Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason
Speaker 1: Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. Hi. I'm Jason Kelly and I'm
Speaker 1: Carol Masser. Welcome to the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week.
Speaker 1: Over the next couple of hours, Jason, we're gonna bring
Speaker 1: everybody news of the week, insights from the magazine, and
Speaker 1: a lot more A week of more woes in the
Speaker 1: retail sector. There was a lot going on, a lot
Speaker 1: of problems, uh. And we also talked about US virus
Speaker 1: cases jumping the most in a few months. We talked
Speaker 1: about school reopening, school athletic programs not so fast, and
Speaker 1: I do feel like the world is gearing up to
Speaker 1: find out what's going to happen in the second half,
Speaker 1: because second quarter earning season just around the corner. Well,
Speaker 1: I think that's exactly right, And I want to pick
Speaker 1: up on something you just said. It feels like if
Speaker 1: there was a theme for the week, it was not
Speaker 1: so fast. You know that that basically this reopening that
Speaker 1: we've all been so focused on and looking forward to,
Speaker 1: certainly here in the Tri State area, where as you say,
Speaker 1: we've been locked down at home for seventeen weeks the
Speaker 1: rest of the country, it feels like has dealt with
Speaker 1: this in a different way, and I think we're really
Speaker 1: seeing evidence of that, and that is playing out, whether
Speaker 1: you look at the IVY League canceling fall sports, whether
Speaker 1: you look at restaurants not opening for indoor dining the
Speaker 1: way that they had planned to, a lot of things
Speaker 1: now just slowing down a little bit. Yeah, exactly right.
Speaker 1: And we've felt this before. I feel like over the
Speaker 1: last month or so, where we make some progress, but
Speaker 1: then we have to kind of slow down and really
Speaker 1: assess what the reality is of our situation. So a
Speaker 1: lot to talk about over the next couple of hours.
Speaker 1: And let's not forget this week. It's our annual heist issue.
Speaker 1: It's still on news stands, it's on the Bloomberg and
Speaker 1: Bloomberg dot com and Jason, we know there's some really
Speaker 1: cool stories about stolen Super Bowl rings and also the
Speaker 1: most famous art heist in modern history. Great summer reads.
Speaker 1: And here on the show this week, we're gonna have
Speaker 1: a conversation later on this hour with chef and restaurant
Speaker 1: tour Daniel blue Back with us Carol. He talked about
Speaker 1: the early days of the pandemic now he's adapting to
Speaker 1: the new reality every day. We tried to really bring
Speaker 1: a little bit more improvement and also a little bit
Speaker 1: more hope to our businesses. Restaurants, Jason, we now have
Speaker 1: had a really tough time, so too has retail, and
Speaker 1: there were a lot of headlines on the retail world
Speaker 1: this week alone. We caught up with Alan Ellinger. He
Speaker 1: is co founder senior managing partner of the investment bank
Speaker 1: MMG Advisors. He has been consulting on deals looking at
Speaker 1: some of those distressed assets, so a great conversation with him.
Speaker 1: A lot of distress. Also add Facebook of a different kind, Carol,
Speaker 1: dealing with issues of social justice and a massive boycott.
Speaker 1: We caught up with Amber Atherton. She's the CEO of Ziper.
Speaker 1: She had some pretty strong words to say about where
Speaker 1: Facebook is. But first, imagine taking five antibody tests just
Speaker 1: to get results you could believe in. That's what Bloomberg's
Speaker 1: senior writer at Stephanie Baker did. Let's start with that interview.
Speaker 1: A couple of months ago. I took four antibody tests
Speaker 1: of finger prick antibody tests that were on the market
Speaker 1: at the time and that many people had questioned their
Speaker 1: reliability UM, and I got conflicting results. I got two
Speaker 1: positives and two negatives and sort of gave up, even
Speaker 1: though I had cross checked them with various other doctors
Speaker 1: and nurses who had tested positive for COVID. So has
Speaker 1: left a bit confused about my status. When some of
Speaker 1: the newer tests came out that are based on an
Speaker 1: intravenous blood draw, they appear to be more accurate and
Speaker 1: more sensitive. H So I finally got around to taking
Speaker 1: one of these tests, the Abbot tests, which is does
Speaker 1: have some pretty good data behind it, and I wasn't depositive,
Speaker 1: and I was somewhat relieved that I figured I have
Speaker 1: three positives versus two negatives, and one of the positives
Speaker 1: seems to be more reliable and has some pretty hard
Speaker 1: science behind it. Having studied this, Stephanie, I have to
Speaker 1: ask you, why is this so hard? I I agree
Speaker 1: it shouldn't be this hard, and I think it's hard
Speaker 1: because we are still learning so much about this virus UM.
Speaker 1: You know, I think some of the tests were trying
Speaker 1: to figure out what is the best way to go
Speaker 1: about UM, you know, finding the most effective antibodies, you know,
Speaker 1: is it against the spike protein or is against the
Speaker 1: nucleo capsid, which is another kind of antibody that the
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen generates. UM And I think there was a
Speaker 1: lot of time wasted on these finger proc tests, which
Speaker 1: some of them can be good and reliable, but they're
Speaker 1: just not as sensitive as the intravenous blood draw. The
Speaker 1: blood draw is a hard thing to roll out on
Speaker 1: a mass scale. It's more expensive, it's more time consuming, um,
Speaker 1: you know, but the data seems to indicate that this
Speaker 1: is the better approach. We still don't know what it
Speaker 1: means to have antibodies, and I think that's the biggest problem.
Speaker 1: There's indications that it does provide some protection, we don't
Speaker 1: know how long that lasts UM And I think that's
Speaker 1: the real question mark over these tests. What is it
Speaker 1: What does it really mean to be positive. That's such
Speaker 1: a good point because I think Stephanie, when we first
Speaker 1: started talking about the antibody tests, were like, Okay, this
Speaker 1: is the holy grail. We're going to find out if
Speaker 1: you had it and then you're okay, and then you've
Speaker 1: got some immunity and go back out into the world.
Speaker 1: And now we're realizing it's not so easy, And I
Speaker 1: do wonder how did it kind of change your psyche
Speaker 1: in terms of Okay, you know or you think you
Speaker 1: know right, because you've done five tests and the majority
Speaker 1: of saying one thing. I mean, how has it impacted
Speaker 1: your world in terms of how you go back and
Speaker 1: re enter. I think it has made me more relaxed
Speaker 1: about the risk of contracting it. For sure. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm still being cautious because I think that's the
Speaker 1: responsible thing to do. UM. But I do look at
Speaker 1: my risks of say, contracting it by going into a
Speaker 1: store or um even a restaurant as less than it
Speaker 1: would have been otherwise. But I think, I think I
Speaker 1: do have a responsibility to be careful because we just
Speaker 1: don't have those long term studies showing what it means.
Speaker 1: We don't know how long it lasts. I you know,
Speaker 1: my antibodies might fade. We don't know. And until those
Speaker 1: studies are done, I need to be the sort of
Speaker 1: responsible pandemic citizen and and be careful and cautious around
Speaker 1: social distancing. And that's Bloomberg Stephanie Baker Carroll, and usually
Speaker 1: she's literally chasing after financial criminals. In this case, she
Speaker 1: was trying to chase down a good result for a test. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and what's interesting is her reporting. I love this story
Speaker 1: because she reminds us that these antibody tests, which we
Speaker 1: thought were going to be the holy grail and a
Speaker 1: game changer, well they are imperfect and they're not as
Speaker 1: reliable in terms of what it means to have had
Speaker 1: the virus, to have antibodies, and what does it mean
Speaker 1: as you kind of re enter the world. So love
Speaker 1: her reporting in her firsthand experiences. You're listening to Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Business Week. Coming up, Retail no stranger to the effects
Speaker 1: of the pandemic. This, Jason, we know is an industry
Speaker 1: that has been hit so hard. We're going to talk
Speaker 1: with Alan Ellinger MMG co founder. They are working in
Speaker 1: the retail industry taking a look at those distressed assets.
Speaker 1: So his perspective in just a moment. He's been in
Speaker 1: the business a long time, He's seen a lot of cycles.
