Business

“Kidults” have a great fondness for cartoons, Star Wars and Lego.
In recent years, toy makers such as Mattel have created lines just for these consumers.
These kids at heart are responsible for one-fourth of all toy sales annually.

Disney’s Star Wars merchandise stuffed toys depicting Grogu character, commonly known as Baby Yoda.
Chukrut Budru |Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

There are two things keeping the toy industry afloat right now: inflation and a consumer group known as “kidults.”
These kids at heart are responsible for one-fourth of all toy sales annually, around $9 billion worth, and are the biggest driver of growth throughout the industry, according to data from the NPD Group.

This cohort, which NPD defines as ages 12 and older, has been steadily contributing to the industry for years, but spending has accelerated in the wake of the pandemic, leading to year-over-year gains despite tough comparisons.
It’s an important moment for the toy industry, too, with the holiday season upon us. While sales surged across the board for board games, puzzles and playsets during the pandemic, the first nine months of 2022 saw a 3% decline in sales volume. Higher toy prices helped outweigh these losses, as sales revenue for the time period jumped 3%, NPD reported.
Kidults, who tend to spend more on toys, have a great fondness for cartoons, superheroes and collectibles that remind them of their childhood. They buy merchandise such as action figures, Lego sets and dolls that might typically be considered “for kids.” However, in recent years, toy makers have created product lines just for these consumers, realizing that demand is high for this generation of adults who still want to have fun.
“The definition of adulthood has definitely evolved,” said Jeremy Padawer, chief brand officer at toy company Jazwares. “What it used to mean, to be an adult, was to be a very upstanding, serious member of society. And to do that you had to demonstrate it intellectually, emotionally, in every other single way.”
“Now we feel a lot more free to express our fandom as a part of our adulthood,” he said.

In the ’70s and ’80s, the toy business began to shift away from being an industry that was just about the next innovative item and embraced creating more product based on entertainment franchises. To be sure, there were toys based on movies and TV shows prior to this time, but this is when the trend kicked into high gear.
“In 1977, ‘Star Wars’ launches, and you started seeing a lot more licensed product at retail, where we were celebrating our fandom with with toys and collectibles,” Padawer said.
This included nontoy merchandise such as bedsheets, crockery and clothing.
“At the time, the intended recipient was almost all kids,” he explained. “But those children that were born in the ’70s and ’80s were really the first generation that had this much licensing and this much product that was available for them to demonstrably attached to. And it’s not a big surprise, then that those kids is their 30s and 40s, that they continue to demonstrate that.”

This kidulting trend started to rise in prominence around a decade ago, as superhero movies and comic book culture exploded into the mainstream. It became more consequential to the bottom lines of toy companies in the last five years, said James Zahn, editor in chief of “The Toy Book” and senior editor of “The Toy Insider.”
Toy manufacturers such as Lego embraced these consumers and created lines, often tied to nostalgic entertainment properties, just for this cohort. Hasbro’s Black Series for action figures, is a prime example of this, tapping into the desire for high-quality Star Wars and Marvel collectibles. Even Mattel has lines from Barbie and Hot Wheels that are designed specifically for this group of buyers.
Toy companies have even begun creating their own television and movie content in order to support toy lines. Mattel launched its own internal movie company and is set to release “Barbie” in July 2023 and Hasbro bought eOne and will set “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” in theaters in March.
These films are not designed for young kids, instead catering to this older group of toy-loving consumers.
Other brands, such as Funko, have always catered toward adult collectors who are in-tune with their inner kid.
But nostalgia doesn’t have to be tied to intellectual property.
“We know that this generation does take their jobs very seriously, but at the end of the day, they also want to have fun,” said Josh Shave, senior director of marketing for Razor.
Razor began selling its classic kick scooter in 2000. Within six months, the company had sold more than 5 million units.
“Twenty years later, all those kids have grown up,” Shave said, noting that Razor has created electric versions of its scooters and ride-ons just for these folks.
“The Razor Icon is literally the adult version of the kick scooter, but it’s electric,” he said. “I just got done with an event and everyone says the same thing, ‘Oh, my goodness, I’m so glad they came up with all these adults. I’m so glad they came up this reminds me of…’ and they would tell me a story.”
The Razor Icon, which can reach 18 miles per hour, retails for $600 and is part of the company’s wider collection of items for kidults. There’s also the Rambler, a take on the retro mini motor-bike, which looks like a swoop bike from the ’60s and can reach 15.5 miles per hour. It retails for $660.

