My Daily Emails

‘Member when every startup wanted to be “the Warby Parker of (their product category)”? That was in 2019-20, heading into the pandemic (which itself was great for DTC in general).

Abercrombie & Fitch built an empire on exclusion. CEO Mike Jeffries famously said they only wanted the “cool kids.” The stores were dark, loud, and heavily scented. When I was

Jaguar’s recent transformation of its leaping cat into a simplified fashion font is only the latest in a long line of controversial rebrands. Social media erupts. Design blogs savage. Loyal

My wife was just telling me about Canada Goose’s “Generations” program where you can trade up to a pre-owned parka, bomber or vest. In exchange, you get a gift card

SHEIN just announced a $5 million donation to textile recycling in Africa. Sounds pretty huge. 5 million bucks! But think about it relatively. A company that produces an estimated 1.8

You can still buy a chocolate bar for a buck. At a dollar store, anyway. That very same bar costs THREE TIMES as much at the grocery store down the

Lead in protein shakes. Heavy metals in dark chocolate. Cadmium in organic supplements. A new report reveals that 47% of protein powders contain potentially unsafe levels of toxic metals. Worse

When Japanese auto import restrictions hit in the 1980s, Toyota started building plants in America. It wasn’t a factory invasion. Douglas Fraser, president of the United Automobile Workers at the

Corona’s parent company just watched its stock drop 14% in one day. Not because of bad press, ambassador faux-pas or product issues. Young people aren’t drinking like they did back

Dunkin’ Donuts has launched a personal care line at Walmart. I’m not kidding. Through a collaboration between Dunkin’ and Native, you can now buy: My first reaction was “Why?” My

“Oh. My. God. You guys HAVE to try this!” [Insert perfectly lit video of someone “discovering” a product they were clearly paid to promote] If you spend any time on

A water bomber just collided with someone’s drone over the Los Angeles fires. For real. A massive, specially designed CL-415 firefighting aircraft, sent from Quebec to help save lives and

My father-in-law, a fine artist, buys his art supplies on Temu. Not just for the prices. For the selection. That derailed my thinking about Temu. Because it signals something bigger

Over the holidays, we spent a lot of time playing board games with our kids. The classics came out: Monopoly, Othello, Scrabble, Trouble, even chess. Most are older than I

I buy my share of Kirkland Signature products from Costco. And the odd piece of Amazon Essentials clothing. Also store brands from other retailers I trust. The quality is usually

Anyone in your household get a cool smart appliance over the holidays? You might be surprised by how much it already knows about you. Recent investigations revealed smart air fryers

At Costco yesterday, a sample server pitched her offering as “delicious, easy and convenient.” I looked around. Those same words could describe nearly EVERY edible product in the store. When

Movie sequels are everywhere. We took the kids to see Moana 2 today, and it feels like everything gets a part two these days — sometimes even decades after the original.

I chuckled at a sign near my home: “BAD DECISIONS MAKE GREAT STORIES.” The message continued to play around in my head because I found it SO true in product

Here’s a newly revealed marketing paradox that might surprise you: 44% of American consumers feel ignored by advertisers. The kicker? Many are affluent suburban households making over US $100,000 annually.

Are you old enough to remember the gleaming encyclopedia sets that once dominated living room bookshelves? They were my childhood version of Google — all the world’s knowledge in a

Happy New Year! Such a special, precious, and meaning-infused day. Hope yours kicked off in a positive way! Thomas Edison filed his first-ever patent on January 1, 1869. 156 years

Somewhere right now, someone is making their last product purchase of 2024. Maybe it’s a late-night impulse buy on Amazon, or a desperate dash to a convenience store. Could be

Bitcoin has been on quite a tear, and luxury brands are taking notice. Printemps (think the Harrods of France) just became Europe’s first department store to accept cryptocurrency payments. For

Although bizarrely unfamiliar, this looks familiar. Otherlab, a San Francisco startup, just announced a $5,000 solar-powered scooter called the Lightfoot. Twin solar panels you straddle like a horse saddle promise