Speaker 1: This one is different. And this is Bloomberg. This is
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Radio, and today we're bringing some the most important
Speaker 1: and informative conversations we had on our daily Bloomberg Business
Speaker 1: Week radio show across the week, Carol and Jason, you know,
Speaker 1: we'd like to remind everybody that we're doing these interviews
Speaker 1: as news is happening and crossing the Bloomberg terminal kind
Speaker 1: of fast and furiously. And that was true for the
Speaker 1: retail industry, Brooks Brothers and so La Tabla filing bankruptcy,
Speaker 1: bed Bath and Beyond announcing plans to cut about its stores.
Speaker 1: So it's been very tough on the retail front just
Speaker 1: this week alone. Alan Ellinger is someone who has worked
Speaker 1: within the retail industry for some forty years. He is
Speaker 1: co founder senior managing partner of the investment bank MMG Advisors,
Speaker 1: and he says this time is unlike any other. As
Speaker 1: a firm, we've been working remotely. Um. Our office closed
Speaker 1: on March twelve, um and other than our office manage,
Speaker 1: nobody's been backed um. But we've managed to be in
Speaker 1: touch with every one of our clients um um. Right
Speaker 1: now we're handling three bankruptcies. As a matter of fact,
Speaker 1: when the mission three bankruptcies, So our world continues, but
Speaker 1: just continue remotely and quite busy. I my did, yeah,
Speaker 1: and so so busy. It sounds like on sort of
Speaker 1: bankruptcy restructuring side. But presumably, and you know, this is
Speaker 1: what I hear and I'm sure Carol, here is from
Speaker 1: investors that we know. I mean, these are the times
Speaker 1: when maybe there's some values to be had from a
Speaker 1: partnering up perspective, from an acquisition perspective. What are you
Speaker 1: seeing or is it too early to tell? What? It's
Speaker 1: a very it's a really good question what we're seeing
Speaker 1: and what we're experiencing. Or in an enormous amount of
Speaker 1: inbound phone calls from opportunistic buyers, people who know that
Speaker 1: there's going to be bargains out there, um, and they're
Speaker 1: just you know, they've got a lot of dry powder.
Speaker 1: These are both These are both strategics as well as
Speaker 1: private equity um, who are sitting on their sitting on
Speaker 1: those sidelines right now, just waiting to pounce on the
Speaker 1: right opportunities. I just wrote to a to a commercial
Speaker 1: banker this morning, um and and the word that they
Speaker 1: used was that the other shoe hasn't dropped yet. What
Speaker 1: we're saying, what, while there are a lot of bankruptcies
Speaker 1: in the process of the moment um, there are a
Speaker 1: lot of companies who really haven't UM acknowledge the fact
Speaker 1: that they're going to have to make some pretty hard
Speaker 1: decision in the next couple of months. The PPP money
Speaker 1: has has enabled companies to last a little longer. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, people wanted to see company owners who want
Speaker 1: to see what would happen when retail reopened and what
Speaker 1: the if there would be a positive impact on their
Speaker 1: business or not. But you know, we're living through a
Speaker 1: period of time at the moment where for the first
Speaker 1: time ever, both the supply side and the demand side
Speaker 1: have been impacted simultaneously. We've never seen anything like that before.
Speaker 1: On top of which, on top of which, when this happened,
Speaker 1: it happened suddenly, you know, all of a sudden, doors
Speaker 1: were locked and people could not shop in stores, and
Speaker 1: consequently cash flow just dried up. We've never experienced that,
Speaker 1: you know, in the past. When when when companies um
Speaker 1: or skating, I use the words, are skating on thin
Speaker 1: ice UM and they're considering a bankruptcy, you plan it.
Speaker 1: You plan up for sometimes week, sometimes months in advance,
Speaker 1: and you're able to come up with with with a
Speaker 1: plan of volume and because you kind of know what
Speaker 1: you're what you're prior to your sales were in the
Speaker 1: similar dates and you could come up with a with
Speaker 1: a with a financial plan. All that swalled apart because
Speaker 1: there's been there's been no traffic. So UM, you know,
Speaker 1: models filed to chapter eleven on March I think it
Speaker 1: was March eleven. They couldn't they couldn't even run and
Speaker 1: going out of business sale because the stores are locked
Speaker 1: and they're just not reopening. So we've we've definitely we've
Speaker 1: never experienced anything like this. We've also experienced the volume
Speaker 1: of bankruptcys that we're that we're living right now. And
Speaker 1: I gotta tell you, I think it's just beginning. You know,
Speaker 1: we're gonna see a lot more bankruptcy this time, but
Speaker 1: during the balance of this year, maybe it's early next year. UM.
Speaker 1: But I will also tell you that we are overstored
Speaker 1: as a country, We're over invented. Were also over inventory
Speaker 1: as a country. So the fact that UM retail organizations,
Speaker 1: as an example, are using I'm using the term the
Speaker 1: cover of COVID. You know, they're they're they're using they're
Speaker 1: using this period of time to clean up their balance sheets, UM,
Speaker 1: to get out of unproductive leases. You look at like
Speaker 1: copanies like J. C. Penny or who have more stores
Speaker 1: across America, and you know a lot of those stores
Speaker 1: are unproductive there in C and D malls, so you
Speaker 1: know they don't those are not money making stores. This
Speaker 1: gives them an opportunity to clean up their balance sheet,
Speaker 1: get get out of unproductive leases. And because it's under
Speaker 1: the under the cover of COVID, they won't have the
Speaker 1: stigma once they come out of it and they were
Speaker 1: able to rebuild their business. It's kind of like fruiting
Speaker 1: a treat, you know, your fruity treat to make it healthier.
Speaker 1: That's exactly what's happening with those retail organizations who have
Speaker 1: the ability to get into bankruptcy and have the financing
Speaker 1: them to come out of it with a successful plan.
Speaker 1: So what are the longer term implications of all of
Speaker 1: this on this industry. Well, there a couple of things.
Speaker 1: One is, we've all been living at home and have
Speaker 1: had a great respect now for D t C companies,
Speaker 1: those those companies that we can buy part online. So
Speaker 1: we're going to see a lot of growth in D
Speaker 1: two C, continuing growth in D two C. I believe
Speaker 1: that we're also going to see a number of heritage companies,
Speaker 1: companies have been around for a long time who have
Speaker 1: been unsuccessful in building their own DWOC companies buying or
Speaker 1: attempting to buy DTOC companies now that they can see
Speaker 1: them act and and there'll be some values out there
Speaker 1: the um, so we'll see consolidation in that area. UM.
Speaker 1: We're we're also going to see is a great deal
Speaker 1: promotion coming up over the next couple of months. UM.
Speaker 1: As as companies try to clear their inventories, they're being
Speaker 1: an enormous amount of inventory in the stores on the water. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's it's just it's built up over
Speaker 1: a period of time. That inventory has to be moved,
Speaker 1: it has to be liquefied into cash. Now, there are
Speaker 1: some companies who are packing and holding their goods right
Speaker 1: meaning if if it's not highly if it's not high fashion,
Speaker 1: they're going to just put it away and stay those
Speaker 1: goods until next year. So Alan, what does the second
Speaker 1: half look like, Well, else gonna be highly promotional. UM.
Speaker 1: I think you know, the customer will benefit from the
Speaker 1: uncertainty of inventory to have in the marketplace. Right now, UM,
Speaker 1: we're going to see a lot more bankruptcies, um, and
Speaker 1: I will you'll start to see deals happening. That's Alan Ellen.
Speaker 1: You're a co founder and senior managing partner of the
Speaker 1: investment bank and G Advisors. And he says, you know, Jason,
Speaker 1: a lot more bankruptcies and retail to come. He does
Speaker 1: think j C. Pennies and Macy's will make it through.
