew rejoice.
📉 Bearish news
🧵 Sarah Burton at Givenchy. The creative director is replacing Matthew Williams and will present her first show for the house in March. Given her track record at Alexander McQueen – she made a previously experimental label a safe brand with a few best-sellers – it’s unclear why she’s being appointed at a house that hasn’t seen much commercial success since Riccardo Tisci’s edgy run. [Vogue]
👼 Trouble in paradise? Is there Dieuxskin founder drama? After this summer’s Fishwife founder meltdown, another DTC brand takes a hit. The skincare brand that made reusable eye patches viral seems to be encountering similar issues. I was randomly thinking about Marta Freedman, who also created Air Milkshake, and how she hadn’t posted about Dieux in a while. Per her LinkedIn, she left the company in July. The timeline tracks as she posted a story about being locked out of her Dieux email since July.
See you next Monday 💋