PURRFECT Disaster

December 13, 2019 by reeves

“I mean, who in the world opens up a cat cafe without knowing what they’re doing?” says Boston resident and Harvard student Kimm Topping. “I mean, you know, that’s just asking to fail.” (personal interview, 2019)

Cat cafes are essentially two businesses in one– one being a restaurant/cafe and the other shelter for live-in cats. Additionally, ongoing expenses for a cat cafe are immense. Outside of rent, utilities, and supplying food, cat cafe’s come with the added cost of taking care of cats. For certain breeds that are prone to illnesses, vet care and health maintenance can reach an average of between $2,000 and $7,000 a month. (Bacher, 2017)

The wellbeing of the cats carries great weight for a cafe’s success. Unlike a grocery store that displays bad grapes in the produce section, any hint of cat mistreatment could immediately shut down a cafe for good. In fact, because the cafe cats typically live in confined space, if one gets sick they all get sick. In 2018, City of San Antonio Animal Care Services intervened and pulled two cats from the San Antonio Cat Cafe. They ordered the remaining 54 cats be quarantined (Galli 2018).

So, one might ask. Who in their right mind would open a cat cafe?
Cat lovers are known to be a quirky variety of pet-owners. From the crazy cat ladies to the beleaguered college student stashing a pussy in their dorm, there’s something that attracts eccentric people to our feline friends. Perhaps that is what prompted Diane Kelley to leave the cardiovascular ultrasound field after thirty years of service, to open up a cat cafe (Crimaldi 2017).

Kelly’s business venture, the PURR Cat Cafe, would go on to be remarkable for the owner’s mismanaged funds and its egregious Facebook posts. Long before it would open, Kelly’s aggressive use of social media coupled with poor management decisions would make the fledgling business a cornucopia of titillating press for local news outlets.

Early 2017, PURR Cat Cafe opened an Indiegogo page– a Kickstarter-esque platform to crowdfund projects– with the goal of raising $40,000. PURR Cat Cafe promised to provide a plethora of perks to donors. These perks, arranged in a tiered format based on donation amount, ranged from custom company pins to hotel vouchers. Though the crowdfunding campaign only attracted 162 donors for a cumulative $720, Indiegogo’s fundraising guidelines allowed for Kelly to receive this money in full (Kelly 2017).

Following this, PURR Cat Cafe partnered with Boston’s Forgotten Felines (BFF). BFF is a charity that provides medical treatment and temporary shelter to stray cats with the goal of adopting them out (Crimaldi 2017). PURR was more than eager for this partnership since PURR Cat Cafe did not have a license to rehome cats on their own. Faced with the obligation to their 162 donors, PURR Cat Cafe had to do all it could to succeed (Kelly 2017).

In mid-August of 2017, an awry Facebook post hinted at trouble to onlookers and those invested in the idea of Boston’s first cat cafe. Kathleen “Kat” Kruczek uploaded a post to PURR Cat Cafe’s Facebook page, which went into detail on numerous claims of abuse by her former employer. Kruczek prompted readers to save and screenshot her post– hinting that it will soon be deleted by Kelly (Kelly [Facebook], N/A). The post goes on to say:

“Most of the core team has distanced themselves from PURR for several reasons. Everything she is being “bullied” for, we have told her over and over again. This team consisted of two feline behaviorists, myself included, and several people who have worked hands-on in rescue for about as long as I have been alive. Despite our combined expertise, Diane chose to continually ignore and insult us. Diane has no animal care background what-so-ever.” (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

Kruczek went on to divulge that BFF broke their partnership with Kelly and PURR Cat Cafe a few days after a deal was originally agreed upon. In addition to posting images of a barren basement and broken glass littering floor, Kathleen wrote:

“The truth is, she is not equipped to have ANY cats in the building, despite her “Certificate of Occupancy” which has nothing to do with animal welfare. No beds, blankets or pillows, no hiding places, no cages, hardly any toys, no cat trees, no scratchers, nothing…she [Kelly] spent the dwindling money left in PURR accounts on a decorative wall art, coloring books, and things to entertain people, etc, instead of things for the two cats we now had…BFF did not want to place cats until PURR was equipped to do so. Diane told BFF to “fuck off” several times.” (Kelly, N/A)

“Typically,” says Colin Chao, a Los Angeles based cat expert, “Proper cat ownership requires a lot of forethought, despite them being very independent pets. New cats are nervous and likely to hide– so cardboard boxes and shelves tucked away make good places for them to decompress. They also need to be in areas that are well ventilated, since litter boxes are breeding grounds for parasites and bacteria.” (personal interview, 2019)

Kruczek finished her post writing: “If PURR opens its doors, Diane has also told the Agricultural Department to ‘fuck off’ so I suspect it won’t be open long.” (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

It should be noted that both the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture work in tandem to certify cat cafes. Logistically, cat cafes are an absolute nightmare for the Departments since they both serve food and keep a dozen or so animals on the premise (Judkis, 2019). Consulting fees are also enormous in making sure the establishments are up to code. For example, San Francisco-based cat cafe KitTea paid fees to the Food Safety Program, the Environmental Health Department, feline vets, behavior specialists and similar independent organizations (Jenny Xie, CityLab 2014).
Kelly responded to this post using the official PURR Cat Cafe Facebook page. She wrote: “Post whatever you want- but the reality and truth about PURR Cat Cafe is going to be alive and well soon… I am a Cat Enthusiast and a very smart business woman.” (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

Indiegogo donors and local cat enthusiasts looked on this public diatribe with worry. When some onlookers messaged the PURR Facebook page hoping for clarity, Kelly deflected their concerns and assured them PURR would open to no problems (Kelly [Facebook], N/A). Kruczek however, was not done critiquing her employer.

On August 26th of 2017, Kruczek made another post to the PURR Facebook page. She warned donors that Kelly was trying to pull wool over their eyes. The post included a photo of the large, empty basement beneath the cafe, showing dilapidated stairs and what appeared to be a damaged water heater unit. It didn’t take long for donors to reply to the Lruczek’s post with a flurry of concerns (Kelly [Facebook], N/A). Kruczek commented underneath her post: “There were issues like me saying we shouldn’t be feeding animals on styrofoam plates due to the risk of intestinal blockages, where she [Kelly] told me ‘you will not change my mind on this.’”(Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

Joni Nelson, director of BFF, confirmed what Kruczek shared, saying “She [Kelly] was angry that BFF wouldn’t leave 20 cats in that condition…but she refused to furnish the basement up to law codes or even the cats comfort.” (Kelly, N/A)

While these online interactions prompted backlash from both locals and Indiegogo donors, the most damning entity for PURR Cat Cafe would soon be revealed to be Diane Kelly herself.

