When the only thing left to fear is Sears itself

It seems nearly impossible to believe these days, but once upon a time, Sears was the Amazon of its day.

Capital Thinking | When the only thing left to fear is Sears itself
Capital Thinking | When the only thing left to fear is Sears itself

Capital Thinking • Issue #86 • View online

“It’s impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, ‘Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,’ [or] ‘I love Amazon; I just wish you’d deliver a little more slowly.’ Impossible.”

- Jeff Bezos

When the only thing left to fear is Sears itself.

It seems nearly impossible to believe these days, but once upon a time, Sears was the Amazon of its day.

As recent as the late 1980’s, when Sam Walton was working in towns of less than 10,000, Sears was a force to be reckoned with - in retail, insurance, and even financial services.

Those days are gone forever.

Sears: 'Thursday was my last day' | LinkedIn
The retailer will close 72 more stores in 2018.

Speaking of Amazon, ...

Remember all the tales of vendors having to run the gauntlet in Bentonville just to present to Walmart, all of them hoping for the chance to get their wares in front of a few million pair of eyes each and every day.

Well, there’s a new kid on the block.

When Amazon goes from partner to rival
Amazon said it doesn’t peer into customer records, corporate accounts and other data that its business partners store on Amazon’s servers

And when Sears folds and Amazon takes over?

More and more are venturing out on their own into the world of freelancing.

How many? A lot.

Just how big is the 'gig economy'? | LinkedIn
The so-called gig economy is growing — but at what price and to what end?

Of course, the gig economy comes with fewer perks

Which can and does lead to a bit of arbitrage here and there.

And mostly not “there”.

Many Bay Area residents want out | LinkedIn
Housing prices, the cost of living and traffic are the main reasons cited for wanting to leave.

And if you're out in the cold...

How to Future-Proof Your Business Model
If you want to build a company that’s going to be around in 10 years, you can’t piss off your first customers. Founders have to find a balance between two… Keep reading

“The trick is to nail down the things that are going to draw people in at the beginning and make them want to stick around 10 years later.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos puts it like this:

“It’s impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, ‘Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,’ [or] ‘I love Amazon; I just wish you’d deliver a little more slowly.’ Impossible.”

These days everybody needs a side-gig

Looking to solve tech issues, small banks stumble into revenue stream
Developing technology in-house and then licensing it is one way a small bank can build a reputation as an innovator.