Sometimes it feels like you spend half your life filling things up especially if you have a large family that neglects such duties. With just the two of us there is always stuff to be filled: Bottled water in the fridge; mouthwash; Ziploc bags; coffee pods; paper towels; toilet paper; tissue paper; gas tank; pepper mill; and salt shaker.
Then there are things to need to replaced like light bulbs (LED one of the great inventions) and batteries.
And finally once a week, all that adds up to a lot of garbage. I’m still amazed how much garbage we accumulate. And with Amazon deliveries, one recycle container isn’t enough.
$500 Million was the tab MSU settled on to pay the Nasser victims. Not only was it the largest in history for a university to pay, there are so many untold costs we will never know of. Good news is that MSU and the victims can move forward towards the healing process. And undergrad enrollment hit yet another new high.
There are some 30 million small businesses in the USA. Of those, how many do you think are part of the MLM (multi-level marketing) scheme? A huge percentage. Too bad since more than 99% of those who buy in lose money. Can someone please tell me why anyone wants to be part of MLM? My only guess: The ability to buy direct at a discount.
Is Tesla boring? Absolutely! Right underneath Tesla’s massive plant in Freemont, CA, the Boring Company is building underground tunnels to help alleviate traffic. Add Space X to the mix and you can say Tesla has all travel options covered top to bottom.
Leave it to Amazon to pull off yet another coup that no one thought possible (except for me of course). Amazon’s Pro Beauty business is soaring and their strategy paid off big time: Let their third-party resellers discount the goods and then go direct to the brands to cut them off if they sold to Amazon direct. Bingo. Already the likes of Oribe, Colorproof, Pureology, Davines and Olaplex have gone direct with Amazon. Today’s $100 question: For every dollar Amazon sells of salon products, who is losing a dollar in sales? You got that answer spot on.
What’s good for Amazon is certainly not good for professional beauty companies. Coty, Revlon & Sally Beauty Holdings all reported disappointing results and hit fresh new lows (or came very close).
Yet another reason for the bad news: The likes of Madison Reed and esalon.com are expanding their availability to bricks and mortar stores. Personalized at-home hair color is growing and guess who the losers are? You got that answer spot on too! It appears the one salon concept that is Amazon and retail-proof is the growing blow-out bars led by Drybar and its infamous CEO, John Heffner. And nail salons that feature gel nail polish, especially EMMA V.S.G.P. that is getting rave reviews for its high gloss, longevity and easy removal.
We just returned from Greece where the people, culture and history are second to none in the world. You know what else is second to none in Greece? VAT (value added tax) is 24% and is payable on everything including food, drugs, hotels, etc. Greeks also pay a 20% flat tax and because the country is in a crisis, they have to prepay their tax each year. Even worse: Average Greek income is $10,000 per year. That means the average Greek citizen pays $2000 in income tax leaving $8000 and if they spend it in one year, they will pay $1920 in VAT. Net amount is $6080. YIKES!
Can you believe this weekend is Memorial Day? We still haven’t had Spring let alone summer coming up. Add to the fact Independence Day is on a Wednesday.
Happy holidays to you!
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