> Amazon is known for watching what retail products gain traction on its platform and elsewhere and then creating similar products it can sell for less.
Should we really care? Isn't this what consumers want? Value.
Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
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Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#32> Amazon is known for watching what retail products gain traction on its platform and elsewhere and then creating similar products it can sell for less. Should we really care? Isn't this what consumers want? Value.
Better, cheaper, faster, thanks Amazon.
Plus let’s be realistic any actual good stuff isn’t going to be worth attempting to copy, say an iPhone or some Burton snowboarding boots.
Amazon computer mice? HDMI cables? Socks? We are just watching commodities being realized for what they are.
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Coke actually has regulatory protections in place. They can use flavor extracted from coca plant through a special arrangement with the dea. Anyway they sell all kinds of varieties of sugar water, and the margins are extremely thin.
I mean, the law itself doesn't say only Coca-Cola can use the coca leaves.... they just have an exclusive deal with the only company that is licensed to import it.
Does that sort of regulatory capture accomplish the same effect though? If you're a competitor in the space, you'd either a) not have any access to an ingredient you want, or b) would have to go through the trouble of finding a new company to import it AND get them licensed (which I assume is likely a difficult thing to do).
To an extent, the barrier to entry could end up so high that it's effectively _as if _ Coca-Cola has a legal stranglehold.
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#34I own a pair of all birds. I think I paid around $100 for them. I wouldn't be surprised if the actual cost of the shoe was around $8.
Amazon is a margin-eating business("your margin is my opportunity"). You can't expect margins like that to just go on unmolested from anyone. I'm honestly surprised Amazon hasn't done more of this - e.g. in the makeup industry which has notoriously high margins.
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#35Allbirds shoes look very very cheap. I stopped into their NYC store downtown twice. Each time I noticed a ton of glue that had seeped onto the wool when they glued the fabric on. I thought the first time it was a one-off issue. The pattern continues. Allbirds really needs to step up their quality. If you look at the product quality of Merrel, Danner, US Made Red Wing Shoes, it's night and day! I would never buy an Al…
You're comparing work boots to what are effectively wool slippers with rubber soles - of course there's a difference in quality because they're not even the same market segment.
I agree with you they're overpriced, but not for the reasons you stated.
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
The specific flavor/process of coke is protected, but you can get pretty close outside of that. Their other products are often indistinguishable (e.g. sprite/sierra mist). The value there is the brand, not the specific flavor. The special dispensation for Coke works on a branding level: "we have a special process dating back to 1890".
I'm not sure if this is how you're defining brand, but the real value is in their exclusivity agreements with restaurants and (some) grocers. This is the reason any restaurant that doesn't just resell soft drinks they bought at the grocery store only sells either Pepsi / Coca-Cola. It would be really interesting to see what kind of rates major chains/conglomerates (E.g. McDonalds, Subway, 3G, Recipe Unlimited, etc.)…
FWIW, the exclusivity agreements only work because they interact in a virtuous cycle with the incredible amount of effort Coca-Cola has put into building their brand with consumers. Nobody signs exclusivity agreements with PC Cola[0].
[0]: http://www.presidentschoice.ca/en_CA/products/productlisting...
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Serious question. Why is it dodgy?
Because designers spend an entire year designing what they are going to sell as their line for the year and when they show it on the runway, Zara takes a photo and has it mass produced and sent to stores in two weeks. They do this consistently. It is dodgy.
Hopefully Oracle wins in their case against Google, then, that would set a precedent to stop interface copyright violations. In a sense, sunglasses could be considered an interface, and anyone who copies the same shape of the interface violates that copyright (even if the materials are slightly different).
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because designers spend an entire year designing what they are going to sell as their line for the year and when they show it on the runway, Zara takes a photo and has it mass produced and sent to stores in two weeks. They do this consistently. It is dodgy.
Don't hate the player, hate the game. That's business. The fact that your designers worked hard is irrelevant. Capitalism is by its very nature competitive, and it's on you as a business owner to figure out a working model in a world with fast followers. It's a bit like complaining that someone blocked your shot in basketball. It's allowed, those are the rules, do better next time.
It's nothing like that to be honest
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#39Allbirds shoes look very very cheap. I stopped into their NYC store downtown twice. Each time I noticed a ton of glue that had seeped onto the wool when they glued the fabric on. I thought the first time it was a one-off issue. The pattern continues. Allbirds really needs to step up their quality. If you look at the product quality of Merrel, Danner, US Made Red Wing Shoes, it's night and day! I would never buy an Al…
I thought this topic was especially ironic because Allbirds are essentially a knockoff of Nike Flyknits.
Re: Allbirds CEO on Amazon's copycat strategy
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because designers spend an entire year designing what they are going to sell as their line for the year and when they show it on the runway, Zara takes a photo and has it mass produced and sent to stores in two weeks. They do this consistently. It is dodgy.
Don't hate the player, hate the game. That's business. The fact that your designers worked hard is irrelevant. Capitalism is by its very nature competitive, and it's on you as a business owner to figure out a working model in a world with fast followers. It's a bit like complaining that someone blocked your shot in basketball. It's allowed, those are the rules, do better next time.
If you don’t think this should be allowed (and it’s sort of pointless to argue dodginess if it’s perfectly legal) you have to logically argue for much more stringent IP protection.
Added: Of course some protections do exist and I don’t doubt some knockoffs skirt or outright violate those protections.