Not far from where I live, there’s a “Candy Cane Lane” that predates Eddie Murphy’s 2023 movie of the same name by over 50 years. Horse-drawn carriages clip-clop past block

Dr Pepper recently passed Pepsi in US market share. After 7 straight years of growth, the “doctor” is now second only to Coca-Cola. Not bad for a brand that grabbed

Boxing Day shopping, anyone? I once sort of looked forward to braving the madness on this strange Canadian holiday, when the best prices of the year could be had on

I scheduled this little note ahead, as I’m spending today offline with my most precious thing of all: my little family. And I wanted to wish you peace and joy

Did you hear? 👂 Apple has turned millions of AirPods Pro into hearing health devices. Not with new hardware. Not with radical redesign. Just a clever software update and a

The iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899. Not $900. Never $900.00. Apple knows what every retailer knows: ending prices in 9 works magic. It‘s worked for over a century. And

Hey, remember when frozen meals meant bland, boring TV dinners? I sure do. (But truth be told, I thought the sectioned foil trays were a cool novelty on the rare

Procter & Gamble wants you to pay $14 for all-over body deodorant. That’s double the price of a regular stick. But hey, it’s for your whole body! They’re calling this

In product design, you’ve got to be careful where you draw your inspiration from. Those smart, beautiful product shapes you‘d love to mimic might be guarded by teams of vicious

Last week, Krispy Kreme opened its first-ever “factory store” in my city. People lined up overnight, in December. The police had to reroute morning traffic around the congestion, while a

My mother used to get an orange in her Christmas stocking. 🍊 Just one. And it was magical. That seems foreign now, when we can grab a bag of whatever

With the recent snowstorms where I live, I broke out a new pair of heated gloves. I love them already. How did I ever do without them? Of course, this

Hallelujah! McDonald’s has proclaimed the McRib’s return “a holiday miracle.” I can’t make this stuff up. It’s right there on their homepage, alongside a call to “gift yourself a tangy,

I’ve been watching more than a bit of NHL hockey lately. (The Oilers are on fire! 🔥) Like any marketer, I pay attention to the ads. And there’s an intriguing

It’s December 14th, and I’ve pretty much finished my gift-buying. Can hardly call it shopping, really — mostly clicking and confirming shipping addresses. Following seriously precise “hints” from a special

We thought we were the perfect customers for a robot vacuum. Several friends raved about theirs. The tech was proven. The reviews were stellar. And we definitely had floors that

Jeez, not long ago buying a mattress online seemed radical. “You have to try it first!” everyone insisted. “Lie down on it in the store!” Now we’re buying CARS on

You know that distinctive “thunk” when you close a Mercedes door? It didn’t happen by accident. Teams of “psychoacoustics” engineers spent years (and millions of dollars) perfecting that sound. They

Half a million taste tests. Exhaustive market research. The world’s BIGGEST brand. A bulletproof strategy. And then, New Coke became an iconic case study in face-planting spectacularly. Here’s what makes

Shaking, slapping, banging, performing ritual dances… We used to try all kinds of things to get ketchup out of a glass bottle. For over 100 years, we westerners just accepted

Remember cassette players with “Made in Japan” stamped on them? Um, yeah, me neither. 😉 But to those who’ll readily admit they do, that label once meant something special. Interestingly,

Whether you make wearable tech, food products, or complex devices, December brings fresh eyes and untrained hands to your creation. These fresh new users are super valuable. They often: Think

Discord is becoming increasingly popular with business teams. Which is kinda weird, because Discord was built for gamers. Its creators wanted better ways to coordinate World of Warcraft raids. Now

The guy wasn’t even shy about it. “Amazon’s my rental service,” he told me. “Bought a 3D printer to make some prototype parts, used it for a week, then returned

A couple weeks ago I talked about Stanley’s iconic hammered green finish. That industrial heritage color launched a brand that’s evolved dramatically — kids now hunt for Stanley cups in