Kelly quickly turned to use the official PURR Cat Cafe Facebook page as a means to degrade disapproving donors. In response to a donor post criticizing her business practices, Kelly wrote and replied publicly “I do not want you there. Sorry– floodgates are gone– you do not know me at all? Why are you being such a bitch?” (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

Additionally, in an attempt to save what little reputation PURR had left, Kelly uploaded new photos of cats to the Facebook page. She claimed that she was able to find a new shelter to partner with and provide the cafe with adoptable cats. With a quick Google image search, however, people were quickly able to identify the new photos as stock images. Additionally, Kelly posted a group photo that suggested that PURR had thirteen staff members and was captioned “PURR is a collective team.” (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

Kruczek quickly refuted this, publicly commenting “Just to clarify: this photo is from First Caturday at Boston Common…half of the individuals in this photo were not part of the PURR team, only people we spoke with and pulled into the photo with us…not sure what the purpose of posting this photo was, but I don’t want to be associated with this business any further. Please remove my photo.”(Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

Now, there is the public relations (PR) phrase ‘all publicity is good publicity’ or ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’. This notion often bolsters the popularity and chatter of controversial figures such as Kanye West. However, this may not be the case when the entire identity of a business has become bad press and nothing much else. Kelly’s constant use of inflammatory posts on PURR’s official Facebook page would be valuable if it was the kind of business that relied on website traffic and ad revenue. Though we can’t know the specifics, analytics from Google’s Trend feature suggests that PURR Cat Cafe had a five times increase of Facebook traffic from late September to the end of December 2017 from the last few years. Otherwise, however, directly attacking your fanbase can only negatively impact your business, especially as a small business.

And as all well-mannered CEO’s do, Kruczek’s remarks prompted Kelly, using the official PURR Facebook page, to publicly out Kruczek as a member of the LGBT community and say “I have no interest in working with someone of your alignment.” (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

In response, many users who were locals, donors, or claimed to be interested in the cafe responded with walls of comments saying they are no longer interested in visiting the cafe when it opened. Kruczek’s only response was “Enjoy not having a team or customer base. ALSO, one of my partners worked on your freakin’ Indiegogo graphics so it looks like you didn’t give a shit when it benefitted you.” (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)
On September 27th 2017, facing an employee exodus and enraged follower base, Kelly made PURR Cat Cafe’s Facebook page private and ceased all online interactions. (Kelly, N/A)

Whether or not Kelly intentionally became aggressive in order to attract attention to her business remains to be verified. Amy’s Baking Company (ABC) of Scottsdale, Arizona, had a similarly aggressive owner that attacked critics and its own fanbase via social media. Unlike PURR, ABC managed to capitalize on their negative identity. ABC churned out merchandise such as shirts with screenshots of Facebook posts where the official ABC page berated and swore at followers (Forbes 2013). Since PURR did not capitalize on this in a similar fashion, it can be assumed that Kelly is might just be as delusional as people may think.

Donors and locals found the page reopened a few weeks later on October 7th 2017, with PURR making a post announcing a surprise open house (Kelly [Facebook], N/A). Even more surprisingly, people chose to attend the open house. Perhaps visitors to the site were fascinated with how PURR became a disaster and wanted the cathartic release of seeing it fail. At this point, PURR Cat Cafe had become less of a business and more of a form of online entertainment, with the punchline being its demise.

With only a few people allowed to enter the PURR open house at a time, those who had raised concerns over Kelly’s business practices and aggressive social media usage would be able to visit the cafe in person. One of those people, Marie Billiel, noted that the front door was poorly fixed and that cats could easily escape. Cats Kelly brought up from the basement, Billiel says, were “clearly terrified”. She goes on to describe that the cats growled and hissed, and generally looked uncomfortable when people picked them up. When not being handled by people, the cats reportedly scrambled away to hide. Billiel went on to say “Also, it looks like the cat door [leading to the basement] is taped up so the cats can’t leave the public space.” (Billiel, 2017)

This lackluster first look at PURR Cat Cafe prompted many users to post on the cafe’s Facebook page– either critiques of Kelly’s poor handling of cats or angry demands for refunds. The only retort Kelly made that day was the promise that upon opening, the cafe would have a total of eight cats to play with. However, users were skeptical pointed out that Kelly adopting more cats to fill up the cafe was unethical and unsustainable as a business practice. (Kelly [Facebook], N/A)

Cat care can be shockingly expensive for cafes. Cat Cafe Mad in Wisconsin reported struggling after opening. After crowdfunding $10,000, Cat Cafe Mad reported spending $1,000 a month on litter and cat food. Additionally, while enjoyed three months of free publicity and buzz via Facebook, they have been losing money ever since and are only open 3 days a week. Melly adding more cats would simply push PURR’s redline further into the negative. (Adams & Wisconsin State Journal 2017)

In the backdrop of the open house, local media outlets further damned Kelly and PURR Cat Cafe. Local journalist Edward Beale released the transcript of an interview he conducted with Diane Kelly. Most notably, he asked Kelly about Kruczek’s backpay (roughly around $2,000). In response, Kelly said “Unfortunately, the funding for PURR has run dry and I can only pay her back if I open the doors so I can pay her back with interest. And I will do right by Kathleen [Kruczek] for all the work she put into PURR.” (Knudsen, 2019)

The transcript also revealed that Kelly funneled most of the crowdfunded money into paying rent for the cafe. Despite still being unopened, she had continued to rent the space at a cost of about $4,000 a month. In total, she had spent a minimum of $50,000 for the cafe storefront that had still not officially opened. Despite this negative press, Diane assured backers that PURR Cat Cafe would still see the light of day and open in the near future. (Knudsen, 2019)

Finally, in August of 2018, Kelly posted a silent auction for PURR Cat Cafe on Craigslist. As the PURR Facebook followers expected– no one took the offer. In October 2019, PURR’s landlord posted a sign on the storefront window. It read: “PURR Cat Cafe is permanently closed. No further information is available. A new tenant will be coming soon.” (Knudsen, 2019)

When Facebook users asked Kelly for comment, she posted the nonsensical: “Keep on wagging the dog’s tail. If you can’t save yourself from reading this story, rescue a cat in the meantime. Or perhaps even a dog! I know this is better than Game of Thrones!” (Crimaldi, 2017)

Just like the mental capacity of Kelly, the whereabouts of PURRs feline residents and Boston’s appetite for a new cat cafe remain unknown.

