The mall only has 3 stores
unfairnation.substack.com
unfairnation.substack.com
> This analysis is based on over 500,000 transactions from Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, UberEats, DoorDash, Postmates, and Grubhub (including Yelp, Seamless, Eat24, and Tapingo).
https://trends.edison.tech/research/pizza-delivery-sales.htm...
If you only include the large firms in your data, it's not surprising you'll only see large firms in the result.
I suspect it would be the latter.
Maybe those chains are much more popular elsewhere, but I really doubt it's enough to dominate the market as much as this article suggests.
I mean, what? Sure, if I'm limited to only choosing from corporations. I can list off several local and regional pizza chains in my city, without even including broader restaurants that also serve pizza.
Flights? I feel like American, United, delta, southwest, frontier, Alaska, JetBlue, Allegiant plus numerous smaller specialty airlines... that's a reasonable amount of choice for a business as complex as passenger air travel.
Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Autozone, Dollar General, Publix, Trader Joe's, Aldi.. just because Walmart competes across multiple business lines doesn't mean they are the only option.
Att is definitely a whale, but there are still options. most cities will have a cable provider, a few fiber entrants. 5g fixed internet service, served to you by Verizon's network of... privately owned towers. No choice except for T-Mobile, Verizon, sat options(?), MVNOs which are a weird bird in this case.
I'm so confused what this article is trying to communicate. Walmart is the only Walmart except for Target and also maybe Amazon? What's the story?
Do you disagree that media is controlled by three to four megacorps? That mobile telecom is controlled by three? That internet search is a monopoly? That there are only two mobile OSs that matter? That processed food are dominated by two or three companies, soda by two companies, healthcare by two (if you're lucky in your region), etc etc etc. CPUs, Video cards, DRAM. Beer and liquors.
Even commodities like agriculture are surprisingly controlled, because ADM and Cargill position themselves at key rent extraction points in the food supply chain.
I don't know anything about video cards, but here's the Wikipedia List of video card manufacturers. I assume some of these are not "real" but there's a lot of brands I recognize in that list.
Asrock,Asus,AMD,Biostar,Chaintech,Club 3D,Diamond Multimedia,ECS,ELSA Technology, EVGA Corporation, Foxconn, Gainward, Gigabyte Technology, HIS, Hercules Computer Technology, Inc, Leadtek, Matrox, Nvidia, MSI, Palit, PNY, Point of View, PowerColor, S3 Graphics, SapphireTechnology, SPARKLE,XFX,Zotac
You may not want the inferior video cards manufactured by some of these players, but that's a different argument.
It's like saying that the market for CPU processors isn't just Intel or AMD because there's also Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.
You mean to tell me Foot locker and Lady Foot Locker are owned by the same people???
Jared, JB Robinson, Kay, LeRoy's, Osterman
And more. All owned by the same company. Ours were in the center of the mall so you had one on each wing.
I'm a software dev, I own a Fitbit and Alexa's, I still just call the local pizza place. It's just as fast as most apps and means better margins for a local businesses.
This is true, and more: pizza is well suited to delivery versus other foods. For example, french fries age quickly, becoming unappealing in 10 minutes[1]. Chicken katsu ("chicken cutlets") travels so poorly my local shop sells them to go uncut. Between the The end result is that Dominos Pizza Inc outperformed GOOG in the past 5y[2]
Unfortunately, Pizza's viability and profitability in delivery service also undercuts your argument. That mom & pop Curry Pizza place someone mentioned _is_ on ubereats. I spent 15 minutes looking for a pizza place near me that wasnt on uber and failed. Even places that normally don't deliver are on it: Pasqually's is a ghost kitchen selling pizza and wings that is just Chuck E Cheese rebranded[3]. The margins are so high the logic is pretty simple: selling a pizza for only 500% profit is better than no profit at all.
[1]: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/23/772775254/episode-946-fries-o... [2]: https://g.co/finance/DPZ:NYSE?window=5Y&comparison=NASDAQ%3A... [3]: https://onezero.medium.com/the-artisanal-pizza-you-ordered-m...
