SPECIAL PROJECTS

TOP10 NEWS OF THE WEEK / 07.13.2024

Weekly news and stories covering everything from the Fashion System, Investment, and AI to WEB3 and Crypto that truly matter in Metaverse Fashion.

WAYMO'S ROBOTAXI ROLLOUT IS A LANDMART MOMENT FOR DIVERLESS CARS | [SINGULARITY]

Bloomberg

🚘 Late last month, Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo opened up its robotaxi service to anyone in San Francisco who downloads the app. Previously, only a subset of the 300,000 people to date who’ve asked to be on Waymo’s waitlist could use the service in San Francisco — and initially, only with geographic restrictions. Now, Waymo has hundreds of cars doing tens of thousands of driverless taxi rides a week across the city, including many tourists, who see it as a uniquely high-tech San Francisco experience.

📉 The expansion is a milestone for Waymo — and a rare bright spot in the sector. Google began testing driverless cars in San Francisco in 2009, inspiring other companies to pursue similar efforts. Fifteen years later, however, the technology’s future remains uncertain. Launch timelines have been delayed. Funding for self-driving ventures has declined. Cruise, owned by General Motors Co., is fighting to regain its footing after a serious safety incident last year. Other big names like Apple Inc. have scrapped plans to build autonomous cars.

💥 With the broader rollout, Waymo might finally be in a position to show whether driverless taxis can eventually become a profitable business rather than a scientific experiment. But there are still some problems Waymo has to solve. Pickup and dropoff can be stressful when a bus is in your way. Due to increased demand, prices and wait times noticeably picked up last weekend, though Ludwick said wait times have gone down since. Waymo is continuing to bring more cars to its fleet each week, he said, while also trying to avoid adding too many, too quickly.

💦 As Waymo expands in San Francisco, after having previously opened up rides in Phoenix, the company must also try to avoid safety issues that have plagued one of its competitors. In October, a pedestrian in San Francisco landed in front of a Cruise vehicle after being hit by another car. The robotaxi braked hard but ran over the person. The vehicle then tried to pull over as a safety maneuver but continued dragging the person for 20 feet.

👀 At a time when many in Silicon Valley are promising that AI will reshape society, the Waymo rollout in San Francisco offers a tangible example that big changes are already happening.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REVOLUTION ? | [SINGULARITY]

The Economist

📈 In the world’s tech capital it is taken as read that ai will transform the global economy. But for ai to fulfil its potential, firms everywhere need to buy the technology, shape it to their needs and become more productive as a result. Investors have added more than $2trn to the market value of the five big tech firms in the past year—in effect projecting an extra $300bn-400bn in annual revenues according to our rough estimates, about the same as another Apple’s worth of sales. For now, though, the tech titans are miles from such results. Even bullish analysts think Microsoft will make only about $10bn from generative-ai-related sales this year. Beyond America’s west coast, there is little sign ai is having much of an effect on anything.

⚙ One problem is the rate of adoption. Reputable companies are putting out startling estimates of how many people are using generative ai. Close to two-thirds of respondents to a recent survey by McKinsey, a consultancy, say that their company is “regularly using” the tech, nearly twice as many as the year before. A report by Microsoft and LinkedIn, an online platform for professionals, finds that 75% of global “knowledge workers” (folk who sit in front of a computer all day) use it. People are, by such accounts, already in an ai world.

✅ It is a similar story elsewhere. According to official Canadian numbers, 6% of the country’s firms used ai to make goods and provide services in the past 12 months. British surveys suggest use there is higher—at 20% of all businesses in March—though the questions are asked differently. And even in Britain use is growing slowly. The same share used ai last September.

🚫 In time, businesses may wake up to the true potential of ai. Most technological waves, from the tractor and electricity to the personal computer, take a while to spread across the economy. Indeed, on the assumption that big tech’s ai revenues grow by an average of 20% a year, investors anticipate that almost all of big tech’s earnings from ai will arrive after 2032, according to our analysis. If an ai bonanza does eventually materialise, expect the share prices of the users of ai, not only the providers, to soar. But if worries about ai grow, big tech’s capex plans will start to look as extravagant as its valuations.

OPINION: LUXURY HEADWINDS — WHY ONLY THE BOLD AND FAST WILL SURVIVE | [FASHIOIN SYSTEM]

Jing Daily

💈 Luxury brands must swiftly adapt to Gen Z’s expectations, sustainability demands, and market nuances, especially in China, to remain competitive and avoid decline.

🌊 Today's luxury market is increasingly volatile with decelerating growth rates. Brands face a perfect storm of challenges, necessitating a strategic overhaul in brand strategy, storytelling, client experience, and a more sophisticated sales approach.

📉 Several luxury brands underperformed in Q1 2024. LVMH, despite its significant market presence, reported a 2% decline in nominal revenue (+3% organic at fixed exchange rates), missing analyst expectations. The wines and spirits division, notably Hennessy Cognac, saw a significant 12% drop due to cautious restocking in the US and soft demand in China during the Chinese New Year. Kering faced even more dramatic difficulties, issuing a rare profit warning due to weakening demand for Gucci in China, where sales declined by 10% year-over-year.