Speaker 1: But you know, he talks about something we've heard from
Speaker 1: so many other folks were an overstored country well, and
Speaker 1: we heard that throughout the week, and certainly one of
Speaker 1: the threads we were pulling on that we will continue
Speaker 1: to pull on, is this over retailed world changing consumer
Speaker 1: habits in many ways, what effect that may have. Folks
Speaker 1: are still shopping for the moment. I think, to the
Speaker 1: surprise of many those second quarter earnings results, those are
Speaker 1: going to give us a window into what people were
Speaker 1: spending and where they were spending it. But the I'll
Speaker 1: look it isn't great. So definitely an area to keep
Speaker 1: an eye on because that consumer economy, we know it
Speaker 1: makes everything run. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week coming up,
Speaker 1: Facebook under pressure again, why brands of consumers are losing
Speaker 1: trust in the social media Giant our conversation with Zyper
Speaker 1: CEO Amber Atherton. When we return this is Bloomberg. This
Speaker 1: is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly
Speaker 1: from Bloomberg Radio. We're bringing some of the most important
Speaker 1: and informative conversations we had on our daily radio show
Speaker 1: throughout the week. Jason was Week seventeen. A lot of
Speaker 1: stuff going on, even though it was coming after a
Speaker 1: long holiday weekend. And in the news this week was Facebook,
Speaker 1: their chief operating officer Cheryl Sandberg and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Speaker 1: They met up with civil rights organizations. They are critical
Speaker 1: of the company for not taking seriously their demands to
Speaker 1: better police its service from hate speech and misinformation. All
Speaker 1: of this has led to some big name companies, Starbucks
Speaker 1: and Pepsi among them, boycotting the social network. Well, and
Speaker 1: that's what it comes down to, right, This isn't just
Speaker 1: a social justice issue, this is an economic issue. Now.
Speaker 1: We went to one of our trusted voices on all
Speaker 1: things social media, that is ziper CEO Amber Atherton. She
Speaker 1: was back with us to help us break it all down.
Speaker 1: They ultimately failed to appease the organizers of the ad
Speaker 1: ad boycott. So I mean what we're seeing from brands
Speaker 1: is and and consumers who are leaving the platform is
Speaker 1: that people who are no longer on Facebook are off
Speaker 1: the platform because they simply do not trust it with
Speaker 1: their personal info and they do not agree with how
Speaker 1: the company conducts business. So I think what we're seeing
Speaker 1: from advertisers is, you know, they want to be where
Speaker 1: their consumers are, and this is more about advertisers stance
Speaker 1: on hate speech and not wanting to support that. However,
Speaker 1: this is temporary, so um, it's going to be interesting
Speaker 1: to see if brands in this temporary boycott are able
Speaker 1: to find new channels for growth. And if that's the case,
Speaker 1: then I think it's going to be interesting to see
Speaker 1: where Facebook is left well and and Emperor. It feels
Speaker 1: like such a catalytic moment to some extent for a
Speaker 1: lot of brands, because given the social unrest that's out there,
Speaker 1: it feels like consume sumers are demanding more of brands,
Speaker 1: demanding more transparency, demanding answers, demanding them to some extent
Speaker 1: to take a stand. Do you agree with that? I mean,
Speaker 1: do you see sort of a different do you see
Speaker 1: in here and sort of feel a different tone around
Speaker 1: brands right now, Yeah, for sure. I mean I can
Speaker 1: tell you at Ziper our customers who are looking to
Speaker 1: build community with their customers. At least ten of our
Speaker 1: customers have joined this Facebook ad boycott. That's Duncan free
Speaker 1: to La. You know, these are big companies who want
Speaker 1: to support what their consumers views are, which is not
Speaker 1: to fun hate speech. So I think that this is
Speaker 1: an exciting time for brands to really challenge themselves to
Speaker 1: innovate on new ways to collaborate with their consumers. And
Speaker 1: we know that this new generation of gen Z, you
Speaker 1: know they thirty six percent of gen Z consumers would
Speaker 1: like to collaborate with the brands that they love. So
Speaker 1: I think this all plays into this theme that we've
Speaker 1: been talking about since January, which is the decentralization as
Speaker 1: they book and how you know, the leading DTC brands
Speaker 1: who are really on the forefront of innovation are democratizing
Speaker 1: how they build brands, and it's it's no longer the
Speaker 1: kind of status quo of traditional Facebook advertising. And so
Speaker 1: every when you say they want to collaborate, they want
Speaker 1: to engage it. What does that look like? Give us
Speaker 1: an example there? Yeah, I think it's probably worth referencing that.
Speaker 1: You know, this month we signed a big deal with
Speaker 1: General Mills where we'll be helping a lot of their
Speaker 1: brands across the near to be identifying their everyday consumers
Speaker 1: to be the genuine fans of the brands that don't
Speaker 1: have a lot of interaction directly with the brand, and
Speaker 1: we're able to bring them into this closed chat based
Speaker 1: environment to collaborate with their consumers on product innovation, kind
Speaker 1: of like a focus group. Two point oh and and
Speaker 1: really just proved that customers who become part of a
Speaker 1: community with a brand, they are ten times more likely
Speaker 1: to repeat rates than somebody who was acquired through a
Speaker 1: Facebook at So I think there's some really compelling evidence
Speaker 1: that if you in where your customers are and invest
Speaker 1: in spending time building a relationship in a community setting,
Speaker 1: then that does pay off in terms of LTV. And
Speaker 1: I think what we're seeing more brands interested and how
Speaker 1: can they increase LTV, which will ultimately allow them to
Speaker 1: spend more an acquisition and than they are focused on
Speaker 1: getting cheap acquisition because let's face it, Facebook has become
Speaker 1: more expensive to a quiet customer. Well, this is what
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you, Amber, because I do feel
Speaker 1: like a lot of brands still need Facebook and even
Speaker 1: though they may be doing a temporary boycott, as you said,
Speaker 1: let's see if it will be temporary, because I do
Speaker 1: wonder if brands kind of ultimately still need that social
Speaker 1: media platform of Facebook. But as there are more alternatives,
Speaker 1: might people turn away and it's just a case of
Speaker 1: they're just you know, kind of waiting it out until
Speaker 1: there are other alternatives to you know, successfully um market
Speaker 1: on social media. Yeah. Absolutely, And I think this is
Speaker 1: I mean, we can't deny the fact that you know,
Speaker 1: in the first quarter there was a gain of around
Speaker 1: a hundred million monthly active users on Facebook, so you know,
Speaker 1: two point six billion, record high. So you know that
Speaker 1: is there is a huge reach that brands want to
Speaker 1: play with. But I think this is more about the
Speaker 1: values of the platform and the fact is TikTok is rising.
Speaker 1: You know, more customers are saying to us than ever
Speaker 1: that they can acquire users more cheaply and more effectively
Speaker 1: through TikTok. And that's cyper ceo. Amber Atherton really one
Speaker 1: of our trusted voices when it comes to Silicon Valley
Speaker 1: and social media. Carol because Facebook and all of social
Speaker 1: media find themselves in the midst of all of these
Speaker 1: crises that we're facing, whether it be the pandemic, whether
Speaker 1: it be social justice. And also, by the way, we've
Speaker 1: got a huge election coming up exactly, and people are
Speaker 1: concerned also about that kind of content right on the platform.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg business Week coming up chef and
Speaker 1: restaurant tour Danielle Blulu, how he's adapting like many in
Speaker 1: his industry and finding his way back. This is Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason
Speaker 1: Kelly from Bloomberg Radio and to big we're bringing some
Speaker 1: of the most important, we hope informative conversations. Carol and
Speaker 1: I had on our daily Bloomberg Business Week radio show
Speaker 1: throughout the week and loved catching up with this famous chef.
Speaker 1: I have to say, he is just so lovely. We
Speaker 1: caught up with him initially in early April. It's just
Speaker 1: Jason as he was shutting down his restaurants. He like
Speaker 1: many are pivoting in the industry, finding their way back,
Speaker 1: and just this week he was offering up Danielle Blulu
Speaker 1: kitchen in a terrorist setting in front of his famed
Speaker 1: restaurant bearing his own name, Danielle, of course, and we
Speaker 1: actually caught up with him on the night he was
Speaker 1: introducing it. We are putting a sidebook cafe at restaurant Danielle,
Speaker 1: which restaurant Danielle is twenty eight years old. When he
Speaker 1: was on seventy six Street, he used to have a
Speaker 1: sidebook cafe. When I moved to sixty five and never
Speaker 1: really put a sidebook cafe. We had enough room whenn inside.
