In this week’s newsletter, we discuss cricket bats, an Apple search engine, money tips and a lot more.
If you’d like to receive our 3-min daily newsletter that breaks down the world of business & finance in plain English – click here. Or, download the Finshots app here.
P.S We are on the lookout for talented Graphic Design, Content Writing & Brand Partnership interns to join our team. If you wanna be a part of an exciting startup, then this might be the right opportunity for you.
Think you have what it takes? Then email us your CV and work samples to intern@finception.in š
Can Kashmir end the English monopoly?
The Cricket World Cup begins tomorrow. And itās turned the spotlight on an industry that has almost been forgotten in Indiaāāāweāre talking about the Kashmir Willow!
For the uninitiated, professional cricket bats are typically made from the wood of a specific tree called willow. And there are a few reasons why this particular tree has been the chosen one. For starters, researchers say the wood is quite porous which simply means that it has hollow bits within it that keep it light. Then thereās the fibres in the wood which have a criss-cross pattern. This pattern makes it mechanically stronger when itās swung. And most importantly, it has air pockets in its cells which give it a certain elasticity when hit by a cricket ball. Also, not to forget that aesthetics plays a role tooāāāas one scientist put it, willow bats make āa satisfying sound when it strikes the leather ball.ā Yup, that sweet thump that cricket fans love canāt really be recreated by other types of wood.
Now there are primarily two regions in the world that grow these specific willow trees. Of course, thereās the birthplace of the sport England. And thereās the Himalayan region of Kashmir which got its major plantations in the 1920s when the British introduced itāāāsome say to meet their cricketing needs while others claim it was for use as firewood.
But hereās the thing. Despite being around for a century now, Kashmir Willow has been treated like a poorer cousin. The willow hasnāt made big waves internationally since serious cricketers prefer the English Willow. They say the wood is of higher quality. It feels better. It strokes the ball better. And also, Kashmiri craftsmen have lacked the technical know-how to make better bats. So the end result is that England has commanded a virtual monopoly on this market while Kashmir willow languished.
But things might be looking up for the industry now. Kashmir has been making some noise of late with one company called GR8 Sports leading the charge. They managed to finally convince the sportās governing body, the ICC, to give them a shot. And then, a few international players in the Omani and UAE teams tried out the bats emblazoned with the company sticker. And when the batters clicked, the export orders flooded in. People realised that maybe they were wrong about the bats. Maybe the willow had what it took to compete at the highest levels. From virtually zero exports in 2020 to 35,000 bat exports in 2021 and 125,000 bats being sent outside the country in 2022, things are looking up.
And thatās not where it ends. For the first time ever, Kashmir willow bats will be used by cricketers in a 50-over World Cup too! Itās huge. The roughly 100,000 people directly employed by the industry and the 400 bat manufacturers in the region can finally smile.
And this could mean the end of the English chokehold on bats.
Or could it? Are we getting too far ahead of ourselves? Because this sliver of opportunity for Kashmir might slip away just as quickly as it emerged.
Whyās that, you ask?
Well, the region is actually running out of willow trees!
Remember how we told you that for 100 years, no one really paid much attention to Kashmir Willow? The end result of that neglect translated to two things.
- Farmers wanted to make more money so they switched trees. They chopped their willow trees and switched to Poplar which had multiple usesāāāin tennis ball bats, in pencils, and in plywood. It was a much more profitable endeavour. And Poplars even matured in just 15 years. Thatās half the time as the Willow. And this meant farmers could ramp up business even faster.
- There was also rampant smuggling of willow trees. Yup, unscrupulous folks sawed these trees and took them to other bat-making centres like Jalandhar and Meerut. Even though the government has tried to regulate sales of willow in Jammu & Kashmir, a 2017 report said that the smugglers havenāt stopped. They have carried on recklessly.
So people kept cutting down willow trees in Kashmir. There wasnāt anyone to replant them. And that means a shortage of supply is imminent. Especially if the demand picks up now and more factories try to grab a slice of the pie. Kashmir could run out of willow trees within the next 5ā10 years. And thatās going to be quite catastrophic for the industry.
So yeah, it seems that even though Kashmirās bat industry has finally caught its big break, it’s time to focus on regeneration efforts if we really want to compete with Britain.
An Apple Search Engine?
In 2018, Apple hired John Giannandrea.
If you’ve not heard of him, know that he used to head Googleās search and artificial intelligence units. And naturally, rumours began swirling around ā āApple is going to launch its own search engine.ā
Then in 2020, the whispers grew stronger. Because Google was caught in the crosshairs of an antitrust lawsuit. The US Government alleged that Google was monopolising the online search business. And an adverse ruling could have impacted both Appleās bottom line and its customers.
