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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Pfizer Nears U.S. Authorization as Sanofi's Vaccine Faces a Delay; Financial Aid Talks Hampered by Senate Squabbles; Disney Delights with Masses of New Content. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired December 11, 2020 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:22]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Live from New York, I'm Julia Chatterley. This is FIRST MOVE and here is your need to know.
Vaccine variations. Pfizer nears U.S. authorization as Sanofi's vaccine faces a delay.
Stimulus stalled. Financial aid talks hampered by Senate squabbles.
And streaming super-sized. Disney delights with masses of new content.
It's Friday. Let's make a move.
Welcome once again to FIRST MOVE. Great to be with you this Friday, as always. It's a day where vaccine hopes are colliding once again with our
present-day pandemic reality. An F.D.A. advisory panel giving the thumbs-up to the Pfizer-BioNTech jab later yesterday with the full emergency
authorization should come within days with vaccinations hopefully beginning next week.
Now compare, hospitalizations have reached record highs again in the United States after the deadliest day in the pandemic set on Wednesday, more than
3,000 lost lives. That reality, it seems, still not hitting home in D.C. where U.S. lawmakers remain deadlocked on a deal for fresh economic aid.
Washington's inaction and the economic toll of increased restrictions around the country clearly weighing, I think on sentiment this Friday. As
you can see, stock markets are pressured premarket here in the United States.
Europe also losing ground, too and it is a similar story there, but the British pound, I think, tells the story of inaction, tumbling one percent
against the U.S. dollar affecting rising risks, I think, of the U.K. potentially crashing out of the single market at year's end without an E.U.
trade deal.
We will get you to the U.K. later on in the show for all the latest on those negotiations.
What about a bright spot, though, please for the markets at least? Demand for new listings. Take a look at that. Home rental firm, Airbnb shares
doubling on their NASDAQ debut yesterday. That gives Airbnb a whopping $100 billion valuation, of course, Airbnb's ultimate success is going to be tied
to vaccines and a return to normal life for us all and people going out and traveling again.
We will get there. That's the good news, of course, but it is going to take time. For now, we're still battling the darkness before the dawn.
Let's get to the drivers. The United States is one step closer to using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. An advisory committee to the regulator, the Food
and Drug Administration or the F.D.A. as we call it, recommended it grant Emergency Use Authorization.
Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. Elizabeth, one step closer as I said there. What are you hearing from your sources about how soon we could get the
greenlight from the F.D.A. itself?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So Julia, what we've learned is that the F.D.A. itself could be issuing Emergency Use
Authorization, which is what they need to do -- that's their goal -- tomorrow. That is when it's expected, it is tomorrow.
It could happen today, but it is expected tomorrow. Then on Sunday, it's expected that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control will give their
greenlight and that is the last greenlight. That's all that's needed.
So bottom line is what we're learning is that the U.S. government will be giving its final approvals on Sunday, and after that happens, then shots
can go into arms -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Keep your fingers crossed on that. We await that announcement from the F.D.A., Elizabeth. In the meantime, and you've discussed this with
us so many times, so many vaccine candidates out there and not all will succeed. What have we heard about the Sanofi-GlaxoSmithKline, two of the
biggest vaccine makers in the world, let's be clear, some disappointing results on their vaccine candidate?
COHEN: So, Julia, you know, I've often talked about sort of bringing out my inner nerd here, and what I'm going to say here from my inner nerd is this
actually isn't disappointing. This is actually good news. This is science at work.
This is scientists being what they're supposed to be, which is careful. So, yes, it would be great if they had a great vaccine coming out any minute
now, but it is good that they are being careful.
Here's what happened. Before you do sort of these big clinical trials, you test it out, you test your vaccine out on smaller numbers of people, and
you look in their blood. You look for certain markers. Did the vaccine elicit the immune response that you were looking for?
And what they found was that in elderly people, it wasn't. The vaccine was not doing what it needed to do in elderly people. And so, they said, all
right, guys, we're going to go back, and we are going to tweak the formula for this vaccine and we are going to change it so that hopefully it will
elicit this immune response.
[09:05:08]
COHEN: So, they say their vaccine then may not be rolled out until late next year. That's okay. You want to take that time, make a better vaccine.
That's better than putting out a vaccine that doesn't work very well.
And thank goodness we have two vaccines or vaccine candidates, I should say at this point, that do work very well. That's Pfizer that we were just
talking about and Moderna. Both have around 95 percent efficacy.
Obviously, those two, right now, can't vaccinate the world, so we need more. But the fact that this one has been delayed by a matter of months is
not the end of the world. Hopefully, they can tweak it and it will work better.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, get the science right. Elizabeth, I love -- one, I love your geekiness anyway. But two, I love how you flip everything on its head
and say, hey, look at it this way. This is good news. We don't want to bring an inferior product to market.
We get the science right and if it comes to market, it will be worth using. Awesome. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much as always for your wisdom.
All right, in other vaccine news, Britain's AstraZeneca teaming up with Russian scientists. AstraZeneca, which has developed a vaccine candidate
with Oxford University is launching a joint clinical trial with the makers of Russian Sputnik V.
Both vaccines use the same platform to trigger the body's immune response. The development of Australia's vaccine candidate has been abandoned after a
trial participant tested falsely positive for HIV.
The vaccine developed by the University of Queensland was in Stage 1 trial.
Wow, lots of progress there. Now, science, as you can see, is getting there. The stimulus, meanwhile, is not. Congress remains divided on new
emergency aid with just two weeks to go before millions of Americans lose their benefits.
Washington also bracing for a possible government shutdown tonight. John Harwood joins us now from the White House. John, great to have you with us.
Let's start with the bigger picture here.
We have got the Defense Act that needs signing. We've got government funding. If we don't see a deal today in the Senate to extend that even
just by a week, which of course the House has agreed, we could be looking at a partial government shutdown. How have we got here, John?
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, typically the Congress goes to the last minute before they fund the government. So that is not all
that surprising, and I do not expect that we will actually have a government shutdown. It always looks very dark and then the dawn comes, and
they make some sort of a deal.
To me, the more significant thing is the apparent demise of these COVID fiscal relief talks, and that is fundamentally a problem of resistance from
the Republican Party.
Remember, the House of Representatives controlled by Democrats passed a very large fiscal relief bill in May. Republicans slow walked their
response to it in the belief that perhaps the pandemic would go away, and it wouldn't be needed. They don't like spending a lot of money.
They did it early in the pandemic, didn't want to do it again. Senate still has not -- the Republican-controlled Senate still hasn't passed any bill.
Now, as we get closer to large scale suffering that's going to occur at the end of the year: evictions, loss of unemployment benefits, Americans
feeling increasingly desperate, Republicans have acknowledged some need to move forward, but they have drawn a line against providing relief for state
and local governments.
Republicans are the anti-government party. They disdain government. Many local governments, state governments, they say, are controlled by Democrats
who spend too much money.
So even though it's the pandemic that has collapsed the revenue of those state and local governments, they don't want to replace it because they
think this may be a way to leverage reductions in the size of government.
That resistance is what is holding up a deal. Not clear whether that's going to be resolved before the end of the year or whether it will wait for
Joe Biden to take office in January, but that's how we got where we are and it's why the markets are reacting in a negative way this morning.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I mean, the Republicans are always trying to tie the specific funding for state and local governments to specific pandemic-
related effects and not allow spending on other things and perhaps extra spending in certain areas that perhaps shouldn't have happened. We can
debate that.
John, Mitch McConnell came forward and put a proposal out and said, look, okay, we drop the funding for state and local governments. If the Democrats
are willing to do that, we'll drop our demands for liability protections for businesses, for example, if people got sick.
What's the possibility of the Democrats agreeing to that and seeing some kind of breakthrough on this deal? Or has that just been dismissed
outright?
HARWOOD: No, I think there's some chance that that will end up happening and Democrats will figure that, okay, we'll get a small amount of stuff now
and we will go for more when Joe Biden takes office. But it is not clear how low they are willing to go.
They've tried to keep the package fairly robust. McConnell offered $500 billion initially. The Democrats were seeking a lot more. The bipartisan
compromise was at 900. Mitch McConnell doesn't want to go that high.
[09:10:13]
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, this is ridiculous. Desperate people are going to lose their homes and 12 million people are going to lose benefits. They
have to reach a deal. John, great to have you with us. Thank you.
HARWOOD: You bet.
CHATTERLEY: John Harwood there.
All right, it may start with a mere mouse, but Disney is now aiming for the lion's share of the streaming market. Shares in the company soaring after
hours after Disney said its streaming service, Disney Plus, racked up 86 million users in just over a year.
They also spent four hours talking about potential future content. Frank Pallotta is here with more. Frank, great to have you with us. When you wish
upon a subscription service, Frank, do your dreams come true? That's the question.
FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN MEDIA REPORTER: Yes, I would have went with a stream is a wish your heart makes, but I think that works.
CHATTERLEY: Oh, lovely. You win.
PALLOTTA: Last night was a really good example of just how much Disney can rebound and how quickly they can. Disney's had one of the worst years, if
not the worst year in its nearly hundred-year history. We've talked about that all year round.
But last night was a complete flex by the Walt Disney Company. They spent nearly four hours, almost all of it just announcing this treasure trove of
content coming from the company: 10 new Marvel series, 10 new "Star Wars" series, multiple Pixar and Disney live action movies, all coming to this
streaming service.
