Moat
Notes and perspectives from the Value Proposition Studio.
Notes from the studio.
01 / Moat
Pricing and scarcity · Sep 20, 2026
Supreme: two owners in four years, and the arithmetic of selling scarcity
VF Corporation bought Supreme for 2.1 billion dollars in 2020 and sold it to EssilorLuxottica for 1.5 billion in 2024. A case on why a brand whose product is the drop resists the growth plans that make acquisitions pay.
Read articlePortfolio and rhyming · Sep 16, 2026
Google gives away platforms to protect the business that pays for them
Android and Chrome cost their users nothing and carry Google's services to billions of screens. In 2026 Gemini is being pushed through the same channels. A case on the Platform Turn, and on the launches that never repeated into a beat.
Core values · Aug 21, 2026
Brunello Cucinelli: a value proposition built as a village
Cucinelli sells cashmere at the top of luxury and declares a philosophy of dignified work, then pays for it in wages, buildings and a school. A case on core values, costly proof, and what a short seller's report tests.
Pricing and scarcity · Aug 12, 2026
The Hermès Birkin: when the wait is part of what you buy
Hermès has never sold the Birkin like an ordinary bag, and in 2024 a US lawsuit described its allocation as a requirement to buy other products first. A case on scarcity as the product and the price of access.
Supreme: two owners in four years, and the arithmetic of selling scarcity
VF Corporation bought Supreme for 2.1 billion dollars in 2020 and sold it to EssilorLuxottica for 1.5 billion in 2024. A case on why a brand whose product is the drop resists the growth plans that make acquisitions pay.
Pricing and scarcity · Portfolio and rhyming · Moat · In the news
Read articleGoogle gives away platforms to protect the business that pays for them
Android and Chrome cost their users nothing and carry Google's services to billions of screens. In 2026 Gemini is being pushed through the same channels. A case on the Platform Turn, and on the launches that never repeated into a beat.
Portfolio and rhyming · Moat · Channels · In the news
Read articleBrunello Cucinelli: a value proposition built as a village
Cucinelli sells cashmere at the top of luxury and declares a philosophy of dignified work, then pays for it in wages, buildings and a school. A case on core values, costly proof, and what a short seller's report tests.
Core values · Premise, promise, proof · Moat · In the news
Read articleThe Hermès Birkin: when the wait is part of what you buy
Hermès has never sold the Birkin like an ordinary bag, and in 2024 a US lawsuit described its allocation as a requirement to buy other products first. A case on scarcity as the product and the price of access.
Pricing and scarcity · Moat · In the news
Read articleDisney sells the same story in four registers, and each one sells the next
Films feed the parks, the parks feed the merchandise, and since 2019 streaming sits on top of all three. In March 2026 the head of the parks became Disney's chief executive. A case on the Flywheel, the portfolio pattern that rhymes because every part draws on one hub.
Portfolio and rhyming · Moat · In the news
Read articleASML: a monopoly in lithography that still keeps digging its moat
ASML is the only company that makes the EUV machines advanced chips depend on. A case on a USP-led strategy, and on why even a unique machine is defended with customers, suppliers and shared roadmaps.
Moat · Positioning · In the news
Read articleFerrari builds one car fewer than the market wants, and the wait is part of the car
Ferrari has kept supply below demand for decades, with waiting lists and limited series offered to buyers chosen by their history with the brand. A case on scarcity as part of the promise, and on a moat made of time.
Moat · Pricing and scarcity · Premise, promise, proof · Brand history
Read articleVolvo gave away its best safety invention, and made safety its moat
In 1959 Volvo fitted Nils Bohlin's three-point seatbelt and opened the patent to other carmakers. A case on proof as the moat behind a promise, and on what it costs to keep one for sixty years.
Premise, promise, proof · Moat · Brand history
Read articleAmazon decides the pace of the conversation, and in 2025 it paid for the exit
One click, Prime and a cancellation flow regulators called a trap: Amazon built its value on controlling how customers interact with it. A case on the regulator posture, its power and the line where control turns into backlash.
Adoption · Moat · In the news
Read articleSpotify Wrapped: the campaign customers publish for free every December
Since 2016 Spotify has handed each listener a summary of their year, and since 2017 it has called it Wrapped. A case on channels and proof built from the customer's own data.
Channels · Moat · Brand history
Read articleMoonSwatch: how Omega lent its legend and kept it
In March 2022 Swatch and Omega put the Speedmaster's design into a colourful Bioceramic watch at a fraction of the price, and Speedmaster sales rose. A case on bridges between brands and the perimeter that protects the original.
Moat · Portfolio and rhyming · Brand history
Read articleZara: speed is the promise, and the factory next door is the proof
Zara built its value proposition on newness, then made the supply chain carry the evidence: design near the stores, production close to Spain, deliveries twice a week. A case on proof that lives in operations.
Premise, promise, proof · Moat · Channels · Brand history
Read articleYETI: a cooler priced like equipment, built for the guide and bought by everyone
Two Texan brothers took the cheapest object on a fishing trip and priced it like equipment. A case on a premise written for a few serious users, and on what stays defensible once the design is copied.
Positioning · Pricing and scarcity · Moat · Brand history
Read articleNintendo Switch 2: the moat drained by the purchasing department
With the Game-Key Card, Nintendo turned the cartridge into a key that points to a download. A lesson in how companies empty their own moats.
Moat · Premise, promise, proof · In the news
Read articleNespresso: the same capsule failed in offices and won at home
Nestlé launched Nespresso in 1986 and struggled for years, until the business stopped selling an office machine and started building a category: espresso at home, sold through a club and later through boutiques. A case on category design and the moat after the patents.
Category design · Channels · Moat · Brand history
Read articleAbsolut: twenty-five years of ads about a bottle
From 1980 TBWA ran more than 1,500 print ads for Absolut, and nearly every one starred the bottle. A case on a product you cannot see, an asset you can, and the discipline of one format.
Moat · Premise, promise, proof · Brand history
Read articleRolex explains nothing, and the market leans in
Rolex publishes no figures, changes its watches slowly and appears only where excellence has rules. A case on the steeple, the power figure of a brand that assumes its legitimacy, and on what it costs to keep the posture.
Moat · Core values · Brand history
Read articleNokia sold four in ten of the world's phones and still lost the smartphone
At the end of 2007 Nokia estimated it held 40% of the global handset market. Six years later it sold its phone business to Microsoft. A case on how the strengths that protect a leader can hold it in place.
Category design · Moat · Autopsy · Brand history
Read article- 01Supreme: two owners in four years, and the arithmetic of selling scarcityPricing and scarcity
- 02Google gives away platforms to protect the business that pays for themPortfolio and rhyming
- 03Brunello Cucinelli: a value proposition built as a villageCore values
- 04The Hermès Birkin: when the wait is part of what you buyPricing and scarcity
- 05Disney sells the same story in four registers, and each one sells the nextPortfolio and rhyming
- 06ASML: a monopoly in lithography that still keeps digging its moatMoat
- 07Ferrari builds one car fewer than the market wants, and the wait is part of the carMoat
- 08Volvo gave away its best safety invention, and made safety its moatPremise, promise, proof
- 09Amazon decides the pace of the conversation, and in 2025 it paid for the exitAdoption
- 10Spotify Wrapped: the campaign customers publish for free every DecemberChannels
- 11MoonSwatch: how Omega lent its legend and kept itMoat
- 12Zara: speed is the promise, and the factory next door is the proofPremise, promise, proof
- 13YETI: a cooler priced like equipment, built for the guide and bought by everyonePositioning
- 14Nintendo Switch 2: the moat drained by the purchasing departmentMoat
- 15Nespresso: the same capsule failed in offices and won at homeCategory design
- 16Absolut: twenty-five years of ads about a bottleMoat
- 17Rolex explains nothing, and the market leans inMoat
- 18Nokia sold four in ten of the world's phones and still lost the smartphoneCategory design