Apple commits $430 billion in US investments over five years – Apple today announced an acceleration of its US investments, with plans to make new contributions of more than $430 billion and add 20,000 new jobs across the country over the next five years. Over the past three years, Apple’s contributions in the US have significantly outpaced the company’s original five-year goal of $350 billion set in 2018. Apple is now raising its level of commitment by 20 percent over the next five years, supporting American innovation and driving economic benefits in every state. This includes tens of billions of dollars for next-generation silicon development and 5G innovation across nine US states.
Establishing a New North Carolina Campus
As part of its investments and expansion, Apple plans to invest over $1 billion in North Carolina and will begin construction on a new campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle area. The investment will create at least 3,000 new jobs in machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and other cutting-edge fields. [Apple]
Digitally native brands weathered the storm, grew ecommerce sales by 40% in 2020 – Some brands—particularly those discretionary in nature—increased their sales but only slightly. For example, personal styling service Stitch Fix grew its sales by 8.5% in its fiscal year ending on July 31, 2020. Mattress brand Casper also underperformed, growing D2C sales by just 3.6% for the year ending on December 31, 2020.
Not everyone had a rocky year, though. Companies like HelloFresh, BarkBox, The Honest Company, and Blue Apron exhibited strong growth as consumers increased spending on grocery, health, and personal care items.
A look ahead
As more stores reopen and consumers once again shop at brick-and-mortars, D2C brands will continue to expand into multiple distribution channels—with the focus still on ecommerce, of course.
D2Cs will also expand into new categories that are natural extensions of their brands—think men’s grooming company Harry’s offering deodorant and shoe brand Allbirds selling apparel and socks.
Beyond this, there will be a greater focus on aligning brand values. Consumers have been paying closer attention to sustainability, locally sourced products, and whether or not brands are helping to serve communities. [eMarketer]
To Be Tracked or Not? Apple Is Now Giving Us the Choice. Today, Apple plans to release iOS 14.5, one of its most anticipated software updates for iPhones and iPads in years. It includes a new privacy tool, called App Tracking Transparency, which could give us more control over how our data is shared.
Here’s how it works: When an app wants to follow our activities to share information with third parties such as advertisers, a window will show up on our Apple device to ask for our permission to do so. If we say no, the app must stop monitoring and sharing our data. [NY Times]
The 93rd Academy Awards Winners From Last Night – Include Nomadland for Best Picture, Anthony Hopkins for Best Actor and Frances McDormand for Best Actress. [Oscars]
ESPN & Marvel to Offer First NBA Special Edition Presented by State Farm: Marvel’s Arena of Heroes Alternate Presentation for Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans Game on May 3 – ESPN and Marvel announced a groundbreaking collaboration today to launch the first-ever Marvel-inspired alternate presentation for the Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans game on Monday, May 3. The exclusive alternate presentation, NBA Special Edition Presented by State Farm: Marvel’s Arena of Heroes, will start at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes with the traditional game telecast on ESPN. This marks ESPN’s second live NBA game on ESPN+.
The latest development in Marvel and ESPN’s long history of sports content collaboration, the telecast will integrate elements from an original Marvel story and iconic characters including Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Black Widow, and Doctor Strange throughout the live game, including 3D virtual characters, custom graphics and animation packages.
After a narrow victory over an invading alien army, the Avengers receive an ominous threat from the enemy who vows to return in greater numbers and force. The Black Panther and Iron Man quickly realize they will need more help and form a plan to expand their ranks to fight this impending threat. Recognizing the superior physical abilities, agility, and tenacity of Earth’s greatest athletes, the Avengers will hold a series of contests where the winners earn the right to train and fight alongside them as Marvel’s Champions! The Avengers will begin their recruitment with the NBA elite and observe the battle between the Warriors and the Pelicans, focusing on three star players from each team. [ESPN]
