🔮 Do You Have a Disaster Box?
Issue XIX
In a time of unprecedented cancellations, there are two things you can rely on:
Intangible hitting your inbox hot off the press at 8am.
Rogue CS majors creating viral web apps, such as Wash Your Lyrics.
Stay safe out there friends!
If you’re returning from last week, thanks! If you’re new, nice to have you! Join the squad and sign up here. Like what you see? Awesome, make it official and click the little ❤️ above to “like” my publication.
Judy 🆘
One of the more aptly timed product launches, Judy aims to bring disaster preparedness to households around the world.
Founded by Simon Huck in January of this year, Judy features a variety of “disaster boxes” curated to where you live. So if you live in New York, you may be offered kits for flooding, hurricanes, and (woohoo) pandemics. Kits range from $100 to $250.
Simon on why he started Judy:
“Over the last decade, we’ve witnessed friends and family deal with emergencies across the country. From floods in Florida, to storm surges along the coast, to fires destroying years of memories, the resulting anguish, anxiety, and vulnerability are a shared traumatic experience—and we wanted to find a way to help”.
Ovadia 🛹
Ovadia was founded by brothers Shimon and Ariel Ovadia (who are twins) in 2011. They moved from Jerusalem to NYC in the 1980s and were inspired by the burgeoning sports and graffiti culture in the city. They also both loved fashion and decided to launch a streetwear brand together.
Ovadia’s style combines streetwear essentials with high fashion and the result is a collection of statement pieces at home on the runway or at the skatepark.
Kimai 💎
In the direct-to-consumer competitive landscape, jewelry brands are a dime a dozen. Kimai stands out as the first brand embracing lab-grown gems and sustainably sourced metals.
Founded in 2018 by Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus who grew up in Antwerp together, the brand focuses on bringing transparency and accountability to an industry often focused on price.
Since 2018 they’ve seen success on the main stage; early adopters of the brand include The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, Emma Watson, and Jessica Alba.
News I’m Following 👀
⌚ Smartwatches are squeezing the <$500 watch marketing. As consumers looking to buy an accessible watch turn to Apple and Fitbit, sub $500 watch demand falters. Brands such as Daniel Wellington and MVMT have seen success, however, their volume is driven by a focus on heritage and 21st-century marketing ingenuity. Vogue Business has more:
“Since 2015, the number of Swiss watches being exported has declined by a third, per the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, and most of that shrinkage has been in watches that cost under 200 CHF (£164). Exports are approaching the lows seen in the mid-1980s when Japanese quartz technology brought a raft of cheaper competitors for established brands”.
🔫 Dick’s Sporting Goods reports high earnings after removing firearms from its stores. Since their announcement of the move in Q4 of last year, sales have grown 5.3% year-over-year and online sales have grown 15%. Foot traffic is also up: according to their tracking software, Placer.ai, in-store volume increased by 17.8% since the announcement.
Brand Study: Omega ⌚
Ask a watch guy what he thinks the most iconic watch is, and he’ll say either the Rolex Submariner or Omega Speedmaster. This week we’re going to focus on the latter of the storied brands: Omega.
The origin story of Omega begins with Louis Brandt, a young entrepreneur who founded a pocket watch “Comptoir d’établissage” in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1848.
He started by building key-wound pocket watches and traveled across Europe peddling his brand. As he began to see success, he expanded into wristwatches as well.
His sons picked up the business after him and moved the company’s operations to Bienne. There they built a brand new factory and by 1889 had become the largest manufacturer of wristwatches in Switzerland.
In 1894, they developed a new watch movement named “Omega,” which incorporated an improved winding and hand setting mechanism. The quality of the movement led to global success, and as a result, the company was renamed the Omega Watch Co. in 1903.
Throughout the 1900s the brand saw continued growth and fame. Before Quartz and GPS timing systems, the watch industry held chronometric competitions to measure the accuracy of competing watch manufacturers. Omega set numerous world records for accuracy at these competitions, and in 1931 won first prize in all six categories.
Who’s the official timekeeper of the Olympics? You guessed it, Omega. They’ve been taking athletes times at the games since 1932.
Omega has an illustrious history with space exploration as well. NASA tested watches by Omega, Rolex, and Longines-Wittnauer to determine which brand would outfit their space missions. In 1965, NASA selected the winner, certifying the Speedmaster as “Qualified for all Manned Space Missions”. A few years later Buzz Aldrin would take his first step on the moon wearing a Speedmaster.
James Bond’s watch of choice? Omega. Bond has worn an Omega in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, SPECTRE, and his latest film No Time To Die.
Here’s what works well for Omega:
Performance: Since inception, Omega has produced some of the highest performing timepieces in history. From the development of the nearly frictionless co-axial escapement to conquering magnetism, Omega watches keep time extremely well.
Luxury Positioning: Priced in the $1,000s, Omega’s watches aren’t for the faint of heart budget-wise. They’re priced to compete with the premier brands in the space.
Celebrity Association: Omega has partnered with some of the highest-profile celebrities - John F Kennedy, Buzz Aldrin, George Clooney, and many more. That level of endorsement works wonders for consumer brand appeal.
Jobs 💼
Bombas - Analytics Manager (NYC)
Allbirds - Product Strategy Associate (SF)
Birdes - Paid Search Associate (SF)
Chewy - MBA Leadership Program (Various)
Peloton - Supply Chain Process Manager, Senior Brand Manager (NYC)
Everlane - VP of Performance Marketing (SF)
MATE the Label - Sustainability Marketing Manager (LA)
Internships 🎓
Selina - Global Operations MBA Internship (NYC)
Ministry of Supply - MBA Internship (BOS)
Shareables 😏
🦠 An alarming but informative post: Coronavirus - why you must act now.
📉 Great piece by the NYT: How Outdoor Voices, a start-up darling, imploded.
💁♂️ Bizarre rich-people secrets I learned undercover at Canyon Ranch Spa.
👨⚕️ How to live past 100, according to a Harvard Geneticist.
👑 A royal Instagram mystery: KensingtonRoyal vs. SussexRoyal.
📏 In politics, apparently height matters.
🏀 Stephen A. Smith: From most hated man in sports to universal respect.
⌚ Meet the man who tracks down stolen watches.
🎟️ Jerry and Marge go large: gaming the lottery system as a retirement plan.
💳 This week’s oldie but goodie: I’m harvesting credit card numbers and passwords from your site. Here’s how.
Hey! I’m Sean, a first-year MBA at the University of Michigan. Know of a new brand I should feature? Holla at me! I’d also love your feedback - feel free to shoot me a note at seansky@umich.edu.
And as always, if you like Intangible share it with your friends and click the little ❤️ below.