And the biggest thing that is above all of this is that they also announced more than 86 million subscribers, which basically hits their long-term goal
that they set last year. They've updated their long-term goal to go from 60 to 90 to closer to 230 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024.
And most importantly, which I think kind of flew under the radar, all this content matters and it costs money. So, they're also raising their price a
single dollar in March to $7.99.
But at the end of the day, after the year Disney has had, it is just a reminder to everyone, including their rivals like Netflix, they are still
the Walt Disney Company and they can pull off what they did last night.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, it is just shocking, I saw a tweet from the "Washington Post's" Steven Zeitchik and he said, "Their guiding philosophy seems to be
let's take every single property in our catalogue and make a prequel, sequel, reboot, new take, feature, limited series, high breed CG, live
action, sci-fi, musical, comedy, melodrama and then let's see who's winning the streaming wars, Netflix."
This industry in the last two weeks has been transformed, whether it's WarnerMedia, whether it's Discovery saying they are streaming, and now
Disney Plus really taking the battle. Wow. The streaming wars couldn't be hotter here.
PALLOTTA: That's very true, and I think it is really, really important to kind of take a step back and see what has changed. Hollywood itself has
transformed this year, but we're going to see next year if all of those changes stay permanent.
Will HBO Max keep all of its films from Warner Brothers on the service after 2021? Or is it the pandemic? Is Disney going to keep going all all-in
on streaming? I think they will. Will Netflix continue to grow or will it kind of hit a dilution point? We don't know yet.
Next year, we are going to be able to see especially after the vaccine hits critical mass where the majority of people are vaccinated, are people going
to still want to sit inside after a year and a half and watch every single thing like they've been doing? Or do they want to go out and enjoy other
things and maybe take some of their disposable income they had and go to a restaurant or go to a movie theater?
So, we are going to see, but companies like Netflix, WarnerMedia, our parent company, and Disney are all spreading their chips across the table
and trying to figure out the future, which is constantly moving in Hollywood.
CHATTERLEY: Frank, you made some great points. I have to admit though, I am a little bit disappointed. I'm sure "Indiana Jones" fans will be, too. What
happened to the "Indiana Jones" poster that was over your left shoulder? Because I was so looking forward to seeing that and reminding our viewers
that Harrison Ford is back for "Indiana Jones" number five, and you changed the poster, Frank.
PALLOTTA: This is a poster of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which is also a really great movie.
CHATTERLEY: Pretty awesome.
PALLOTTA: This was made by FOX. So, this is actually a Disney property as well, I believe. So, at the end of the day, I think Indy is on that side of
the room now. I had to switch it up, Julia. I've been in this apartment day in and day out for like, pretty much and most of the year. If I don't
change the wall art, it's going to become an asylum, so I think it is for my mental health.
CHATTERLEY: You're still bringing the Disney magic, of course. Frank, great to chat with you. Frank Pallotta there, great to have you with us as
always.
All right let me bring you up to speed with some of the other stories making headlines around the world. More than 100 U.S. Republican lawmakers
are backing a lawsuit supported by President Trump to overturn the election.
The Texas Attorney General is asking the Supreme Court to block Joe Biden's victory in four battleground states. The Attorneys General for those states
called the move an affront to democracy.
[0915:08]
CHATTERLEY: A 40-year-old Indiana man was executed on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for a delay. Brandon Bernard was
sentenced to death for being an accomplice in a double murder in 1999 when he was 18 years old.
He became the youngest person to receive the death penalty in the United States in nearly 70 years.
One of Hong Kong's most outspoken critics of the Chinese government could face life behind bars. Media tycoon, Jimmy Lai has been charged under the
region's national security law. It comes amid a crackdown on democracy activists.
All right, we're going to take a break here on FIRST MOVE. Still to come, from panic buying to cashiers in PPE. How the pandemic has transformed our
grocery shopping. We have got the CEO of Stew Leonard's to talk about what he is seeing now, and he is up next.
And Salesforce buying messaging app, Slack for $27 billion in one of the software industry's biggest deals ever. The CEO of Slack later on the show.
Stay with us. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE live from New York, where it's looking like a lower open for all the U.S. majors this morning.
A lot of positive vaccine news has already been priced into stocks, and Washington missteps unfortunately have not been. Investors are waking up to
the possibility that lawmakers are too divided once again to pass new emergency aid.
A regular on the show, Washington watcher Greg Valliere saying Congressional inaction is, quote, "a national embarrassment." Time to act.
All right, as we head into the Holiday Season, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the United States. Hospitalizations reached a record
high Thursday. With the virus continuing to spread, grocers and food shops say they are seeing some of the similar problems that we had back in
spring, such as customers stockpiling and some supply chain strains.
Let's get a take from a grocer that's been on the show before. He is Stew Leonard, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Stew Leonard's.
[09:20:09]
CHATTERLEY: Stew, fantastic to have you on the show once again. What a pretty backdrop. Talk us through it. How are you doing? What are you
seeing?
STEW LEONARD, JR., PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STEW LEONARD'S: We're on the Christmas tree shop, and nice to be with you today, Julia.
Thank you.
You know what we're seeing right now is big is out and small is in. We've seen it even at Thanksgiving right now, a lot more smaller turkeys than
bigger.
People are really trying to have smaller gatherings right now at their homes. That's a big trend. We're also noticing healthier food. Like all of
the flu-fighting and immune-building foods like garlic and citrus and organic foods are way up, our naked beef, and grass-fed beef. Those are up,
though we're seeing trends like that occurring in the store.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, this is signs of good behavior. We can see around the country the COVID situation is deteriorating. Clearly, in New York right
now and specifically it's nowhere near as bad as it was when we last spoke in May-April of this year.
Are you seeing customers stockpiling? Are you having any specific issues with supply chains once again, or is it being well-managed at this stage?
LEONARD: Well, one of the nice things about Stew Leonard is we buy direct from the suppliers.
CHATTERLEY: I remember.
LEONARD: So, I've talked to all our farmers and our ranchers and our fishermen and lobstermen, and we are going to get plenty of fresh food in.
The other people I've talked to in the industry said there should be plenty of food. They're not going to be caught flat-footed like we did back in
March.
But we've got plenty of food and the only thing you might find a little tightness on are some paper supplies. Everybody is wiping things down now.
They're using cleaning supplies. So, you might not be able to get your name brand, like Charmin or Bounty, but we have plenty of food, and I promise
everybody, don't panic. Be calm. We are going to have plenty of food here at Stew Leonard's for sure.
CHATTERLEY: It's a good sign and it is a good message. You know, I remember, Stew, one of the things that you told me when we spoke last time,
and you said loo, Instacart delivery has gone up fourfold.
You had a 22 percent increase in action on your website, a 70 percent increase in the average sale size. So, it is interesting that you were just
saying, you know, people are buying smaller because they are having smaller gatherings.
But, in total, are they still -- are you seeing these kinds of rises in activity online and are people shopping less but shopping bigger?
LEONARD: Exactly. That's exactly it. Customers are shopping less. Our customer count is actually down, because the people who used to shop maybe
two or three times a week for fresh foods are coming in less often right now. But you notice the average cart is bigger.
You know, we are seeing like this is a shrimp platter that we would sell normally at the Holidays. Now, this one is taking over right now with the
smaller.
We're seeing things like this. You've got individually wrapped brownies. People want to give gifts, and rather than a cookie tray or something, they
like it individually. You can give it to your doctor or dentist. But then, we're also noticing people splurging a little bit more. They want
restaurant quality food.
So, this is like our rancher's favorite right here. How do you like that Julia? Nice and --
CHATTERLEY: I think that looks delicious. I apologize to any vegetarians that are watching. What's the price of that, Stew, out of interest?
LEONARD: This will probably be about $40.00 to $50.00 right here for this. That's a big tomahawk steak. This is a ribeye. This is what our ranchers
when they come back from the Midwest, Kansas City, this is what they want to eat here.
But then you see people splurging also on things like this where you get these donut holes right here, our apple cider donuts.
Everybody is nesting more. We're even seeing it in the Christmas tree shop here. Tree sales aren't crazy this year. We're going to do a little bit
better than last year, but we noticed all the decoration, wreaths, roping, ornaments, lighting, it's all up like 35 percent.
And what we think, everybody is sort of cocooning a little and wanting to have a really nice house or apartment for their family and their kids, so
they want a bright, happy Holiday with Hanukkah and Christmas. They want to be festive.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, we want to make the best of it. You know, Stew, I remember distinctly talking to you about your workers as well and how well they did
throughout that period trying to protect themselves, trying to serve customers and how proud you were of them.
I just wanted to use your businessman's brain in what you see going on with the negotiations over financial support for small businesses, for
individuals in this country that are struggling. What do you make of what's going on? And would you be willing to see setting aside protections, legal
protections for businesses for people potentially who got sick in order to get money out to struggling people?
What are your views on what you're seeing?
[09:25:17]
LEONARD: Well, you know what, first of all, my heart is out to -- you know, I've grown up in the food business all my life, our family has here. You
know, we're sort of on the lucky side of this whole pandemic because we're on the retail side.
We have many friends in the restaurant business right now. My heart is out for them. I think this next wave of funds hopefully that will come in from
Congress will help a lot of these struggling restaurants. They are family businesses just trying to make it.
So, I think we need to support them right now. I should be buying all my food at Stew Leonard's, but I am making a point to go out more and support
local restaurants that I have known around town.
So, I think it's important for all of us to buy from families, to buy local, try to support the local communities that we all live in.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I think it's a good message, Stew. Talk to me about the turkeys that you donated. I know you were donating some to local
firefighters, to first responders.
LEONARD: Yes. Well, one thing, Julia, I really just want to thank all of the essential workers out there. We've been in this thing from day one
every single day and we're giving all our people right now an extra paycheck to help during the Holidays just as a big thank you for -- they
are going to have to work really hard now coming up.
You know, we gave a lot of turkeys away at the Holidays. We had twice as many requests as we did last year. We gave 3,000 turkeys away. We could
have given double or triple that right now.
So there is a lot of people in need right now. We're doing our part to try to help out as much as we can. I hope everybody listening supports the more
needy at these Holidays right now.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Stew, thank you so much for coming to talk to us, really positive message. The shrimp looks awesome and so do the cookies, Stew.
LEONARD: Hey, Julia, one thing I just want to recommend to everybody is to shop earlier in the day or shop later in the day and shop twice for the
Holidays.
So get all of your nonperishables done early, and then come in at the -- for Christmas here coming up, you know, the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
are going to be very big before Friday, Christmas.
So we want to minimize the number of people in the store then so we have social spacing. Everybody listening to do their part early, late and twice.
Be positive, but test negative.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Stay safe. And you could also shop online.
LEONARD: That's it.
CHATTERLEY: That all helps as well.
LEONARD: We'll get through this together.
CHATTERLEY: Stew, yes, we shall. Great advice, sir, and always a pleasure to talk to you. Stay safe.
LEONARD: I love your enthusiasm and your accent. I'm ready to go now all day after listening to you.
CHATTERLEY: You're all fired up. Great. Stew, a pleasure. We'll talk to you soon, sir. Stew Leonard, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer of Stew
Leonard's. Thank you to him. The market opens next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:31:31]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. U.S. stocks are up and running on the last trading day of the week, and we have got softness across the
board.
Take a look at that picture. Wall Street now on track for a losing week just days after the U.S. majors hit fresh records.
The F.D.A. signaling it will authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine news, but a lot of that optimism is already in the price. It doesn't deliver
immediate economic relief in the short-term. That's down to Congress and they are struggling. The mood on Wall Street defying the economic reality.
Meanwhile, shares of Airbnb lower in early trading, but they soared more than 100 percent on their market debut yesterday. Disney shares, meanwhile,
as we have been discussing rallying more than 8.5 percent after the company said its streaming numbers so far have been pretty enchanted.
All right, let's move on. Its stock ticker is WORK and there has been no slacking off this year for these guys. I'm talking about Slack, the
workplace communication platform that last week was part of one of the year's biggest deals.
Client software company Salesforce agreed to buy Slack for nearly $28 billion. We're joined by the CEO of Slack, Stewart Butterfield now.
Stewart, great to have you on the show. Congratulations on what is a whopping deal. Talk to me about the catalyst for this. You're a founder, a
creator. When do you make the decision between being best of breed and staying independent versus joining up and going on with somebody else?
STEWART BUTTERFIELD, CEO. SLACK: Well, first, thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Always good to talk to you.
It's definitely not an easy decision, and there is a huge degree to which founder like companies are -- well, I guess the founders identify with
them, and they we can see exactly the same thing with Salesforce and Marc Benioff, the COO and President over there, Bret Taylor is also an
entrepreneur, also a founder.
And I think, if you look across the company tableau, you also have the other acquisitions they've done. They kind of grow a roster of founders
inside of the company, so that is an exciting thing to join.
But ultimately, this is for our customers. We've had incredible Q3. We had 12,000 paid customers that's 140 percent increase versus a year before. You
know some of that is from the pandemic, the work from home, raising awareness and that's from product improvement and lot of that is driven by
Slack Connect, which we can talk about.
But coming into an environment where we're part of a much larger company that especially has a platform that meshes almost perfectly with ours. This
might sound a little silly, but in the conversations leading up to the acquisition, we would say, we're looking for a one plus one equals seven
result.
CHATTERLEY: And to be fair, I mean, Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce has long said, look, I want to replace e-mail. I think he has being saying it
for a decade, quite frankly, so I can -- and understand, his allure with this deal.
But you know, it is quite funny and it goes to the point you made about the strong earnings quarter, and you called it phenomenal.
I read a "Harvard Business Review" study last night on this deal and on you guys. They said, why sell when you're on such a high? You know, even if I
look at the paid customers, you've got what -- over a thousand customers now spending more than $100,000.00 annually. That's up 32 percent year-on-
year. I mean, these were the things that you and I were talking about the last time we spoke.
You are entering this deal in a position of great strength, I think.
[09:35:04]
BUTTERFIELD: We are. You know, I'm a pretty nice guy. I grew up in Canada, but I'm also extremely ambitious. We have a very ambitious plan for the
next 20 years (audio gap) accomplish it in let's say the next five years what it would have taken us 20 years to do.
I mean, we just want to continue that success that we've had. You know, looking in the U.S., the largest issuer of credit cards is wall to wall on
Slack. Number one telco, wall to wall on Slack. Number one media company, wall to wall on Slack.
Our customers are everywhere. The biggest defense contractor, wall to wall on Slack. Operator of the nation's largest healthcare system is a Slack
customer. Two thirds of the Fortune 100 -- but there's obviously so much more we could do. There are millions of companies out there.
And one of the interesting things about Slack is we have customers that have three, five, ten employees. We have customers that have hundreds of
thousands of employees.
And if you look through the roster of IPOs this year and last year, almost all of them are Slack companies. So, you know, probably like a trillion
dollars of market cap in the last couple of years going out and it is an exciting future. And so (audio gap) in that future, I think the mission --
you know, the plus one equals seven thing, I think, really is possible.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, just listening to some of the numbers that you said there, and you made a great point which is, look, what we want to do in 20
years, we can do in five.
Do you plan to be around leading Slack within Salesforce for the next five years? Is that what you're telling everybody, you're telling your workers
who clearly have been very loyal to you over this period? You're in for the long-term?
BUTTERFIELD: Yes. We have a distinct -- we have 142,000 customers now. I don't actually know the number that are overlapped with Salesforce, but if
I had to guess, it would be 10,000 or 20,000, which means that there is another 120,000 or 130,000 that aren't, and I think that's an exciting
expansion opportunity for them.
But what I've told the employees and what I have told the customers that I've been able to reach out to so (audio gap) Slack still exists and we
still have literally the same road map, the same objectives from the CEO, the same three-year plan.
The only adjustments are things like seeing how well we can integrate with Quip, which is a salesforce product that came in with Bret Taylor. Other
than that, we have more platform depth, more capabilities, faster and better service and better integration for the many Salesforce customers
among those Fortune 100.
CHATTERLEY: See, I think we're almost four to five minutes into this interview and we've not mentioned the "M" word. And now, I have to. A lot
of people would look at this and say, actually what you guys, Salesforce and Slack have most in common is competition from Microsoft. And that's
part of the catalyst ultimately for this deal.
And Stewart, I just want to ask your honest opinion, do you feel like regulators let you down? Because you've long said, look, and a lot of
people say this, you're the best in the field, but unfortunately Microsoft's Teams product is bundled in with other products. They can give
it away free and that's accelerated the amount of people that they've managed to get this product out to and in the end that harmed you.
Did regulators let you down?
BUTTERFIELD: I wouldn't say that. I'd say it's a complicated situation and there still is a complaint active in the E.U. and we are seeing -- we are
very encouraged by what we've heard so far.
They are a competitor, but certainly on Salesforce's side, they have been trouncing Microsoft year after year after year. I don't think that MS has
made much headway. And while there's a narrative that's been difficult to dispel for us, we have over that time added more $100,000.00 plus customers
(audio gap).
Slack connect, which is the ability for two Slack-using organizations to communicate across organizational boundaries in a much more secure way,
over the last four quarters that grew 140 percent, 160 percent, 200 percent, 240 percent.
CHATTERLEY: I hear you.
BUTTERFIELD: As it grows, it is accelerating.
CHATTERLEY: I know. I just feel like, if there had been a level playing field, imagine what you could have done. You may have been able to stay
independent.
You don't have to tell me the good news. We have discussed it in the past.
BUTTERFIELD: Yes. I think it's illegal in certain jurisdictions, anti- competitive behavior and it's an abuse of the market position. But Teams is principally a video calling product, which means they compete with Zoom,
and I think Zoom has been an incredibly effective competitor there as well.
So while, of course, we want a level playing field and that's not just for us, but for the whole industry, we have been able to execute, we have been
able to succeed and we have been able to get customers.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And watch you now. Very quickly, culture, integration, any concerns? Or do you think you're a good match? Because this is a critical
component of any business being integrated with a larger one. Any concerns about that? Or do you think Slack and Salesforce will gel?
[09:40:11]
BUTTERFIELD: I think we will gel, and you know, that's the number one concern of employees when we announced this internally. There's a lot of
uncertainty and people aren't sure what it all means.
Now we've had a week or so to kind of process that. Salesforce is like Slack. It is a San Francisco West Coast, very progressive kind of company,
but culturally, I think, very similar and they have been a very progressive employer (audio gap) or whatever.
But, certainly one of the top rated employers in the U.S. for a long time. I think we share a lot of values, and it is a really values driven
organization. We will still remain an independent operator. Again, I'm still the CEO.
