In the late 1990s, Walmart is happily trucking along, dominating the American retail market. They’re expanding locations and increasing their own backend efficiencies to keep prices low. It’s a formula that’s worked for decades and they see no reason to change now. But as Bezos expands Amazon’s offerings, he quickly realizes that he doesn’t have the infrastructure to keep up with his ambitions. His warehouses are in chaos. There is only one company that knows infrastructure at the scale he envis...
Apr 22, 2020•24 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Ninety-six percent of Americans now shop online, snapping up everything from rare coins to industrial-sized barrels of hand sanitizer. Almost half of those purchases take place on one website: Amazon. But before sales were a click away, Walmart was the top dog, decimating main streets across America with its big-box efficiency and ruthlessly low prices. It’s 1994, and a slim 30-year-old with thinning hair dreams of leaving his high-paying finance job to sell books on the internet — a...
Apr 20, 2020•23 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast One of the key players in the story of The North Face is Hap Klopp, who in 1968, bought the then-burgeoning outdoor sports equipment store. He bought the company for the bargain price of $60,000. Klopp was CEO of The North Face for the next 20 years, and turned the small chain of Bay Area stores into a multi-million dollar business. Today, The North Face is a global brand that can be found in 5,000 locations across 50 countries. We’ll hear from Klopp on what the journey was like to become ...
Apr 15, 2020•23 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 2010 and Yvon Chouinard is about to give Patagonia’s executives their toughest challenge yet: telling people to buy less Patagonia gear. Meanwhile, The North Face is playing catch up on environmental responsibility with a spate on new initiatives. But soon, the two rivals will find themselves coming together to battle a common foe. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-...
Apr 13, 2020•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the late 1990s and The North Face is seeking to attract mainstream customers by opening hundreds of Summit Shops within the nation’s stores. But when the expected avalanche of sales fails to materialize, the company finds itself slipping over the edge. Meanwhile, Patagonia steps up its mission to become a responsible company by tapping into the latest in textile tech. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice a...
Apr 08, 2020•26 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the dawn of the 1990s and Yvon Chouinard is struggling to come to terms with his new status as a successful entrepreneur. He cannot decide what to do with the fast-growing monster he’s created. Meanwhile, The North Face’s new owner Odyssey International is pushing the limits as it scrambles to become the king of the mountain. But when economic headwinds roll in and bring recession, both companies find themselves battling unforgiving conditions. Support us by supporting our spons...
Apr 06, 2020•26 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the late 1970s and Patagonia’s living hand to mouth and looking for a way to stoke sales. But when founder Yvon Chouinard suggests making a jersey from an unusual fabric, Patagonia creates a mountain staple and finds its products becoming a favorite of the catwalk crowd. Meanwhile, The North Face faces tough terrain as Asian imports undercut its American-made gear and the growth in backpacking sales flatlines. But as both companies rise higher and higher up the corporate ladder, Chouinard a...
Apr 01, 2020•26 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1970 and The North Face’s new owner Hap Klopp is on a mission to turn the dirtbag outdoor store he bought into an industry trailblazer. But with outdoor activity still a niche pastime, he’s going to have to do more than create gear – he’s going to have to create a market too. But Klopp’s not the only one tapping into new opportunities. Climbing equipment maker Yvon Chouinard is about to make a chance discovery in Scotland. It will lead him into the apparel business through a new venture cal...
Mar 30, 2020•26 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the 1960s, and two climbing buddies are about to lay the foundations for a new industry. The older of the two is an outdoorsman and part-time blacksmith Yvon Chouinard. His younger buddy is Doug Tompkins, who abandoned his Connecticut rich-kid life to find his kicks in the wilderness. Niether dreams of riches. They just want enough money to keep climbing. But when they both start businesses based on their hobby, little do they realize that they’re about to climb the heights of corporate Ame...
Mar 25, 2020•23 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast There’s no doubt that Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts have created empires throughout the U.S. and internationally. Starbucks has more than 15,000 locations in the U.S. alone, and Dunkin Donuts is now in 43 countries. But there could be yet ANOTHER brewing business that’s raring to make a dent in Starbucks’ customer base. Hailing from China, that new competitor is Luckin Coffee, marketing itself as the convenient gourmet coffee choice, with a lower price point than Starbucks. Sounds a bit like Dunki...
