Apple Watch 2.0

I mostly avoid efforts to guess where tech companies are going to go with their products.  This one, however, is an interesting read especially because wearables are such a unique area.  My Apple Watch 1.0 has been very good to me and I'm curious where they are going to go with the next offering.

Here is Bloomberg's story on Apple's efforts for the next iteration of their smart watch:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-18/apple-said-to-hit-roadblocks-in-cutting-watch-ties-to-iphone

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Apple Inc. has hit roadblocks in making major changes that would connect its Watch to cellular networks and make it less dependent on the iPhone, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company still plans to announce new watch models this fall boasting improvements to health tracking.

The updated versions will also be able to integrate GPS-based location tracking, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Big Companies as a Startup?

Hard to be "lean" in a big company right?

Yeap.

Great little article over on HBR about this problem:

https://hbr.org/2016/08/the-barriers-big-companies-face-when-they-try-to-act-like-lean-startups

Here is a snippet from the piece:

It’d be hard to choose two words that feel less descriptive of life inside a large organization than “lean” and “startup.”

And yet the lean startup methodology, born in Silicon Valley as a way for startups to tune in to customer needs with limited resources, has been gaining major momentum inside big companies like General Electric, Alaska Airlines, Telefonica, 3M, and W.L. Gore. When my publication, Innovation Leader, surveyed 170 executives who work in R&D, strategy, and new product development roles at large public companies, we found that 82% said they’ve already deployed some elements of the lean startup approach.

It turns out that many aspects of lean startup, like showing rough prototypes to customers before you’ve invested lots of time and money, iterating based on their feedback, and letting data prove or disprove your hunches, all have powerful appeal inside big companies, where endless meetings and executive approvals often bog down innovation.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0244 Thought Leadership

Best Reading of the Day

This great little read caught my eye as I've followed these concepts most of the last few years.  Want to be taken seriously about any subject in any industry?  Consider writing a white paper.

Here is the full article:

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/16/how-to-smartly-build-thought-leadership-using-white-papers/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

One potent way to build thought leadership is to create a white paper that thoroughly explains a problem that has been a nagging pain in an industry for a while and recommends a reliable and workable solution.

Piracy, for example, has been a long time nagging problem for folks in the film industry. In fact, according The Wall Street Journal, antipiracy and security firm Irdeto found a whopping 5.4 billion instances of online pirated movies, TV shows and even video games in 2009.

On top of that, US film distributor Kathy Wolfe, founder of Wolfe Video, also reported that she lost over $3 million in revenue in 2012 due to piracy. Isn’t this a problem that’s enough catch everyone’s attention in an industry? Wouldn’t a paper on this sort of problem and how it can be solved effectively be a goldmine?

Awesome little graphic included in that article:

Oh, and, I've written a few white papers as you can see here:

Thagent White Papers

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Macy's Store Closings and Technology

I was a bit surprised (but not) and a bit dismayed at the recent news from Macy's about closing 100 stores.

First, a bit on that news:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/11/investing/macys-closes-100-stores/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

In a sign of how dramatically the retail shopping landscape is changing, Macy's is closing 100 of its stores nationwide.

Macy's (M) announced the closures Thursday. They represent about 15% of all Macy's department stores. The iconic retailer did not disclose the locations of stores, but said most of them will be shut down in early 2017.


The Macy's move is the latest in a wave of store closures amid the rise and success of Amazon(AMZN, Tech30) and other online shopping options.

So, the dismay kicked in a bit for reasons I'll soon get too.  But first here is a little story from the folks at Bloomberg that really explains the landscape:

https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-08-15/macy-s-store-closings-should-spur-other-retailers-to-follow

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Where Macy's goes, will other retailers follow?

America's largest department store chain pleasantly surprised Wall Street last week by announcing plans to close 100 stores. At 12 percent of its total store base, that's more locations than it shuttered during all of the last six years. Macy's shares spiked 17 percent on the news, as investors shrugged off a sixth straight quarter of declining same-store sales.

So why the dismay?  I've written about Macy's a fair amount in these pages as a leader in digital.  So if they are failing what hope is there for brick & mortar retailers?  Should they all go the way of the dodo?  I certainly never thought so, and I still don't.  Why?

Look at this bit from that last article:

United States of Stores
America has more retail square footage than Australia, the U.K., Germany and Mexico combined

Look at that again.  The U.S. is positively swimming in physical retail space, and now has a heavy online commerce presence as well.  Something has to give.  It simply must.

So, have hope retailers.  Digital is your future, but in your future you will look different than you look today.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Great little story along these lines over on Mobile Commerce:
http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/macys-store-reduction-reflects-retailers-boundless-search-for-omnichannel

$3B Jet.com eCommerce Play by Walmart

For as long as there has been retail there have been many ways to approach the proposition.  I see no reason this won't continue as online sales/retail ascends.  Why only Amazon when the last 100 year has had Macy's and Sears and Walmart, etc.??  No way we won't see more players, even if some of those get bought up by others.

