Guilty pleasures
Tippets by Taps #144: Stress in COVID, Amazon in the mall, Google in the home, mac n' cheese, and more. Enjoy!
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According to the American Psychological Associate, our baseline stress levels are 12% higher than they were pre-COVID, with parents experiencing a 20% increase. It makes sense. The current climate is a dangerous cocktail combining a global pandemic, political uncertainty, and forced isolation with a twist of working from home and home-schooling. We’re juggling more balls at once than ever before while standing on a piece of plywood in quicksand. The harder we fight, the faster we sink.
These days a good, guilty pleasure is essential to maintaining a reasonable level of sanity. Respite during the chaos. Escape. Some have turned to bake, resulting in a mass shortage of flour. Others have turned to reality TV shows like Indian Matchmaking, resulting in a mass number of texts to me asking if I am related to Sima Taparia from Mumbai (side note: no, I’m not, although at this point I should probably start saying I am and that I’m starting a US-based spin-off). My guilty pleasure during COVID? Madam Secretary.
I’m currently mid-season 3 of this CBS political drama series that stars the wonderful Téa Leoni (of Bad Boys fame) as Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst, and political science professor turned Secretary of State, appointed by the President who happens to be her former boss at the CIA. For me, the show is fabulous relief from the real world. It’s got enough politics and drama to keep me entertained, enough substance and educational tidbits to allow me to convince myself I'm not completely wasting my time (I didn’t know about the National War College or Thomas Aquinas prior), and enough wholesomeness and cheese to start a deli. This review in the New York Times puts it well:
The CBS drama...was a one of the squarest shows on television. That was a big part of its charm. A lot of the energy and pacing of “Madam Secretary” is reminiscent of the pre-antihero era, a throwback in style and story...What it felt like was a show that wanted to be enjoyed, not agonized over. Trust, I love puzzling out a show, reading endless threads that dissect tiny clues, charting minuscule hints and decoding ancillary materials. But it is not the only way to love, and we cannot live on dire dramas alone. Decency is not a vice, and a vague squareness is not so bad, either.
What have been your COVID guilty pleasures? Reply in the comments or shoot me a note (especially if you have any recommendations for books or shows!)
Amazon and Mall Operator Look at Turning Sears, J.C. Penney Stores Into Fulfillment Centers
Department stores as fulfillment centers. Fulfillment centers as department stores. The rise of e-commerce, subsequent decline of malls, and consumer expectation of next-day or same-day delivery is accelerating the convergence of what used to be two separate operational capabilities (sales and fulfillment). Now, the largest mall operator and largest e-commerce provider in the US are discussing joining forces.
The largest mall owner in the U.S. has been in talks with Amazon.com Inc., the company many retailers denounce as the mall industry’s biggest disrupter, to take over space left by ailing department stores.
Simon Property Group Inc. has been exploring with Amazon the possibility of turning some of the property owner’s anchor department stores into Amazon distribution hubs, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon typically uses these warehouses to store everything from books and sweaters to kitchenware and electronics until delivery to local customers.
For Amazon, a deal with Simon would be consistent with its efforts to add more distribution hubs near residential areas to speed up the crucial last mile of delivery.
For other large mall tenants (see: Macy’s, Nordstrom), this news has to feel a bit like the farmer inviting the fox into the henhouse. However, having failed to “to replace department stores [with] schools, medical offices and senior living” prior to COVID, this seems to be one of the only things left.
Google invests $450 million in ADT, gets exclusive hardware deal
Google just bought its way into 6.5 million more homes. This week the tech giant invested $450M into ADT, provider of home security systems and rapid response capabilities. As part of the deal, Google will get a 6.6% share in ADT and ADT will now exclusively partner with Google (read: will only sell Google smart home technology) to its customers. The companies have also committed to working together on new product development and joint marketing effort, as both companies will “commit an additional $150 million each for co-marketing, product development, technology and employee training.”
As the battle for control of the smart home rages on, this is a shrewd move by Google. Yes, the customer numbers are interesting, but far more important are the installers. By building an exclusive relationship with ADT, Google gets to train over 20,000 installers on Google products, a critical distribution and support arm, critical to the successful execution of a smart home strategy.
Smart home solutions, especially ones that want every door and window to be monitored, can involve purchasing and installing dozens of devices. The prospect of even planning for a system like this can be too much for many potential customers, but now an ADT installer can show up and handle everything from estimates to installations using Google hardware.
$450M is going to be more than worth it. Oh, and in case you were keeping score at home, that $450M investment is now worth $648M based on the stock price increase.
Shake Shack's First Drive-Thru Is Coming Next Year
Drive-thru’s restaurants first rolled out in the late 1940s and saw its first boom during the 1970s. Now, 50 years later, we’re poised to see a drive-thru renaissance. Starbucks, Chipotle, Panera, and Wawa headline a list of companies that are investing in drive-thru lanes. Now Shake Shack is the latest to join the fray, having previously avoided drive-thru common in other quick-serv restaurants. This week the burger joint shared their drive-thru concepts.
“Obviously, this country has proven that the drive-thru in its old form works,” [Shake Shack CEO Randy] Garutti stated later in the call. “We want to do it in its new form. We want to do it better than ever with an experience that you stay, you drive-thru, whichever you want. And it's everything Shake Shack has always been, that modern version of that old roadside community gathering place.”
The renders certainly illustrate a new and improved experience drive-thru experience compared to what we have today. While still not finalized, hopefully some of these improvements stick and inspire others to follow suit!
Kraft mac and cheese is now a breakfast food, apparently
As we discussed up top, to say parents these days are stress is putting it mildly. Now “Kraft wants you to wake up and smell the mac and cheese.”
Kraft Heinz announced Tuesday that it will rebrand its Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner along with its iconic blue box. It’s not getting a full redesign: The company is just adding the word “breakfast” — instead of dinner — to encourage Americans to start their day with neon orange cheesy noodles. The company hopes the new “breakfast” label could take away some of the shame that’s associated with parents serving their kids easy-to-make non-breakfast foods in the morning.
The part that stood out to me was around shame. The idea that two people is enough to successfully raise a child is unrealistic during normal circumstances. Figuring out how to manage the development of your kids during the pandemic is something no one should give themselves or others a hard time about. As parents, we have to be forgiving of ourselves because something’s got to give. Screen time. Less than rigorous disciplining on homework. More snacks than normal. At this point parents everywhere should basically throw up a big ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Do what you have to do. The kids are gonna be alright.
Quote I’m thinking about: “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” - Thomas Aquinas
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