Mar 23, 2020•24 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Dunkin and Starbucks are going full on 21st century, doing all they can to top each other with new concept stores, vast emporiums, vegan food options, oat milk lattes and “high- velocity innovations.” But the real world keeps intruding and they can’t get away from it. For all their success, can they truly command their futures? Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-inf...
Mar 18, 2020•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast The Great Recession doesn’t play favorites and both Starbucks and Dunkin are hit hard. As more customers make coffee at home, Dunkin leans into its reputation as the “everyman’s brand” to lure them back. Meanwhile, Starbucks looks to cash in on an untapped beverage market with a risky move. And they both have to contend with public outcry after major PR blunders. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://a...
Mar 16, 2020•26 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Howard Schultz can hardly believe the mess his company is in, with sales in free fall. To pull out of it, he’ll need to make a radical move. Yet no matter what he does, Starbucks’ problems only get worse. And Dunkin Donuts is in expansion mode, looking to capitalize on the coffee giant’s missteps. Then, a blind taste test tips the scales in an unexpected direction. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art1...
Mar 11, 2020•24 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Howard Schultz has found his mission. He’s burning to turn Starbucks into an espresso bar business, but he can’t convince Starbucks owners to get onboard. Back in the Northeast, Bill Rosenberg is frustrated too. His son, who’s now Dunkin Donut’s CEO, has ideas that seem sure to wreck the company. Both Schultz and Rosenberg, 3,000 miles apart, are looking for ways to assert control. But soon, Starbucks and Dunkin will come head to head with their biggest challenge: each other. Support us by ...
Mar 09, 2020•28 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast While Dunkin Donuts expands and flourishes, Howard Schultz is bored. But then the 28-year-old New Yorker gets wind of a Seattle company with just four stores that’s selling more coffee makers than Macy’s. He’s got to know why. So he heads to Seattle to check out this company that calls itself Starbucks Coffee and Tea. What he finds there is a revelation but while he’s being seduced by the aroma and taste of delicious coffee, Dunkin Donuts popularity is soaring thanks to a beleaguered baker. ...
Mar 04, 2020•25 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast A former high school dropout named Bill Rosenberg has big dreams and a passion for coffee. In 1950, in the small town of Quincy, Massachusetts he’s got a thriving coffee and donut shop called Dunkin Donuts. In front of the store he proudly puts up a huge sign that reads, World’s Finest Coffee . But in San Francisco, an enterprising immigrant from the Netherlands named Alfred Peet thinks he sells the world’s finest coffee. When two young guys from Seattle get a taste of it, coffee will never be t...
Mar 02, 2020•25 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast After years of sitting on the sidelines of the next-generation console war, Nintendo is finally ready to make its move. But, the years it’s spent building it’s reassuring family-friendly reputation is now a weakness. Nintendo children of the 80s are all grown up, and want adult games. Sony is able to release edgier fare like Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider. The half-decade cold war between Sony and Nintendo is about to turn hot. Their next head-to-head battle is a multi-billion dollar clash tha...
Feb 24, 2020•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Nintendo decided early on that the Nintendo 64 would be a cartridge console, instead of a CD console. But CDs are much cheaper to make and have much better graphics. Game companies are upset, and defect to Sony. In a few months time, Sony has two of the most popular game series in Japan to itself. Nintendo will now have to make its own games that are strong enough to outsell PlayStation. It’s Nintendo vs the world. They’re taking a huge gamble, and this is not a game. Support us by supporting ou...
Feb 19, 2020•23 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast This is a story about Sony and Nintendo, but it also involves a little company called Sega. Ever play Sonic the Hedgehog? That’s Sega. And during Nintendo’s domination of the US market, they were the only company able to fight back. That is, until they tried to outplay Sony. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 17, 2020•24 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast From the moment it began, the PlayStation project was in danger. The problem was none other than PlayStations knight and chief advocate: Kutaragi. He thought the now-iconic handlebar controller design was “too different” from the flat rectangles people were used to. To make matters worse, PlayStation was getting closer and closer to launching without any games… a console with no games? Good luck with the PlayStation now, Sony. They were in trouble. And Nintendo knew it. Support us by supporting ...