Speaker 1: And and we are doing um because I've started the
Speaker 1: business of delivery and to go daniel Bully Kitchen, so
Speaker 1: we are serving the menu of daniel Bully Kitchen on
Speaker 1: the terrace of Danielle. So more casual and more approachable,
Speaker 1: but fun and and and and really it's an opportunity
Speaker 1: because I think we have a beautiful, uh facade, We
Speaker 1: have a beautiful space, and that's the only place we
Speaker 1: can really serve our guests. And we felt that it
Speaker 1: would be good to bring more staff and to bring
Speaker 1: new to bring guests back. I have to imagine, Danielle,
Speaker 1: that your clientele, many of whom are our listeners, uh
Speaker 1: so well known across Manhattan and the world. They must
Speaker 1: have been clamoring for this, right. I mean, have you
Speaker 1: been getting a lot of calls to people saying, I
Speaker 1: want to come back in some former fashion, come cook
Speaker 1: for me the absolutely, So we do that. We have
Speaker 1: the come cook for me by by sending them meal home,
Speaker 1: of course, and we also do package for destination the
Speaker 1: Emptons or other places. People drive miles from the frid
Speaker 1: state to come and pick up a box with all
Speaker 1: kinds of meals prepared for them to take home. But
Speaker 1: I mean having them at the restaurant and being able
Speaker 1: to again welcome, serve them, pamper them and offer them
Speaker 1: something we feel, uh, it makes us very happy and
Speaker 1: I think it will make them very happy. Our guest. Yes, Well,
Speaker 1: you know it's interesting, Danielle, like we have been talking
Speaker 1: to a lot of folks, especially within your industry, that
Speaker 1: you've got to figure out how to pivot here, right
Speaker 1: because it's not like you can flip a switch and
Speaker 1: go back to the way it was pre COVID, And
Speaker 1: so it sounds like that's what you guys are doing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: very much. And we also opened the West Side. I
Speaker 1: have a restaurant at sixty four Broadway. Babu and episode
Speaker 1: Blue open yesterday or this morning actually this morning we
Speaker 1: opened a Pie three Bullie, so it's a retail store
Speaker 1: where it's opened all day from breakfast to early evening
Speaker 1: and people can have salads and sandwiches and things who
Speaker 1: are old, home baked and homemade, and then we babu
Speaker 1: as a huge There are some sixty four Broadway, so
Speaker 1: that's very very convenient as well. And we took Cafe
Speaker 1: Bullou up in the Berkshire and we did a pop
Speaker 1: up there in a wonderful vale shateau called the bland Hire.
Speaker 1: So it really we find I mean, it's all this
Speaker 1: opportunity to try to bring back staff. I mean we
Speaker 1: were more than seven hundred and fifty staff and we
Speaker 1: went down to seven people and now we're back up
Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty total around the different businesses we
Speaker 1: have reopened and we are pushing up and bringing more people.
Speaker 1: So wow, that's big moves. And in terms of capacity,
Speaker 1: danielle Um, what is the I mean, what can you
Speaker 1: do at at what you're opening tonight versus what you
Speaker 1: would be able to do inside. I think I think
Speaker 1: that tell us is only I will say for right now,
Speaker 1: it's and and because you know, if it's if it's beautiful,
Speaker 1: whether we might be able to extend more tables. But
Speaker 1: if it's a little bit greasily like tonight, we want
Speaker 1: to stander the canopy and we have a limitation of
Speaker 1: about thirty five to fourty seats, but that's pretty good.
Speaker 1: And then if it's nice, whether we might be able
Speaker 1: to double that size. But that's nothing compared to the
Speaker 1: size on the inside, where normally we have private dining rooms.
Speaker 1: We have the barn nouns, we have the dining room,
Speaker 1: which could almost bring hundred and eighty seats or more.
Speaker 1: So it's a very different business model, and it's definitely
Speaker 1: not um a profitable model, but it's very It motivates
Speaker 1: us so much to do something with the whole concept
Speaker 1: of outdoor dining. I'm sure you've knew about it before,
Speaker 1: but you've probably learned more than you ever thought you
Speaker 1: would about outdoor dining, given that that's how we're all
Speaker 1: eating out these days. How do you view it? What
Speaker 1: have you learned about it in terms of what you
Speaker 1: can and can't do, and maybe what the future is
Speaker 1: given that we're going to be in this for some time.
Speaker 1: I know and and and thanks God. I mean, we're
Speaker 1: in it in the summer right now, and the fall
Speaker 1: should be mellow until at least November. But the the
Speaker 1: Mayor of New York has really opened up and I
Speaker 1: think many cities all over the country, I've opened up
Speaker 1: the opportunity for restaurate or to be able to put
Speaker 1: table outside in places we would have never been authorized before.
Speaker 1: And they are really helpful, um meaningful I mean mindful
Speaker 1: of of course the security for the guests, but also um,
Speaker 1: really give the chance for the restaurator to have a
Speaker 1: meaningful business outdoor for the time being, for the time being,
Speaker 1: let's say. And of course the fine dining restaurant is
Speaker 1: more complicated, but not too many restaurants as outdoors there.
Speaker 1: For cafe the small Beast Row, we have like four
Speaker 1: or five tables outside. I've seen them taking half a
Speaker 1: block and going around the block with tables. So it
Speaker 1: seems like they have more tables outside and inside now.
Speaker 1: But but it's good, thank God. Yeah, exactly, and that
Speaker 1: there is that opportunity to do it. You know, Um,
Speaker 1: we were talking without Kate Crater, who covers um. I think,
Speaker 1: as you know, we love we love talking with Kate,
Speaker 1: and you know we were wondering, you know, you were
Speaker 1: going I thought to talk to Lincoln Center about doing
Speaker 1: maybe big screens for events like the US Open, so
Speaker 1: that maybe diners could watch from barbarous Are you doing that?
Speaker 1: Are you moving ahead with that? Well, I am all
Speaker 1: convinced that we can do something, and I am looking
Speaker 1: at sponsor. It's it's all about trying to find sponsoring,
Speaker 1: to be able to create something for the moment, a
Speaker 1: little bit of a spontaneous things and for a short
Speaker 1: lived but at least we can do things to entertain guests.
Speaker 1: But I think, um, it is important that because the
Speaker 1: Open is happening, that we are able to show it
Speaker 1: all over town and it's uh, it will be fantastic.
Speaker 1: I mean, I would love to be able to show it.
Speaker 1: That Danielle is needed. But at Lincoln Center there is
Speaker 1: the huge esplanade where I'm sure people don't have to crowd,
Speaker 1: and they have the entire war of the buildings where
Speaker 1: they could project the games and put some speakers. So
Speaker 1: I hope there will be you know, interested to do that.
Speaker 1: Of course. So Danielle, you know, the last time we
Speaker 1: talked to you, um, you know the the pandemic was
Speaker 1: very much on in the city. Unfortunately a very different time, um.
Speaker 1: But obviously not much, not too much has changed, although
Speaker 1: you know, little baby steps for it that we're taking
Speaker 1: in terms of outdoor dining. I do wonder for you
Speaker 1: because at the time you were rightly concerned. I'm sure
Speaker 1: you remain concerned about the future of your business and
Speaker 1: maybe more importantly, the future of fine dining all across
Speaker 1: the country. Where do we stand now? What do you
Speaker 1: think about now when it comes to the future of
Speaker 1: fine dining. Well, for a while, it would have to
Speaker 1: be slightly recliber I mean slightly or strongly recliber uh
Speaker 1: In in his um ambition of offering, I would say,
Speaker 1: in his size, uh. You know, we find dining. When
Speaker 1: we think of fine dining, that means we're going to
Speaker 1: reopen our restaurant inside and um in its price. Maybe
Speaker 1: maybe more option to be able to have choice of
Speaker 1: not having to go for a tasting manum me. But
Speaker 1: maybe some sampler option, maybe some hours of operation or
Speaker 1: maybe shrunk down a little bit because of the cost
Speaker 1: of doing business, and so you know, less less days
Speaker 1: of operation will mean more control in in the cost
Speaker 1: of doing business and slowly get back to where it belonged,
Speaker 1: because I think fine dining will not go away. But
Speaker 1: I'm hoping that restaurant Danielle I can do a pop
Speaker 1: up for the months to come where I create something
Speaker 1: very casual, very disrupting, and very different than Uh. I'm
Speaker 1: basically covering the skin of fine dining and putting a
Speaker 1: skin of a casual place. That's chef and restaurateur Danielle Bulue.
Speaker 1: Check out our full conversation it's in our extra podcast, Jason.
Speaker 1: But you know, man, just to hear him talk about
Speaker 1: how many workers they had, how many they had to
Speaker 1: let go, how many they've been able to bring back.