Walmart is picking up Jet.com for a mere $3B dollars. Announcement is happening today.

Not bad for a few years work.  I saw one short story that a lucky customer of Jet won some shares in the startup, and those shares are now worth a few pennies.  Laughing all the way to the bank.

Here is a snippet from the news:

Walmart missed out on a Marc Lore company once, when Amazon swooped in to beat it to the purchase of Diapers.com’s parent company several years back.

The giant retailer may not let it happen again.

Walmart is in talks to acquire Jet.com, Lore’s new startup that has raised more than $800 million in financing in an attempt to build a new online megastore, according to a person familiar with the talks. It is not clear how far along they are. News of the talks was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said the tie-up could value Jet at as much as $3 billion.

Here is the full story:

http://www.recode.net/2016/8/3/12368608/why-walmart-acquire-jet-com

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch Saves Another Life

We laugh at these things now, but this is deadly serious.

What if simply wearing a watch could tell you if you are about to die and give you enough notification to do something about it?  Science fiction?  Nope.  On my wrist right now.

The Apple Watch.

Here is a snippet:

“Along with the shortness of breath, I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Stopping to talk to a colleague on the way to my office, the mere act of speaking left me practically gasping for air. I cut the conversation short and continued to my office. Sitting still made me feel better, but not great.

It was then I thought about the heart rate sensor on my Apple Watch. I opened the Heart Rate app, curious to see if my heart rate was actually elevated or if it was just my imagination. It read 118 beats per minute. Definitely not my imagination—my normal resting heart rate is in the low 70s.”

Read on:

http://watchaware.com/post/17679/the-apple-watch-saves-another-life

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Pokemon Go ... in Russia

This title cracked me up, but the phenomenon that is Pokemon Go is something that must be analyzed.

More than a million people in Moscow are playing Pokémon Go, the mobile game that's dominating download charts in three dozen countries. The number is especially impressive because the game isn't supposed to be available in Russia.

Despite attempts by app developer Niantic to manage global demand, fans in Russia and elsewhere have taken special steps to track down and install Pokémon Go before it's released officially, a process that sometimes involves tricking their phones into thinking they live in another country.

Here is the full story:

http://adage.com/article/digital/pok-mon-fever-hits-russia-making-kremlin-nervous/305273/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Instore Mobile Usage Grows

Yeap.

New research from Hitwise reveals how important mobile devices have become to in-store shopping and indicates why retailers must adjust their campaigns to meet changing customer behaviours.

The Hitwise research, based on the online per cent activity of 3m UK shoppers, found that 77 per cent of online searches that focus on price match, and 84 per cent of online searches that focus on reviews, begin on a mobile device. This compares to an average 62 per cent of all retail searches that are initiated on a mobile device.

Here is the full story:

http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/hitwise_mobiles_instore/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Uber Quits China

I really like the stories over on Bloomberg.com.  Great news, great analysis, and a broad set of topics.

Here is a snippet from this latest:

Not so long ago, American tech giants viewed China as theirs for the taking: 1.4 billion people, a growing middle class, an affinity for American pop culture from Titanic andFriends to Michael Jackson. And, apparently, a tendency to see U.S. goods and services as attractive or superior.

That triumphal script was again rewritten as Uber conceded defeat in its no-holds-barred dust-up with Didi Chuxing. After a costly battle in which both sides shelled out billions subsidizing rides, Chief Executive Travis Kalanick decided to call off the war, agreeing to a deal in which the local champion acquires Uber’s China operations in return for a seat on Didi’s board and a slice of the Chinese company. The move came only a year after the famously brash Uber impresario declared China, the world’s largest ride-hailing market, his most important target.

In other words, Kalanick came, he saw, he most certainly didn’t conquer.

Read on:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-02/the-humbling-of-american-tech-giants-in-china

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Wallets to Consolidate

Right now, with the failed launch of CurrentC by MCX, retailers are rushing to roll out their own mobile wallet within their store brand app.  Baskin Robbins just launched, as a part of Dunkin Brands.  Walmart has Walmart Pay in its app, etc.

Eventually a more consolidated approach will take hold.  I have no doubt of this, though I believe some retailers such as Starbucks will be able to hold on to their direct relationship with their customers.

Other experts see the same thing coming.  Here is a snippet :

Mobile wallets are slowly gaining adoption, but retailers’ offerings are currently the winners because they can be easily integrated with loyalty programs, providing an incentive to use them.

Many experts believe that mobile wallets will continue to grow, and by the end of the decade, be universally adopted. Retailers such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are leading the charge in terms of brand-led mobile wallets and are seeing significant adoption rates while platform-led services such as Apple Pay and Android Pay mobile wallets are lacking in comparison, but will likely see more users in the coming years.

Read the whole story here:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mobile-wallets-to-see-universal-adoption-by-end-of-decade

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant