"People catch up with everything."
- Kyle Shanahan (NFL Coach)
|
|
FEEDBACK FROM SANTANGEL'S INVESTOR FORUM |
|
“I love the event and think you do a terrific job. It’s one of the more enjoyable and interesting days of my year and I look forward to it. Thanks for having me.”
“Very impressive crew – I was honored to be included.”
“Thoroughly enjoyable. You could sell tickets to Robert Simon's story alone - utterly incredible & the effort in his presentation to show you the evidence was tremendous. The application to investment was obvious: buy at the right price, be patient and work at it.”
|
|
CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE THAT DISPLAY MUNGER’S, “LOLLAPALOOZA EFFECTS”: “A few years ago I met with the CFO of a highly successful national furniture chain. This family business had achieved financial metrics that defied its industry; returns on equity consistently above 50%, gross margins above 60% and payback on new stores of under six months. Quizzing the CFO I asked, “Should the economy turn down, you could always cut margins a little?” To which he replied, “No, you don’t understand how the business works.” Expanding a little further, “The CEO starts with the 60%+ margins and works backwards. That’s the goal. A two hundred dollar chair is a two hundred dollar chair. Price it at two-hundred and fifty dollars and you won’t sell any. The CEO does the buying (how many other furniture store CEO’s do?). The CEO works with the suppliers to deliver that chair at a price that allows a 60%+ margin. It might mean removing the number of buttons, changing the fabric or redesigning the chair a little to get that outcome. It’s not about dropping price.” Wow, I thought to myself, that’s the silver bullet. That’s what makes this business so successful. A few months later I had the opportunity to ask the CEO directly, “What’s the key to success? Is it in the sourcing of product?,” I asked. Expecting confirmation of the silver bullet I’d uncovered, he replied, “yes that’s one thing, but really it’s the fact we do lots of little things a little better.” Investment Masters Class – May 19, 2020
|
|
STEVE JOBS RESPONDS TO A NEGATIVE CRITICISM DURING 1997 WORLDWIDE DEVELOPER CONFERENCE: “One of the things I've always found is that you've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can't start with the technology and try to figure out where you're going to try to sell it. I readily admit there are many things in life that I don't have the faintest idea what I'm talking about, but there's a whole lot of people working super, super hard right now at Apple. The whole team is working, burning the midnight oil trying to… And people, hundreds of people below them to execute on some of these things. Some mistakes will be made along the way, that's good because at least some decisions are being made along the way. And we'll find the mistakes, we'll fix them. I think what we need to do is support that team going through this very important stage.” YouTube – 1997
|
|
HOW SIMPLE CONCEPTS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES WORK TOGETHER TO PROVIDE SUSTAINABILITY AT FASTENAL: “One of its advantages is scale, the cost savings associated with a larger corporate size; Fastenal has 2,585 stores in the US and Mexico. Another advantage is scope, the cost savings associated with the offering for sale of different products by a single corporation rather than by different corporations; Fastenal sells hundreds of thousands of MRO, construction and OEM products that extend to 15 product lines. A third advantage is customization, the benefits associated with the offering of customer-tailored solutions; Fastenal’s manufacturing facilities can tailor its products to different customer needs. A fourth advantage is bundling, the package of different product characteristics to create unique consumer offerings; Fastenal’s extensive store network and highly trained personnel allows the company to bundle products with services. And a fifth advantage is aggregation, the benefits associated with pulling a large number of orders together; Fastenal helps its customers cut their transaction costs by offering them a one-stop solution to their hardware needs.” Forbes – July 12, 2017
|
|
WHAT IT MEANS TO PIVOT IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT - SUCCESSFUL PIVOTS MADE DURING THE PANDEMIC: “An even bigger threat to established brands is consumers’ increased willingness to experiment with different offerings during the crisis. Consumers are holding brands and companies to a higher standard than previously, favoring those perceived as doing more for society. Companies like Unilever and Procter & Gamble, whose portfolios include hundreds of brands, have no choice but to pivot in response. Brand loyalty can no longer be taken for granted, and brand repositioning may be necessary in many cases. But brand purpose and messaging will need to be laterally tweaked, not overhauled, because consumers are becoming more interested in safety, experience, and comfort as a result of the pandemic. Not all pivots result in good business performance. Three conditions are necessary for such lateral moves to work. First, a pivot must align the firm with one or more of the long-term trends created or intensified by the pandemic, including remote work, shorter supply chains, social distancing, consumer introspection, and enhanced use of technology. For instance, if social distancing remains the rule for the near future, the casual dating platform Tinder will need to follow competitors Bumble and Facebook Dating in offering video dating.” Harvard Business Review – July 7, 2020
|
|
THIS MESSAGE IS BEING PROVIDED STRICTLY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES, IS NOT A RESEARCH REPORT AND CONTAINS INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT DECISION. NO INVESTMENT ADVICE IS BEING PROVIDED.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