📱 Gen Z is reshaping the luxury market with their digital-first approach, especially in China, and their distinct values and expectations. This generation demands authenticity, sustainability, and inspiring experiences.

🌀 Many luxury brands are too slow to make decisions and too detached from key markets like China. Chinese clients expect products made for them and with them in mind. This requires a shift from centrally imagined one-size-fits-all products to a high-speed, highly proactive client-centric and localized approach.

⛩ The luxury market is more competitive than ever. New entrants, disruptive technologies, and shifting consumer behaviors intensify the competitive landscape. China presents unique challenges and opportunities. The rapid pace of change and sophisticated, discerning clientele demand a nuanced approach. Western brands often falter by relying on outdated strategies and failing to understand local preferences and cultural nuances. Western luxury car brands are seeing their market shares erode. In my view, this is not temporary but only the beginning.

HOW MEMES AND GAMIFICATION ARE CHANGING FINANCE AS WE KNOW IT | [METAPHYSICS]

CoinDesk

😁 Memes are taking over finance. And, behind the community forums, comical volumes of wealth emerging within days, and sometimes-crude humor, something tremendous and meaningful is happening.

🕸 On the surface, memes are just photos and video clips that zip around the internet in text messages, social media timelines and community forums. It’s easy to overlook them and dismiss that they may carry with them more than a humorous reference. Memes transmit subtle but powerful cultural meaning in a digitally-native way. A meme that is popular to a community or a culture often signifies something about that group and their values in that particular moment in time.

💲 Blockchain technology has offered the capacity to financialize nearly anything that is digitally-native, so it’s only natural that crypto has captured meme culture over the years. However, meme-ified finance is not unique to crypto. Across traditional and Web3 finance, meme-ified finance has brought together powerful online groups. And now financial gamification, though still in a rudimentary state, is revealing a new path forward.

🎀 In TradFi, a fringe Reddit community in 2021 became a harbinger for the type of community-first, anti-institutional, anti-sensible finance that is deeply and inextricably linked to the intersection of gamification and humorous meme culture. The r/wallstreetbets community “stuck it” to traditional finance, gaming the traditional stock market and reveling in their success with facetious online posts.

🎆 Crypto is changing the face of finance, but it’s not happening in a technological vacuum. It is accelerated by memes and by the deep economic gamification that is core to blockchain systems. The power of finance is no longer in knowledge of esoteric financial principles. It’s no longer even in the kind of relationships built in stoic financial corporations. The power is in community, in virality, and in deep cultural synchronicity.
DOES BURBERRY HAVE THE WRONG STRATEGY? |[FASHION SYSTEM]

The Business of Fashion

📉 Burberry’s latest revamp has faltered. Sales dropped 12 percent in the first three months of 2024. The British trench coat maker isn’t the only luxury player that’s struggling in a cooling luxury market, of course. Gucci’s sales fell 20 percent in the first quarter. But Burberry’s poor performance has ratcheted up the pressure on those piloting its long-awaited turnaround to deliver results.

🔅 A ‘British Coach’ strategy would double down on outlets, reduce costs, and increase exposure to off-price channels, leading to higher profits but lower multiples. A “brand elevation” strategy would follow the more traditional luxury playbook: slimming down off-price, spending on creativity and communication, continuing to upgrade distribution. A private equity buyer could undertake the grisly but arguably necessary measures to stabilise the Burberry brand away from the prying eyes of the public markets (e.g. cut outlet sales, build desirability before price hikes), and then sell for a luxury multiple when the brand has been uplifted. But our analysis suggests the returns from the “brand elevation” strategy are likely to be considerably lower than those from a “British Coach” approach.

〽 Burberry has continued to underperform its peers, because it has yet to convince the market that its strategy to move upmarket will bear fruit. Burberry was a premium brand in the early 90s, but CEOs Rose Marie Bravo from 1997, Angela Ahrendts from 2005, Christopher Bailey from 2014, Marco Gobbetti from 2017, and Jonathan Akeroyd from 2022 have all tried to push its positioning higher. Significant investments were committed — including flagship stores across the world — and many sacrifices were endured: giving up profits from lucrative licences in Spain and in Japan, doing without sales to lower quality department stores in the US, and removing promotions from full-price stores.

⬛ There has been talk of Burberry being a takeover target for 25 years, but never a move. For European luxury groups, elevating Burberry is too expensive and would take too long. For private equity, valuation multiples have long been too high, but it’s harder to dismiss the possibility today, given where Burberry’s market cap has gone. But rather than sticking with a strategy that’s not working, could becoming a “British Coach” be the cure Burberry is looking for?
CHINA LEADS THE WORLD IN ADOPTION OF GENERATIVE AI, SURVEY SHOWS | [SINGULARITY]

Reuters

👾 China is leading the world in adopting generative AI, a new survey shows, the latest sign the country is making strides in the technology that gained global attention after U.S.-based OpenAI's ChatGPT launched in late 2022.

🤖 In a survey of 1,600 decision-makers in industries worldwide by U.S. AI and analytics software company SAS and Coleman Parkes Research, 83% of Chinese respondents said they used generative AI, the technology underpinning ChatGPT.