Feb 12, 2020•25 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast It's 1949. 22-year old Hiroshi Yamauchi is the heir apparent for his family's playing card company, Nintendo. From humble beginnings as a scrappy street stall founded in Kyoto's back alleys to the largest card company in Japan by the time Yamauchi takes over, this isn't a company that backs down easily when a little competition comes in. But it was a company that changed its entire business over a couple of... cartoon characters. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https...
Feb 10, 2020•29 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Once a symbol of 80s teenage nerdom, video games are now as common as television sets in American households. Can you imagine a world where the Sony PlayStation didn’t come out? That’s what almost happened. Originally conceived as a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony, the SNES-CD was supposed to be the bridge between Japan’s two largest tech companies. Instead, it drove the companies to war, an intense competition for entertainment domination that still goes on today. Support us by supporti...
Feb 05, 2020•30 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast For more than 50 years, a version of Boeing's 737 aircraft has sailed the skies, dominating the market for short-range, short-haul domestic planes. The 737 is the best-selling commercial aircraft of all time. But competition in the late 1980s got fierce when Airbus entered the market with its model A320. The corporate giants would duke it out for the biggest market share. We conclude our series on Boeing vs. Airbus with aviation safety expert Tom Anthony of the University of Southern California....
Jan 27, 2020•25 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 2011 and Airbus and Boeing are battling for the biggest deal in commercial aviation history. American Airlines is looking to buy 460 single-aisle airplanes and with the European jet giant going all out to win the contract, Boeing’s under pressure. But when the U.S. plane maker makes a daring strike to win over American, it sets off a chain of events that will plunge Boeing into the biggest crisis in its 100-year history. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://a...
Jan 22, 2020•27 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the 2000s and after years of talk, Airbus is pushing ahead with its plan to build the biggest passenger jet in the world. But while Airbus is thinking bigger, Boeing’s thinking faster. It’s designing a near-supersonic aircraft called the Sonic Cruiser that it reckons will put some zip into its sales. But market forces, scandal and production challenges are about to put the plans of both companies well off course. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://ar...
Jan 20, 2020•25 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the late 1980s and following the A320 crash at the Habsheim Air Show in eastern France, the safety of Airbus’s computerized flight system is being called into question. But Boeing’s got troubles too. Airlines aren’t warming to its latest product proposal, it’s losing market share, and Airbus is plotting a strike against its iconic 747 jumbo jet. So with the pressure mounting, the American giant is preparing a series of a high-risk manoeuvres designed to outwit the European competition and d...
Jan 15, 2020•23 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the late 1970s and Airbus is on cloud nine after securing a breakthrough deal with Eastern Airlines. But Boeing’s not taking the consortium’s intrusion into American airspace lightly. And it’s going to use every trick in the book to take down the European challenger. But with help from some powerful friends and a bold idea that’s going to transform flying, Airbus is about to increase the throttle on its journey to the heights of the aviation industry. Support us by supporting our sponsors! ...
Jan 13, 2020•24 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1970 and the Boeing 747 is finally airborne. But bringing this behemoth to market has taken Boeing to the edge of collapse. And it will take years of belt-tightening and perseverance to overcome this jumbo hangover. Luckily, the Seattle manufacturer’s competition is in disarray and its major American rivals, Douglas and Lockheed, are in even deeper trouble. But across the Atlantic, a new threat is brewing. Europe’s government-backed Airbus is finally ready to fly. But the European consortiu...
Jan 08, 2020•26 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the 1950s, the dawn of the jet age. And leading the world into this era of faster, less shaky flights is the British-made De Havilland Comet. But when disaster strikes, a hungry American military plane maker called Boeing spots a golden opportunity to break into the civil aviation big leagues. And as Boeing ascends, America’s grip on the aircraft market tightens, crushing the European competition. But with their market share plummeting, Europe’s plane makers decide they must unite or die. S...
Jan 06, 2020•24 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast It's been a hard fought battle for decades, and in the 1970s there's no signs of Ford or Chevrolet slowing down. But this time they're fighting on new grounds, ones dominated by Japanese cars. Honda, Toyota and Datsun dominate the market, and Ford and Chevy seem like they're just... running out of gas. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 01, 2020•31 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 