PURR Cat Cafe remains as a cautionary tale of the consequences of business endeavors that take the phrase ‘there’s no such thing as bad press’ too seriously. Between Kelly’s mismanagement of crowdfunded money, to her lack of industry research, and the sheer refusal to take criticism, there was almost no hope of PURR becoming a longstanding feature of Bostonian culture.

All that’s left are some traumatized kitties and Kelly’s upcoming book release titled “PURRFECT Claw: A true story about a woman who gave her soul to save cats and how the media, social media, and rescue groups…ie…individuals who pretend to care about animals don’t really care”.

Good luck to you, Diane Kelly.

Bibliography

Adams, Barry, and Wisconsin State Journal. “Cat Cafe Mad Expanding to Survive.” Madison.com, 28 June 2017, https://madison.com/wsj/business/cat-cafe-mad-expanding-to-survive/article_91ff0d07-f461-5e02-83fa-c062a8c51ff4.html.

Bacher, Renee. “How Much Should You Spend to Save a Sick Pet?” AARP, 28 Feb. 2017, https://www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-saving/info-2017/how-much-should-you-spend-to-save-sick-pet.html.

Crimaldi, Laura. “Boston Has Its First Cat Cafe. Will It Last? – The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 21 Dec. 2017, https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/12/20/boston-has-its-first-cat-cafe-will-last/BMvIDVPbneWrHOanR3l9yH/story.html.

Forbes, Paula. “Amy’s Baking Company Is Selling Catch-Phrase T-Shirts.” Eater, Eater, 7 Aug. 2013, https://www.eater.com/2013/8/7/6390037/amys-baking-company-is-selling-catch-phrase-t-shirts.

Galli, Joseph. “Cats Quarantined after Disease Outbreak at San Antonio Cat Cafe.” WOAI, WOAI, 11 Apr. 2018, https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/cats-quarantined-after-disease-spreads-at-san-antonio-cat-cafe.

Jenny Xie @canonind Feed Jenny Xie, and CityLab. “The Long Regulatory Road to America’s First Cat Cafe.” CityLab, 28 Jan. 2014, https://www.citylab.com/design/2014/01/long-regulatory-road-americas-first-cat-cafe/8200/.

Judkis, Maura. “So, How Would a Cafe Crawling with Adorable Kittens Pass a D.C. Health Inspection?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Apr. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/going-out-guide/wp/2014/11/20/so-how-would-a-cafe-crawling-with-adorable-kittens-pass-a-d-c-health-inspection/.

Kelly, Diane. “Purr Cat Cafe.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/bostonpurr/.

Kelly, Diane. “PURR Cat Cafe Boston.” Indiegogo, 5 Aug. 2017, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/purr-cat-cafe-boston#/comments.

Knudsen, Fredrick. “Purr Cat Cafe | Down the Rabbit Hole.” YouTube, Down The Rabbit Hole, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNsqEntHuV8.

@junemarie462. “@IN0XIA was right about the vestibule- it opens onto the street (currently propped open) so does not offer safety for escaping cats :(“ Twitter Oct 7, 2017 https://twitter.com/junemarie426/status/916712300287053824?s=20

@junemarie462. “Diane just brought Gussie up from the basement and hes clearly terrified #bostonpurr” Twitter Oct 7, 2017 https://twitter.com/junemarie426/status/916712538947117056?s=20

@junemarie462. “This little guy is hiding behind cat litter. Also it looks like the cat door is taped up so the cats can’t actually leave public space.” Twitter Oct 7, 2017

Weaving Ethics Into Business: Patagonia Cuts off Finance Bros

December 13, 2019 by yunmi

At the highest levels of power in the finance industry, there is one gold standard, one unifying symbol that binds together all titans in the industry: the Patagonia vest with an embroidered corporate logo, also known as, “the Power Vest.”

Dollar Bill, a character in “Billions.” | Jeff Neumann/Showtime

The vest may now vanish to distant memory, similar to Gordon Gekko’s pinstriped suits, due to a shift in policy at Patagonia. This shift in policy was first reported by Binna Kim, president of the communications agency Vested, whose order of branded vests for a hedge-fund client, something her firm had done in the past through a reseller for Patagonia’s corporate sales, was rejected.

“Patagonia has nothing against your client or the finance industry, it’s just not an area they are currently marketing through our co-brand division,” read a corporate statement Kim tweeted. “While they have co-branded here in the past, the brand is really focused right now on only co-branding with a small collection of like-minded and brand aligned areas; outdoor sports that are relevant to the gear we design, regenerative organic farming, and environmental activism,” it continued.

The statement, which came not from Patagonia but from an unnamed retail partner, said the company’s shift in focus is meant to align with Patagonia’s new mission statement, “We’re in business to save our home planet.”

The statement continues, stating that Patagonia is “reluctant to co-brand with oil, drilling, dam construction, etc. companies that they view to be ecologically damaging” and while orders are approved on a case-by-case basis, this includes “financial institutions.”

Patagonia confirmed this change to its corporate program, saying the company “recently shifted the focus of this program to increase the number of Certified B Corporations, 1% For The Planet members and other mission-driven companies that prioritize the planet. This shift does not affect current customers in our corporate sales program.”

The individual behind the Instagram @MidtownUniform, the founder of the term “Midtown Uniform,” which refers to the button-up, vest and slacks combination, stated, “In light of its big branding moves toward awareness of environmental issues, I was wondering when Patagonia would be putting the kibosh on outfitting the finance world. It was only a matter of time.”

