Good morning! In this weekly snapshot:

• How Chinese e-commerce is dominating Black Friday🛍️

• Casetify is being sued by Dbrand over stolen design📱

• Weekly Market Update and more.

🛍️Shop Like a Billionaire

In the aftermath of this year’s Black Friday shopping spectacle, U.S. online sales witnessed an impressive surge this past Friday, reaching $9.8 billion—an upswing of 7.5% from the preceding year. While numerous shoppers eagerly populated their virtual carts with products from familiar retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target, many consumers leaned towards whichever retailer offered the most attractive discount rates.

In contrast to the aforementioned retailers, which offered discounts within the 15 to 50 percent range, the remarkably affordable Chinese e-commerce giant Temu.com astounded shoppers with discounts soaring up to 90 percent.

Revenue Rumble

Relative to its competitors, Temu’s shockingly low-price structure has helped solidify itself as a formidable player in the online retail industry. While speculations have arisen surrounding its product quality, Temu has reached more iOS downloads than any other of its rival shopping apps in the six months after its launch. But acquiring a market share amidst such a hyper-competitive landscape is no easy feat.

The outcome: Despite its success, its margins are still comparatively dwarfed in the American market by Amazon.com. Regardless, Temu’s ability to woo price-conscious shoppers points towards a future where China’s irresistible discounts could reshape the dynamics of Western retail.

📱Billion-dollar Producer Casetify Sued for Infringement

Last week, device customization provider Dbrand filed a lawsuit against Casetify, a cell phone case company, alleging that they copied its “Teardown” case designs, which give the appearance that phones and laptops have their internal parts on display.

Casetify, having made over $300 million in revenue in 2022, is accused of copying 117 different designs, with Dbrand claiming registered copyrights for each product before Casetify's launch. Dbrand alleges that Casetify not only stole its “Teardown” designs but also made efforts to conceal the infringement by making slight rearrangements.

The evidence: According to Dbrand's posts on X, the company discovered Casetify’s usage of the designs by finding hidden clues intentionally integrated in their own skins and cases. Such instances include easter eggs in Dbrand's scans that were spotted within Casetify's Inside Out line, such as "RO807," which has ties to Dbrand's branding, and "glass is glass and glass breaks," a catchphrase coined by the co-creator of the Teardown line.

What is next? Following Dbrand's accusations, Casetify's website went offline for a brief period, and the company removed certain product listings in specific countries, later claiming they took down the design in question from all platforms. In an email, Casetify defended its originality and mentioned the launch of an internal investigation with regard to the copyright allegation.

From Dbrand’s perspective, they maintain that their skins are the result of an intensive process that involves disassembling devices, scanning their interiors, and editing the images. As such, the ruling of the lawsuit may serve as a precedent for comparable ‘cases’ in future.

📈 Market Updates

Economic Pulse 🌐 

Concerns arise about COP 28, as it will be held in Saudi Arabia and run by the CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil firm, Sultan Al Jaber. The glaring conflict of interest has been highlighted as documents were leaked showing UAE’s plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 countries while at the conference.

Money Moves 💰️ 

This week, Amazon announced the purchase of IRobot, the creator of Roomba, for 1.4 billion dollars. The deal recently received a warning from European antitrust regulators as they worry it may restrict competition. In other news, French automotive dealer Renault has reduced their stake in longtime partner Nissan from 43 to 15 percent. As the remaining 15 percent is held up in standstill obligation, Renault plans to redirect the money into Ampere, its electric vehicle division, ahead of its planned IPO. 

👀Job Opportunities

• Navigatr Group is looking for a Content Designer to promote user engagement.

• Equinix is hiring a Finance Intern for this summer.

• Klue is looking for an analytical and critical thinker for their Value Consulting Intern position.

• Hatch is searching for a second or third-year student for their Digital Marketing Student role.

📞Word on the Street

• Sam Altman returns to OpenAI.

• Looming banana extinction.

• The NFL’s partnership with ‘X’ continues despite controversy.

Writers: Jeremiah Lim, Tomas Serrano and Simon Ing

Senior Editor: Amyn Dehal

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