Side Notes by Zerodha Varsity

American Express is one of Warren Buffett's longest-standing bets. For over three decades, Berkshire Hathaway has held onto AmEx, through recessions, market crashes, and massive shifts in the payments industry. This is interesting given that AmEx operates a far smaller network than Visa and Mastercard. So what makes AmEx different? Why has Buffett never sold? And how does a company with fewer card...

Louise Philippe, Monte Carlo, Blackberrys, Bella Vita, and Da Milano are all foreign names of Indian brands. Is there a reason why Indian brands adopt English or European-sounding names? Does it have to do with perceptions of quality and trust? Or is it because we have not yet gotten out of our colonial mindset?   Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity...

Intel's quintessential Intel Inside sticker on laptops and in the marketing materials of other PC brands helped it achieve global dominance in processing chips.  However, another brand, TSMC, without any marketing and visibility on any computing products, somehow managed to take over Intel and become a far bigger semiconductor company. TSMC now commands more than half of the world's chip market to...

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is a manufacturing system to ensure minimum wastage while constantly striving to improve quality. TPS is efficient, flexible, and extremely quality-conscious. Poka Yoke is one of the many ideas developed under the TPS. This revolutionary system has inspired everything from a washing machine to aircraft. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.inst...

In 2004, Lenovo bought IBM’s iconic PC division. But this wasn’t an overnight leap — it was the result of years spent learning inside the value chain. Starting as a distributor of laptops for global brands like HP, Toshiba, and IBM in China, Lenovo moved up the value chain to become a manufacturer and is now a global leader with over one-quarter of the market share for laptops worldwide. Zerodha V...

Apple is known to be restrictive in letting its devices connect or share data with non-Apple devices. It has a lot to do with delivering a clean user experience and utmost digital security. In a way, it also compels an Apple user to buy other Apple products. So, it was a surprise when Apple introduced the universal Type-C charging ports in its iPhones. While Type-C solved for user experience, Appl...

This episode explores the journey of Revlon — from a brand that sold glamour and aspiration to one that filed for bankruptcy nearly a century later. It traces Revlon’s early success, its marketing genius, the landmark hostile takeover that reshaped corporate law, and the debt-fuelled decisions that weakened the company over decades. The episode also examines how Revlon used Chapter 11 to survive a...

Narayana Health's 40% profit comes from just a small business in the Cayman Islands. Is it the pricing power or a different brand identity that Narayana enjoys in Cayman? Cayman might be a star of a business, but there is also some risk. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyz...

Trent's ROE growth perhaps explains the rally in its stock, and Asian Paints' ROE slowdown perhaps explains the dull performance of its stock. Maybe it is the time frame you look at. Trent has outperformed Asian Paints over the last five years but underperformed over the last year. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity...

Nestlé's Nespresso was a failed product when it was launched in the 1980s. A switch in product and pricing model helped make it a success. It was Nestlé's moat for a very long time, but then competitors broke it. Nestle came out strong nonetheless. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/...

Most of Dmart's stores are owned, while a few are leased. Those leased stores are recorded as lease liabilities on Dmart's balance sheet. Lease liabilities are considered as good as debt or borrowing. It is an accounting peculiarity. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerod...

How can one drink be for women and the other for men? It is a day-to-day consumable, not even medicine. So, why target a drink to a specific gender? The lessons are in marketing and consumer psychology. Not just Coca-Cola, but also Pepsi had drinks targeted at different genders. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity Yo...

Wipro started as a vegetable oil maker. Samsung started as a trader of dried fish, groceries, and noodles. Today, neither Wipro nor Samsung is known for what it started out to do. Wipro's IT services are far removed from its initial oil business. Samsung is a tech giant with a global reputation for smartphones and semiconductors. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.co...

Microsoft Office used to be a one-time purchase. Now you probably pay for it every year. Why did Microsoft change its pricing so drastically? It was a risky move, but there was solid motivation behind it. Not just Microsoft, many software companies have transitioned from a one-time pricing model to an annual or monthly subscription model. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.ins...

For the longest time, Nike, Adidas, and Puma sold their sportswear through channel partners. However, in the early 2010s, they began shifting their strategy by selling directly to the end consumer through company-owned stores, websites, and apps. Did the business gain from such a shift, or did it blow up? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: http...

In its early years, Amazon focused more on cash flows and not so much on profits. It inspired a generation of startups to chase scale and not worry about losses. Those imitating startups revealed the pitfalls of taking only half the lessons from someone else's playbook. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: ht...

Many nations have tried to model their sovereign wealth funds after Singapore's Temasek. While Temasek is an SWF, it behaves like a quasi Venture Capital firm with only one shareholder, that is, the Singapore Government. Here is Temasek's story. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@va...

A business might be a market leader. Network effects might have helped it become a moat. However, government regulations, through bans or restrictions, can make or break companies. TikTok had over 200 million users in India, and overnight, it was banned. Suddenly, TikTok lost a large business. And it became an opportunity for some others. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.ins...

Launched in 1913, the Stanley Cup was marketed for its rugged uses by cops, defense personnel, and those engaged in outdoor activities. It remained a reliable but niche brand for its niche uses for over a hundred years. And then, by a stroke of luck, Stanley pivoted its marketing to appeal to a wider audience. What did they really do? What was this stroke of luck? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:...

Google became Alphabet, Facebook became Meta, and Zomato became Eternal - is there a commonality among the three? Each new name has a more widespread and overarching tone than the preceding one. But what drives an organization to rename itself at the peak of its popularity? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube...

Big Bazaar was India's largest retail chain, sitting on a mountain of debt. Covid dealt a major blow to its operations. Reliance Industries stepped in to help, but Amazon obstructed the transaction due to an old deal it had struck with the Future Group. It was one of the most sensational corporate battles, but did anyone win? Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ze...

How could Starbucks improve over CCD's offering? How could Ola and Uber improve over Hertz and Wings Radio cabs? Newcomers or challenger brands bettered the offerings of pioneers in their fields and made them bigger than the pioneers. But there have been instances of pioneers nearly monopolising their categories. For example, WhatsApp has only grown its market share with a moat difficult to break....

Know the history and customs behind Muhurat trading, and why the Muhurat trading of 2025 is different. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsity YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodha Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not...

It is interesting how a tyre company became an authority on rating restaurants worldwide. The connection feels unusual, but once you know the story, it seems almost obvious.  Did you know that many restaurants may not get a Michelin Star, but a consolation prize of sorts? It is a cute tag, to say the least. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/ X: ht...

Two companies, Concept2 and Centr, have long-standing agreements to supply equipment for Hyrox training and events worldwide. As Hyrox slowly becomes a cultural phenomenon, its suppliers stand to gain from the growing demand. There have been many similar parallels where cultural and subcultural trends have spurred demands for unlikely businesses. Zerodha Varsity on Social Media: Instagram: https:/...