I think we'll still retain a lot of our distinct culture. But I don't see any organ rejection or mismatch there.
CHATTERLEY: Okay, that's good news. Stewart, keep in touch, please. I want to hear how it goes.
BUTTERFIELD: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Stewart Butterfield, the CEO of Slack. Congratulations again, sir, on the deal.
All right, up next, a no-deal Brexit very likely says the British Prime Minister as the country heads into the final weekend of E.U. talks --
perhaps.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. The European Union and the U.K. set a Sunday deadline for a trade deal. Now, with just hours left on the clock,
the British Prime Minister says the country must prepare for a no-deal Brexit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We need to be very, very clear. There is now a strong possibility, a strong possibility that we will have a
solution that's much more like an Australian relationship with the E.U. than a Canadian relationship with the E.U.
That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. There are plenty of ways, as I've said, that we can turn that to the advantage of both sides in the conversation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:45:05]
CHATTERLEY: Anna Stewart joins us now on this. I do feel like somebody read the clock wrong there, Anna. As someone who has been In Brussels many times
with this kind of negotiations, they set a deadline but then it slips and then it slips.
We're not one minute from midnight yet, but where are we -- Anna.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: We're not one minute from midnight and there has certainly been a suggestion that perhaps it's all saber rattling. But
the mood music, it certainly isn't getting any better.
I want to bring you some sound that we've had from the Prime Minister just in the last couple of hours in which he pretty much says that a no-deal
Brexit is looking pretty likely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: There's a way to go. We're hopeful that progress can be made, but I've got to tell you that from where I stand now, here in blithe, it's
looking very, very likely that we will have to go for a solution that I think will be wonderful for the U.K. and be able to do exactly what we want
from January 1st.
Obviously, it will be different from what we set out to achieve, but I have no doubt that this country can get ready and, as I say, come out on world
trade terms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: No-deal Brexit looking very, very likely. Now, falling back on world trade terms is incredibly expensive, first in terms of tariffs,
particularly high on things like food.
I just learned that halloumi cheese will be 55 percent tariffs. I might start stockpiling that myself now. But also, in terms of delays at the
border when it comes to fresh customs checks.
And Julia, take a look at some footage that we have had from the Port of Dover in the last few days. Huge queues of lorries already snaking around
those roads, partly due to the pandemic and the impact that's had, but also due to businesses really working hard to prepare for this no-deal Brexit,
stockpiling ahead of time to try to avoid as much disruption as they can -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, it's a perfect storm to be containing and trying to contain the pandemic at the same time as seeing a no-deal Brexit, and
the question is whether the country is prepared.
Boris Johnson was mentioning the Australian-style deal there. Can you help me with my understanding because isn't the Australian deal effectively the
no-deal Brexit? And can you correct me if I am wrong, aren't the Australians trying to renegotiate a deal with the E.U. because even the
Australians aren't satisfied with the Australian version?
STEWART: Yes, you've really nailed that on the head. Even the Australians don't want the trade's arrangement they have with the E.U. and yet, this
was the comparison Boris Johnson made last night to the sort of agreement that the U.K. would have if it left on W.T.O. terms.
There is no free trade agreement between Australia and the E.U. They largely operate on W.T.O. terms. It is not something they want to do.
They've been negotiating for a free trade agreement now for two years.
Actually, the former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull was speaking on the BBC last night saying, the U.K. should be very careful what they wish for.
This is not a good deal for the U.K., not least if you consider that the E.U. and Australia are not main trading partners.
The E.U. is the U.K.'s biggest trading partner by a country mile. It accounts for over 50 percent of imports and 40 percent of exports. It will
cause absolute chaos and disruption for so many businesses if they face tariffs and customs checks.
So, yes, I'd say the comparison to the Australia deal has certainly attracted some derision here in the U.K. -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. If it's a negotiating tactic, you've got to be willing to go for it. If you're going to threaten no deal, you've got to be willing to
follow through on this. We'll see how negotiations this weekend go. Anna Stewart, thank you so much for that.
To another pressing matter in Europe right now, of course, COVID-19. While some countries are showing signs that infections may be leveling off,
Germany is struggling with a surge of cases.
Berlin is set to implement significant restrictions ahead of Christmas. Chancellor Angela Merkel is also calling for a full lockdown after the
Holidays.
Elsewhere, the Swedish government is considering a temporary pandemic law that would allow them to close public spaces. Stockholm says 99 percent of
its ICU beds are now full.
The impact of this virus extends far beyond the immediate case numbers. Entire industries like tourism as we have discussed now for months facing
colossal damage.
Something the winter holiday market is also feeling keenly at this moment, but some managers -- some businesses are managing to some businesses are
managing to keep going.
