Lego is more Profitable than Louis Vuitton and Other Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Business
Episode 388: Show Notes
So Emylee has been following a new Instagram account and just wanted to share some of the amazing data that she has been geeking out over for the last while! We have selected four specific posts that she found thought-provoking and worth talking about and will be unpacking what they are about and what we can learn from them. The account is called Chartr Daily and they post charts and graphs that represent interesting statistics and facts from the business world. They often add some commentary and discussion in the description, as well as having a newsletter with more detailed information.
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Here at the Strategy Hour, we love looking at charts! They might be slightly more difficult to make but that does not mean we cannot appreciate and enjoy what they are communicating! The four charts we have selected to discuss in today's episode are especially applicable to us, our industry and the conversations we have been having on this podcast, so head over to have a look at the posts and let's get into some strategy!
Shopify is Growing: But Can it Take on Amazon?
The first chart we are going to look at compares Shopify and Amazon and asks the surprising question of whether Shopify might be able to compete with Amazon, something we had not really considered ourselves! The chart shows the annual revenue for both companies over the last 5 years from 2013 to 2018. We think in the case with Amazon, the merchant is much less important to the customer and we also note the lack of a centralized platform for Shopify. We mention these characteristics because they influence how buyers interact with the company and buy online. Kylie Jenner's makeup brand is run through Shopify and this shows us some of the big fish Shopify has been able to catch in for bigger revenue bundles. Of course, Shopify is much more customizable than Amazon and allows merchants to create a more dynamic experience. At the same time, Amazon has altered the shopping experience to such a degree that many people might be hesitant to turn away from it. Things like fast and free shipping and the dependability of a big brand make Amazon hard to ignore. In the end, ease and simplicity win out most times but this graph shows us just how big Shopify is becoming and that we may see some surprising things in the future.
LEGO vs. Louis Vuitton
This second chart was so fascinating! It shows the profit margins of Louis Vuitton, LEGO and Hasbro. They break down the margin according to each dollar earned by each company so we can see the percent in a clear ration. LEGO keeps 22 cents from every dollar, while Louis Vuitton and Hasbro take away 15 and 5 cents respectively. That means that LEGO is easily more profitable than Louis Vuitton and more than four times more profitable than Hasbro! This probably has something to do with LEGO's more uniform production line but it still surprising considering the dedicated stores and advertising campaign that LEGO runs. The other thing this chart shows us is you can have products in a higher price bracket but not take away as much profit in the end. While lower prices mean the need for more mass marketing, if you are margins are right, you can make great profits on each dollar, just like LEGO.
What Could Apple Buy with Their Pile of Cash?
Okay you guys, do you want to know how much money Apple has in their savings fund? Are you ready for this? 200 billion dollars! That's right, you read that correctly. This means they could buy Manchester United, Twitter, Ferrari and Nike and still have money left over! Their largest acquisition was in 2013 when they bought out Beats By Dre for 3 billion. We actually think that this shows Apple fairly conservative! They also keep their cards quite close to their chest when it comes to financials so we might not have all the details but Tim Cook, their current CEO has stated Apple acquires a new company every two or three weeks. This helps them enhance their product and beat out competition at the same time!
What is Your Facebook Account Worth?
This chart shows how much Facebook makes from selling ad space for each user. The US and Canada are the most valuable geographies in this regard with each profiling being valued around 112 dollars for the course 2018! Next is Europe and Asia and then the rest of the world. The fastest growing value is in Asia and Pacific, with less growth in the US and Europe due to saturation. This explains why Facebook is putting so much into Asia at the moment! We all have opinions about Facebook ads, some of us hate them, some of us love them. But we can see from these stats that ads make FB a lot of money. We both really like targeted ads because of how helpful they can be, almost like a virtual assistant you do not have to pay! This does not mean we are always buying based on suggestions but we have found some great products over the years too. There are also legitimate privacy concerns for some people but we tend not to worry about these too much, with our whole lives being online anyway!
Highlights
Shopify is Growing: But Can it Take on Amazon? [0:03:28.4]
LEGO vs. Louis Vuitton. [0:13:54.2]
What Could Apple Buy with Their Pile of Cash? [0:23:04.8]
What is Your Facebook Account Worth? [0:32:16.5]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Online Shopping, Profit Margins, Acquisitions, Charts, Statistics, Advertising Revenue
