Here’s what you need to know today

• Despite more senior Democrats publicly calling for him to step down, President Joe Biden told congressional Democrats in a letter that he was “firmly committed” to staying in the race for President. On the same day, in a TV interview, he challenged “elites” who don’t think he should run for President.
  
  

• In some good decarbonisation news: wind is now a larger source of electricity than coal in the United States. In April, wind was responsible for 47.7 million megawatt hours while coal was responsible for 37.2 million.
  
  

• Boeing has said it will plead guilty after US regulators accused it of fraud over the cause of two 737 Max crashes. As part of the settlement Boeing may be fined up to $487m and will invest $455m in compliance and safety programs.
  
  

• An Australian Parliamentary Committee has recommended a tax on sugary beverages amongst 23 recommendations aimed at lowering national obesity and diabetes rates. The suggestion is that the tax increase with the sugar content, making those drinks with the most sugar the most expensive. It also recommended standardised labelling, as added sugar currently can appear under at least 40 different names on food labels.
  
  

• As Channel 9 announces another round of layoffs, prepares for a strike at its newspapers and shuts down youth publisher Pedestrian Group, here’s a reminder of some of the other media cuts we’ve seen this year: Channel 7 announced layoffs in June, News Corp did the same in May, and Channel 10 laid off 800 people in February. It’s been a brutal year for Australian media.

What the…?

As the European summer gets into full swing and our Instagram fills with friends and family enjoying sunnier weather, the question of sustainable tourism levels is being asked in Europe. In Barcelona, 2,800 locals demonstrated against over-tourism spraying water on visitors and carrying signs reading “Tourists go home, you are not welcome”.

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

How Abercrombie & Fitch turned from teen castoff to market trend

Think Abercrombie & Fitch and you probably think a fashion brand of a past era. Famous for using shirtless male models outside stores, the company tried to trade on exclusivity. In 2006, its CEO Mike Jeffries said it only sold to “cool and popular kids”. Ick.

The full quote isn’t any better: “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

From being thought of as a relic of the past, Abercrombie & Fitch has turned it around in stunning fashion. At the start of 2023, shares were trading at $25. Today they are almost $180.

Behind this turnaround is a story of great retailing. It took a new management team who truly understood their customer and was willing to move with changing trends. The company has reinvented itself for a new generation with a fast growing customer base amongst Gen Z shoppers.

For investors, it is a story full of lessons. The power of a new management team to turn around even the most struggling brand. How quickly fortunes can change in ultra competitive industries like fashion retailing where the business moats are never strong. And how the best retailers are relentlessly focused on the customer and their ever-changing preferences.

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