Lego Star Wars toys sit on display inside a Toys “R” Us Inc. store in Paramus, New Jersey, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019.
Bloomberg | Getty Images

Zahn also pointed to Basic Fun as another example of a company transforming its traditionally kid-centric toys into unique items for adults. The toy manufacturer partnered with Netflix to create a larger version of its Lite-Brite set based on “Stranger Things” that can be hung as artwork. It costs $100.
“And a lot of that we saw expanded during the pandemic because people went home and they rediscovered play,” Zahn said.
That connection with imagination didn’t end with the lockdowns.
In the last 12 months ending September, the kidult group represented 60% of the dollar growth in the industry, despite accounting for only a quarter of sales, according to NPD’s Checkout data.
“So, it’s been a huge windfall,” said Juli Lennett, vice president and industry advisor for NPD’s U.S. toys practice.
Still, the stakes remain high for the toy industry as it heads into the final weeks of the year.
Inventory has been a major challenge for retailers across the board. Supply chain snafus threatened to make shelves bare for holiday shoppers last year, leading many big-box stores to hedge their bets on how much merchandise to order and receive deliveries earlier than usual. As the supply chain loosened, many had excess inventory, leading to sharper discounts as demand waned.
Some companies, such as MGA Entertainment, which is the manufacturer of LOL Surprise dolls, decided to offer more items that sell for under $15 in order to cater to more cost conscious parents.
CEO Isaac Larian told CNBC that the company had about 20 products that sold between $5 and $15 last year. This year, there are more than 200.
Kidults, on the other hand, are a coveted consumer because they are often willing to spend more money than others on items for themselves.
“Right now, adult toy buyers are the reason for growth in the toy business,” Larian said.

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Millionaire Survey

Rich investors are betting on double-digit declines in stocks next year, according to the CNBC Millionaire Survey.
Fifty-six percent of millionaire investors surveyed expect the S&P 500 to decline by 10% in 2023.
There is a large optimism gap between younger and older millionaires. Eighty-one percent of millennial millionaires expect their assets to be higher at the end of next year.

Millionaire investors are betting on double-digit declines in stocks next year, reflecting their most bearish outlook since 2008, according to the CNBC Millionaire Survey.
Fifty-six percent of millionaire investors surveyed expect the S&P 500 to decline by 10% in 2023. Nearly a third expect declines of more than 15%. The survey was conducted among investors with $1 million or more in investible assets.

They also expect falling equities to reduce their wealth. When asked about the biggest risk to their personal wealth over the next year, the largest number (28%) said the stock market.
The last time millionaire investors were this gloomy was during the financial crisis and Great Recession more than a decade ago.
“This is the most pessimistic we’ve seen this group since the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009,” said George Walper, president of Spectrem Group, which conducts the survey with CNBC.
Inflation, rising rates and the potential for recession are all weighing on the minds of wealthy investors, Walper said. And while markets have already fallen this year, with the S&P 500 down about 18%, wealthy investors are forecasting even more pain ahead next year.
The bleak outlook could also put additional pressure on markets, since millionaire investors own more than 85% of individually held stocks. More than a third of millionaires expect their overall investment returns (which include bonds and other asset classes, along with stocks) to be negative next year. Most are expecting returns of less than 4%, which is low given that short-term Treasurys are now yielding over 4%.

