The start of the year hasn't gone as well as Netflix
and Peleton
would have wanted to. Both their business models are founded on extensive marketing and have had rapid growth so far, so everyone was betting on them for a long time now, probably believing it will last forever. However, as time passed and people realized that they preferred to work out outside, and that HBO or Disney often have better series, their golden era of growth came to an end.
After all, Netflix is only one of many streaming sites, while Peloton is simply selling costly bikes that end up becoming clothes hangers over time. And those who have bet on them realize the king is naked.?
In a world of overabundance, you must learn to be a Cassandra.?
- Amazon announced the launch of its first physical clothing store, dubbed Amazon Style, according to information sent to Retail Dive. The store will open later in the year at The Americana at Brand in Los Angeles and will feature women's and men's apparel, shoes and accessories. Customers can use the Amazon Shopping app to scan a product's QR code to access information including sizes, colors and ratings. Items can then be sent to a fitting room or directly to the pickup counter. Read more.?
- Online grocery platform, Instacart, and arts and crafts retailer, Michaels, have announced an expanded partnership to launch same-day delivery from more than 100 of the latter’s stores across Canada. “We’re proud to expand our footprint with Michaels across North America today, making it possible for families in Canada to get the materials they need — whether looking for an art canvas, scrapbook accessory or kids activity — delivered directly to their door in as fast as an hour.” - said Chris Rogers, Vice President of Retail at Instacart. Read more.?
- Mastercard has unveiled a virtual card offering that uses machine learning and straight-through processing for instant payment of supplier invoices. Ron Shultz, EVP, new payment flows, North America, Mastercard, says: "Delayed payments create significant challenges for businesses financially and operationally, especially in today’s environment. Track Instant Pay helps solve these pain points by enabling buyers and suppliers to automate their manual payment processes, unlocking valuable time, working capital and choice." Read more.
- Market-leading SaaS banking platform Mambu, and global provider of cloud payments and financial messaging solutions, Volante Technologies, announced a pioneering collaboration to help banks and lenders modernize their banking and payment infrastructures rapidly. “The partnership boosts digital banking and payment functionalities that help orchestrate state-of-the-art solutions across all banking channels,” said Kevin Trilli, Mambu Chief Product Officer. Read more.?
- ABN AMRO Clearing announced a new infrastructure for business clients such as brokers to allow fractional investing by their end clients. Rutger Schellens, CEO of ABN AMRO Clearing explains, “We are active in the business-to-business segment and offer services to retail brokers such as BUX. These innovations help us to retain clients and further boost our impact and income.” Read more.?
- Dow Jones announced the launch of its sustainability data to help the global financial community understand the performance and impact of a company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The initial offering is available for asset managers to make sustainable investment decisions and to better engage the growing audience of purpose-driven investors. Read more.?
- Borzo, which enables same-day intra city delivery across 10 countries, including Brazil, India and Russia, has appointed Idriss Al Rifai as its new CEO. “We believe that in order for Borzo to reach its next milestone we needed the expertise and leadership of a seasoned executive who already operated at that scale,” says Mike Alexandrovski, Chairman and Co-founder, Borzo. Read more.?
- Google has hired PayPal exec Arnold Goldberg to help reset its ambitions for banking and payments. “We’re not a bank,” Ready told Bloomberg. “We have no intention of being a bank. Some past efforts, at times, would unwittingly wade into those spaces.” Google wants to become the connective tissue for the entire consumer finance industry, not just certain partners. Read more.
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- Jorissa Neutelings was appointed as ABN AMRO’s new Chief Digital Officer on 1 December 2021. Frans van der Horst, CEO of Personal & Business Banking: “Jorissa has an acute insight into clients’ needs and can convey technological challenges in plain language, dynamically and with a healthy dose of humor. A natural builder of bridges, she is the ideal person to help take our ‘one bank’ efforts a step forward.” Read more.?
- 5 areas where VCs can play an outsized role in addressing climate change. While global tech and finance leaders have suggested that the world’s first trillionaire will be someone tackling climate change and that many climate unicorns are on the way, current VC levels are dwarfed by the mind-boggling funding amounts that are needed to give humanity a fighting chance. Read more.?
- Comments from Starling Bank’s Anne Boden at a House of Commons Treasury Select Committee at the end of 2021 struck a painful chord with several fintech founders. A long read by Niamh Curran for Finextra. Read more.
