OBITUARY

Remembering Tony Hsieh, Former Zappos CEO and Bright Light of Business

The biz world lost one of its most original thinkers on Friday, when former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh died from injuries related to a house fire. He was 46. 

• In a statement the company said, "The world has lost a tremendous visionary and an incredible human being." 

Quick bio

In 1995, Hsieh (pronounced "shay") cofounded the internet ad company LinkExchange with a fellow Harvard alum. Three years later, at just 24 years old, he sold it to Microsoft for $265 million.

Hsieh then started a fund and invested in the online shoe seller Zappos (then known as ShoeSite.com), later becoming its CEO. 

• ShoeSite.com was founded by a film school grad, Nick Swinmurn, who realized that people didn't need to try on shoes before buying them. His key statistic: In 1998, 5% of the U.S.' $40 billion shoe business was being done through mail order. 

Hsieh took over and built an e-comm shoe colossus. In 2000, the site did $1.6 million in sales. Nine years later...more than $1 billion. It was then, in 2009, that Amazon scooped up Zappos for $1.2 billion. 

• "The world lost you way too soon," Jeff Bezos wrote on Instagram. "Your curiosity, vision, and relentless focus on customers leave an indelible mark."

Big picture: Hsieh is being remembered for his singular commitment to customer service and for creating a unique company culture. At Zappos, he installed a self-management system called "Holacracy," which eliminated most traditional corporate hierarchy and allowed anyone to set meeting agendas. 

Hsieh also had an outsized impact on the city of Las Vegas, where he invested hundreds of millions of dollars in revitalizing the downtown area. 

+ For more on Tony: His episode on the podcast, How I Built This; Zappos's operating principles (#1: "Deliver WOW Through Service"); and his book, Delivering Happiness. 

RETAIL

The Scene on Black Friday

What, were you expecting a shopping mall stampede? The more accurate representation of Black Friday, this year and perhaps from now on, is an Amazon fulfillment center. 

Just read these stats: 

• U.S. store visits fell harder than Nate Robinson—down 52% on Black Friday, per retail tracker Sensormatic Solutions. 
• Shopping on U.S. retail websites, however, rose 22% over last year to $9 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. 

And today is Cyber Monday. With estimated spending of $10.8 billion to $12.7 billion, it's expected to be the largest online sales day in the country's history.

Bottom line: The pandemic rolled out the red carpet for widespread e-commerce adoption. Consider that Amazon has hired 427,300 new employees in the past 10 months, roughly 1,400 a day. 

EDUCATION

NYC Gives Parents Whiplash

Next week, NYC will begin reopening preschools, kindergartens, and elementary schools, with middle and high schools to follow later, Mayor Bill de Blasio's office announced yesterday. That's quite the U-turn from Nov. 19, when the city closed schools after its Covid positivity rate hit 3%. 

• That decision angered some residents because indoor dining, bars, and gyms—which studies show are greater virus spreaders—remained open. 

NYC will also abandon that 3% threshold and increase Covid-19 testing for students. 

Leaders everywhere are wrestling with this

Without federal guidance, the decision to open schools falls on state and local officials. 

Today, Rhode Island bars, gyms, theaters, and some other businesses will close...but the state has opted to keep schools open. While Michigan closed high schools earlier this month, middle and elementary schools remain open. 

• Twelve states have complete or partial closures of in-person learning as of Nov. 25, per Education Week. 

Lessons from abroad: Several European countries reimposed lockdowns on businesses and gatherings but left schools open this fall. On Friday, the WHO said it appears those measures have slowed the spike in cases. 

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TRADE

Honk If Brexit Negotiations Are Confusing You

With just one month left to reach a deal protecting ~$1 trillion worth of trade between the EU and UK, this is shaping up to be a critical week for Brexit negotiations. 

What's left to hammer out: 

1. Fishing rights. Despite making up just 0.1% of the British economy, it's been a tough nut. 
2. Competition. The EU loves its single market more than mulled wine and wants the UK to play by the same rules. 

If Parliament and EU leaders don't ratify a deal, they'll be trading under the WTO's tariff-heavy rules come Jan. 1—when Britain formally leaves the EU's economic embrace. 

• A "no-deal" Brexit could drop 2021 UK GDP an additional 2% and put an extra burden on financial services and export-reliant manufacturers.

It'll also test truckers' bladders. The UK warned Brexit may cause long delays at the Eurotunnel leading to the EU. When France started a trial run of post-Brexit checks this weekend (see image above), trucks were backed up as if a new In-N-Out location had just opened.

Big picture: Brexit coming down to the wire has compounded three years of uncertainty for British companies that still don't know how to prepare. 

CALENDAR

The Week Ahead

Jobs report: This Friday, we'll get the big November employment numbers. Except they probably won't be big—economists expect a weaker U.S. job market than in the previous few months due to the resurgent virus and accompanying restrictions. 

Oil deliberations: OPEC+ ministers will meet early this week to discuss a potential delay of their planned output hike. The price of oil has gained for four straight weeks on hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine will lead to a quicker economic recovery and greater demand for fuel.  

Earnings: Zoom will report Q3 financials today, Salesforce (following rumors it's in talks to acquire Slack) is up Tuesday, and recently IPOed Snowflake will report Wednesday. 

Vaccine distribution: On Tuesday, a CDC advisory panel will meet to decide which groups will get priority access to the limited, initial doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

Everything else: 

• Tuesday is the first day of December. It's also Giving Tuesday.
• On Wednesday, the McRib is coming back to McDonald's. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• President-elect Joe Biden named an all-woman senior comms team, including Jen Psaki as White House press secretary.
• S&P Global is in advanced talks to acquire fellow financial data provider IHS Markit for about $44 billion, the WSJ reports.
• Los Angeles and San Francisco announced new restrictions to curb swelling coronavirus outbreaks.
• A top Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated on Friday (signs point to Israel being behind the attack). Iran's leaders have vowed retaliation.
• Croods 2 had the best opening weekend at the domestic box office since the pandemic first closed theaters.
• Real Christmas trees are flying off the, uh, farms this year. 

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BREW'S BETS

Dive back into the week:

• Shallow dive: soothing video of a guy making lasagna.
• Medium dive: the latest on the mysterious "Utah monolith."
• Deep dive: one company's approach to internal communication.

Monday morning inspiration: Vanderbilt senior Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five college football game on Saturday. "I just want to tell all the girls out there that you can do anything you set your mind to," she said postgame. Also, check out the nonprofit Play Like a Girl, which Fuller promoted via a message on her helmet. 

Two eye-popping visuals: This map offers a look at population density across the world. And this chart shows the generational breakdown of the 117th Congress.

FROM THE CREW

Introducing the 2020 Sidekick Holiday Gift Guide

We may have launched our recommendations newsletter, Sidekick, just a week ago...but we're already using it to make your holiday shopping a lot less stressful. 

In Sidekick’s Holiday Gift Guide, you’ll find the perfect holiday present for everyone in your life, including:

• Your friend who subscribes to Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock, and even CBS All Access
• The yogi who has both a morning AND evening skincare routine
• The recent NYT Cooking subscriber who won’t shut up about their focaccia bread art

Bottom line: In choosing these products, we abided by the Gift Guide Golden Rule: If we wouldn’t give it as a gift, we didn’t include it on the list. 

Start browsing.

GAMES

Monday Multiple Choice

What is the country’s largest private employer? 

1. Walmart
2. Amazon
3. Boeing
4. McDonald’s

ANSWER

It's still Walmart...though Amazon is gaining fast.