The Origin of the Power Vest

The Midtown Uniform appears to have taken hold post-2008, when many financial firms loosened their once-strict suit-and-tie dress code. The message was: We know your salary is down, but at least you get to dress casual on Friday.

“The payouts regressed, so just like every industry that has payment difficulties, they find other ways to satisfy employees and dress is one of the easiest ones,” said a 35-year-old stock trader in New York City. He was on the floor during the 2008 recession and described how the sport coats and wool slacks gave way to vests and cotton chinos in its aftermath.

Though midtown New York has now become especially associated with this new dress code, the vest’s roots lie in Silicon Valley. “If you go to the Whole Foods here, you’re going to see [the vest] everywhere,” said Christina Mongini, the costume designer for HBO’s parodic sitcom “Silicon Valley” and a Bay Area native.

Jared Dunn, a character on “Silicon Valley.” |John P. Johnson/HBO

Jared Dunn, the show’s type-A COO, wears a fleece vest over a button-down in nearly every scene in which his character appears. “Jared’s style is really perceived as the normal basic understated business-casual attire,” said Mongini.

Outdoorsy fleece vests match the youthful, countercultural Silicon Valley spirit in a way suits and ties never did. Bay Area C-suite executives, such as Apple’s Tim Cook, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and PayPal cofounder Max Levchin have boasted of cycling or hiking during the work week. As Mongini said, “You can hop on your bike and throw your vest on and head over to Santa Cruz on your lunch break if you wanted to.”

Across the nation, the vest was an easy sell. “It’s very difficult to just sit there and work in a suit jacket,” said the 35-year-old stock trader. In a vest, “I can sit at my desk and feel a little bit more comfortable.” Aiding and abetting the trend toward sleevelessness, a couple of years ago brokerage houses and trading platforms shrewdly started giving away the vests as a freebie to entice traders. The vests’ low cost was a way around financial regulations, which cap gifts to traders at $100, and the wearable promotions were more functional than the giveaways they replaced, such as candy tins and Nerf Footballs. These promotional vests, with “Equifax” or “Merrill Lynch” embroidered along the chest, are now a common sight in New York.

The trend has become self-perpetuating: People wear the vest because it is what people wear. “Now it’s the new thing: It’s not suspenders and a Bengal-striped shirt,” said Will Crowley, a 25-year-old investment banker who lives in Hoboken, N.J. “It’s a Patagonia vest and a button-down shirt.” He added that the “bro culture” of finance has helped reinforce this look, with its scores of men following the same path from prep school to an Ivy League college to a job in finance. Looking like your peers is part of the package. “If you want to be successful, part of it is wanting to fit in,” said Crowley.

Patagonia’s Place Among the Vest Industry

Although many companies, including The North Face, make fleece vests, the Patagonia fleece vests quickly became, as Jeffrey Leeds, co-founder of Leeds Equity Partners and longtime fleece-wearer, said, “the Tiffany blue box” of the culture: an immediately recognizable visual sign of elite status. Part of this can be attributed to the co-branding – the Patagonia name on one side and a company name on the other.

Patagonia became so linked to the financial sector uniform that one website poked fun at the whole thing by offering a “VC starter kit” for $499. “Nothing says SF VC casual like a Patagonia Better Sweater Vest paired with gray Allbirds runners. You’ll fit right into Demo Day,” the promo read.

The Timing of Patagonia’s Decision

Patagonia’s shift in policy to focus on increasing the number of Certified B Corporations, 1% For The Planet members and other mission-driven companies that prioritize the planet seems to align with Patagonia’s brand, especially with its relatively new mission statement. However, it is interesting to note the macroscopic view of the timing of this decision.

In November 2018, Patagonia received $10 million as a result of what it called an ‘irresponsible tax cut” by President Donald Trump. The Activist Company, as Patagonia calls itself, promptly donated the money to environmental charities.

Since 2017, Patagonia has also been sharply critical of President Trump’s decision to drastically reduce the size of some national monuments. In the case of Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah – shrunk an astounding 85 percent – the company has put up resources to fight in court.

The two bluffs known as the “Bears Ears” in the Bears Ears National Monument. | George Frey/Getty Images

“We have to fight like hell to keep every inch of public land,” Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario told HuffPost in 2017, shortly after the Bears Ears decision was announced. “I don’t have a lot of faith in politics and politicians right now.”

Although Patagonia’s history of environmental activism spans longer than its efforts in the Bears Ears decision, its relatively recent shift in focus to stop working with the finance industry in its corporate sales program seems abrupt in Patagonia’s macroscopic timeline.

Jake Flanagin, a reporter for Esquire, wrote a piece about why all of these business bros were wearing the same vest. His article was released on July 9, 2018. When writing the article, he contacted Patagonia to inquire about their marketing relationship with the financial sector, and the response he received was less than enthusiastic. This was approximately 10 months before Patagonia’s shift in policy became publicized.

In a rather terse email from Patagonia’s communications team, Flanagin was told they have “no idea” how or why the vests became so popular with the young corporate set – they build their products specifically for “environmentalists and laborers who work in the elements.”

In April 2019, Binna Kim then released a set of tweets that publicized Patagonia’s corporate shift in policy, which affected all of its retail partners and future clientele. Patagonia, however, never released an official statement announcing this decision prior to the tweets. Rather in response to Kim’s tweets and the conversation that ensued afterward, Patagonia confirmed its shift in policy to specific news outlets that asked about it.

Patagonia’s decision to shift the focus of its corporate sales program seems abrupt, and the lack of marketing Patagonia conducted for it seems like Patagonia was correcting what should have been occurring in the first place: the vest should have never been a part of the Midtown Uniform in the first place.

Patagonia’s Intersection Between Ethics and Business

Patagonia’s shift in policy to increase the share of its corporate partners that make environmentalism a top priority only affects any new corporate clients that wanted to work with Patagonia and did not have any corporate social responsibility toward environmentalism. Therefore, the power vest will not be disappearing since its existing corporate customers will not be affected.

Patagonia’s decision, however, does serve as an example of the various ways businesses are making their social stances part of how they operate and of how Patagonia in particular weaves its ethics into business.