Many millionaires are holding cash and planning to stay on the sidelines, at least for the foreseeable future. Nearly half (46%) of millionaire investors have more cash in their portfolio than last year, with 17% holding “a lot more.”
Millionaires are also bearish about the economy, with 60% expecting the economy to be “weaker” or “much weaker” at the end of 2023.
There is a large optimism gap, however, between younger and older millionaires. Eighty-one percent of millennial millionaires expect their assets to be higher at the end of next year, with nearly half (46%) expecting their assets to be up 10% or more. By contrast, most (61%) baby boomer millionaires expect their assets to be lower or “much lower” next year. More than half of millennial millionaires say the S&P 500 will be up 10% or more next year.
Walper said millennials have grown up in a financial world of low interest rates and rising asset prices, where market sell-offs have usually been followed by quick rebounds. Older generations, he said, may remember the high-inflation, rising-rate world of the 1970s and early 1980s, when the S&P drifted lower for more than a decade.
“The millennial millionaires have never lived through a true inflationary environment,” Walper said. “For their entire business life, they’ve seen interest rates that were managed by the Fed. They’ve never seen rate hikes this aggressive.”
Millionaire pessimism is also affecting their views of their financial advisors. A majority say they have consulted “very little” or “not at all” with their financial advisors about how to position for inflation. Walper said approval levels for financial advisors “have never dropped this much this quickly, at all wealth levels.”
“They feel that they’re advisors are not communicating or preparing them for how to deal with it,” Walper said. “They’re not talking to them about what all this means for their financial future.”
The CNBC Millionaire Survey was conducted online in November. A total of 761 respondents, representing financial decision-makers in their households, qualified for the survey. The survey is conducted twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. More

Everyone is traveling, it seems.
Data shows people are traveling more often and for longer periods of time, with many planning big bucket list-style trips this year.

But this isn’t the reality for all.
Another group of people are quietly emerging from the pandemic with little to no interest to travel anymore.

Where ‘never travelers’ are highest

A survey of 16,000 adults in 15 countries by the global intelligence company Morning Consult found that Asia is home to the highest percentage of people who said they’ll “never travel” again.
Some 15% of South Korean and 14% of Chinese respondents indicated they would never travel again, according to Morning Consult’s “The State of Travel & Hospitality” report published in August.  
North America isn’t far behind, with 14% of American and 11% of Mexican respondents indicating the same.

Yet, no country came close to the travel reluctance shown in Japan, where some 35% of respondents said they don’t intend to travel again.  

The survey asked about “any leisure travel” and did not differentiate between domestic or international travel plans, said Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst at Morning Consult.
Respondents were surveyed twice this year: in April and July, she said. During that time, travel confidence increased among other Japanese respondents, including those who said they plan to travel in the next three months (+7 points) as well as the next 12 months (+4 points).
But in both surveys, “the number of ‘never travelers’ … stayed the same in Japan,” said Roeschke.
Even with travel intentions on the rise, Japan’s rates remain far behind other countries, including those in North Asia, according to the report.

Some 45% of Japanese respondents said they intend to travel in the next year, compared to 65% in China and 66% in South Korea, the survey showed.
By contrast, 77% of German respondents said they plan to travel in the next 12 months.

‘Don’t want to go overseas’

It could be said that the pandemic has reduced the number of Japanese who decide to travel abroad, but I think the weaker yen has had a greater impact.

Tetsuya Hanada
managing director, Tabimori Inc.

Some 386,000 Japanese travelers went overseas in August — a far cry from the estimated 2.1 million who traveled abroad in August of 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
Hideki Furuya, a professor at Japan’s Toyo University who studies tourist behavior, said one reason is the culture’s “preference for risk aversion.”
He said peer pressure will also keep travelers close to home if the risk of contracting Covid-19 is high.