How so, you ask?
Well, Google has been Appleās default search engine for nearly two decades. And it pays Apple a mammoth $15 billion or more every year for that privilege. Thatās nearly 9% of Appleās gross profits. But if the antitrust committee ruled that Google was striking these unholy deals to cling on to its monopoly, theyād have to sever the cord. And Apple would lose the billions it made. Sure, it could switch to alternatives like Bing or DuckDuckGo, but letās face it ā they arenāt going to pay the same kind of money. Google controls 90% of the search market. They earn massive advertising revenue, so they can afford to splash the cash. But the others may not be able to justify the spending.
So yeah, if Apple wanted to get ahead of these potential problems, it would need an in-house engine. It would have to control everything. And it seems that it has been quietly building just that.
Outside of the recent hiring spree for the search engineering division, the Financial Times had earlier pointed out a couple more interesting things.
For instance, if you want to be a search behemoth, you start with something called a web crawler or a spider. This thing scours the internet and websites and creates an index of sorts. That way when someone searches for a specific item, the crawler can easily identify it and spit out the result. And for a long time, Appleās web crawler simply lurked in the shadows. There wasnāt much online activity. But over the past few years, this Applebot apparently has featured heavily on websites scraping information. Apparently, the ācrawl ārateā or activity increased significantly starting in 2020.
Then thereās the fact that Apple has been slyly sneaking in a search feature since they launched iOS14 a couple of years ago. If you swipe right from the iPhoneās home screen to access the search windows, you get a list of search suggestions from Apple and not Google.
So yeah, Apple seems to have been stepping up its search game of late.
So, the question is ā what is Apple waiting for? Why isnāt it launching its search function in full throttle?
Well, we can only speculate here but there might be two reasons.
Firstly, thereās all those billions of dollars of course. Sure, Google search might be facing an existential crisis with the rise of ChatGPT and GenZ turning to TikTok and Instagram to find answers, but the ad revenue from search is still making boatloads of money. And unless antitrust regulation forces Google to end the deal, Apple may not find a reason to let go of the money. Especially if it canāt ramp up its own ad search revenue at a similar pace.
Secondly, weāve seen the debacle that was Apple Maps. Everyone hated it because directions were flawed. And iPhone users stuck to Google for a long, long time. But a decade after its failure, Apple has slowly but steadily climbed back as a credible rival. Maybe Apple didnāt want to repeat the mistake of releasing an imperfect software product in an area it does not have much experience.
Maybe.
But it appears that most of the pieces are ready. As per Bloombergās Mark Gurman, Apple now has everything in place should it wish to launch a rival. And maybe it wonāt be long before Apple users prefer its in-house search capabilities over Google too. Weāll have to wait and see.
Jargon of the Day
Money Tips
: Toxic money thoughts
Have you ever felt anxious on payday?
Imagine hearing your phone beep with the sound of the SMS that says your pay is creditedā¦ and not feeling happy.
If you relate to this, then welcome to the world of toxic money thoughts. Youāre always left with the feeling of not having enough money. You have to pay your bills, rent, insurance, maybe EMIs, set aside savings and your bank account is wiped off in a jiffy. Despite having everything in order, it still leaves you feeling bitter.
But why does this happen?
Well, thereās no single right answer. But it could have a lot to do with how our mindsets were shaped as growing children. Maybe our parents always told us that money doesnāt grow on trees. So, we now end up aggressively saving out of the fear of not having enough money as we age.
Maybe we grew up watching our parents work extremely hard to make ends meet. Or even struggle to pay off debts. And we didnāt want the same thing for ourselves. So we end up going the extra mile as a defence mechanism ā working overtime to earn more, postponing purchases that are necessary, socialising less because we donāt feel as financially strong as our peers; the list goes on.
Itās toxic money behaviour folks! And itās not a healthy sign. It could damage your relationship with money. In fact, it stops you from living your best life.
While this may be an unpopular opinion, donāt beat yourself up too much when it comes to your capability to earn or spend. Itās always important to let yourself enjoy your earnings however little they may be. Weāre not telling you to go all out and splash them. Whatās important is to know where to draw the line between saving and spending.
And this also applies to younger folks who arenāt earning yet. You might be managing your days with a very small allowance. Maybe you canāt negotiate it with your parents. But you sure can see what youāre good at, monetise it and earn while you learn. That way you can do small things with money that give you happiness. Just make sure you keep the toxicity away, whether itās to do with spending or saving too much. Balance is the key.
And that’s all for today folks! If you learned something new, make sure to subscribe to Finshots for more such insights š