Not disagreeing with you there. And to be honest, I'm not 100% convinced that Lauda will rescue the sinking MB Titanic(if it ever was floating). But to question Lauda's business acumen and his experience outside the cockpit is IMHO out of place. The man has proven himself in many ways. But by now he might be getting a bit old.
Personally, I think it's within bounds to question it...because what he did with his airline or whatever doesn't matter. His experience in a managerial position in F1 has been utterly DISMAL.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Haug leaving. Looks like Mercedes are in some trouble. Would this affect their F1 program? http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-14/mercedes-valued-at-half-of-bmw-as-zetsche-loses-investors-cars.html
Well, I've said it before: There is a chance that Hamilton won't have to sit out all 3 years of his contract. No matter how much money MB has, once they start to reduce the work hours in the German factories because of declining demand, the unions will zero in on the "waste of a F1 team" and the board will have to sacrifice its team as a token gesture.
Mercedes have had 2-3 years now of excellent quarters, one after another. This year alone they set sales records 3 quarters in a row. Daimler is doing more than fine and they haven't really touched China yet where their truck business can be ludicrous (more than it already is).
BMW and Audi are eating Mercedes for lunch. Its an old person's car - a familiar refrain around this region. No matter what Mercedes has done that image continues to remain. The link paints a picture of a company struggling to match its competitors and if any one thinks the AMG F1 team is not expendable - take the A-8 to Munich and have a nice day touring BMW Welt. BMW didnt need their F1 team nor does Mercedes.
+1 yes I have said this before, still Merc shifts a fair amount of vans < probably more so/ cars over here though.
Yes, but I also read http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1539785-1-1539786-1-0-0-0-0-0-36-7164-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html From a business strength perspective, they are fine. When compared to BMW/Audi, they are not as big. No big deal. US sales continue to grow http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre8b40me-us-daimler-sales/ and I think the article above is simply showing doom and gloom for the China market where BMW/Audi are indeed growing at 10%+ per anum where MB have actually lost ground for whatever reason. Throwing one's hands up in the air and running around in circles over a annual report in a relatively new market showing sporadic growth is not something I'd be too concerned with, if this were over a 5 year period then I'd certainly sing a different tune. This is nothing compared to Red Bull's market share situation. I find it hard to believe no one is talking more about Red Bull's market share in the energy drink business going down the tubes in a big way since 2006 to Pepsi and Coke alternatives which are much cheaper. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't make a move on Red Bull in the next few years, and for cheap cash too with the way they're losing ground.
Strangely, I didn't know it until very recently when I looked into it. This was prompted by a client who owns a number of gas stations in the area who said, "Red Bull, no one buys that pricey stuff any more" when I mentioned Red Bull F1 racing team. He further mentioned that he get a strip from the Red Bull truck once every 2 weeks rather than twice a week for the Monster type energy beverages. Upon reviewing further, I found their market share has gone from a stout 76% just a few years ago to 40% today.
Ah, but further review (OK, a quick Google ) suggests the market for this stuff is doubling in size every year! If correct, the Cans remain in an exceptionally stout state!....... They continue to dominate the market. Seems there's more competition in stores and gas stations, but they utterly dominate the bar/club etc scene. Love 'em or hate 'em, they're gonna be around a while yet IMO. Cheers, Ian
You may not like their current domination of F1, but they've done a hell of a lot for (mostly) "extreme" sports also. I'm certainly not claiming he's a philanthropist, but he has really helped a lot of "minor" sports get on the map etc. I've got a lot of time for 'em for that reason TBH. Having said that, I agree, it's definitely time for Adrian to do Clifford Mk 2..... Cheers, Ian
Totally true and their recent stunt with the balloon was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Bingo. I'm a big Vettel fan and happy for his titles, but it is time for a change of guards. Heck, I don't mind if Hambone wins it next year in a MB. Just not another Vettel WDC. At least not now.
Red Bull hasn't the capital to compete with Pepsi/Coke in terms of marketing. Red Bull have done an excellent job carving a niche with their competitions and sponsoring of several hundred xtreme athletes, but in the real world they aren't the ones selling drinks, IMO not really, those guys are just selling to a younger crowd and Red Bull has birthed a kind of culture in some ways but that stuff doesn't last. The fact remains that their business has been cut over the past 5 years by the big two who are offering a cheaper product with the claims of identical benefit. Also, Red Bull is a one-trick pony as their cola product falls on its face. We shall see what happens, but companies like this are snapped up every Monday.
While it may be possible that Coke/Pepsi/whoever could buy 'em out of petty cash, they haven't thus far...... The following hardly suggests they're hurting though - Nice, solid existing markets & some nice juicy ones coming online. I reckon there's plenty of biz owners would *love* to be in a similar position. Cheers, Ian http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Company-figures/001242939605518?pcs_c=PCS_Article&pcs_cid=1242937556133
Those are indeed solid numbers, ripe for the plucking. Didi can't do this forever, and neither can his partner.