Tetsuya Hanada, the managing director of the food and travel company Tabimori Inc. said he believes finances are an even bigger factor.
“It could be said that the pandemic has reduced the number of Japanese who decide to travel abroad, but I think the weaker yen has had a greater impact,” he told CNBC Travel.

No place like home

We expect to see a return to the pre-2020 demand for international travel sooner rather than later.

Hideki Furuya
professor at Toyo University

Following a rapid rise in international travel during the 1970s and 1980s, the number of Japanese citizens traveling abroad has largely stagnated since the mid-1990s, according to statistics from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
Roughly the same number of Japanese citizens traveled overseas in 2000 and 2017 — about 18 million — despite the timeframe being one of incredible growth for international travel worldwide.
“The language barrier and the lack of consecutive holidays are some of the reasons why domestic travel is preferred,” said Furuya, adding that “work environments that make it difficult to take paid vacations” is another factor.

Japan’s passport is often cited as one of the strongest in the world, yet less than one in four Japanese citizens had one in 2019.
Behrouz Mehri | Afp | Getty Images

He also cited the attractiveness of Japan’s nature, history, and culture as further incentive to stay close to home.
This will place additional pressure on destinations that are popular with Japanese tourists, namely Taiwan, South Korean and Hawaii.
But Hanada said, with time, Japanese citizens will likely travel again.  
“The Japanese are easily swayed by the majority, a sentiment that will change in five years,” he said.
Furuya said he expects it won’t take that long.
“After seeing and hearing how active Westerners are, we expect to see a return to the pre-2020 demand for international travel sooner rather than later,” he said.

Others are staying home too  

Beyond Japan, other travelers say they too have lost their luster for travel.
The British artist known as Miles Takes told CNBC Travel that “international travel still seems a while away” for him.  
“In the past, I loved to travel and as recently as the beginning of this year, I have travelled to Singapore and Poland from London,” he said. But “both these trips triggered anxiety which has since gotten a lot worse.”
A combination of things turned him off from traveling, he said, including Covid, travel disruptions and having a medically vulnerable partner.
Singaporean Daniel Chua says he’s in no rush to travel for “a mixed bag of reasons.”
But Covid isn’t one of them, he said.

“I’m not afraid of the virus,” said Singaporean Daniel Chua, shown here in Edinburgh, Scotland. He told CNBC Travel he’s less inclined to travel, in part, because of its impact on the environment.

A work trip to Europe in June exposed him to a “mess” of flight delays and staffing shortages, he said. Additionally, he said virtual meetings are a more efficient use of work time.
Chua also cited sustainability as a disincentive to travel, calling it a “core belief in my work and personal life.”
But he acknowledged he’s surrounded by people who are traveling.
“I don’t talk to them about why I don’t travel, not to burst their bubble or to, you know, be the party pooper amidst all of this celebration,” he said. “For me, it’s a personal decision.”
Chua said he believes there are more people who feel like him, but that they’re traveling out of peer pressure or because of FOMO — or the “fear of missing out.”
Neither affect him though, he said.
“I have traveled so much previously,” he said. “There’s no particular country in the world that I really must visit right now.” More

The White House’s Covid-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said families will be safer at upcoming holiday gatherings if they get their updated vaccines.
This year, hospitals are facing the simultaneous threat of Covid, flu and RSV for the first time.
Public health officials have said many people are probably more vulnerable to flu and RSV this year because they weren’t infected in the past two years, which means their immunity is lower.

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha at the White House in Washington, October 25, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

As Covid and flu hospitalizations have climbed in the weeks since Thanksgiving, White House’s Covid-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said families will be safer at upcoming holiday gatherings if they get their updated vaccines.
This year, hospitals are facing the simultaneous threat of Covid, flu and RSV for the first time. Circulation of flu and RSV was very low during the pandemic due to widespread masking and social distancing implemented in response to Covid, but as most people return to normal life, all three viruses are circulating widely.