Before, companies would try to stay neutral on politics. Recently, that is not much of an option says Daniel Korschun, an associate marketing professor at Drexel University who studies corporate political activism. “Consumers and employees are looking for deeper purpose from companies,” he says, and Korschun calls Patagonia the “gold standard in corporate activism” because it has consistently aligned itself with issues that make sense for the brand and that its customers care about.

Although Patagonia may be seen as the gold standard in corporate activism, it is not the only outdoor retailer weaving ethics into business.

The North Face, one of the three most popular outdoor retailers among Patagonia and Columbia, recently refused to fill an oil company’s vest order saying, “There are times when we choose not to engage with other companies or organizations because they do not align with our brand values and mission to move the world forward through exploration.”

Some industry watchers have criticized Patagonia for taking political stances that are too “uncompromising.” While Marcario admits that occasionally the company has heard from customers who disagree with Patagonia’s actions, she says the response for its unapologetically political stance has been “overwhelmingly positive.” When viewing Patagonia’s revenue and profit these past few years, this sentiment does reign true.

The CEO of Patagonia, Rose Marcario. | Patagonia

Marcario took up the CEO role for Patagonia in 2014, and since then Patagonia has seen its revenue and profit quadruple. The company will not disclose its exact revenue, but the CEO said in March last year that sales were approaching $1 billion. Marcario has helped nurture new lines of business, including its Patagonia Provisions food line, used goods program Worn Wear, and the venture fund Tin Shed Ventures, which has at least $75 million to help environmentally responsible startups.

As a result, the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, has called Marcario the best leader the company has ever had. Since Marcario took leadership of the company, Patagonia has leaned further into its self-appointed role as the Activist Company.

A sign at the Outdoor Retailer & Snow Show in the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. | David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Although the finance industry will not necessarily be left out in the cold without their coveted vests, Patagonia’s decision to shift its focus and lose a large market share of potential clients shows the importance of staying true to its brand identity in today’s times and how it pays off to do so.

Sources

VeeR VR – a microcosm of the overheating of VR industry

December 13, 2019 by karenw

Virtual Reality industry has been on the rise since 2016. In 2016, only 28% of the general public was aware of virtual reality devices, demonstrating the industry’s potential for growth. Awareness of virtual reality devices rose to 51% in 2017. (Nielsen). Looking into the future, the global AR and VR market is expected to grow to $209.2 billion by 2022.

However, the rapid growth also shows a disruptive and transformative VR industry. VR companies, like VeeR, are examples of some of the industry-level changes.

In the beginning, while tech companies focus on developing new tools and improving user experience, some proactive entrepreneurs have been looking into the easy access and mass delivery of VR content. VeeR VR, founded by three Chinese in late 2016, is a global VR content community aiming at a developing cross-platform solution for viewing and streaming 360 or VR media.

VeeR was originally headquartered in Beijing, China but also established two branches in Silicon Valley, California and Shenzhen, China. It later moved its headquarter to San Francisco. Within one year of its official launch, it has grown into an international enterprise with millions of users from over 180 countries. The three co-founders have been featured by Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2018 as honourees for the consumer technology sector, become the only founders of virtual reality technology company to make the list last year.

“Our original intention was to make the VR content accessible and bring the best viewing or editing experience to users,” said Denise Wu, the Head of Marketing of VeeR VR. Based on this intention, the company developed two unique features of VeeR – great content accessibility and a community to share the content easily.

Wu mentioned that when the VR industry was at its initial stage, there was an issue of accessibility and standardization of contents. “How do you upload the great work you did to platforms, how do you share them, and how do you watch them on different platforms – these are the issues we wanted to tackle. And this is the purpose of our company: to smooth the process of sharing content so that creators and spend more time on creating,” Wu said.

Although VeeR needs to fight with other giants like Youtube and Facebook, which already provided similar functions, VeeR has its own advantage: first, no platform has ever created such a huge community for VR sharing and editing. More importantly, all other platforms require the downloading of a third-party application to play the 360 video – you can’t just open a VR video in the browser, but it can be achieved with VeeR.

This could mean a lot. Platform-native is important to the audience because no one would love to download another app for the experience. In 2016 and 2017, if you see a VR film online, you have to go to (or download) Facebook or other third-party apps to view it. Platforms like Facebook did not support browser-viewing not because of the technical difficulties but because they want to monopolize the VR experience. Same for other VR apps, which put the app downloads over the quality and accessibility of the content itself. But VeeR broke the pattern. It directly connects viewers with the content, eliminating the frictions in between.

VeeR also brings a cross-platform experience: it currently works on mobile, mobile VR headsets, web and support for other platforms like Oculus. And they tried to create a seamless experience between the various devices, with the UX being similar on all platform, with only some differences to optimize the UX on every one of them.

The other feature of VeeR was the easy share of its content. Study shows that 77% of virtual reality users want more social engagement (Forbes). With VeeR, people can find a community to create, edit and share 360 videos and photos. Just like Youtube, you can create and share 360 videos and see their analytics. But Veer is different from Youtube on that it builds an ecosystem dedicated to 360 videos, with various features specifically dedicated to them.

The VR ecosystem includes VeeR Editor, a mobile app for editing 360 videos. So, VeeR VR lets you enjoy, comment share the content; VeeR Editor lets you edit and polish the content; VeeR Heat Map lets you, the content creator, analyze the appealing of your video to the public, highlighting which portions of the videos have been watched the most. There is a complete ecosystem that spans from content creation to customization, sharing, and analysis. None of the other platforms could achieve this specialty.

Nowadays, we’ve seen more and more VR-related products dominating the market, and the general trend for VR is “user-friendly.” Many companies launched high-quality professional 360 cameras, but oftentimes the cheaper 360 cameras with more costumer functions sell better. Instead of taking two hours to figure out how to import and export the video, buyers would be more likely to choose a camera easy to start. This is the same concept for the VeeR platform. It eliminates the gap between professionalism and customer functionality, making VR not exclusive to the public due to its technological barriers, but more accessible to the public.

With the mission of empowering everyone to create and share the next generation of media, VeeR has become one of the largest VR content hubs by both content and creator volume, and a trusted platform for VR professionals, production studios and prestigious brands on a global scale.

