Joe Dean, who entered last weekend’s Kenya Open as the world’s 2,930th-ranked golfer, really took advantage of time off from his $108-per-shift grocery-delivery day job: he left Nairobi as a second-place finisher with a life-changing $217k check in hand. That’s where credits start rolling in the movie version, but Dean said he still “might pick up a shift or two” at the supermarket going forward because money goes fast and “you have to be sensible about it.” Amen, Joe.
In today’s email:
Malls with class: Can schools save our dying shopping malls?
What’s the catch?: Movie theater subscriptions, debunked.
TikTok: Watched by many, produced by few.
Around the web: Cool underwater pics, all about freemium, dogs and their tiny friends, and more.
👇 Listen: Malls’ endless square feet of vacant prime real estate has endless possibilities.
The Big Idea
Another solution for those empty malls: charter schools
Charter schools could be the antidote for the dying American mall.
2024-02-28T00:00:00Z
Sara Friedman
We’ve all seen the headlines — the shopping mall as we know it is dying.
The retail vacancy rate was ~10.3% in Q4 of 2023 and the pandemic, changing consumer habits, and store closures have been nails in the mall’s coffin.
But now, a new use case might give old malls a new lease on life. Landlords are leasing mall space to charter schools, perThe New York Times.
While at first a charter school and a shopping mall seem like an unlikely fit, the symbiotic partnership might solve a bunch of problems:
It revitalizes empty malls, keeping the lights on, literally and financially, while bringing in foot traffic for remaining businesses.
Schools get large blank canvases to make their own in locations that are often centrally located. Plus, moving into a mall is cheaper than building a school from scratch.
The arrangement can also be good for communities, bringing new educational opportunities to kids in the area — and, in turn, building a good reputation for the mall.
New mall of America?
Repurposing malls as schools has been done before. As we said, malls have been going down the tubes for a while.
And developers are entertaining their options when it comes to filling empty malls: we’ve written about malls welcoming tenants from pickleball courts and bumper cars to government offices and healthcare facilities.
The sheer size of old malls means the possibilities are, seemingly, endless. Footprints spanning hundreds of thousands of square feet have the potential to hold everything a community needs, if done correctly.
Our word of caution: No matter what happens, keep the food court.
Free Resource
Reach more people via email
Don’t hit mailboxes: that’s just a federal offense.
Do hit inboxes: to reach many sets of eyeballs all at once.
Everybody still uses email. If you’re building/selling anything, read the intro to email marketing to learn about growing a list and organizing a system that’s constantly adding value to your business.
Oof: We’ve heard complaints of immersive art installations that are little more than cash grabs, but a ~$44 Willy Wonka-themed “immersive adventure” in Glasgow turned out to be a mostly empty warehouse that some compared to a meth lab. Someone called the police, while another visitor said it made their child have “a wee cry.” Event organizers apologized, claiming last-minute mishaps, and promised refunds.
SNIPPETS
Apple is calling it quits on breaking into the automaking sector, shelving its decade-long electric car project. Many employees who were developing the vehicle will move over to Apple’s AI division.
Klarna, the Swedish buy-now-pay-later fintech startup, is advancing plans for an IPO this year. It’s rumored to be seeking a $20B valuation for the potential Q3 listing.
TikTok began removing Universal Music Group songs as the two companies continue to fight over royalties. UMG sources claim the fight will affect a majority of songs on TikTok, while TikTok sources claim it’ll affect only 20%-30%.
Wendy’s is making a $20m investment in digital menus across the US to implement some high-tech changes in 2025. Among the updates: dynamic pricing, AI-enabled menu changes, and suggestive selling.
McDonald’s is launching an anime-inspired restaurant called WcDonald’s in 30 markets, starting with LA. The promo includes a new savory chili sauce, a “multi-sensory dining experience,” and a new anime and manga short every week through March 18.
Macy’s is shuttering ~150 stores, leaving just ~350 namesake locations. But the company is reinvesting in its more successful brands, opening new locations of its Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores.
Also closing: 41 Bloomin’ Brands restaurants. The company’s shutting down older “underperforming” locations across brands Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Fleming’s, but still plans to add 40+ modernized locations this year.
Sony is laying off ~900 PlayStation employees, or ~8% of that division’s workforce. The news follows Sony’s diminished sales forecast for the PlayStation 5.
Warner Bros. Discovery is done exploring a mega media merger with Paramount Global. Paramount still has options: Skydance Media is considering a deal and mogul Byron Allen has a $14B offer on the table.
Don't miss this...
“I’m so sorry. Can you repeat that, please?” Our Starbucks order didn’t go great, but that’s only because the chain is busy playing 4D chess in another market.
What’s the catch?
Are ‘unlimited’ movie theater subscriptions actually worth it?
Try not to wince so hard you pull a muscle: The current national average for a movie ticket is $10.53.
Yet, if you’ve been to an AMC movie theater lately, you’ve likely been bombarded by reminders that, for just $20+ per month, you can roll right in and watch up to 3 movies per week.
That sounds like one hell of a deal… but who for? Moviegoers? Theater chains? Film distributors? That answer isn’t always a simple one.
Our “What’s the Catch?” YouTube series can explain why as it dives into the wobbly economics of movie theater subscription plans — and shares why your favorite viewing buddy, the oversized bucket of popcorn (and its absurd ~1,000% markup), is the linchpin of the whole operation.
There are thousands of companies valued at $1B+. How many clues do you need to identify today’s billion-dollar brand?
Clue 1: It was listless until its revolutionary mainframe computer in Trumbull, Connecticut started running.
Clue 2: The company has 10 favorite cities — New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Reykjavík, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, and Vilnius — and it wouldn’t exchange a single one.
Clue 3: In closing, even Quasimodo would be jealous at the amount of bell ringing this organization finds itself doing.
👇 Scroll to the bottom for the answer 👇
Data Point
Are you a TikTok lurker? Turns out you’re far from alone. A Pew Research Center survey found that ~50% of US adult users have never posted a video — most don’t even have information in their account bios. Of those that do post, a small group of very active users make most of the app’s content. The top 25% of adult TikTok users in the US by posting volume produce 98% of the public videos, while the bottom 75% of users produce just 2% of videos. So if you’ve never been in the top 25% of anything, now could be your chance — go choreograph that dance.
AROUND THE WEB
🖼️ On this day: In 1982, the J. Paul Getty Museum received $1.2B from late oil mogul J. Paul Getty, becoming the world’s most richly endowed museum.
📸 That’s cool:Check out the 2024 Underwater Photographer of the Year winners gallery.
🎧 Another Bite: In this episode, Jorie, Ariel, and Jon break down the power of freemium models and how to build a winning premium model from scratch.
Yesterday, we asked you to weigh in on whether interviewing has gotten worse.
The majority agreed it has, while 24% said it’s hard to tell since it’s always sucked. And 14% said they’re lacking data since getting an interview is so impossible. A measly 4% of you said it isn’t all that bad. Not so comforting.
Also not comforting: Interviews spanning six to eight rounds only to end with ghosting, shifting job requirements, and lengthy take-home assignments.
What really stood out, though, is how downright rude some companies are to applicants.
One reader wrote: “I was presenting my deck via Zoom to the hiring manager and the director who oversees the whole department. The director got up halfway through and started walking with her laptop. I asked if I should pause for a minute but she told me to keep going. She proceeded to make a sandwich and eat it (without muting herself) for the rest of the presentation and interview. I didn't get the role…”
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