As of Dec. 14, the 7-day average of weekly new Covid cases reached 65,067, a 2.9% decrease from the previous week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The good news here is that we can prevent those infections from turning into serious illness if people go out and get that updated bivalent vaccine,” Jha told ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.
Public health officials have said many people are probably more vulnerable to flu and RSV this year because they weren’t infected in the past two years, which means their immunity is lower. Around 23,503 patients were admitted to the hospital with influenza this week, the CDC reported, while RSV hospitalizations appear to have peaked in some states.
Hospitalizations of people with Covid topped more than 5,000 per day on average, according to the CDC.
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said it’s going to be a “difficult few weeks,” and he told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that this year’s respiratory pathogen season is the “worst in recent memory.”

Gottlieb said it has been a historic year for the flu in particular.
“80% of hospital beds right now are full. The hospitals haven’t been this full since the peak of the omicron wave last winter,” he said. “The difference is that last winter, 25% of those hospital beds were filled with Covid admissions. Right now, only 6% are filled with Covid admissions.”
Even though it is safe to gather in groups this year, Jha said staying up to date on vaccines will be essential for keeping people out of the hospital.
“I got my flu shot last year. I don’t expect that to protect me this winter,” he said. “I go out and get my flu shot every winter, in the same way people have to go out and get their Covid shot.”

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James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” snared $134 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend.
It was short of the $175 million that industry analysts had predicted, and just under the $135 million to $150 million range that Disney had forecast.
Internationally, “The Way of Water” tallied $300.5 million, bringing the film’s opening weekend haul to $434.5 million.

Avatar: The Way of Water
Courtesy: Disney Co.

James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” fell short of lofty box office expectations, but international ticket sales spark hope that the long-awaited sequel could still pull in a substantial global haul.
The film snared $134 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend, short of the $175 million that industry analysts had predicted, and just under the $135 million to $150 million range that Disney had forecast.

The film is tied with Warner Bros.’ “The Batman,” which also generated $134 million during its domestic opening in March, as the fifth-highest opening of the year, according to data from Comscore.
Internationally, “Way of Water” tallied $300.5 million, bringing the film’s opening weekend haul to $434.5 million.
“Because most people are loving the film, the sugar high of that enthusiasm inspired some opening weekend predictions that the historical data and various headwinds for the film don’t support,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “That said, ‘The Way Of Water’ has many factors working in its favor that ensure its long-term prospects for massive global success.”
Notably, China accounted for $57.1 million in ticket sales for the three-day opening weekend.
The Chinese box office contributed around $265 million to “Avatar’s” global tally a decade ago, but the market has grown significantly since. Prior to the pandemic, China was the second-highest-grossing theatrical market in the world. Since cinemas reopened in the country, it has been one of the fastest markets to recover and generate box office success.

In 2009, China’s overall box office reached $910 million. A decade later, it topped $8 billion.
Box office analysts aren’t concerned with the movie’s smaller-than-expected domestic box office, particularly because of how it has played internationally. The original “Avatar,” which was released in 2009, only made $77 million during its opening weekend, but went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time. It maintains that title thanks to several rereleases.
The first film had incredible staying power at the box office, running in theaters through August 2010, a staggering 234 days. “Avatar” ultimately generated $760 million in the U.S. and Canada and more than $2 billion from international markets during its initial theatrical run.
“Although the film is opening on the low end of expectations, it’s important to again emphasize the long-term outlook,” said Shawn Robbins, chief media analyst at BoxOffice.com. “Audiences are showing a strong preference to see the film in premium formats, factoring into the volatility noted in pre-release forecasts.”
Robbins noted that the upcoming holiday corridor and a lack of competition in the market positions “The Way of Water” for a more back-loaded box office than a typical blockbuster.
Premium formats, which include IMAX, Dolby Cinema and Motion auditoriums accounted for 62% of all tickets sold. A whopping 57% of that total was for 3D tickets. Premium format tickets are more expensive than traditional tickets.
“The Way of Water” 3D tickets averaged $16.55 each while 2D cost $12.62 a piece, according to data from EntTelligence.
“It’s premature to qualify the film’s degree of success at this stage, especially with Cameron’s history of long runs at the global box office,” Robbins added.