Speaker 1: I mean, it has been so tough for anyone in
Speaker 1: this industry. Well, and look, this is a guy owing
Speaker 1: to the success of his signature restaurant in New York City,
Speaker 1: but also a lot of the projects he has in
Speaker 1: other parts of New York City and beyond. People are
Speaker 1: looking to him for leadership, and I think he feels
Speaker 1: a real responsibility to other chefs coming up behind him
Speaker 1: and his peers to really make a difference and really
Speaker 1: chart a course to find dining in the future. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and bottom line, he says future fine Dining. You asked
Speaker 1: him about that. More options when it comes to pricing,
Speaker 1: menus and hours of operations. So yeah, things are going
Speaker 1: to change, they are. Well. That wraps up the first
Speaker 1: hour the weekend edition to Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1: I'm Jason Kelly and I'm Carol mass are plenty coming
Speaker 1: up in our next hour, including a conversation with Trinity
Speaker 1: College President Joanne Berger Sweeney how her school is planning
Speaker 1: to reopen in the full, what it's doing. Also when
Speaker 1: it comes to diversity and inclusion. Right, we're talking about
Speaker 1: a woman. She is the first one and the first
Speaker 1: African American to run that college. It's a prestigious school
Speaker 1: there in Hartford, Connecticut. So she is living all of
Speaker 1: these crises at once. Plus the return of Broadway, well
Speaker 1: it's going to be delayed once again. We caught up
Speaker 1: with Broadway League President Charlotte Saint Martin. Yeah, we're all
Speaker 1: gonna have to be a patient just a little bit longer.
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol
Speaker 1: Masser and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. Hello, I'm Carol
Speaker 1: Masser and I'm Jason Kelly plenty ahead for you in
Speaker 1: this hour. The weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week, including
Speaker 1: the relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley, continues to be fraught,
Speaker 1: maybe only getting more fraud. We have a bit of
Speaker 1: a theme developing here in the second hour, because we're
Speaker 1: gonna talk now about an M I T study that
Speaker 1: looks at racism and diversity through the lens of economic opportunity.
Speaker 1: It's a new report from M I T that finds
Speaker 1: blackmail college grads have suffered the most disconcerting law uses.
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Week Economics editor Peter Coy and Bloomberg Week editor
Speaker 1: Joel Webber broke it down. It's a study called the
Speaker 1: Faltering Escalator of Urban Opportunities by David Autour, a prominent
Speaker 1: economists M I T. Who I really love. He does
Speaker 1: such excellent work. This is part of a task force
Speaker 1: that he co chairs called the Task Force and the
Speaker 1: Work of the Future. So the conventional wisdom is that
Speaker 1: cities are good places for opportunity because there are things,
Speaker 1: there are kinds of jobs that are available in cities
Speaker 1: that simply aren't available in suburbs or rural areas. And
Speaker 1: for one while that was true. If you move to
Speaker 1: the city, you were likely to get a better job,
Speaker 1: earn more money, and be on an escalator towards higher
Speaker 1: pay um. But what he's found is that is going
Speaker 1: back as far as that started to become less true,
Speaker 1: and it's become less and less true as time has
Speaker 1: gone by, and uh so there's more of a barbell now.
Speaker 1: There are some great jobs for upper income people, and
Speaker 1: there are some plentiful jobs for people at the bottom,
Speaker 1: whether they are security guards or the food preparation types. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, service jobs like that, but it's kind of
Speaker 1: a middle paying job. There are far fewer of them
Speaker 1: than they were in past decades. Well. Also with US
Speaker 1: is Business Week editor Joel Wepper joining us from Massachusetts.
Speaker 1: So Joel put this story in context. I mean, we
Speaker 1: love a good Peter Ki story. I know you're never
Speaker 1: want to turn it down to either, but frame this
Speaker 1: for us in in the sort of broader uh theme
Speaker 1: of the magazine and what you're trying to do. UM.
Speaker 1: Funny enough, it relates to a conversation Peter and I
Speaker 1: were actually just having kind of earlier in the day,
Speaker 1: and I think it helps inform some of UM coverage
Speaker 1: that you'll probably continue to be seeing from us because
Speaker 1: you know, cities have really been this UM, this engine
Speaker 1: of economic activity. And that is has been true for
Speaker 1: you know, us being sort of in New York City
Speaker 1: properly most of the time and in the before times UM.
Speaker 1: But if you think about it at large, especially for
Speaker 1: the American economy, that has been the story of UM
Speaker 1: sort of the the economic in gine of America has
Speaker 1: been sort of like the movement towards cities, the economic
Speaker 1: activity that they survived, that they provide. And now that
Speaker 1: the pandemic UM, as Peter kind of said, it actually
Speaker 1: is almost sort of like excellent accelerated some trends and
Speaker 1: some of those were pre existing trends and others were
Speaker 1: were things that were sort of unexpected UM. And I
Speaker 1: think it puts the burden on cities in a in
Speaker 1: a way that UM it doesn't for a lot of
Speaker 1: other economic models. And I think that that is going
Speaker 1: to be UM just an ongoing conversation of like, you know,
Speaker 1: you take New York City for instance, As Peter and
Speaker 1: I were talking about earlier, it was like, so what
Speaker 1: does this mean for the m t A. Right Like
Speaker 1: in d A, all of these things that this city,
Speaker 1: the city needs people in order to to fuel the
Speaker 1: city itself, and the moment that you sort of remove
Speaker 1: the people from that equation, it starts to actually become
Speaker 1: somewhat of the downward spiral. So what does that mean, Peter,
Speaker 1: I mean, like play this out for us, you know,
Speaker 1: based on the folks you talk to and your own
Speaker 1: research and expertise. I mean, we're talking about, as Joel
Speaker 1: just mentioned, basic infrastructure. I mean, just sort of the
Speaker 1: way that cities live and breathe and grow and uh
Speaker 1: and operate. Yeah. Well, New York City is unique in
Speaker 1: the United States and its density, particularly in Manhattan. It's
Speaker 1: not the norm for US cities. You hear a lot
Speaker 1: of people talking about edge cities, which are far less
Speaker 1: dense and in some ways more sustainable. Problem with like
Speaker 1: New York is that the subway needs a lot of
Speaker 1: riders too, you know, to pay a budget. You take
Speaker 1: away all the riders and you still run the trains
Speaker 1: and you're running massive debt. Is that's just unsustainable. So
Speaker 1: you can't get away with less density in New York.
Speaker 1: But I just want to quickly go back to the
Speaker 1: topic of mail um college grads, which Carol mentioned in
Speaker 1: her intro is that that's a special problem because in general,
Speaker 1: the middle paying jobs were held by people maybe without
Speaker 1: college degrees. Uh, And so it was the people without
Speaker 1: college degrees in general who suffered the most from this
Speaker 1: hollowing out. But for black male college grads, they have
Speaker 1: been dragged down as well. And that was one of
Speaker 1: the big surprises for all Tour in his research, that
Speaker 1: they their share of middle paying jobs went down and
Speaker 1: their share of low paying jobs went up from So
Speaker 1: there's a compounding all the other problems we've been talking about,
Speaker 1: and that Sloomberg business Week Economics editor Peter Coy and
Speaker 1: Bloomberg business Week editor Joel Weber joining us this study,
Speaker 1: I think Carol really stopped as short. Well, what's interesting
Speaker 1: is when you think about economics, you know, conventional wisdom
Speaker 1: is that cities provide so much opportunities for everyone, right,
Speaker 1: that you won't get in suburbs or out in the country.
Speaker 1: And yet what the m I T researchers found that
Speaker 1: that's not really the case, right, that cities are just
Speaker 1: not very desirable to workers in middle paying occupations, and
Speaker 1: that's especially the case for blackmail college grad So this
Speaker 1: study really stood out for me this week, And if
Speaker 1: you want to hear a little bit more about what
Speaker 1: that study is about and Peter's reporting, check it out
Speaker 1: online at Bloomberg dot com. You're listening to Bloomberg basically
Speaker 1: coming up. Author of the Code Silicon Valley and the
Speaker 1: Remaking of America, she's back with US University Washington professor
Speaker 1: Margaret O'Mara talking to us about racism and diversity or
Speaker 1: a lack thereof in Silicon Valley. This is Bloomberg. This
Speaker 1: is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly
Speaker 1: from Bloomberg Radio. We're bringing some of the most important
Speaker 1: and informative conversations. We had a lot this week happening
Speaker 1: on our daily radio show, and we'd like to remind everybody.