Melissa Bell takes us to one ski resort in Switzerland that remains up and running.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some come to the spectacular views and the fresh air, but many come for the sport. Each
year, the European ski industry brings in 34 billion euros in revenue, half the world's total, according to an industry expert.
But not this year. Ski lifts will be at a standstill this Christmas in many of Europe's top skiing destinations because of COVID-19 restrictions. And
that means trouble beyond the ski industry. Entire villages, like Megeve in the French Alps, are up in arms.
[09:50:03]
CATHERINE JULLIEN-BRECHES, MEGEVE MAYOR (through translator): The ski lifts here in Megeve will lose eight million euros in turnover. And we know that
one euro spent on lifts means seven euros spent in the village, so that gives an idea of the extent of the economic damage for villages.
BELL (voice-over): But by early December, after much debate and mutual pressure, France, Germany, Austria and Italy decided not to open their ski
lifts, a decision met with incomprehension by those whose livelihoods depend on them.
MICHAEL CUGIER, MEGEVE SKI LIFTS (through translator): It's an outdoor activity, and I think in terms of big crowds, we are not confronted with
the same crowds you see in the metro in a big city.
BELL (on camera): But just 60 miles away, across the border here in Switzerland, the ski lifts are open. With the resorts like Verbier putting
in place special restrictions, like masks that need to be worn on the lifts, and social distancing put in place, as well, in order to make sure
that people can ski as safely as possible.
BELL (voice-over): Laurent Vaucher, who runs Verbier ski lifts, says that much has been learned since the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl was
identified by health officials as a major cluster during the first European COVID wave.
LAURENT VAUCHER, DIRECTOR, VERBIER SKI LIFTS: Last Spring, we didn't have any measure in place. We didn't have any masks. We didn't have any social
distance. So now that the game is different, we are pretty much sure that we can do good work in order to keep the ski resort safe.
BELL (voice-over): Measures are being taken on the slopes and in the village.
Switzerland's infection rates are rising, and local leaders say they want to leave nothing to chance.
SIMON WIGET, DIRECTOR, VERBIER TAVERN: It's not only to save the Christmas holiday but it's to save winter. And it's to save, as well, the reputation,
because we know that everybody is watching us, and if we make a mistake and afterwards, due to the mistake, we have a corona cluster, we will be
pointed as a bad organization.
BELL (on camera): The condition here in the Alps this season are incredible. Loads of snow, plenty of sunshine. And the fear was that people
might be tempted to flock to Switzerland, to try and make the most of the slopes. That's why several European countries have put in place
restrictions to prevent their nationals from doing just that.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Verbier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Beautiful backdrop. All right, coming up, a historic week from the U.S. IPO market, but is there froth amid the festivities? We'll
discuss, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. The U.S. IPO market celebrating its best December ever. Airbnb and DoorDash were two of this week's successful
listings. The deals will keep coming next week, too.
Paul La Monica joins me now. Paul, Wowzers. Airbnb, I'm completely speechless. So is the CEO. They left a lot of money on the table. What do
we make of this?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, this is the constant conundrum, I think for companies going public. If you price the offering at a low
enough level so that you can get this big sexy headline-grabbing one-day pop, you are leaving money on the table because you could argue that you
know, you should have priced it at a higher level and then you raise more money from the offering.
[09:55:11]
LA MONICA: But I think there is a certain amount of vanity particularly in the part of investment bankers, they like having the ability to say, that
you know, hey, look at how much this stock went up in its first day of trading whether or not those gains are sustainable remains to be seen.
You know, keep in mind, Facebook priced its IPO a couple of years ago and it was flat and everyone called it a failure. I think Mark Zuckerberg isn't
too upset about that now. Same thing with Google when they did their IPO. It didn't go up dramatically, but you know, Google is now one of the most
valuable companies on the planet.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, 20 percent pop higher, fine, a hundred percent pop higher, you call up the bankers of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and you go,
hey, guys, what were you thinking? Very quickly, Paul, too much froth in the festivities, do we agree or disagree?
LA MONICA: I agree. I've been doing this for more than 20 years now. I remember the dotcom boom and bust of the late '90s and while I'm not going
to go out and say that Airbnb and DoorDash are the next pets.com per se, this is way too frothy in my mind.
Remember, again, not to hark on Google and Facebook, but those were mature companies when they went public. They had actual profits. It's kind of nice
to have companies going public when they already have proven that the y can earn a lot of money, and we just don't have that yet with these two
companies that just went out.
Heck, look at Uber. Uber went public last year. It's soaring now again, but still no profits there either.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, this feels queasy. Thank you, money chasing, too for your goods, an inflation analogy there, but I think it fits.
Paul La Monica, thank you so much for that.
And that's it for the show. You've been watching FIRST MOVE. Have a safe weekend, everybody, and we'll be back with you next week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
