The Joseph A. Banks Machine!

The Joseph A. Banks (JOSB) selling machine is kicking on all cylinders - yesterday’s quarterly numbers were proof of that.

The Joseph A. Banks Machine

The Joseph A. Banks (JOSB) selling machine is kicking on all cylinders – yesterday’s quarterly numbers were proof of that (see article I wrote for Market Watch).

My gripe (and Herb agrees) with the management is that they decided that no Q&A is needed after the quarterly conference call. I completely understand why the company’s management may decide to spend their time on a more productive endeavor than answering sell side analysts’ questions which most of the time have little to do with the company’s long-term future, but zero in on minute, often irrelevant short-term details. That being said, management should have done a better job communicating to the Street the change in Q&A practice.

JOSB’s marketing strategy is the weakest link in its business model. It is extremely short-term oriented and not about long-term brand building.   I’d argue that it cheapens its brand. Where Men’s Warehouse’s (MW) “I guarantee it” commercials tell you about product quality and a pleasant shopping experience (long-term brand building strategy), JOSB commercials sound like it’s a cheap car dealership that you’d expect to see in the deep suburbs of nowhere land, with a very annoying voice that tells you something along the lines of, “Only this Tuesday, the whole store is 50% off!” But don’t worry, if you missed this Tuesday special, there are other days of the week; Wednesday, Thursday… you get the point.   Yesterday, while reading JOSB’s latest 10Q, I heard the commercial at least three times on CNBC. This short-term driven marketing strategy is responsible for the volatility of same store sales.

Please read the following important disclosure here.

Related Articles

The Impact of Higher Interest Rates on the Economy - AI Edition

The Impact of Higher Interest Rates on the Economy – AI Edition

I asked AI to educate and entertain my readers with a radio show-style dialogue based on my essay - The Impact of Higher Interest Rates on the Economy.
Navigating Market Cycles From Bulls to Nvidia – AI Edition

Navigating Market Cycles: From Bulls to Nvidia – AI Edition

I asked AI to transform my essays into a radio show-style conversation. In this episode, topic is stock market math, sideways markets, the role of P/E in market cycles, impact of interest rates on P/E, economic analysis, Magnificent Seven stocks, NVIDIA, and a lot more.
Managing a Million What Would I Do Differently

Managing a Million: What Would I Do Differently?

Warren Buffett has stated multiple times that if he could manage a very small amount of money today, he would be able to return more than 50% per year to shareholders. If you managed a million dollars of only your own money, would you do it differently? 
Choosing an Investment Manager Beyond Warren and Charlie

Choosing an Investment Manager: Beyond Warren and Charlie

If you were obliged to invest all your investable assets with one person and you couldn’t choose Warren or Charlie, whom would you pick?

Leave a Comment