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  • 🔎 Takealot is ready to take on Amazon

🔎 Takealot is ready to take on Amazon

Author

Tarzan
August 04, 2023

Welcome to The Jungle: We are like a UPS - you need us to keep the lights on upstairs!

Here’s what Tarzan has for you today:

  • Tremendous Toyota: Cheers Tesla, there is another top tech EV player!

  • Take on Takealot: Can Takealot take on Amazon?

  • Crypto Corner: Gamestop says bye-bye to NFT wallet.

Toyota might have changed the game!

Whether you love electric vehicles or can’t stand the thought of your car accelerating without making a sound, EVs are getting cooler and cooler.

EVs have been dominating fuel-powered vehicles in almost all aspects apart from range and “refuelling”. ⛽️ 

The common issue is that the batteries only allow a range of max 450km (and that’s driving like a little old lady). To add to the cons, the charging times of the batteries can take upwards of 30 minutes - adding significant time to any road trip!

But, never fear - Toyota is here! 🦸 

Toyota has eluded to cracking the code of both range and charging times with their new solid-state battery technology - here’s whatsup:

  • The range with the new solid-state battery technology is around 1,200km. And they are not stopping there - Toyota hope to hit a range of 1,450km as they continue development.

  • Solid-state battery technology means quicker charging times as well! Toyota’s tech estimate brings the charging time down to just 10 minutes! ⌚️ 

For those nerds that want to geek out on the tech, here’s a video on how solid-state batteries work.

It’s expected that this technology will only be released in Toyota models from about 2028. This gives all other car brands around 5 years to catch up!

Teasers for the office

Office teasers are here for Tarzan to help you stand out in the office or through virtual interaction with your colleagues - it’s a pleasure!

Thomas Jefferson was left-hand dominant for a large chunk of his life - but this wasn’t from birth. Any guesses why?

Seems like Tommy-J was just a f***boy - In the summer of 1785, he broke his wrist trying to jump over a fence in Paris. He did it to impress Maria Cosway, a married woman. After the surgeons set his wrist bones, he suffered chronic pain in his left hand. Thus, he had to switch out his dominant hand and live as a lefty.

The question is - did he pull?

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Amazon vs Takealot

We already know that global business giant, Amazon, is planning to set up fulfilment centres in South Africa starting this year.

But what about South Africa’s very own Amazon wannabe, Takealot?

Who wins in this inevitable fight? Goliath, with his massive worldwide network and unfathomable amount of money. Or David, with far less money and far smaller network, but has a better understanding of the lay of the land.

Here is the case for each:

TAKEALOT WINS

  • Takealot already has a majority market share with South African consumers that know and love the service.

  • While maybe not as much cash as Amazon, Takealot is owned by Naspers - the largest company in South Africa. So there is definitely some capital available for spending.

  • Local laws - Takealot has been capturing market share and understanding the retail rules and laws over the past decade. Is it even worth Amazon’s time to try to learn and abide by these rules? SA will be such a small spec on the Amazon global balance sheet.

AMAZON WINS

  • Money, money, money - being one of the biggest companies in the world, Amazon has millions to throw at whatever gets them to catch up & take over market share as quickly as possible.

  • With a worldwide network, Amazon will likely be able to sell items that are sourced way cheaper than Takealot can. Although, Takealot is currently under scrutiny for this type of scenario - cough unfair competition cough.

  • Amazon is known for eating up and spitting out any of its competitors - this ruthlessness could leave Takealot in their wake.

But wait! There is another option - and maybe this is the option Naspers and its shareholders have had in mind all along…

Amazon buys Takealot - This is what Amazon does to anyone who competes with them. Takealot already has all the fulfilment centres, logistics and networks - It seems logical from both the Amazon and Takealot shareholder perspectives.

Will Amazon just buy them? Let us know what you think…

CRYPTO CORNER

Gamestop stops the NFT game!

GameStop, the gaming retail giant, has decided to exit the NFT arena and will end support for its own crypto wallet due to "regulatory uncertainty" in the crypto space.

More like - we lost so much money and we don’t want to lose any more!

Here’s the breakdown:

🤖 NFT Market Retreat: GameStop, initially enthusiastic about NFTs, launched its own NFT marketplace and wallet earlier. However, due to the NFT market's slowdown and regulatory concerns, it's now withdrawing support for its crypto wallet.

💳️ Wallet Shutdown: GameStop's wallet, available via a browser extension and iOS app, will cease to operate from November 1. Users are advised to back up their wallet passphrase by October 1.

🕵️‍♂️ SEC's Impact: Recent regulatory actions by the SEC, including actions against major crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance, have contributed to GameStop's decision to exit the crypto space. The SEC always ruining the fun!

👨‍💼 CEO Change: The CEO who oversaw the wallet's launch and NFT pursuits was removed from his position earlier this year. GameStop's shift away from crypto was already hinted at during a December 2022 earnings call.

Was the NFT sector just hype? Maybe NFTs should rather be used in industries where there is a better fit with less likelihood of scams?

The way we look at it: if NFTs were removed from the underlying business offering, could the business still function properly? If no, then the core business that the NFTs are for may be scammy or unsustainable.

What do you think?

ICYMI

⚡ The Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBSSA) has identified a new banking scam in South Africa that allows criminals to make fraudulent purchases via a digital wallet.

đź’° Working from home? Here is how you can save on some tax!

â›´ A leading African healthtech start-up, has secured $12 million in an equity and debt funding round.

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