Side Notes by Zerodha Varsity

Rene Lacoste, a French Tennis prodigy, first wore a crocodile logo on his blazer. After his tennis career, he launched the Lacoste brand of tennis shirts, which, of course, had the signature crocodile logo.

Lacoste is known for various shades of solid polos today. Surprisingly, it introduced those shades way back in the 1950s.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

WhatsApp is perhaps the only messaging app in the world that is free and does not display ads when you use it. When Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion, everybody thought WhatsApp would now start having ads. But it remained independent and had no ads. Even today, WhatsApp does not have any intrusive ads. It has a brilliant way of making money.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Tata Steel punched above its weight when it acquired Corus, a UK-based steelmaker, in 2007. It was touted as the coming-of-age for corporate India. However, it soon became a tale of caution. Was it operational challenges or adverse externalities?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

When you think of Vaseline, the first thing that comes to mind is petroleum jelly. And there is a reason for it. As one of the most recognized personal care products, Vaseline has a very interesting story to tell.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Mr. Ratan Tata's vision gave birth to the Tata Nano, which the engineers at Tata Motors made a reality. Perhaps some marketing missteps impeded the Nano from attracting customer interest as great as its popularity as the world's cheapest car. But was it just marketing or there were some other issues, too?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Labubu dolls have single-handedly transformed Pop Mart from a domestic toy retailer in China to a global toy retailer with stores in the most upmarket streets of London, Paris, and Los Angeles, and several countries. Labubu dolls are a fashion accessory, with arguably no utility, but crazy demand. This episode tries to dissect the business of a fad collectible.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

In 1980, two Texas oil billionaires, the Hunt Brothers, tried to corner the global silver market. From secret Swiss accounts and offshore trusts to futures contracts and a full-blown silver mania, their plan sent prices soaring, until it all came crashing down on Silver Thursday. 

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

How did replacing soap bars with liquid handwash renew the soap market's business potential? How did Colgate use a simple ad message to renew the toothpaste market's business potential?

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

The 100+ year-old Cadbury brand has had multiple owners. Kraft, Mondelez, and Heinz were side actors in this story, and Warren Buffett also made a cameo.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

A Hershey's hazelnut chocolate spread is used to make breakfast toasts, for baking cakes and cookies, and as a topping on fruits and desserts. But before reaching your table, the spread traverses through six out of twenty-six countries that participate in Hershey's supply chain.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.