VeeR was founded in China, which is a double-edged sword for the company. Content-wise, VR is accessible behind the Great Firewall in China. A large variety of affordable VR tools in China encouraged countless content creators to experiment with VR technology. Meanwhile, China is leading the way of the growth of VR, and China has become the largest standalone VR headset market in the world. This positioning in the Chinese market has helped VeeR in establishing various partnerships with big companies that want to perform marketing operations in China. However, the VR contents produced in China are still subject to government censorship; therefore, they are somewhat monotonous to the global market, said Wu.

China is the largest standalone VR headset market

In an interview I had with Wu earlier this year, she said that “because our model is quite special, I don’t think we have a lot of strong competitors.” She thinks that in China, none of the VR companies has the skill and audience base to compete with VeeR. She also referred to Facebook and YouTube as the only two powerful platforms that are experimenting with VR content.

However, the industry has changed a lot over the year. With the mature of the VR technology, mass production of VR content and the lack of industry-standard regulation guidelines, the disparity in quality begins to show up on different VR platforms.

That is when VeeR decided to switch its focus from easy access and mass production to high quality (or premium, according to its website) content. Months ago, the company’s CEO Jingshu Chen wrote a letter to VeeR users, explaining some big changes to the platform, including the elimination of low-quality content and the gradual transition from mobile to headsets.

A Letter to VeeR Users: A Look at the Future

According to the letter, the company is “switching our focus to premium immersive films, including both linear and interactive videos. By doing this, we hope to bring the best immersive experience to the audience (online and offline), while providing a sustainable business model for content creators.”

For creators, VeeR introduced more opportunities for monetization and project funding and added benefits for verified creators. The company also stopped approving videos with a low resolution, content with low perceived entertainment value and mobile-uploaded content. It also removed the 360 photo function, which was introduced to VeeR Editor only last December.

For audiences, VeeR is encouraging (or forcing) them to switch from mobile app to headset. “The focus will be shifted to headsets. The mobile app will now be used to bookmark content for later viewing and purchase content more conveniently,” Chen wrote in the letter.

This is not only a result of the overflowing of unfiltered content but also a countermove to the expanding power of other video platforms. YouTube, for example, is becoming more skillful on VR content display and meanwhile benefiting from its large audience base from traditional videos. If YouTube wins by multiplying its user quantity, VeeR is trying to gain momentum by polishing its quality.

As Virtual Reality grows in the market in recent years, people can feel the overflowing supply and a higher demand for high-quality work. When first released, the majority of cutting-edge AR and VR technology cost thousands of dollars to buy. This was something that many people couldn’t afford, which often hindered the growth of the industry. Alongside this, the technology was often of relatively low quality, especially by today’s standards, which meant that many consumers weren’t getting enough value for their money. This is something that has been inverted in recent years.

With the advancements that have been made in the industry, costs have plummeted while quality has skyrocketed, giving end-users much more value. This is something that is expected to continue in the future.

VeeR is a young company, but it did a great job of pioneering the industry by putting the audiences first. Through VeeR’s struggle to survive in the new trend of VR, we can take a glance at the consequence (both good and bad) of an overheating industry.

Victoria’s Secret: A Fallen Angel

December 13, 2019 by anamf

As frivolous middle schoolers, my friends and I used to throw watch parties for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The lingerie brand was all the rage, and VS Pink was our home. Now, the brand, especially VS Pink, is almost as cringy as Abercrombie. How do I know these sentiments apply to most others? I surveyed 20 girls between the ages of 18 and 22. A brand that used to be on top of the world is now on the outs with its young fan base, an angel fallen from grace.

The Golden Age

One day, Roy Raymond went shopping for a new set of lingerie for his wife and felt extremely uncomfortable. He didn’t want to feel like a pervert in a lingerie store. Somehow, Raymond, a Stanford graduate, had the brilliant idea to create a store where men could comfortably shop for women’s undergarments. It was complete with black leather couches, dark wood, and silk drapes. The store, catalogs, and even products were made with men in mind, not women. It’s no surprise that it didn’t go anywhere.

Raymond might have unknowingly sent a bat signal, because Les Wexner came to his rescue. The owner of L brands saw something in Victoria’s Secret, so he acquired it for $1 million and completely rebranded. It became a bright, colorful, glamorous fantasy for women. Wexner created a 19th century English boudoir crowdsourced from every woman’s imagination, and made it affordable for all kinds of shoppers.

From there, it was only uphill. The famous fashion show began in 1995, and when it aired online in 1999, its 1.5 million viewers crashed the site. Body by Victoria, the comfort bra line, made the brand the ultimate lingerie destination. In 1997, the term “Angels” became synonymous with the Victoria’s Secret when Helena Christensen and Tyra Banks modeled the “Angel’s Underwear Collection” in a TV advertisement. These models, along with Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, and so many others can thank Victoria’s Secret for their claim to fame.

With such a successful brand complete with it’s own celebrities and experiences, why not start PINK, a location for the teenage audiences. Victoria’s Secret and L Brands was taking the world by storm. Until they weren’t. For some angels, it’s difficult to maintain the rouse of perfection, but it’s almost as if Victoria didn’t even try. Honey, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

Victoria’s Secret is Out, and it’s Not So Sexy

What exactly lead to the Lingerie giant’s downfall? The answer is a collection of very, very bad occurrences. First, the brand failed to capitalize on the bralette and athleisure trend. By the time they came out with their line of sports bras, leggings, and other sporty wear, it was too late. When Victoria wasn’t looking, Lululemon and Nike stole her thunder. It happened again with the body positivity movement. Women began looking for comfortable, natural looks. The hot pink lace just wasn’t working anymore, but Victoria was too high on life (or profits, rather) to notice. Enter: Arie, Savage x Fenty, and the other brands who welcomed an army of women representing all shapes and sizes. Victoria lost her appeal, failing to understand the “new sexy.” More than that, she stumbled into a series of scandals.

The first came in 2011, when it was discovered that 13-year-old Clarisse Kambire was picking cotton in West Africa, sleeping on a plastic mud mat, threatened with violence, and subject to other horrible conditions. A detailed Bloomberg report found that this girl and her cotton eventually became Victoria’s Secret products. L Brands quickly released their Modern Slavery Transparency Statement to comit to ensuring that no forced or child labor is used during the creation of their products. This statement is still linked on the bottom of the Victoria’s Secret website. People were not pleased with this news, and it became a bit of a nightmare for L Brands. This constitutes scandal number 1.

