MARKET - Google Runs Into Rain at CES2018

Google's Big Splash is Wetter than Expected

After more than 120 days without rain, the skies above Las Vegas opened up and flooded the parking lot where the Google display booth sits. Local reports show flooding, disturbed flights and rapid water rescues were the order of this day. 

TechCrunch

As TechCrunch first reported:

"the booth is closed, with tarps covering the roof and all of the electronics inside and out. 

Usually, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but this is the first time Google has exhibited at CES and the company clearly put a lot of thought and effort into its presence here."

How the display company and Google marketing executives handle this disaster will be important. Perhaps they will have a little fun with it and have life rafts and life jackets available for the exhibit tomorrow. How a company handles a dilemma often shows the character (DNA) they bring to their collaborators.



Business Insider Reports:

Avery Hartmans/Business Insider

"Google had planned a preview of its booth for press at 8 a.m. local time Tuesday, but was forced to close up shop completely after the booth flooded. Google's entire booth is now covered in tarps, with employees using buckets to bail out water off the back balcony. 

A representative outside the booth said Google plans to open the booth again Wednesday morning, provided everything dries out before then."

The weather forecast on January 5th showed the potential for heavy rain on Tuesday between 1000 and 2200hrs. But a hot dry 2017 produced disbelief. The National Weather Service says 2017 was the warmest year on record, with an average temperature of 72.3 degrees.

According to the weather channel, skies are expected to clear, bringing Las Vegas and Google back into the sunshine tomorrow.

ACQUIRE - Target buys Shipt for US$550M Cash

Target ramps up same day delivery to compete with Walmart and Amazon

According to TechCrunch, Target's acquisition of the Birmingham-based online grocery delivery service Shipt, marks the largest known acquisition of a venture-backed company in the state of Alabama.

According to an article in RetailDive today, Daphne Howland expects Shipt, to be a wholly owned Target subsidiary, operating independently under CEO Bill Smith. The company was founded in 2014 and operates in more than 72 U.S. markets. The online service enlists a network of more than 20,000 "shoppers" who pick out customers' orders and deliver them for an average of $20 per order. 

Back in August, Target acquired Grand Junction, a San Francisco based transportation technology service founded the same year as Shipt (2014). According to Ms. Howland, the purchase of these two operations is based on two essential ideas: that retailers know their inventory really well and that a slew of local and regional delivery companies already exist. The key has been to match those two things up, via technology. In both cases, Target is accelerating its same-day services by acquiring technology, infrastructure and talent from established players.

Sucharita Kodali, Vice President & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, published her prognosis for the Target acquisition of Shipt, in Forbes magazine yesterday. She continues to see issues with adoption of paid delivery services and expects to see the free delivery service offered by Walmart as well as Amazon Prime, as services that will be hard to beat.  

Why this is important:
It is clear that retailers are acquiring emerging companies that already exist with expertise, management talent and ecosystems which allows the retailer to gain traction quickly. Building your own technology and infrastructure is too costly and time consuming to be an appropriate competitive response in this environment.

EMERGE - Healthmatch App Wins TechCrunch Battlefield Australia Competition

HealthMatch makes clinical trials more accessible to patients who need them. Recruiting for clinical trials can prove costly for CROs and tedious and time-consuming for patients. 

HealthMatch uses machine learning and proprietary algorithms to efficiently match patients with the trials for which they’re eligible. The service is completely free for patients and charges CROs on a per-client basis or on an annual license.