I loved Klarman's essay on Buffett. I stick with his next sentence:
"He is not a brilliant artist or a great inventor or a record-setting athlete. Instead, his brilliance—a low-key, midwestern type of brilliance—found expression in the prosaic art of investing: buying this stock and avoiding that one."
I recently visited a See’s location in California. It is a small stand alone shop on a large lot in a very expensive area and no doubt the modest structure has stood there for decades on land purchased at a tiny fraction of current market value. I walked in shortly after the store opened and was immediately greeted and offered a sample. After browsing for a few minutes, I got another sample. I love it … Cialdini’s reciprocity principle in action! I bought three pounds of chocolate to give away as gifts for a whopping $96. I remember when a pound of See’s was about $8. Several other customers were in the shop when I left. I wish we could figure out how to export the See’s business to the east coast!
It would be so nice to have a See’s within even a few hours of me. I know Berkshire has always said it doesn’t travel well outside the western part of the country, but I can never figure out why, haha. I’d be a big buyer!
It's strange because I've never given See's to anyone who didn't enjoy it and it has nothing to do with location. But See's is a cultural institution on the west coast with decades of memories embedded in the brand. For me, growing up in CA, it was iconic. I looked forward to having boxes appear on holidays, people gave it as gifts, it featured in countless fundraising drives for local organizations. So the memories embedded in the brand creates this virtuous cycle that brings pricing power. I don't care if a box of See's is $20 or $32, I'm going to buy it around the holidays. But this just hasn't been established on the east coast. Unfortunately!
Yep, See's definitely falls in the "it tastes way too good to worry about the price" pile for me. I had never tried peanut brittle before and then I bought a small box in memory of Charlie at the LAX airport -- and now I have a full-blown See's brittle addiction. 🤣
Love these 2 quotes in the December 19 Berkshire Beat; “Don’t fiddle, William,” said Sleep. “Just don’t fiddle. If it goes down 50%, that’s fine. You’ll buy more and it will be fine.”
Later in the interview, Marks made a similar point. “The most important thing for investors is to get on that gravy train and stay on it,” he said. “Invest early, invest a lot, and don’t tamper with it.”
Those two quotes are going to stay with me for a long time. Both sum up the importance of buy-and-hold investing so well. The Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast always produces at least a couple of gems each episode.
I loved Klarman's essay on Buffett. I stick with his next sentence:
"He is not a brilliant artist or a great inventor or a record-setting athlete. Instead, his brilliance—a low-key, midwestern type of brilliance—found expression in the prosaic art of investing: buying this stock and avoiding that one."
Thanks, Kingswell and happy holidays!
Thanks! You too!
That’s a great line, too. Klarman’s article was just terrific.
I recently visited a See’s location in California. It is a small stand alone shop on a large lot in a very expensive area and no doubt the modest structure has stood there for decades on land purchased at a tiny fraction of current market value. I walked in shortly after the store opened and was immediately greeted and offered a sample. After browsing for a few minutes, I got another sample. I love it … Cialdini’s reciprocity principle in action! I bought three pounds of chocolate to give away as gifts for a whopping $96. I remember when a pound of See’s was about $8. Several other customers were in the shop when I left. I wish we could figure out how to export the See’s business to the east coast!
It would be so nice to have a See’s within even a few hours of me. I know Berkshire has always said it doesn’t travel well outside the western part of the country, but I can never figure out why, haha. I’d be a big buyer!
It's strange because I've never given See's to anyone who didn't enjoy it and it has nothing to do with location. But See's is a cultural institution on the west coast with decades of memories embedded in the brand. For me, growing up in CA, it was iconic. I looked forward to having boxes appear on holidays, people gave it as gifts, it featured in countless fundraising drives for local organizations. So the memories embedded in the brand creates this virtuous cycle that brings pricing power. I don't care if a box of See's is $20 or $32, I'm going to buy it around the holidays. But this just hasn't been established on the east coast. Unfortunately!
Yep, See's definitely falls in the "it tastes way too good to worry about the price" pile for me. I had never tried peanut brittle before and then I bought a small box in memory of Charlie at the LAX airport -- and now I have a full-blown See's brittle addiction. 🤣
Love these 2 quotes in the December 19 Berkshire Beat; “Don’t fiddle, William,” said Sleep. “Just don’t fiddle. If it goes down 50%, that’s fine. You’ll buy more and it will be fine.”
Later in the interview, Marks made a similar point. “The most important thing for investors is to get on that gravy train and stay on it,” he said. “Invest early, invest a lot, and don’t tamper with it.”
Those two quotes are going to stay with me for a long time. Both sum up the importance of buy-and-hold investing so well. The Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast always produces at least a couple of gems each episode.
Berkshire gets over $800 million a year in dividends from KO. Before you know it, it will be a billion.
Unreal.
The dividend yield on cost of the Coca-Cola investment must be over 60% a year now. Such a crazy number.