Scandal number 2? Victoria’s Secret’s unfortunate ties to Jeffery Epstein. Over a decade ago, Les Wexner considered Epstein “a most loyal friend” with “excellent judgment and unusually high standards.” Somehow, Epstein was placed in charge of all of Wexner’s finances and became very close to the Victoria’s Secret brand. The New York Times reported that Alicia Arden, a Californian model in 1997, was invited by a “scout” to a Santa Monica hotel room to audition for a Victoria’s Secret catalog. When she arrived, this “scout” tried to grab her and undress her, causing her to cry and flee. This man was Jefferey Epstein, and the New York Times claims that Wexner was alerted of Epstein’s recruiting rouse by two executives. Another incident involved Maria Farmer, an artist working in Les Wexner’s mansion. While she was there, she claims that she was sexually assaulted by Epstein. She fled and attempted to contact the authorities, but the Wexner staff refused to let her leave for 12 hours. With both of these incidents, it is assumed that Les Wexner supposedly protected Epstein’s reputation. Whatever the truth may be, any connection to Epstein is a detrimental one.

Then came Ed Razek’s big mouth. In a Vogue interview in 2018, Razek began to spiral into a defensive tornado. He went spoke about diversity and the criticism he receives every year around the time of for the VS Fashion Show. He claimed that they “attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t.” In this rant, he concocted his own question, “shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show?” He responded to himself by saying no, the show is a fantasy for women and an entertainment special.

*Ed Razek & Kelly Gale: Bloomberg via Getty Images*

Problem number one, Razek referred to transgenders as transexuals. I wasn’t aware that this was problematic until I researched the term. Transgender youtuber, Gigi Gorgeous, posted an entire video attacking Razek’s statements, and Transgender model Carmen Carrera stated in an Instagram post, “I wish certain people would see beyond viewing me as just a “transsexual” I am way more than that, @victoriassecret. #EdRazek.” According to GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, “transexual” can be very offensive. It is an incomplete, narrow, and dated term originated by the medical and psychological communities.

The other issue with Razek’s statements is the implication that only the Victoria’s Secret Angels are the “ideal woman” or the “fantasy” that everyone should aspire to. This alienates plus size models, transgender models, and anyone else that doesnt fit the VS Angel measurements. The lingerie brand ThirdLove, known for its plus-sized inclusion, responded with a scathing open letter to Victoria’s Secret. Some of the comments in the letter include “your show may be a “fantasy” but we live in reality,” and “please stop insisting that inclusivity is a trend.” The letter continued with an explanation that ThirdLove is the antithesis of Victoria’s Secret, and stated “You may have been a woman’s first love, but we will be her last.”

One evening in 2017, my aunt told me that I should be a Victoria’s Secret model. At that time, there was a website where you could upload your headshot and measurements. If you did not meet the body size requirements, you would not be considered. Roughly, the measurements were a fairly large bust size, small waist, and a height of at least 5’8. Today, I attempted to find this same casting site again, but it has since been taken down. It’s clear that although Victoria’s Secret sources models from all over the world, they all have exactly the same body size. This alienates the majority of the human population, including my 5’5 self. As we’ve seen, Millennials and Gen Zers do not respond well to this “one size fits all” scenario. Brands like ThirdLove, Savage x Fenty, and Arie are taking Victoria’s Secret’s business because it resisted change for too long.

Victoria Tries to Catch Up

The L Brands earnings report is abysmal. The stock has been sinking steadily for five years and Victoria’s Secret’s operating income is down in just a year from $211.6 million to -$31.8 million. Bath & Body Works is picking up the slack that Victoria’s Secret is creating, but it isn’t enough. VS sales are falling like no other, and L Brands has finally decided to take action.

Two important things happened in August of this year. First, Ed Razek, CMO and President of L Brands, stepped down from his positions. In his letter to the company, Razek explained that he felt that it was time for him to retire, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was pressured to leave. Les Wexner had a memo of his own which praised Razek but was also future-facing and focused on change. Another historical event took place in August: Victoria’s Secret hired its first transgender model, Valentina Sampaio. Is this pandering? It could be. Regardless, L Brands got rid of Razek and ushered in Sampaio, so at least they’re trying.

Victoria’s Secret also announced to investors that it will be closing stores across the nation, and on November 21st, the world learned that the annual VS Fashion Show has been cancelled. If the brand had continued with the show this year, they would’ve spent a fortune and hired a more diverse cast of models, which I doubt they are ready for. Victoria’s Secret casted Valentina Sampaio, but all of the marketing on their website and social media still lacks diversity and change. They’re taking baby steps, and it could be a long time before we see any leaps.

What the Future Holds

So what’s in store for Victoria’s Secret? It’s hard to say if they will truly cater to the new generation’s wishes. From interviewing around campus, I’ve learned that many girls still own and purchase Victoria’s Secret products. My first training bra was from Justice, but I patiently waited for the moment when my mom would finally let me shop at Victoria’s Secret, the ultimate right of passage. The brand still holds sway in the hearts of young women, but if they want to continue their legacy, they must make themselves a brand that millennial mothers will want to pass on to their children.

Bolivian economics

December 13, 2019 by marina

It would be untrue to say that it is only recent that Latin America has gone through political turmoil. Countries like Chile, Colombia and Bolivia have been on the spotlight this year. Much of this discontentment sources from economic failure that has brewed for years. Politicians are very extremists with their economic policies going from promises of extreme capitalism or socialism. More recently, Evo Morales, former president of Bolivia resigned after thirteen years of presidency, but he calls his removal a coup. What lead to this moment?

Morales came to power in 2006 as a member of the left-wing Latin American group that included Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa and Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (Washington Post) He was the last man standing, being the leader of the Movement for Socialism party throughout his whole presidency. Bolivia has changed dramatically since Morales started his presidency.

When Morales took oath, Bolivia was the poorest country in South America in 2006. Currently, Bolivia is still the poorest in some measures such as lowest alphabetization and income. But overall, Bolivians are healthier, wealthier and living longer than before. The GDP grew from $9 billion in 2005 to $36 billion in 2018 (COHA). It seems then, at least on paper, that socialism worked.