We tried DoorDash many years ago, but the DD drivers were always slower than our drivers and delivered cold pizza (because they cover a much larger delivery area). Then the customer complains and we have to give them a free pizza, and they still write a bad review for us because of something out of our control.
People in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco aren't ordering their pizza from Papa John's.
Agreed. I give them bonus points for using a pie graph to represent pizza, though.
I don't really understand the point trying to be made.
AT&T is definitely not a monopoly. There are three major carriers with their own networks and they divested their entertainment assets earlier this year - because they failed in the market.
The business class offering is now equal to the old economy offering (alcohol, food and space to relax) and the economy offering is now some weird hunger games event where you are pushed to compete for who gets on first, who gets to put a carry on bag in the overhead with everything nickel and dimed to the nth. I literally hate traveling domestic US airlines.
For the frequent traveler like me (see my other comment), I have the choice to get credit cards with airline I frequent that gives me airport lounge access, priority boarding, free checked bags, upgrades etc.
I get priority boarding class 4 out of 8 and free luggage with a $99 annual fee card with American.
While I do pay a $500 Annual Fee for a high end Amex Delta for lounge access, priority boarding, one free up to first class companion ticket, free bag check, etc.
But with lounge access to Delta lounges, Priority Pass lounges and Amex Centurion lounges with free alcohol, good with not drinking a few hours on the plane.
So has flying become relatively cheaper - yes. Has it become worse - yes it has.
Also, it's not clear that deregulation made flying cheaper. It's quite possible that flying would have become cheaper anyway as all of the large upfront costs of setting up a flying network had been paid.
Flying is the same for people who are willing to pay more - or probably the same inflation adjusted that they would have paid before.
Meaning when a business class seat is purchased, it’s usually a reimbursable seat paid for by a company (unless you travel on behalf of the “frugal” FAANG - ask me how I know).
Other times, the seat is a free upgrade perk for people with status or the right card.
Honest question though, what is “business class” these days? Delta has basic, main, comfort+ and first.
I just started flying American so I haven’t paid any attention to it.
Between doing the digital nomad thing flying across the US and flying for business 6-8 times a year, over the next year, I’ll probably be taking 30+ flights next year. Even before we started nomadding, I did over a dozen flights this past year.
JetBlue and the other smaller airlines nickel and dime you for everything - seat assignment, carryon luggage, etc.
When I fly Delta (with the Amex Delta Reserve Card), I have access to an extensive airport lounge network with free food and alcoholic drinks), free checked bags, priority boarding, and I can choose my seat without paying extra. It’s just a better experience.
I personally don’t have the high end card with American or United with lounge access. But even with those I don’t get nickel and dimed and I get priority boarding and free luggage check.
Hotels are the same - Hyatts, Hiltons and Marriotts give you a lot better experience than your mom and pop hotels. Even at lower end Hiltons like Homewood Suites and Home2Suites.
And then that’s not even to mention the benefits of loyalty programs.
> Or buy the Fairphone instead of a stock Android device
And then you also get a slower device with a much worse user experience.
People don’t choose the evil monopolist because they are forced to. People chose to go to Google because it was a much better choice. People watch Disney Marvel over an Indy film with amateur actors cosplaying because it’s better.
Who would choose Little Caesar’s over even Papa Johns?
The Delta Amex appears to have an annual fee of $550. Not sure what the cost over the various nickels and dimes are, but for most of us who don't fly often, I suspect they're cheaper. Frequently flyers like yourself may find more value in their programs.
I suspect the same goes for hotels, although I'm curious what sort of things you're counting towards your "better experience" with the larger chains that the "mom and pops" aren't offering, in my (limited) experience, the smaller places are often better, because they can't afford to lose the business and "go the extra mile."
