The Best One Yet
🚽 “Lattes & Lavatories” — Starbucks’ policy pivot. LA’s greedy landlords. Planet Fitness’s biggest risk.
Wed, 15 Jan 2025
Starbucks’ is trying to save “the 3rd place”... by ending their open doors bathroom policy.Greedy LA landlords are jacking up rents 100%... but there could be a housing market silver lining.Planet Fitness stock hit an all-time high… but its greatest risk is “a run on the gym”.Plus, Philadelphia Eagles WR AJ Brown read a book during a playoff game… now it’s #1 on Amazon.$SBUX $PLNTWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups 🥜 Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is Starbucks' new bathroom policy?
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Starbucks? Without premium stores, you can't charge premium prices. Yetis, Starbucks has 40 million app users. They've become great for digital orders, but they've become terrible in person. As Starbucks has optimized phone orders for their grab-and-go business, the third place of Starbucks has suffered.
Well, we now know the new CEO Brian Nichols' turnaround plan, and it's got a real focus. The focus is the stores. Brian Nichols is prioritizing the in-person experience. He's bringing back the comfy seats and the porcelain mugs for when you want to have a coffee in a Starbucks. Even if all this means lower sales in the short term, he's still willing to do it.
It's like Starbucks spent the last couple of decades too focused on the phone. They got addicted to the digital side of their business. Yeah, like all of us. They got addicted to their screens. Yeah, they got too focused on the screens and not what was happening right in front of them. The reality is that Starbucks has lost its brand as being a premium place to get a coffee.
100%.
But we think this story could have a silver lining. Now, Yetis, yesterday on this show, we shouted out some companies and organizations helping people during the LA wildfires. There are a few gray ones out there. The LA fires are still burning. The Palisades fire is only 11% contained. 100,000 Angelenos have been displaced from their homes.
It is so nice to see so many people trying to help, but there is one group we found that is doing the opposite at the worst possible time. And the credit goes to Jason Oppenheim, famous realtor from the TV show Selling Sunsets. Selling Sunset. I went on a binge on that two summers ago, Jack. Honestly, before you know it, you've gone through like three seasons at once.
Because of Jason Oppenheim, the celebrity realtor and his brother, who are famous for the Netflix reality real estate drama, Selling Sunset. And right now, they're not battling over who's getting the commission on that oceanside property. They're calling out greedy landlords. Jason Oppenheim says that landlords are taking advantage of this natural disaster to jack up rents across the city.
And here's the wildest part. We got the receipts on those greedy landlords. Now, first, let's provide some context. Let's sprinkle it on. What do we got, Jack? Last year, the city of Los Angeles issued permits for 10,000 new housing units. Yeah, Los Angeles was adding to its housing supply. But in just the last week, the city lost the same number of homes because of these awful wildfires.
We repeat, these fires have already wiped out all of 2024's new housing supply. That means the Los Angeles fires are going to exacerbate the already brutal housing crisis in Los Angeles. Well, besties, get this. With fires still burning, greedy Los Angeles landlords are jacking up prices already. One Oppenheim client was looking to rent a house for $13,000 a month.
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Chapter 2: How are LA landlords reacting to the wildfires?
Happy birthday to Wynn Jones, who's celebrating a birthday somewhere fantastic. Probably in Rio. And Aconcha is turning 40 years old over in the Bay Area. Happy birthday, Aconcha. Happy birthday to Alma Madrigal in Montclair, California, just outside Boston. A little far, but still outside. And Lindsey Drager in New York City.
Her brother can't wait to ski with her in Colorado because they're going to be celebrating a T-boy birthday. And welcome to this world to the beautiful Declan Bernards in Portland, Oregon. And a huge shout out to his mom, Stephanie, after 72 hours of labor. What a legend. Celebrate that epic win. This is Jack. I own stock in Amazon. Nick owns stock in Nike.
And we both own stock in Zillow and Peloton. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.