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Update on the U.S. Presidential Nomination Process; The Unofficial Renaming of the "Retail Apocalypse"; The Ups and Downs of Vertical Farming
Aired March 02, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Another weekend has come and gone, with it another U.S. presidential nomination contest. I`m Carl Azuz. Thanks for
watching CNN 10. Like the state of Nevada, South Carolina decided not to hold a Republican nominating contest this year. All the GOP delegates in
those states are expected to be set aside for the incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. But South Carolina did hold a Democratic primary
on Saturday and former Vice-President Joe Biden won his first victory. He got just over 48 percent of the vote. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders from
Vermont won about 20 percent and they were the only two candidates awarded delegates from the state.
That`s really what these races are all about. Whoever wins a majority of a party`s delegates in these primaries and caucuses is likely to become that
party`s nominee for president. After South Carolina, Senator Sanders leads over all with 56 delegates. Former Vice-President Joe Biden is in second
place with 51. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg was in third place. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts and U.S.
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota rounded out the top five. But last night Buttigieg became one of the two Democrats who suspended their
campaigns after the South Carolina primary.
This mean they`re no longer in the race. The other is former investment manager Tom Steyer who did not win any delegates in South Carolina in
despite his third place finish there. So there are now six Democrats still in the race and tomorrow`s a big day in the nomination process. It`s
called Super Tuesday because 14 states and one U.S. territory are all holding contests at the same time. Most of them will be for Democrats and
Republicans and they could really help establish a Democratic frontrunner or two while President Trump is all but certain to win for Republicans.
10 Second Trivia. In terms of sales, which of these U.S. retailers is biggest? Costco, Amazon, Kroger or Wal-Mart. Despite Amazon`s growth,
Wal-Mart does more than three times Amazon`s sales every year.
In U.S. business news, it could be easy to focus on store closures going on around the country. Family Dollar, Fred`s, GNC and Sears each closed
hundreds of shops last year but Aldi, Dollar General and Five Below opened dozens or hundreds of stores of their own. It`s becoming clear that online
sales and physical store sales are not always inversely proportional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America now browses with browsers. Window shopping with Windows. Web watchers say more merchandise is available on cyber
shops than ever before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of major retailers are coming to the web in a big way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a story that almost doesn`t need an introduction. The explosive growth of online shopping and the death of
brick and mortar stores. America`s vibrant consumerism of yesterday went digital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The internet`s biggest draw, convenience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so in 2019 when more than 9,300 retail stores closed, many feared that a "retail apocalypse" was in full swing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some experts call it a "retail apocalypse". 2019 marked one of the worst years in a decade for brick and mortar stores.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those store closures marked nearly a 60 percent up tick from the previous year. Concerning? Yes. But if you look a little
closer, you`ll see a few names that dominate the list. Payless alone accounted for about a quarter of the closures after it filed for
bankruptcy. Other bankrupt retailers like Sears, Fred`s, Gymboree and Charlotte Russe also fill the list.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a certain amount of mismanagement going on that`s caused the so-called "retail apocalypse, often times because of a
leverage - - leverage buyout. You know, some kind of private equity situation that saddled them with a lot of debt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The important thing is that the pie is growing. Retail sales are increasing. The reality of the matter is that almost 90 percent
of retail sales occur in a store.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The problem with the "retail apocalypse" narrative is it assumes online shopping is bad for brick and mortar stores. As online
shopping grows, in store shrinks. In reality, the two can be complimentary. While it used to be that customer`s entire shopping
experience happened in store, today it`s more of a hybrid in store and online. For example, roughly two-thirds of consumers say they`ve
researched a product online before shopping for it in store. The flipside is also true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are online retailers, when they open a physical store the online sales also increase so the physical store acts as
marketing for the website.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Consumers are also taking advantage of other hybrid options like ordering online and then picking up in store. When given the
option, more than 70 percent of consumers say they`ve tried in store pick- up. For companies like Target, that type of same day pick-up and delivery alone drove 80 percent of the company`s growth in the third quarter of
2019.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s actually getting difficult to even measure what is an online sale versus what is an in store sale. Yes, I think we`re
actually going to get to the point where we have to get away from this notion that there are even two separate things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not just the Targets and Wal-Marts of retail that are taking advantage of brick and mortar stores. Once online only
companies like Warby Parker, Everlane, Casper, Allbirds, Zappos and even Amazon have seen the advantage of opening physical stores.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`re now 1,700 stores that have been opened by these originally native brands. Many of them said, you know we`re never
going to stores. We just want to sell online and now they are. They`re opening stores because it`s the cheapest and easiest way for them to
acquire new customers and increase their market share.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As consumers, we still want to touch and try stuff on in store before buying it. Get an item fast without paying for shipping
and expedite returns. Conveniences we can`t get online.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we have this idea that everything`s shifting online and to a certain extent it is but the physical stores are still vastly
important. And you`re seeing a fundamental change, you know, in the role of the store. It`s happening slowly but the store isn`t just about
transactions anymore. It`s about creating customer engagement and brand building and - - and fulfillment. The store of tomorrow is going to look
and feel a lot different than the store of yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So maybe the term "apocalypse" is getting thrown around a bit too much. A better term, evolution, as our shopping habits
evolve brick and mortar stores may just be as important as ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Vertical farming, growing crops indoors often without soil is not a new way to cultivate food. It`s been around since the early 1900`s though
its popularity`s growing. Get it? Critics have a number of concerns about its high cost of setting up. It`s dependence on technology and electricity
and there`s debate over whether it can be called organic. When it works - -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Square Roots is our urban farming company. Each one of the ship containers we have our young farmers farm them and they`ll
generate upwards to three to five acres or the equivalent product in rural outdoors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started in Brooklyn, in a tougher part of Brooklyn, in fact Jay-Z`s old neighborhood here he grew up and what we`ve done we`ve
put a campus of small farms on a parking lot. We use 10 times less water and we`re able to give the plants exactly the nutrients they need. We`re
also located right by the grocery stores and so there`s virtually no transportation costs. At Square Roots we focus on basil, mint, chives,
herbs.
It makes a lot of sense for our technology today and then over time it will really be every vegetable you can imagine. It`s important for us to design
something that could work on Mars with - - with that in - - in the back of our mind but our primary goal is real food to cities across America to
start and - - and then eventually the world and then eventually other worlds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: On the New Jersey shore in the city of Margate, there`s been an "elephantine" presence since 1881. First, what`s known as Lucy the
Elephant was a restaurant and hotel. Then it became a vacation home and eventually a national historic landmark. Now as a way to raise awareness
and money for Lucy`s preservation, it will be available once again as a hotel and Air B&B rental for three nights only. The price $138 a night in
honor of Lucy`s age. It opens the Margate to history buffs who will be very "victor interested" in Lucy`s "elephantastic" pedigree. They`ll be up
to the "tusk" of telling her tail to anyone who will lend an ear when they "trumpet" their account of a really "trunk" show.
I`m Carl Azuz and though I don`t personally choose the schools we mention on CNN 10. I love shouting out places like the Memphis Academy of Science
and Engineering. It`s in Memphis, Tennessee and folks there subscribed and left a comment on the most recent show on our You Tube channel.
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