I'm not super familiar with the Fairphones, but it seems you'd be more likely to have a better experience on (eg) FDroid, which is without the Google bloat. I will admit, I have not tried it, though. To the second half of that though, re:Disney/Marvel - they definitely have a bigger budget toward huge actions shots, but storywise, they are often pretty thin, imo.
For pizza - it seems this will vary hugely per person. For instance, my favorite pizza, across all I've ever tried, is still a frozen Jack's pizza. Not quite the cheapest available, but very close.
I guess my point is, the more expensive options can definitely have an appeal for various, valid reasons, but that doesn't invalidate the cheaper options as maybe "better" options for some people.
Indeed - it was the rationale for shifting to this model in the early 2000s - they promised lower fares, and they delivered.
My wife and I travel with two checked bags and a carryon - we literally live out of three suitcases. Two checked bags are $60. We also usually ended up spending at least $50 dollars on food and alcohol before we fly. We don’t anymore with the card.
That card also comes with one free domestic companion ticket per year up to first class. Even if you fly Main, that’s still worth around $400.
I’m going to downgrade to the cheaper Delta Platinum after this year (my first year having it). It’s $250 a year and you still get a main cabin companion ticket, free checked bags and priority boarding.
The Amex Platinum gives you access to Delta lounges when flying Delta and its own extensive lounge network.
> I suspect the same goes for hotels, although I'm curious what sort of things you're counting towards your "better experience" with the larger chains that the "mom and pops" aren't offering, in my (limited) experience, the smaller places are often better, because they can't afford to lose the business and "go the extra mile."
For hotels, for instance, while we mostly stay in extended stays, I stayed at the Parc 55 in Seattle when I was there visiting the corporate office (guess where I work). They gave me an upgrade to the “fitness room” for free. A room with a gym in the room (https://ik.imgkit.net/3vlqs5axxjf/external/ik-seo/http://med...)
But more importantly you get loyalty points for free nights. Next year I’ll be staying in various cities for free for a total of four weeks.
You get what ends up being 20% -30% back on free nights for each dollar you spend.
Spirit, yes. Jetblue? Not my experience - unless things have changed in the last few years. It was like most other airlines. Carryon free, checked in luggage costs.
> When I fly Delta (with the Amex Delta Reserve Card), I have access to an extensive airport lounge network with free food and alcoholic drinks), free checked bags, priority boarding, and I can choose my seat without paying extra. It’s just a better experience.
That's because you use a special card. Most airlines give a similar option. The Reserve card gives only one checked bag, and costs $550/year.
> Who would choose Little Caesar’s over even Papa Johns?
If you look at the other comments, you'll see many people here usually get local pizza, myself included. To me, most of the big chains all taste the same.
Edit: compared to my prior experience where one bag was free.
But two things I never do - book through a third party portal or book Basic.
With Basic, you can’t make any changes without paying a fee. Most airlines don’t let you make changes at all when you book through a portal.
airline consolidation is largely driven by razor thin profit margins (low ticket prices, stratospherically high capital costs). one bad summer can knock an airline out of profitability forever.
consolidation is a big reason why i can fly to NYC from Houston for less than $300 round-trip but is also a big reason why flying with anyone but United is almost guaranteed to be a high-misery trip (because hubbing is extremely efficient compared to point-to-point or waypoints).
https://viewfromthewing.com/why-are-airline-lobbyists-so-bad...
My guess is that the status quo helps consolidate and that helps the monied interests behind the scenes. Or they'd make sure the industry had a parachute, so to speak.
A bad summer won't end legacy airlines (the big ones, like American or Air Canada), but you can bet on mass furloughs. Regional airlines are a different story. It feels like one bites the dust every few years despite getting flow from the legacies.
There are about 3 or 4 local Pizza shops close by me, and I just call them and stop by to pickup pizza when I want it. The last chain I've visited is... Little Caesars, but I don't even bother ordering from them because most of the time they have one "Hot and Ready" for me. So there's no need for me to order ahead.