However, it was not traditional socialism that was taking place in Bolivia. It was, as Evo explained a different model, “The state as the head of investment, accompanied by the private sector — that is the model of socialism we have.” Morales redistributed income through various government programs, raised minimum wages substantially, and nationalized industries such as telecommunications, oil and electricity (Bloomberg). All while also working with the private industry.

To the outside world, Bolivia was doing great. By 2017, Bolivia was 42 percent richer than when Morales took office and poverty declined by 25 percent since he was elected (Bloomberg). So why there was general discontent? It had to do with his authoritarian tendencies and breaking presidential term limits. The 2009 Bolivian constitution prohibits more than two consecutive terms, and he had been allowed to serve three consecutive terms as President due to a 2013 ruling of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, where Morales first term did not count towards the term limit because it took place prior to the ratification of the constitution (BBC)

There was a referendum held on 2016 that planned to eliminate term limits, the socialist party narrowly lost and the Supreme Court overruled the constitution, meaning that Morales could run again in 2019 (The Guardian). Bolivia, along with Nicaragua, is the only presidential democracy in the American continent with no limits on re-election. The lower and middle class continuously supported Morales in his quest to get reelected, whereas the upper class demanded for his third term to be the last.

A partial nationalization of Bolivia’s oil and gas helped create a middle class from scratch. Bolivia is Latin America’s fastest-growing economy, where 53% of its legislators are women and a fifth are under 30. However, Morales approval rating was damaged by allegations that he used his political influence to favor a Chinese construction firm in which his former girlfriend, Gabriela Zapata Montaño, held an important position (BBC). Morales denied the allegations and said he had nothing to hide.

As mentioned before, Morales partially nationalized its oil and gas. Previously, corporations paid 18% of their profits to the state, but Morales reversed this, so that 82% of profits went to the state and 18% to the companies. The oil companies threatened to take the case to the international courts or cease operating in Bolivia, but ultimately relented (COHA). Over ten years, Bolivia gained $31.5 billion from the nationalizations, compared to a mere $2.5 billion earned during the previous ten years.

In my first project, I explained how Chavez made certain choices that from a viewer standpoint were beneficial to the people. Same thing with Morales. One of the first things as a president was to relocate state-owned lands, and “expropriate” lands that the Ministry of Agriculture sought to be nonproductive by those who owned it. A consequence of this was the internal production of basic products by individuals and small farms to lower and rely even more on the oil and gas industry of the country.

It is important to mention that Bolivia received a lot of help from Venezuela through monetary aid. With this aid, the country was able to finance betterment projects such as the industrialization of coca by building plants such as the one in Chulumani (Al Jazeera) the project was primarily funded through a $125,000 donation by the Venezuelan government. Coca in Bolivia is considered medicinal, the leaves are harvested and sold as tea. The problem with this is that coca is illegal in most countries, making extremely difficult for Bolivia to sell in the international market. After much lobbying, the UN finally decriminalized coca in 2013. The result was the increase of cocaine seizures (Insight Crime) Between January and mid-August 2016, the police’s antinarcotics unit registered 16.7 metric tons of cocaine, which was already nearly double the total figure for 2015, when 8.6 metric tons were intercepted. For the U.S and other countries, Evo Morales was as an accomplice of drug traffickers and systematic drug rings in South America.

Morales openly talked bad on the upper class, calling them “burgueses” just like Chavez did. This also meant that he presented very anti American sentiments on international conferences and to its people. There was a lot of resentment inculcated to the lower class, where this idea of “those rich kids don’t know our struggle” and that he, Evo Morales, would personally make sure that they wouldn’t struggle. This kind of propaganda was very popular during that time, especially with Chavez being alive. The gap between the lower and middle/upper class became bigger in the social sense more than the monetary.

There was one thing that both classes agreed on this past year, is that another term was starting to feel authoritarian. His party, Movement for Socialism, had been the majority party in all governmental agencies leaving little to no space for other member parties to be able to engage in the conversation. Something that is very important to mention is that most countries in South America have religion at the center of its politics, especially Catholicism. However, there has been an increase of Evangelism in the poorest communities and this was reflected in the most recent congress election. In Bolivia (and in the majority of the world), indigenous groups are often misrepresented and not heard. There are a total of 36 recognized indigenous people (Minority Rights) and even though three indigenous-specific universities had been established, which offered subsidized education there was an increase in racial tensions between indigenous, white and mestizo populations. To make things worse, part of the agrarian reform of relocation of land was in part to redistribute land to traditional communities and not individuals.

While the efforts to integrate the indigenous communities and provide them with education and access to the public system were highly anticipated, some communities did not integrate as well, furthering creating a cycle of poverty in these groups. Though the country operates in mainly extraction of natural gas, more and more indigenous groups felt as this was hypocritical and poor use of the community’s lands. This dissent was also felt when in 2010 Morales announced a 5% increase in minimum wage and The Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), which was formed by a majority of leftist and indigenous individuals, felt this insufficient given the rising cost of living, calling a general strike. Eventually, the government relented and agreed to the wage rise (Reuters)

Morales changed Bolivia, growing its GDP and lowering the unemployment rate. However, what is the future of Bolivian economics? What would it look like?

In Timothy Kehoe, Carlos Gustavo Machicado, and José Peres-Cajías “The Monetary and Fiscal History of Bolivia, 1960-2017” they explain that Bolivia’s success may not last forever (Bloomberg). The first thing they wrote about is how since 2008, Bolivia’s exchange rate has been effectively pegged against the U.S. dollar. A pegged exchange rate, also known as a fixed exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate in which a currency’s value is fixed against either the value of another country’s currency or another measure of value, such as gold (Investing Answers) So, what does this means for Bolivia? It means that if the country ever runs out of dollar assets, it won’t be able to stop the boliviano from depreciating, resulting in a very rapid crash in the currency’s value.

The other factor that they wrote about was Bolivia’s increasing external debt. The amount that Bolivia’s government owes in foreign currencies has approximately quintupled since 2007. The country’s total external debt has gone up by about 30 percent. What would make the government to run out of foreign exchange reserves? A commodity price drop. Lower global commodity prices are probably the reason that Bolivia has been running down its reserves since 2014, and we know that they rely on commodities for the majority of its exports.