Prada

The episode tells the story. The written case does what twelve minutes cannot: the business model, the moat, the statements, the valuation, and a verdict. Read the Prada teardown.

The mechanisms this episode demonstrates, in the same vocabulary the case library uses. Where a pattern has been written up, the claim is here; otherwise the tag is still in the queue.

• family control

  Tagged across the library; the write-up is in the queue.

• sell the meaning

  The most durable consumer companies charge for what the product says about you, and treat the object itself as the delivery mechanism.

• creative director succession

  Tagged across the library; the write-up is in the queue.

• counter positioning

  Tagged across the library; the write-up is in the queue.

How twenty-four of the world's most valuable brands were actually built.

1. 01NikeOwn the design and the demand, rent the factory, and sell what the shoe says about the person wearing it.6 min
2. 02AmazonLose money on purpose for a decade, and build the infrastructure everyone else will have to rent.8 min
3. 03AppleControl the hardware, the software and the store, and make leaving cost more than staying.13 min
4. 04LululemonCharge double for a pair of leggings, and recruit the yoga instructor to explain why.10 min
5. 05StarbucksSell the place, not the coffee, and charge a rent premium on every cup.12 min
6. 06SephoraTake the makeup out from behind the counter, let the customer touch everything, and become the shelf every brand needs.11 min
7. 07LongchampMake one folding nylon bag the entire company, and keep the family in charge of it.7 min
8. 08McDonald'sSell hamburgers to the public, and sell real estate to the franchisees.11 min
9. 09IKEAMake the customer do the assembly, the transport and the carrying, and give them the saving as the price.8 min
10. 10ChanelStay private, never discount, and let the founder's myth do a century of work.10 min
11. 11DiorLaunch a house with a textile magnate's money, change the shape of women's clothes in one show, and license the name to the world.10 min
12. 12GoogleGive away the best product on the internet, and charge whoever wants to stand next to the answer.13 min
13. 13GucciNearly destroy the brand through family and licensing, then rebuild it around one designer at a time.9 min
14. 15Miu MiuLaunch a second house with the founder's nickname, aim it younger, and let it outgrow the first.8 min
15. 16Tiffany & Co.Own a colour, put it on a box, and make the box worth more than most of what goes inside it.11 min
16. 17HermèsLet the artisans set the pace, and turn a production constraint into the most valuable waiting list in retail.10 min
17. 18GlossierBuild the audience before the product, and sell them what they told you they wanted.14 min
18. 19NARSLet a makeup artist with a camera be the brand, and price the point of view.9 min
19. 20M.A.C.Make the product for the makeup artist first, and let the professional's endorsement sell it to everyone else.10 min
20. 21JBLBuild the speakers the cinemas and studios use, then sell that credibility to everyone else at a lower price.12 min
21. 22BoseStay private, give the company to a university, and spend on research the way a public company never could.13 min
22. 23XboxLose billions to buy a seat in the living room, then change the product from a box to a subscription.13 min
23. 24PlayStationSell the console at a loss, make the money on every disc, and let a betrayal by Nintendo start the whole thing.10 min