Like, I got this one Indian / Italian fusion restaurant that gives me Chicken Tika Masala Pizza. And the other way, there's _ANOTHER_ Indian/Italian fusion Pizza restaurant that cooks every Pizza on Nan-bread. Why would I go to a boring ol' chain when there's crazy stuff like that nearby?
> “Pizza Pizza” … where are’t thou? Little Caesars really is that little compared to its giant rivals
Do... they even understand Little Caesar's business model and/or offering? There's literally no need to ever order ahead. Of course there's no "online sales" of Little Caesar.
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Oh right: and my work, when we do Pizza days, uses Costco Pizza. Based on my experience at Costco, I'd say that they're pretty busy.
Starting off the article so incredibly incorrect about the Pizza market / industry makes me less-likely to believe the rest of the article.
That would be weird if true. I've lived in many suburbs, and there were always quite a few smaller pizza restaurants. I live in a suburb now, and let me check Doordash... 39 places where I can get a pizza, not counting Dominos, Little Caesars, MOD pizza, Papa John's, or Pizza Hut (which are also options).
But the data is apparently about Online pizza sales, so the independents, who you just call on the phone, wouldn’t be included no matter what.
The article isn't anti-chain. Just anti-major chains.
As for suburbs, my suburb is full of pizza stores that are not Papa John's, Dominos or Pizza Hut. The majority are something else - either local or smaller chain.
Even this has changed, but in a way that still invalidates the author's analysis. They have an app now that lets you order ahead, and they'll put your pizzas in a heated locker that you can open with a QR code, just like an Amazon Locker. I swear I'm not a shill, but I love skipping the line while a dozen people are waiting. The app seems to be intentionally completely disconnected from the rest of the delivery app platform ecosystems.
It only took one DDG search to stumble on this industry report from 2020 that claims Little Caesar's is the 3rd biggest pizza chain based on total sales, which seems like a much better way for the author to make those claims than stitching together partial and biased datasets from various delivery app platforms: https://www.pmq.com/pizza-power-report-2020/
Absolutely, I'll admit to being a too-frequent customer of Little Caesars because I walk in, hand over cash, and get a pizza that is waiting
And I feel terrible each time. Its not even... very good Pizza. But hot damn, its just ready and I'm in-and-out immediately.
I think my friends make a joke that Little Caesar's Pizza takes like... Pizza that's been sitting under a heat-lamp for an hour. Because... that's pretty much what you're getting most of the time.
They definitely hit that "impulse buy". Honestly, the only reason I even go there is because its next to the grocery store, and I don't feel like cooking after doing grocery shopping (ironically).
People eat all sorts of things "because". Doesn't mean it's good let alone good for you. Making it fast and easy to eat garbage is the ultimate in the American way. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of shitty food fast and cheap. Just like the founding fathers envisioned not so long ago.
The latter is mostly toilet paper and cardboard while the former ostensibly has something resembling dairy cultures.
That's another reason to use their app, if you order anything other than the standard ready pepperoni or cheese pizzas (like thin crust or even extra pepperoni), you'll almost always get a fresh baked one.
> From the crust, to the toppings and sauces, independents dominate the market with a 56% share, serving their own takes on the classic pie. The large chains, despite their ability to offer multiple styles, multiple price points and delivery are only in second place with a 30.5% market share.
Yeah, that's what I thought. USA's pizza market is DOMINATED by smaller independent shops.
That's $28K today. Even in 2019, before the pandemic, the average price of a new car was $39K.[1] Definitely one industry that hasn't gotten cheaper.
[1] https://mediaroom.kbb.com/2020-01-03-Average-New-Vehicle-Pri...
How many miles was a 1975 car expected to last without major repair? Today, it is a minimum 200k miles.
I’m on Team Papa John but we’re dead last rn
This is not true. ATT and Warner Bros Discovery are two separate publicly listed companies. And ATT took a huge loss on the original Warner Bros deal.
ATT does own 70% of DirecTV, but also took a huge loss on that deal.
So many bad moves in the last 15 years that they are significantly behind T-Mobile, Verizon, and Comcast in market cap.