Speaker 1: Jason right, there was so much news going on around
Speaker 1: us when it came to the economic outlook, what's going
Speaker 1: on with companies, and of course what's going on with
Speaker 1: the virus. But one of those topics that stayed front
Speaker 1: and center as well is concerns about racism throughout the country. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and nowhere is it feeling more important and maybe more
Speaker 1: surprising than Silicon Valley. It's a bastion. We think of
Speaker 1: it as liberalism and progressive thinking. And yet we caught
Speaker 1: up with Margaret O'Meara back with us. She's the author
Speaker 1: of a really great book called The Code, Silicon Valley
Speaker 1: and the Remaking of America. It's out in paperback now,
Speaker 1: and she shared with us her thoughts on the history
Speaker 1: and the current eight of the valley, Silicon Valley, and
Speaker 1: particularly it's biggest companies and and I you know, obviously
Speaker 1: three three that are based in the valley, and so
Speaker 1: that are based in my town of Seattle, UM are
Speaker 1: facing kind of a number of stressors by created by
Speaker 1: this moment. Look, they're they're all doing great. Um. The
Speaker 1: the economy, you know that the Covide economy has has
Speaker 1: created a greater need for what they provide. So the
Speaker 1: so earnings are are you know, some things are down,
Speaker 1: but they're doing pretty well all considered. But they've got
Speaker 1: you know, I think that their problems now both as
Speaker 1: employers UM, there's been a conversation about the lack of
Speaker 1: diversity at the top of Silicon Valley, particularly in engine
Speaker 1: bring teams. That's been going on for a long time.
Speaker 1: And look, the needle has not loosed very much. There's
Speaker 1: still not enough, there's not enough diversity in the c suite,
Speaker 1: not to mention in these key worlds. And I think
Speaker 1: there's the other bigger problem of what, you know, how
Speaker 1: their products the platforms are feeding into um pull arization,
Speaker 1: the questions around hate speech and three speech, the questions
Speaker 1: of where these platforms, you know, what role are they
Speaker 1: playing in this moment and where can they help make
Speaker 1: positive change? All right, So let's split those into two
Speaker 1: and start with the first one, which is the employee
Speaker 1: base and this relationship and lack of diversity, because you know,
Speaker 1: Silicon Valley has long held it itself up as you know,
Speaker 1: this is a meritocracy and so anyone who's qualified should
Speaker 1: be able to be successful. What has hampered that from
Speaker 1: actually happening or is the whole idea of it being
Speaker 1: a meritocracy um false? Well, you know, I think the
Speaker 1: idea of meritocracy goes back deep, and I think what
Speaker 1: it reflects is at the very beginning, and I'm talking
Speaker 1: about the fifties and sixties when electronics was starting to
Speaker 1: cluster in the Bay Area and in the in the
Speaker 1: Valley in particular. These fol thesefol guys, and they were
Speaker 1: all guys, and they were all white guys because they're engineers,
Speaker 1: and there's the fifties, so let's keep them keep that
Speaker 1: in mind. But they were from pretty modest, middle class backgrounds.
Speaker 1: They didn't have family connections, they didn't have money. Um,
Speaker 1: a number of them did very well for themselves. But
Speaker 1: when you think about these iconic founders, people like Bill
Speaker 1: Hewlett and Dave Packard and Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore,
Speaker 1: you know, HP Intel, they all came from small town backgrounds,
Speaker 1: didn't have they you know, they didn't have family connections,
Speaker 1: their money, and so there. It is true that this
Speaker 1: has been a pathway for epic mobility, but that is
Speaker 1: not true now. And funnily enough, one of the things
Speaker 1: that makes the valley so successful is the network between
Speaker 1: you know, across people, people who work together, people who
Speaker 1: fund someone that they know, drawing on you know that
Speaker 1: these these networks of connection has been absolutely critical in
Speaker 1: enabling the industry to generate one generation of company after another,
Speaker 1: and it also closes you out to other possibilities to
Speaker 1: think about, Well, let's press someone of a different engineering program. Well,
Speaker 1: let's look at someone who doesn't look at all like
Speaker 1: I don't have a background that's all at all like
Speaker 1: the other people replended, But let's take a risk. You know,
Speaker 1: venture investing is a really risky business, right you know,
Speaker 1: there are only a few a small number of your
Speaker 1: investments that make all your money. And so I think
Speaker 1: that there's sort of a conservatism in choosing trying to
Speaker 1: head your backs as much as you can by choosing
Speaker 1: people who are kind of known quantities, and often that
Speaker 1: means someone who knows someone you know, and and that
Speaker 1: I think is why the diversity problem is so hard
Speaker 1: to entangle. What what will it take for Silicon Valley
Speaker 1: to be more inclusive? Mm hmm, Well, I think it's
Speaker 1: going to take sort of It's a similar question that's
Speaker 1: posted all of Quirkort America. But I think Silicon Valley
Speaker 1: has a particular pressure on it because these are companies
Speaker 1: that have presented themselves as different kinds of corporations. Um,
Speaker 1: you know that that's not evil and and have and
Speaker 1: and and definitely the talents that they are able to recruit,
Speaker 1: your pain is their key ingredients. There's key competitive advantage.
Speaker 1: And so I think presenting really I think looking seriously
Speaker 1: and taking diversity more seriously UM, and that is going
Speaker 1: to involve I think a real shift in the way
Speaker 1: that you recruit and retain people UM, thinking about sort
Speaker 1: of casting a broader net and UM building a pipeline
Speaker 1: for people who are coming into companies large and small UM.
Speaker 1: And then I think there's also recognizing the great advantages
Speaker 1: that come from having a diverse team in the room.
Speaker 1: That's developing products, that's marketing products. But thinking about UM
Speaker 1: different markets, their whole bottle markets, delicate these have not
Speaker 1: tapped into in part because we have been really really
Speaker 1: at building curtainly in the last twenty years. So that
Speaker 1: are really awesome for upper middle class people in the
Speaker 1: United States. UM, it's like them, and you know, think
Speaker 1: about all these other parties that lie out there when
Speaker 1: you're skiing well gadly and so Margaret, you know, this
Speaker 1: was a week where Mark Zuckerberg and Cheryl Sandberg had
Speaker 1: a meeting that by all accounts, didn't go great with
Speaker 1: with a lot of activists when it comes to social justice.
Speaker 1: You know a lot of criticisms being leveled there at Facebook,
Speaker 1: and from an economic perspective, boycott's underway from really big advertisers,
Speaker 1: brand name companies that have relied on Facebook as a
Speaker 1: means to advertise to literally billions of people. What's the
Speaker 1: next step of that and what do you make of
Speaker 1: this moment for Facebook and some of the other social
Speaker 1: media companies in terms of where they go next, specifically
Speaker 1: around answering questions of social justice. Yeah, well, I think
Speaker 1: for the companies Facebook and Google in particular, that you know,
Speaker 1: that's sort of boycotts, that's hitting them right now, wall right,
Speaker 1: shooting them right there. That's Margaret o'mera, University of Washington,
Speaker 1: professor of history and author of The Code, Silicon Valley
Speaker 1: and the Remaking of America. That book now out in paperback.
Speaker 1: We talked to her a year ago when it came
Speaker 1: out for the first time in hardcover. What's interesting, Jason.
Speaker 1: Her conversation reminded me of that recent story on the
Speaker 1: Bloomberg about what it's like to be a black CEO
Speaker 1: and Silicon Valley, and one takeaway of that story talked
Speaker 1: about how you needed to have a lot of humiliation
Speaker 1: to do business if you're a black CEO and Silicon Valley.
Speaker 1: So I thought, you know, it was great to get
Speaker 1: her perspective on what's going on. Yeah, I totally agree.
Speaker 1: I think this is an area that maybe we've overlooked
Speaker 1: because of Silicon Valley's reputation. But when you pair this
Speaker 1: with what amberra Atherton was saying earlier about the struggles
Speaker 1: of Facebook and social media, Silicon Valley is very, very complicated.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg. We're coming up. We're going to
Speaker 1: continue our conversations on systemic racism, diversity, and some of
Speaker 1: the challenges across the nation's biggest and most important institutions.