💎 The results underscore China's rapid progress in the generative AI field, which gained momentum after Microsoft-backed OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, prompting dozens of Chinese companies to launch their own versions.

📈 Last week, a report by the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization showed China was leading the GenAI patent race, filing more than 38,000 between 2014 and 2023 against 6,276 filed by the United States in the same period.

📊 While many leading international generative AI service providers, including OpenAI, face curbs in China, the country has developed a robust domestic industry, with offerings from tech giants such as ByteDance to startups such as Zhipu.

WORLD'S FIRST MISS AI CROWNED — AND SHE'S HIJAB-WEARING ACTIVIST FROM MOROCCO GENUINELY EXCITED FOR THE WIN | [SINGULARITY]

New York Post

👑 Crowned the crème de la crème of artificial intelligence models, the leggy Layli — a lifestyle influencer in her home country — crushed more than 1,500 computerized challengers for the coveted title, which comes with a $20,000 grand prize for the human tech exec from her home country who brought her to life.

🗣 “The global interest in this first award from [WAICAs] has been incredible,” fanvue-founder Will Monange said in a statement to The Post. “The awards are a fantastic mechanism to celebrate creator achievements, raise standards, and shape a positive future for the AI Creator economy.”

🤖 As an internet idol, the avid activist vows to use her fame as a tool to empower women, protect the environment and spread positive robot awareness.

ADIDAS GAINS GROUND AS NIKE SALES STUMBLE | [FASHION SYSTEM]

FashionUnited

💥 In a surprising turn of events, Adidas appears poised to capitalise on rival Nike's recent missteps, with analysts projecting strong second-quarter results for the German sportswear manufacturer. The resurgence of Adidas' classic Samba and Gazelle models, coupled with Nike's unexpected forecast of declining annual sales, which saw shares fall as much as 18 percent after the announcement in June, has set the stage for a potential shift in the sportswear landscape.

💰 Industry experts anticipate Adidas will report its highest profit margin in three years, Reuters said, with analysts projecting 51.4 percent for Q2, according to LSEG data. Revenue is expected to climb 4.5 percent year-on-year to 5.6bn euros. This positive outlook stands in stark contrast to Nike's recent lacklustre performance and the momentum new brands such as On and Hoka are having.

🧡 In 2023 Nike was rated in 9th place in the world’s most iconic brands, according to Interbrand. Adidas came in at number 42, showing Nike’s strength cannot easily be surpassed. Yet in terms of products, Adidas' popularity can be attributed, in part, to its strategic focus on classic models. The company has successfully revitalised its Samba and Gazelle lines through new colourways and limited editions, tapping into a growing consumer appetite for retro aesthetics. Google Trends data reveals that online searches for "Adidas Samba" have overtaken those for Nike's iconic "Air Force 1" since December 2023, Reuters said.

🦄 While Nike’s brand value is higher, data from Statista show it increased year-on-year since 2010 reaching over 53 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 compared to Adidas at approximately 16.6 billion U.S. dollars, Adidas seems to have the current “cool factor.”

🦎 While Adidas' short-term outlook appears promising, analysts caution against overoptimism. The sportswear industry continues to face headwinds, including weakened demand in China and intensifying competition. As Nike grapples with its challenges, some Wall Street analysts are even speculating about potential management changes ahead of the company's autumn investor day.
WHAT HAMSTER KOMBAT DID: HOW TELEGRAM BUILT A WEB3 GAMING JUGGERNAUT | [VALUE PROPOSITION]
CoinDesk

👽 Two months ago the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, was killed in a helicopter crash. Iran held an election to replace him, but there was a hitch: According to a senior official in Iran’s military, the nation’s citizens were too distracted to properly vet the candidates. Millions of Iranians, supposedly, were too busy clicking on their phones.

🤖 The game seems to have come out of nowhere. In March, it launched on TON, aka The Open Network, a Web3 ecosystem built on Telegram. Now the game is so popular that Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, Iran’s deputy chief of the military, accused it of being part of the West’s “soft war” on Iran’s government. As the AP reported, Sayyari said that “One of the features of the soft war by the enemy is the ‘Hamster’ game.”

📢 So is the United States really weaponizing Web3 hamsters against Iran? It’s a fascinating (if wild) question, but in some ways the answer is irrelevant. The question’s very existence is what matters. “This has become so fucking big, even politicians started talking about it,” says Inal Kardan, Gaming Lead at the TON Foundation.

🎞 This is just one of several “GameFi” projects on TON with eye-popping growth. Web3 games are flourishing. The cute and cartoony “Catizen” (the sponsor of CoinDesk’s GameFi theme week] has over 23 million users. TON’s first big success story, “Notcoin,” has over 40 million.

💡 In total, there are now 500 million users on the TON network, according to the foundation. With a current market cap of $19.4 billion, Toncoin has surged to become the eighth largest project in all of crypto -- leapfrogging mainstays like Polkadot, Cardano, and NEAR.

Weekly news and stories covering everything from the Fashion System, Investment, and AI to WEB3 and Crypto that truly matter in Metaverse Fashion.