AFZ

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Eastman Kodak: From Market Leader to Bankruptcy
AFZ
Posted on December 7, 2015 at 6:08 pm
How did Eastman Kodak plummet from being the fourth most valuable brand in the U.S. with $15 billion of revenue in 1996 to bankruptcy by 2012?

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On December 9, 2015, AFZ commented on Tesla Motors – Revolutionizing the Auto Industry :

Echoing Steve’s comment above, I agree that the infrastructure of supercharging stations will be critical to encouraging consumer adoption of electric cars. I wonder if Tesla could consider partnering with other manufacturers to develop a network of shared charging stations. This may speed up the roll-out process and spread the costs across multiple companies.

Given the relatively low penetration of electric cars, it makes sense for manufacturers to work together rather than compete against each other – it’s more important to increase the size of the pie (i.e., market penetration of electric cars) than fighting for a bigger share of the small existing pie.

On December 9, 2015, AFZ commented on Sprig: Uber for healthy meals :

This is a very interesting business. At $9-13/meal, the price of a meal from Sprig rivals most fast casual restaurants. I wonder if the price point could be lowered further as the company scales and gains more customers in densely populated areas (increasing utilization of each driver and shortening the distance of each delivery).

As for the Uber threat, I agree with you that UberEats may not be as competitive in terms of quality given that the food may not be specifically made to be carried around for long periods of time. However, I wonder if Uber’s model of playing the intermediary and sourcing food from restaurants instead of creating it gives it more flexibility in terms of changing consumer preferences. It may be easier for UberEats to switch between restaurants based on popularity vs. Sprig that is vertically integrated and would need to re-train chefs on a certain cuisine and purchase specific equipment – it may be pretty difficult to switch from prepping pasta to making sushi overnight.

On December 9, 2015, AFZ commented on Trunk Club – Helping Men Where They Need It Most :

Very interesting post, Matt! Trunk Club’s unique business model allows it to operate without the capital intensity necessary for “brick-and-mortar” retailers. It seems that there will be significant operating leverage for the company as it scales, as it will be able to negotiate better pricing with clothing manufacturers and logistics providers (e.g., shipping and handling). However, I wonder if there are issues or factors that would limit the company’s ability to scale its business model. For example, perhaps current customers are attracted to the curation and unique wardrobes that Trunk Club provides, in addition to the convenience. As more users adopt the service, I wonder if the product offering would lose its appeal with the original customer base that desire unique clothing pieces that are not worn by others.