Speaker 1: Trinity College President Joann Burger Sweeney with us. She says,
Speaker 1: it's a time of hope, but also a time of change.
Speaker 1: It's a great conversation. This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1: Today we're using the most important and we hope in
Speaker 1: formative conversations we've had recently on our daily Bloomberg Business
Speaker 1: Week radio show, and Jason one of those conversations was
Speaker 1: with Joanne Berger Sweeney. She is in her sixth year
Speaker 1: as president of Trinity College. You know what's interesting is
Speaker 1: she was at um Tufts University and there she created
Speaker 1: the Center for Race and Democracy, UH and what's interesting
Speaker 1: is I feel like diversity and inclusion, well, I don't
Speaker 1: feel like it truly has been a common threat of
Speaker 1: her academic and professional career, and she's now thinking about
Speaker 1: that big time. As head of Trinity, we are planning
Speaker 1: for a robust experience for our students, taking into consideration
Speaker 1: health and safety as a priority. Our students will be
Speaker 1: meeting regularly and have safe interaction ends with their professors,
Speaker 1: we think, with coaches and staff. We are also ready
Speaker 1: to pivot if we need to again to have remote learning.
Speaker 1: So we are preparing to engage our students in new
Speaker 1: and interesting ways, even if that needs to be remote. UM.
Speaker 1: We're planning to support them because they need help in
Speaker 1: figuring out how to navigate this new normal. And then
Speaker 1: you know, on a practical basis, of course, we are
Speaker 1: planning to have face coverings, physical distancing, reminders of hand washing,
Speaker 1: self monitoring of symptoms, and mandatory public health education for
Speaker 1: when they come back to campus. But you're going to
Speaker 1: be on campus. It is certainly our plan to be
Speaker 1: on campus. UM. We were very fortunate to Terman that
Speaker 1: we had seventeen hundred individual beds behind doors. Now sometimes
Speaker 1: it's off of a suite, but we had seventeen hundred
Speaker 1: UM individual bed spaces here at Trinity, and generally we
Speaker 1: have two thousand students, so that will allow our students
Speaker 1: to come back and UM also have UM private or
Speaker 1: individual rooms. And we thought, with those circumstances, and with
Speaker 1: the guidance that we've been provided by the State of Connecticut,
Speaker 1: that we are planning for a reopening, you know, recognizing
Speaker 1: of course that if conditions are such that we cannot
Speaker 1: open UM, you know, will have to then pivot to
Speaker 1: remote learning. And so, what are you hearing from students,
Speaker 1: especially incoming students sort of news of the first year students?
Speaker 1: I would imagine I have to think they're the most
Speaker 1: both apprehensive but also maybe the most eager at the
Speaker 1: same time, Joanta, what are the conversations like there with
Speaker 1: them and their parents? Right, It's it's amazing how eager
Speaker 1: they are to come to college. UM. We had one
Speaker 1: of our largest classes, more than six hundred students who
Speaker 1: accepted Trinity College, which we thought was surprising given the pandemic.
Speaker 1: But I think that people really want to come back.
Speaker 1: We did a survey of students and even before we
Speaker 1: had given them, you know what health and safety measures
Speaker 1: were going to look like, it's just what's your likelihood
Speaker 1: of coming back? And eighty five of our students and
Speaker 1: parents said they were either very likely or likely to
Speaker 1: come back. And then there was another, you know, almost
Speaker 1: ten percent that said, well, we're waiting to see you
Speaker 1: know what health and safety measures you have so people
Speaker 1: want to come back? Um. And I'll share with you
Speaker 1: that I'm the parent of a college age student. He
Speaker 1: wants to go back, and I want him to go
Speaker 1: back already. So are our students to go back? Aren't we? Joan?
Speaker 1: As you know, Jason has two teenagers um and also
Speaker 1: a little one, but two teenagers. He and I both
Speaker 1: have um kids who are going to be seniors in
Speaker 1: high school. And I gotta tell you, I cannot. I
Speaker 1: love my daughter, I cannot wait for her to kind
Speaker 1: of be back within school and she misses it a lot.
Speaker 1: So we totally get it. Absolutely. You know. When I
Speaker 1: talked to parents, they all get it and they laugh
Speaker 1: when I say, oh no, no, no, everybody one. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're right there with him for sure. All right, So
Speaker 1: you're the first black and as female president of Trinity College,
Speaker 1: I'm sure you're getting questions like this all the time.
Speaker 1: What do we do to make this more than a moment?
Speaker 1: I think already it is more than a moment, And
Speaker 1: somehow people are listening to each other in a different manner,
Speaker 1: and that's strategy. College President Joanne Burger Sweeney. I love
Speaker 1: that conversation because she really does sit at the nexus
Speaker 1: of so many the most important social issues that we're facing,
Speaker 1: one of which Carol is getting kids back to school,
Speaker 1: but also big institutions dealing with some of the most
Speaker 1: important issues of our time. You can hear that whole
Speaker 1: conversation on our podcast feed. It's a great conversation and
Speaker 1: it came Jason in a week where we kept getting
Speaker 1: a lot of headlines from colleges and universities, including one
Speaker 1: from the IVY League right canceling sports competition for the
Speaker 1: upcoming semester because of health and safety concerns about the
Speaker 1: coronavirus pandemic. So a lot going on, certainly in that world.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week coming up Broadway Dark
Speaker 1: for the rest of the year, We're going to check
Speaker 1: in with Broadway League President Charlotte st. Martin. This is Bloomberg,
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason
Speaker 1: Kelly from Bloomberg Radio on some of the most important,
Speaker 1: we hope informative conversations we've had recently on our daily
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business Week Radio show. Carol, that's true, and a
Speaker 1: recent conversation had to do with New York City's famed Broadway.
Speaker 1: It's still dark, Jason. We know because of the pandemic,
Speaker 1: theaters staying closed for the rest of the year at least.
