Ben Gilbert: evaluation

Transcript context

…It turns out it is. While we're on this Coke thing, before we sort of leave it, I do think this is a good moment to address the value of the brand. We sort of alluded to moats, especially in the Seven Powers discussion in our previous episode. But we haven't actually described how Warren thinks about moats, and sort of brand as a moat. In the 1995 annual meeting, he has this great quote where he just lays it out for investors, and it's one of these rare moments where he describes the investment strategy (I think) more than he necessarily intended to, but he's off the cuff, he's answering a question, and he says, “What we're trying to find is a business that for one reason or another, it can be because it's the low-cost producer in some area, it can be because it has a natural franchise, because of surface capabilities, it could be because of his position and the consumers mind, it could be because of a technological advantage, or any kind of reason at all that it has this moat around it. ” I just always thought this is the clearest articulation of his view of sustainable competitive advantage. What makes a business durable and able to generate outsized profits over time. And boy, did they nail it with Coke. I mean, this is just one of these classic examples of the brand moat is really real and it's a global brand moat. Totally. The moat exists, clear how it works. It's straight over tackle. If you’ve taken this international, run the same playbook. Yeah, great timing coming in in the New Coke disaster right before international expansion. Well done, Warren.…

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