Netflix announced its earnings yesterday. It had a good quarter, gaining customers after people started jumping ship last summer (I’m sure you were worried). In a letter to investors, CEO Reed Hastings, mentioned that he expects Amazon to “brand their video subscription offering as a standalone service at a price less than ours.” I’m not sure if this was news to the Bezos crew over at Amazon, but really, this could be the best chess move ever invented. Announce to the world what your competitor plans to do, and oh by the way, it’s going to do it for less money. Now it’s up to Amazon to deliver.
I think I’ll try to use the Netflix strategy the next time I’m in Starbucks.
Me to the barista: I hear that Dunkin’ Donuts expects that Starbucks will start selling 50 cent lattes.
Barista (under the din frothing sounds): Beats me. We’ll call your name when your order’s up.
Me: OK. Ohhh-Kay. I see how this is going to play out. I guess we’ll see what happens when I come in next week with only two, shiny quarters in my pocket, and I order a latte.
Then I’ll exit the line with one last, grand-finale wink, like we’re both in on it.
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