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Unboxing Artitzia
Good morning, style slayers. This is your Stock Market Rundown for January 30th, 2024. Thanks for tuning in. Let’s get started:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: HOW ARITZIA REDEFINED CHIC
Unlike Paris or Milan, Vancouver isn’t what most people would consider a major fashion capital. But that’s where founder Brian Hill, a third-generation retailer, opened the first Aritzia boutique in 1984.
Defying the “dirt-cheap and throw-away” trend of fast fashion, the retailer targeted a consumer who was willing to pay up for quality—sweaters that wouldn’t pill in the drier, jeans that don’t rip at the crotch.
As Hill put it in an interview, his core customers are “young women who have disposable income, but don’t want disposable clothes.”
Today, Aritzia is publicly listed, and has 117 retail boutiques in Canada and the US that sell only its own exclusive brands. That vertical integration lets management keep a tight leash on style and quality, which has won them legions of fans. There’s even an Aritzia subreddit with 48,000 members swapping wishlists.
Part of Aritzia’s strategy has been using celebrities as influencers—like when Kendall Jenner posted a pic of herself in the Super Puff jacket on Instagram. Can’t imagine she has much need for a down coat in Los Angeles, but what’s a little sweat in exchange for a million-dollar payday?
The company’s next goal: conquering the USA. In a recent investor presentation management said they’ve identified 100 locations in the US where they want to open boutiques. (Look out, Banana Republic.)
The expansion is timely, given their female consumer’s passion for the brand. Aritzia customers are willing to line up for hours for a deal, which might be why its warehouse sales have a first-aid booth. You never know when a shopper could get so excited over a pantsuit, she passes out.
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
The real estate experts at Zillow say Buffalo, NY has the highest ratio of jobs to new housing units among US cities—and the typical home is valued at $250K, much cheaper than the national average. Just don’t forget to bring a snow shovel.
Bad news for Dasani: a recent study showed that the bottles of water keeping us hydrated are also plasticizing our insides. This is why I stick to Sugar Free Monster Energy.
It’s clobberin’ time for Netflix. A $5 billion deal between Netflix and the WWE will give the streaming platform exclusive rights to the flagship Monday Night Raw live broadcast. Maybe Netflix’s algorithm can predict who’ll win the Royal Rumble.
It’s practically unanimous among professional economists that the US will avoid a recession in the coming year. But considering the predictive track record of professional economists, I recommend stockpiling gold, guns, and cans of tuna.
That's all for today, superstars; catch you on the flip side tomorrow morning. Yours in capitalism, The Axe