Speaker 1: But we caught up once again with the president of
Speaker 1: the Broadway League, Charlotte st. Martin, to find out what
Speaker 1: the outlook is. We either hire or are responsible for
Speaker 1: nine thousand jobs. That's the local restaurants, that's the retail
Speaker 1: stores in the area. That's the hotels, it's the museums
Speaker 1: and the vicinity, the parking garages, and they don't go
Speaker 1: back to work until Broadway goes back to work. So, uh,
Speaker 1: it's not just Broadway that's hurting, it's everybody that depends
Speaker 1: on Broadway. Yeah, I am curious some of the questions,
Speaker 1: you know, the conversations you guys are having, because it's
Speaker 1: you know, this comes in a week where we did
Speaker 1: talk to, you know, someone who manages a family owned
Speaker 1: hotel down in downtown New York, and you know what
Speaker 1: they're doing and I think Jason they said something like
Speaker 1: twenty or capacity, you know, and how they're doing things differently,
Speaker 1: and it is a very different experience in terms of
Speaker 1: shoes being cleaned and everything sanitized. There is there is
Speaker 1: just no way to do Broadway physically or financially right
Speaker 1: on a smaller scale of not really making the goal
Speaker 1: always filling as many seats as possible. That's correct. The
Speaker 1: We are a heavy, heavily unionized business, and we have
Speaker 1: the best theatrical employees in the world, but they're also
Speaker 1: the most expensive. And the costs of Broadway continue to
Speaker 1: skyrocket because the world exp access to deliver the best
Speaker 1: of everything, the best sets, the best digital technology, as
Speaker 1: well as the best actors, and it's it's an expensive
Speaker 1: business to run the The history has shown that in
Speaker 1: the best years, one out of four shows recoups on
Speaker 1: its investment, and for the long run it's one out
Speaker 1: of five shows recoup on their investments. So, uh, significantly
Speaker 1: reduced audience just doesn't work. If if we open and
Speaker 1: have audiences of or less, Broadway won't work. So we
Speaker 1: have to make sure that when we open, we have
Speaker 1: ticket sales to help keep the shows open, because it
Speaker 1: would be a disaster to have the shows open and
Speaker 1: then have to close three weeks later. Right, So, Charlotte,
Speaker 1: I wonder, because I know you're talking to producers and
Speaker 1: playwrights and all the folks who are on the aative
Speaker 1: side as well. I mean, what does this do for
Speaker 1: shows that were, you know, maybe not quite ready to go,
Speaker 1: but we're teed up to open in the second half
Speaker 1: of the year, or maybe some shows that that we're
Speaker 1: scheduled to open at the beginning of next year. Does
Speaker 1: everything get pushed? How many things just don't happen. What's
Speaker 1: your sense of how this sort of ripples through what
Speaker 1: we see when hopefully we are able to return to
Speaker 1: Broadway early next year. Well, I mean, fortunately, um, we
Speaker 1: have only had two shows that were too open right
Speaker 1: after we closed Broadway on March twelve, and one long
Speaker 1: running show, uh decide not to come back and that
Speaker 1: was frozen. And then there were the two that aren't
Speaker 1: going to be performing. But that leaves about thirty five
Speaker 1: shows that could be coming back when we reopen. And
Speaker 1: what happens is if they all come back, there won't
Speaker 1: be enough theater for the shows that we're coming in
Speaker 1: because many of the shows on Broadway are what you
Speaker 1: call limited runs. They say we're going to be running
Speaker 1: for twelve weeks or sixteen weeks. And if those shows
Speaker 1: do in fact come back, and we hope they do,
Speaker 1: then everything that was scheduled for January or the spring
Speaker 1: will be pushed back a bit. And we sure hope
Speaker 1: that all of those shows get to come back. Those
Speaker 1: people work four to six years, sometimes more to bring
Speaker 1: their show to Broadway, so we want them to have
Speaker 1: their day. I have to say I was kind of
Speaker 1: looking forward to it. I think it was going to
Speaker 1: be a limited run. Sara Disca Parker and Matthew broaderick Right,
Speaker 1: they were just about to open, weren't they They were,
Speaker 1: But they are scheduled to come back in the spring. Okay,
Speaker 1: that's good to hear local residents making good on their profits. Right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: exactly what happens? You know, I love you coming on
Speaker 1: because you do explain kind of the economics, um and
Speaker 1: you know of how Broadway works. What happens to all
Speaker 1: of the as workers. You say it's heavily unionized. Do
Speaker 1: they have they been getting payments of some sort or
Speaker 1: are they getting money from the government, Like, how does
Speaker 1: it work? What happens to those workers? Well, when we shuttered,
Speaker 1: we've paid the workers for two and a half weeks,
Speaker 1: and then healthcare was covered for longer than that, and
Speaker 1: many of the unions are getting healthcare coverage still, and
Speaker 1: many are getting unemployment insurance. But there's no question everyone
Speaker 1: on Broadway, producers, the people that work in the producer's office,
Speaker 1: the people that work in theaters, everyone is UH is
Speaker 1: experiencing difficulty. I mean most people think Broadway wow big business,
Speaker 1: big big corporations. Broadway is made up of hundreds of
Speaker 1: small little businesses that put everything they have to bring
Speaker 1: their show to Broadway. I mean, yes, you have Disney
Speaker 1: and a couple of other big shows that UH big
Speaker 1: companies that bring their shows to Broadway, but most are
Speaker 1: small entrepreneurial businesses and they're all suffering as well as
Speaker 1: the actors and stage hands and designers. There's nothing good
Speaker 1: about this shutdown. And Charlotte, you know, one of the
Speaker 1: things we talked about the last time you were with
Speaker 1: us was, you know, obviously you have UH a window
Speaker 1: into this through the touring companies as well. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is a national epidemic and we're seeing it really
Speaker 1: flare up in a lot of different places. I know,
Speaker 1: I believe if I remember, you hail from Dallas, so
Speaker 1: you understand all different parts of the of the country.
Speaker 1: How is the touring business looking amid all of this?
Speaker 1: Is it completely shut down as well? Are you seeing
Speaker 1: any movement there? Broadway tours are in two hundred and
Speaker 1: forty two cities around our country, and they're all shuttered.
Speaker 1: The one s glimmer of hope is many of the
Speaker 1: other markets where the Broadway shows two or two we're
Speaker 1: not as heavily hit by the virus. So there is
Speaker 1: some thought that some some of the cities can open
Speaker 1: up before the end of the year. And most of
Speaker 1: our cities are not as dependent on tourism as New
Speaker 1: York City is. They have subscribers, and subscribers are very
Speaker 1: loyal to their theater. I mean, I didn't miss a
Speaker 1: show at the Dallas Summer Musicals for as long as
Speaker 1: I could remember, because that's where I learned to love Broadway,
Speaker 1: and that's that's the way people are in many of
Speaker 1: the markets across the country. So hopefully we will get
Speaker 1: some of those people back to work before the end
Speaker 1: of the year. Do you see it as it's not
Speaker 1: until we get a vaccine or at least treatment modalities
Speaker 1: that can treat people who ultimately get the virus to
Speaker 1: keep you know, so that they they may get the virus,
Speaker 1: but they can take something that mitigates the symptoms and
Speaker 1: the outcomes. Is that is that what will ultimately open
Speaker 1: up Broadway Charlotte, Well, we do not believe that we
Speaker 1: have to have the vaccine to open It will be
Speaker 1: great to have it, but the medical professionals that we're
Speaker 1: working with say that many other protocols that are coming
Speaker 1: close to being real would allow us to come back. Certainly,
Speaker 1: the most critical thing for the cast and crew is
Speaker 1: the instant testing, because there is no way that these
Speaker 1: performers can and stage hands and the people that work
Speaker 1: backstage can come back and we not be assured every
Speaker 1: single day that they're healthy. Because if you've never been
Speaker 1: in backstage of a Broadway theater, these are historic buildings
Speaker 1: that are spectacular, but they're not the biggest backstage areas
Speaker 1: you've ever seen. So uh, we have to have the
Speaker 1: testing that is reliable and we're getting good indications that
Speaker 1: those will be available to us. Plus, there are protocols
Speaker 1: being developed all around the world that we're obviously watching
Speaker 1: and paying attention to at theaters of Global Community, and
Speaker 1: Broadway travels around the world, and the world travels to Broadway,
Speaker 1: so we're all sharing information, and our medical experts are
Speaker 1: telling us that they have cautious optimism that we can
Speaker 1: come back after the first of the year, not telling
Speaker 1: us exactly what, but after the first and uh, and
Speaker 1: we're hoping for that to be the case. As we
Speaker 1: all know, we find out new things about this virus.
Speaker 1: Seems like every week. Sometimes it's positive and sometimes it's not.
Speaker 1: So we're very dependent on the good news. That's President
Speaker 1: of the Broadway League, Charlotte st. Martin, and you know,
Speaker 1: since she often reminds us that it's not just about
Speaker 1: the folks up on stage are behind the curtain, but
Speaker 1: it's a whole industry restaurants, right, and everything in New
Speaker 1: York City that supports the theater industry. So it really
Speaker 1: has a big impact on the city economy and really
Speaker 1: the national economy. Yeah, the national economy as well. I mean,
Speaker 1: don't forget you know, they're touring shows that are you know,
Speaker 1: coming to theaters near you usually uh, and that whole
Speaker 1: business is largely shut down. We hope Broadway is back soon. Well,
Speaker 1: that wraps up the weekend addition to Bloomberg Business Week
Speaker 1: from Bloomberg Radio. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 1: I'm Jason Kelly and I'm Carol Master. Be sure to
Speaker 1: tune into Bloomberg Business Week Radio Live Monday through Friday
Speaker 1: starting at two pm Wall Street Time. And if you
Speaker 1: can't catch us live, find us on your podcast feed.
Speaker 1: Subscribe to Bloomberg Business Week wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: You can get the full conversations like the ones we
Speaker 1: had with Charlotte Saint Martin, Joanne Burger Sweeney. You can
Speaker 1: also hear the in depth conversations we have on our
Speaker 1: daily show with some of our best experts like Craig
Speaker 1: Gordon are Washington Bureau chief and Kate Crater, our food
Speaker 1: editor at Bloomberg Business Week. And check out our extra podcast. Jason,
Speaker 1: we caught up a chef and restaurant toward Danielle Blue
Speaker 1: talked with us about offering up Danielle Blue Kitchen. He
Speaker 1: likes so many in the restaurant industry, pivoting to bring
Speaker 1: back customers, and don't forget. Also, you can watch the
Speaker 1: show live on YouTube. Just search for Bloomberg Global News.
Speaker 1: We'll be back right here next week at the same time.
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg