WEBVTT - Retailers, Vendors, and Gambling 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:04.360 Bloomberg is now on your dashboard with Apple CarPlay and 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.160 Android Auto. It gives you access to every Bloomberg podcast, 0:00:08.280 --> 0:00:11.560 live audio feeds from Bloomberg Radio, print stories from Bloomberg 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:14.920 News in audio form, and the latest headlines of the 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:18.600 click of a button with Bloomberg News. Now it's free 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.439 with the latest version of the Bloomberg Business App. That's 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:24.400 the Bloomberg Business App. Get it on your phone in 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.760 the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Just download 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:30.560 the app, connect your phone to your car and get started. 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:34.400 And it's all presented by our sponsor, Interactive Brokers. 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:38.600 Welcome to the Bloomberg Markets Podcast. I'm Paul Sweeney, alongside 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:39.800 my co host Matt Miller. 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:44.279 Every business day we bring you interviews from CEOs, market pros, 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:48.160 and Bloomberg experts, along with essential market moven News. 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.839 Find the Bloomberg Markets Podcast called Apple Podcasts or wherever 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:55.080 you listen to podcasts, and at Bloomberg dot com slash podcast. 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:57.240 All right, let's get a sense here of kind of 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:01.040 how this is playing out terms of retail sales holiday shopping. 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:04.480 I'd tell you my train was pretty full today with people. 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.600 They were not coming into work. I think they were 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:08.960 coming into shop a great Let's check in with Julie 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:12.240 Van Allen. She's a chief revenue officer Rocketent. Julie, thanks 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.240 so much for joining us here on Zoom. Here, you 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:19.480 guys see kind of retail sales at the store level 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:21.880 and you kind of aggregated it up to kind of 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:24.080 some big macro call here. How do you think the 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:26.759 holiday shopping season is going to unwind this year because 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:28.959 there's probably there's some stress on the consumer out there. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.920 Yeah, well, I got to tell you, guys, I am 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:36.119 so excited with what I woke up to see today. 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:40.360 From a trend standpoint on our site, what we're seeing 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:43.360 is that this is I think the technical term has 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:47.240 to be just a thoroughly bonkers year in terms of 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:51.000 retailers and brands competing for consumer dollars in the term 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:54.240 in the form of promotions on their own sites and 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:58.280 then layering on cash back and other incentives and on 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:02.320 the consumer front. Ready this morning, we'll see a significant 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:04.720 increase in shopping trips year over year. 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.920 Hey, Julie, just remind the world what Racketin does and 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:10.760 how you guys, cause you've got a bunch of stores 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:14.280 you log on write consumers and then get deals. Those 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:17.720 stores pay you right for sending them shoppers. Just remind 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:19.519 us and remind us how big your network is in 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:20.360 terms of members. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:26.040 Yeah, we have seventeen million shoppers shopping on the Racketen 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:30.519 site with about four thousand partner stores. So those retailers 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:34.800 and brands join racketin to attract the shoppers that are 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:38.919 excited and rewarded to shop through Racketin's platform to get 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:42.799 cash back on the stores that they love so much. 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:45.320 So one of the things I wonder when I'm talking 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.320 retail is, what do you compare what you're seeing today 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:51.040 with Is it going back to twenty nineteen pre pandemic 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:53.919 or is it from the peak kind of coming off 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.320 the pandemic. Give us some perspective so that we get 0:02:57.360 --> 0:02:59.799 a real idea of how healthy the consumer is or 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.440 there or not. Retailers are feeling some pain because they're 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:04.320 offering higher incentives than they were before. 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:07.839 It's a great question, and I think it comes down 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.200 to it being a very different year this year than 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.959 it has been for the last two because from a 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:15.720 consumer standpoint, coming out of COVID, there were a lot 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.280 of people who saved up dollars right So for the 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:21.360 last couple of years, there was a push a pull 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:25.560 forward of the holiday shopping season, where consumers were shopping 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:30.720 starting in October for gifting and retailers met them where 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:32.880 they were, and there was a spread of the amount 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:37.720 of offers that were in market and discounts throughout the year. 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.360 This year is a very different year because retailers knew 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:45.880 that consumers had been patiently waiting given the different economic 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:50.680 conditions coming into this year. So it's very very consolidated 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:55.400 around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and essentially really the next 0:03:55.880 --> 0:04:00.280 five days. So yeah, I mean, it's just a very 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:04.000 different look and feel this year. That said, I think 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:10.040 brands are always cognizant about profitability, and so while we 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:13.160 know that we need to compete for the consumer dollars, 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:16.720 especially in a year like this year, so everyone's going 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.960 to be super promotional right now, the smart brands think 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:23.559 about how to pivot and change that up a little 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:25.039 bit as we get into December. 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:28.560 Hey, Julie, is there any kind of go to category 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.520 here or gift that is going to drive this year's 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:33.120 or's something along electronics front? 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:34.080 What are people buying? 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.039 You're buying platform ugs, aren't you buying. 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:40.839 Of course, right, that's the new thing. Sorry, I love 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:42.359 an UG, that's what I want. 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:45.480 Yeah, So, I mean right now we have over eight 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:48.479 hundred brands on our site offering twelve percent cash back 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.880 on top of the amazing deals they're already offering. And 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.839 I can tell you from categories that we're already seeing 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:59.239 growth coming out of department stores. Is one, health and beauty. 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:04.599 Big marketplaces, so think like Walmart and Target. And I 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:06.400 think what you can tie that to is that the 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:10.480 consumer isn't just looking for discretionary gifting spend, it's also 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.800 how to get the best deals on essentials. Footwear to 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:20.440 the ugs is up, and then poor retailers in the 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:25.680 luxury space even versus yesterday, up pretty significantly, which shows 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.039 you what we I think already knew, which is that 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:32.240 consumers are waiting to make those big discretionary buys for 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:36.880 when they know the discounts and the incentives will be highest. 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:41.560 And then, probably most interestingly, the unconventional category of travel 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:44.839 is up high, which again high price point consumers waiting 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:45.640 for those deals. 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.200 It feels like we're all waiting for discounts more now. 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:50.520 Yeah, again, Paul, I think we've been trained that way. 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:54.719 Yeah, but it felt like the retailer companies were in 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.440 the driver's seat, Julie for a while. And it feels 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:01.160 like it's been reversing because it feels like consumers are 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.120 more and more pinch We had a great story about 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:05.760 even those making like one hundred thousand dollars out, they're 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.080 kind of trading down and being a lot more cautious 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:09.719 when it comes to shopping. And I feel like so 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:12.640 many retailers have come out right, Walmart and among them, 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:14.800 but even you know, I feel like some higher end 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:17.680 have run into some trouble here. So it does feel 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:23.360 like increasingly all consumers are feeling a bit pinched, certainly. 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.720 I mean core inflation, student loan debt, repayments, I mean, 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:32.640 there's something affects everybody, right, and it just drives concerns. 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.240 This year was definitely a year that we knew that 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:40.159 consumers were holding on to their dollars. It's definitely different 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:43.240 than the last couple of years. But that said, you know, 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.480 it's not sustainable for retailers and brands to be this 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:50.440 promotional all year. That's why we have the partners that 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.479 we do, because things like cash back can be a 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:58.600 great incentive for brands to help create rewards for shoppers 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:01.880 to even pay full price as we exit this highly 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:02.920 promotional period. 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.320 Hey, Julie, when I ack my five hours of radio today, 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.359 I will walk to Penn Station and I won't be 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:12.680 on Fifth Avenue. I walk down Madison Avenue and I 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:14.720 pass a lot of I pass by, I don't go in. 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:18.000 I pass by a lot of luxury brand stores. How's 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:18.960 luxury these days? 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:23.160 Luxury is a really interesting category, and like I said, 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:26.920 we see that up today. But I think once you 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:31.040 dig a little bit deeper into the luxury shopper, the 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:36.400 core luxury high end shoppers are not the ones that 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:39.480 are driving growth right now from what we see. It's 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:41.920 not to say that they won't come back and spend, 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.560 but a lot of those super high end handbags are 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.120 a little bit more expensive this year than they used 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.480 to be. And I think what you see is a 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:54.200 more aspirational shopper looking at buying or making these purchases 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:58.720 that are an investment for them. So a younger, more 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:03.680 aspirational shopper, which really creates an interesting pathway for these 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:09.280 brands to welcome new and exciting shoppers to their brands 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:13.360 buying the high end goods, but they're also carving off 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:17.960 parts of their businesses like beauty to be more discount driven, 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:20.640 to be more promotional in terms of price points, in 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:23.880 order to usher the new shoppers their way. 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.040 So, Julie, too early to kind of come out and say, right, 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.200 this is going to be the winner for this holiday 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:30.480 shopping season, because it sounds like from what you say, 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.400 we're going to get a good feel of consumer shopping 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.040 in the next week or so, and then it might 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:38.959 trail off a little bit. So thirty seconds, who do 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:39.959 you think is going to be the winner? 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:41.960 I mean, everyone's going to be the winner if they 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:43.719 know how to pivot. I think that's at the end 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.520 of the day, We're going to see a tremendous amount 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:48.880 of shopping happening over the next couple of days. But 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:52.920 then what happens after that? Are there inventory gluts that 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.000 need to be offloaded through incentives? Do we need to 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:59.400 incentivize folks to get in store through buy online, pickup 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:01.560 in store. It's all about reaction. 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.440 Hi, Julie, thank you so much for joining us. Juli 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.439 Van Allen, she's a chief revenue officer Racketon. 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.920 You're listening to the team. Ken's her live program Bloomberg 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:16.320 Markets weekdays at ten am Eastern on Bloomberg dot Com, 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.560 the iHeartRadio app, and the Bloomberg Business App, or listen 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:21.760 on demand wherever you get your podcasts. 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:25.800 Paul, you know, we talk so much about people continuing 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:28.839 to spend on experiences rather than buy stuff, and I 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:30.600 feel like our next guest has a great window into 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:33.320 all of that. So Dexol Live it's the hospitality partner 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.120 to Global Venues. They've had a lot going on this year, 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.839 everything from hosting the Formula one Miami Grand Prix at 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:42.200 hard Rocks Stadium, the twenty twenty three MLB All Star 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:45.480 Game at Seattle's t Mobile Park, to events at convention centers, 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:49.559 cultural attractions, and airport lounge business, which if you've been 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.720 to an airport lounge, they are packed. 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:52.960 Yep, they are all right. 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.320 So let's get to it with us. As Blinda Oakley CEO, 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:58.480 it's Adexhi Live joining us on zoom on this Friday. 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.200 Great to have you here, Belinda. You know, your first 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:02.800 year on the job, what's that been like? 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.680 Oh hi everyone, Hi Carol, high Poul and happy Thanksgiving. 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.480 You know, the first year has been a whirlwind, but 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:13.000 what a great time to be in the live events business. 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:17.120 I think, as you mentioned, the focus on experience continues 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:21.319 to lead people back to those packed environments, those environments 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:23.880 where you can do something a little different than how 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:26.240 we used to spend our time. And to be in 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:28.439 a birthseye seat for that is a true gift in 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:29.120 an honor. 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.880 So Blinda, I'm completely ignorant of your company, and you're 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:34.800 part of the hospitality business. 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.240 When I walk into a stadium. 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.280 I don't know get beer, I just get my peerer, 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.559 and I just assume they're employees of the team or 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:43.560 of the I don't know what's you guys have four 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:48.199 hundred thousand employees at fifty sites all over the world. 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:52.200 Just amazing. Can you tell us about kind of coming 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.240 out of the pandemic. What are you seeing in your business, 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:58.000 because again, it seems like everybody just wants to get 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:00.440 out and they've been getting out over the past couple 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:03.200 of years and going to big events and maybe you know, 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:04.840 ticking off bucket list items. 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:06.240 What have you seen in your business? 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.400 Yeah, look, you've said a few things there that I'll 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:10.880 jump on. 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.400 I think first and foremost, if you're going to a 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:15.720 game and you're getting your beer and your hot dog 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:18.640 and back to your seat, then that's what's supposed to happen. Yeah, 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:20.800 I think you shouldn't spend too much time thinking about 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.520 the magic behind the scenes that makes it all happen. 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:26.079 But as you mentioned, we are fortunate. We have about 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:29.040 twenty thousand associates just in the sports and leisure division 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.560 across about one hundred and fifty venues just here in 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.200 the US and Canada, and it takes a lot to 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:37.520 make that magic happen, and in a way that as 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:39.880 a fan, you get to focus on what you're. 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:41.880 There to experience, and that food. 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:46.200 And beverage just is an augmentation to a great service experience. 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:49.000 But I think first and foremost, as you mentioned, the 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:52.800 hospitality industry has changed greatly. Obviously through the pandemic we 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:56.120 see we see a real shift in who is working 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:57.040 in hospitality. 0:11:57.080 --> 0:11:59.240 Obviously, with the unemployment rate. 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:04.120 Getting back to a lower level, the labor market is 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:08.160 still tight and finding those folks who who have a 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:10.760 love of being a part of live events is a 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:11.760 different challenge than. 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.079 What we're facing before COVID. I think in. 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:17.560 Terms of what we're seeing from consumers. It's fascinating. Whether 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:20.559 it's the pitch clock changes in MLB, whether it's the 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.840 introduction of autonomous experiences where you can get your beer 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:26.599 and your hot dog and sometimes not even speak to 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.480 an individual. We are seeing the consumers still want to 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:31.599 be back in those big live environments. 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:33.720 They want to actually spend more when they're there. 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:35.920 They want to get out of their seat more often 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:38.079 because they trust that they can get back to their 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:39.200 seat and not miss. 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:39.760 A moment of the game. 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.760 So certainly, I think we've seen all the trends of 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:48.120 pre pandemic in terms of consumers wanting things faster, wanting 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:49.840 to elevate their experience. 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:53.160 We're just seeing it all moving at a more rapid pace. 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:55.600 Well, And I'm curious about the labor components side of it, 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:57.520 because you say it's still tight, although we're starting to 0:12:57.559 --> 0:12:59.480 see some signs of maybe a little bit softening. But 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.640 I agree it's still a tight labor market. I increasingly 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:04.040 on the retail. 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:05.120 Side, if I'm shopping. 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:09.160 More and more often, checking myself out, even taking off 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:12.280 security tabs, what are you guys doing? Are you increasingly 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:16.040 more pressure to automate things in your industry because you 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:17.360 can't find those workers. 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:19.400 Look, it's funny. 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.839 I think there was a lot of fear, certainly a 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:26.199 few years ago, that automizing the retail experience or the 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:28.120 consumer experience was going. 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:29.800 To take hospitality jobs away. 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.720 But what's interesting is we are seeing we've got the 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:35.680 same number of individuals employed. If it takes somewhere like 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.000 the Mariners T Mobile Stadium in Seattle. We have four 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:45.520 autonomous retail environments by Amazon just walk out, we have 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:47.480 no we have the same number of. 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:50.240 Employees because what people has shifted. 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.920 I think while you're checking yourself out, the expectations of 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.439 the level of service and hospitality in greeting, in going 0:13:57.440 --> 0:13:59.360 that little bit above and beyond to make sure you've 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:02.920 had a great day, I think that that need has elevated. 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.760 So we're seeing the type of labor need change. I 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.720 think the days of you know, going through the checkout 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:12.760 and not having any kind of interaction are well and 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:13.360 truly over. 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:14.719 That's what autonomous is for. 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:17.600 But the spirit of service and hospitality that is still 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:21.200 high demand and highly sought after in an employee base. 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:23.400 Hey, well, lin, it just seems I'm not sure if 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.160 it's just in the US, but certainly in the US 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:27.440 it seems to be an arms race for these stadiums. 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.840 The bigger and more luxurious and have more services, and 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:33.600 it's not just the beer and a hot dog anymore. 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:35.800 You can get all kinds of stuff there. 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:37.640 How do you beating caviare exactly? 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.120 How do you how do you keep up? Who kind 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:41.680 of drives that? Is that you guys driving it? 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:43.760 Or is that the owner of a franchise saying I 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:44.960 need more, I need better. 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.000 M Well, I think every owner of every franchise is 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:50.760 saying I need more, I need better, because we're all 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.480 fighting for the same share of mind. I think now 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:58.440 that that's a really healthy level of I think it's 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:01.000 a healthy paranoia to make sure that you are always 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:04.000 trying to elevate, stay on top. We're very fortunate we 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:08.320 have talented teams of chefs and operators in our venues. 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:10.880 We also get the benefits, especially doing some of these 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.840 really high end clubs and restaurants, which, of course as 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:16.960 the as the experience is elevated from hot dogs and 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:22.240 burgers to as you mentioned, champagne and caviat and all 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:23.640 the rest of the local favorites. 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:25.760 We do work with a lot of restaurant tour partners. 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:30.440 So I think ultimately who drives that constant pushing of 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.280 the envelope is the fan you look at, whether it's 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:37.200 the food Network, today's consumer is just so they have 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:41.160 such a higher expectation of what wows. So you have 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:43.680 to be constantly going a little bit outside of the norm. 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:46.920 Whether that is you know, again you're still going to 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.960 get your traditional favorites, but whether it's sweet Tea fried 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:53.320 Chicken in Indianapolis or Jambalaya in New Orleans, you know 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:55.840 you have to bring that local flavor in. But the 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:58.720 one thing I would say is what we have to 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.160 be careful about as we can continue to elevate and 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:05.960 expand the experience is the heart of consumers coming to 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:09.320 these events is not based on elevation. Is it is 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:12.240 the experience we all remember growing up. So having those 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:16.120 game day favorites, having them affordable for everyone to keep 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:20.000 bringing their kids and their grandkids to these experiences, you know, 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.320 it just means we have more tears. I would say, 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.000 of what you can experience. If you want a high 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.360 end experience, you got it. If you want to come 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:29.680 for a beer and a hot dog, it won't break 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:32.080 the bank. You got that, Hey, thirty seconds. 