Thematic Reads: Week of August 19, 2019
Each week Team Tematica consumes a voracious amount of content as we look to stay on top of the latest data and mine it for tailwind and headwind signals for our 10 investment themes.
Aging of the Population
The global demographic shift towards a more senior population
- Baby bust bites America’s rural corners (Axios)
- Aging population sparks call for care investment (Third Force News)
- How rising rents and an aging population are changing housing trends in Naperville (Chicago Tribune)
Cleaner Living
Growing demand for items that claim to be better for you and the planet:
- Coke Putting Dasani Water in Cans Amid Backlash Against Plastic (Bloomberg)
- Weight Watchers eyes a new clientele: Children (CNBC)
- Plant-based fish is the new plant-based meat (FT)
- San Francisco considers new recycling ordinance (Nation’s Restaurant News)
- Original Beans launches new
eco packaging for its luxury chocolate range (Confectionery News) - The War on Sugar Hits the Juice Box (WSJ)
- Why “Natural Beauty” Is All the Rage: The Journey of India’s Alternative Cosmetics Industry (Entrepreneur)
- Beyond Meat coming to menus at baseball stadiums, hospitals, schools (Fox Business)
Digital Infrastructure
The buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities and Equipment
- Verizon 5G performs over 800% faster than LTE, Speedtest data shows (FierceWireless)
- Cisco’s weak outlook stokes fears of slowdown in tech spending, but 5G may offer light at end of the tunnel (MarketWatch)
- AMD’s 2nd Gen Epyc processor aims to set a new data center standard (ZDNet)
- Shifting needs drive data center decisions (GCN)
Disruptive Innovators
Business models designed to transform an entire industry and leap-frog over incumbents.
- Chinese AI start-up DeepBlue takes self-driving buses global (FT)
- UPS has been quietly shipping packages on self-driving trucks (Futurism)
- Fitness Extravaganza BoxVR Coming to Retail this October (Virtual Reality Reporter)
- Walmart’s e-commerce business grows thanks to store fulfillment (ModernRetail)
Digital Lifestyle
The increasingly digital landscape that now underpins the entire consumer experience.
- Ikea doubles down on smart home tech with new business unit (TechCrunch)
- The Trendiest Fitness Class Now: Working Out Alone at Home (WSJ)
- Apple expanding contactless student ID to 100,000 students at 12 more colleges (AppleInsider)
- Why Chipotle’s Bet On TikTok Is Paying Off (Forbes)
Guilty Pleasures
The products and services people will consume no matter the economic environment.
- Amazon is looking to open a brick-and-mortar liquor store in San Francisco (Business Insider)
- U.S. CPG Cannabis sales to rise by the billions (Nielsen)
Living the Life
Those things that bridge the gap between want and ability at every socioeconomic level.
- Aston Martin brings bespoke design to owners’ garages (Luxury Daily)
- Tiffany & Co. launches men’s line, hoping diamonds are a dude’s best friend (The Washington Post)
- 2019 luxury spend expected to grow highest in UK (Luxury Daily)
Middle
Consumers trading down when and where possible or looking to stretch the disposable dollars they do have.
- Total Household Debt Continues Consecutive Quarterly Increase (ACA International)
- Citibank Sees Credit Card Charge Offs, Delinquency Rates Spike (Payments)
- Americans Say They Can’t Afford a Vacation (Bloomberg)
Safety & Security
Reflecting the evolving needs across individual, cyber, corporate and homeland security.
- Lumineye helps first responders identify people through walls (TechCrunch)
- Microsoft Contractors Are Listening to Some Skype Calls (Vice)
Cyber security companies race to combat ‘deepfake ’ technology (FT)- Apple will soon treat online web tracking the same as a security vulnerability (TheNextWeb)
- ECB shuts down one of its websites following hack (FT)
- Trump administration plans $8 billion fighter jet sale to Taiwan (The Washington Post)
- Cybersecurity companies race to combat ‘
deepfake ‘ technologies (The Financial Times)