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.600 So you've got to feel inflationary pressures, whether it's on 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:38.000 wages or food costs. I mean you are construction costs? 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:39.480 How much? 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.480 How difficult is that? And again just about thirty seconds. 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:45.120 Yeah absolutely, I mean you've hit it. 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:48.520 Concrete is still through the roof, but truckings have obviously 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:49.320 been mitigated. 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:52.080 You know, inflation. We are certainly in deflation. 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:55.000 So I think in terms of what have we done, 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:58.200 we have learned to be much better at working in. 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.000 This environment menu engineering. 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:04.000 We have a twenty billion dollar purchasing network as an organization, 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:06.960 so we get to take advantage of that scale. 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:10.280 But I think this inflationary environment, it's going to keep 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.639 switching where the pressure is. But our job and so 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:17.280 Live's job is to be better than the best at that. 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:19.280 And thanks to us yall, we're able. 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:21.600 To looking forward to experiencing some events, certainly in the 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:24.159 New York. Blinda Oerkley, CEO is SADEXO Live. Thank you 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:25.600 so much, really appreciate it. 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.919 You're listening to the tape cats Are Live program Bloomberg 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:32.560 Markets weekdays at ten am Eastern on Bloomberg Radio. The 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.840 tune in app, Bloomberg dot Com and the Bloomberg Business app. 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:38.720 You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:43.760 flagship New York station Just say Alexa playing Bloomberg eleven thirty. 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:47.720 Yeah, we get into the you said, another huge sports 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:48.199 weekend here. 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:52.360 We've got college football, NFL, professional basketball, means a little bit. 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:53.560 Everything's coming together. 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.840 And one of the biggest areas of sports in this 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:01.040 country over the last several years has been sportsmbling, and 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:03.280 the amount of money that is now being wagered is 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:07.160 just extraordinary. Seems like all of the leagues, after decades 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.159 and decades of trying to keep sports betting out of 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:12.880 their business, are now opening arms and welcoming them in. 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.560 One of the players there is Charles Gillespie. He's the 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:19.080 CEO of Gambling dot Com. Unfortunately he's also graduated in 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:22.720 the University of North Carolina, so that's a check mark 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:25.399 against him. To crowd exactly, Hey, Charles, talk to us 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:29.200 about just how your business has evolved over the last 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:35.439 three or four years. It's just almost night and day. 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:34.600 It really is. 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:38.160 You know, as many of the listeners will know, the 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:42.000 Supreme Court decision in twenty eighteen really upended the world 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:45.080 of sports betting in the United States. We've been running 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:50.000 this business for going on twenty years, but mainly in Europe, 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.680 in the UK, Ireland and a number of other European markets, 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.320 and we had to turn the whole ship around and 0:18:56.359 --> 0:19:00.199 pointed at the United States. In twenty eighteen nineteen, we 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.159 had just a couple of million dollars in revenue in 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:08.239 North America. And this year we'll have our guidances to 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:10.879 exceed one hundred million in revenue for the whole group, 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:13.920 and we expect an absolute majority of that to come 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:18.000 from North America. So, you know, it's completely transformed our business, 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.080 and the US is now the center at gravity for 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:23.440 the global online gambling industry. 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:25.560 You know, we talked earlier about people want to experience thing, 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.120 but people do also want to gamble increasingly. Hey, tell 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:30.399 us about your business, because from what I understand, I 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:33.520 just want to understand exactly what the business model is. 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.600 I mean, you guys are provider digital marketing services for 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:39.879 the online gambling industry. What exactly does that mean laid 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:41.800 out for us all? 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:46.280 So we do the same thing for online sports betting 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:50.879 and online casinos that essentially like a hotels dot Com 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:53.840 does for an online hotel. You know, if you're going 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:56.560 to travel to Paris, you're not going to go to 0:19:56.760 --> 0:20:01.080 ten different Parisian hotel websites to find a tell You're 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:03.159 going to go to a website that has all that 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:06.080 information in one place. So, for example, if you want 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:08.920 to bet on sports in New York, there's a variety 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:12.760 of different options. They have different strengths, they have different 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:17.960 bonus offers, they have different levels of customer support, et cetera, 0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:21.240 et cetera. So you come to a website like gambling 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:25.160