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Las Vegas Sands, Wynn and MGM are among the casinos to sign new agreements permitting operations in Macao for the next 10 years.
The six licensed operators will collectively invest nearly $15 billion over the next decade to diversify the economy away from its reliance on gambling and to attract international tourism.
Casino companies hope the concession renewal, combined with the government easing Covid travel restrictions and resuming air and ferry service, will usher in a post-pandemic rebound.

Macao’s government relies on casinos for over 80% of its income, with most of the population employed directly or indirectly by the casino industry.
Dragon For Real | Moment | Getty Images

With mandatory quarantines lifted, ferry and airline service resuming, and licenses renewed, casinos hope 2023 marks a new beginning for the world’s preeminent gambling destination, Macao.
The Macao government awarded six companies new 10-year concessions to operate their integrated casino resorts. A concession essentially is an operating agreement with the government, which in turn, licenses the operators.

To win the permission, the casino companies agreed to invest collectively nearly $15 billion dollars in Macao to achieve government goals of diversifying the local economy beyond gambling and encouraging international tourism.
CNBC has also learned MGM will benefit from the allotment of 200 more gaming tables, though the award comes at the expense of competitors including Wynn’s properties, according to multiple sources.
Las Vegas Sands and Hong Kong-based Galaxy Entertainment have the largest real estate footprints in Macao and have committed to the biggest investments.
Sands’ agreement for a $3.75 billion dollar investment, or 30 billion MOP, will be roughly split between capital expenditures and operating expenses. Most of the investment will go toward non-gaming projects like a new conference facility and a luxury yacht experience that appeal to foreign visitors, according to a company statement.
An executive in the company who asked not to be named characterized the financial commitment as a win, as it entails investments that likely would have been made anyway — as opposed to an operating fee forked over in exchange for a license.

The sentiment is similar at MGM Resorts, which plans to invest its $2.1 billion commitment in three main areas: culture, entertainment and medical tourism.
This month, Macao has seen an increase in tourism from mainland China from visitors trying to get an mRNA Covid vaccine. The BioNTech shots have not been approved in mainland China, but in Macao, a Special Administrative Region, or SAR, the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) Hospital offers vaccinations for tourists.
Wynn Resorts’ commitment to a $2.2 billion investment over the next decade will incorporate plans for state-of-the-art theater and restaurant experiences. It also plans to expand its sales presence around Asia and North America to boost international tourism.
Melco Resorts and Entertainment announced the return of its House of Dancing Water extravaganza, which has been suspended since the beginning of the pandemic. It will also build an indoor water park. The company also plans to focus on medical tourism by building a clinic with MRI and other advanced imaging technology.
Galaxy will build Macao’s first high-tech amusement park. SJM Holdings will renovate its defunct floating casino to offer non-gaming entertainment options.
As the government works to usher in a new era, the days of junkets bringing in high rollers to the island is all but finished. Crackdowns had curtailed that segment of the gaming business, even before the pandemic began. This week, the Macao secretary of finance and the gaming enforcement agency DICJ announced they will increase monitoring and enforcement around even stricter limits.
A rise in Covid infections around China caused November gaming revenue in Macao to fall 23% from October and plummet 99% from November 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to government data.
Even with the resumption of the e-visa program, where Chinese travelers can apply electronically for travel documents, and the easing of quarantine requirements, the Macao government said it anticipates gross gaming revenue, or GGR, in 2023 to mirror 2022’s GGR of roughly $16 billion, as Macao struggles with continuing Covid overhang.
But Macao’s loss may be Singapore’s gain. Sands reported third-quarter results that showed a stunning jump in visitation and spending after Singapore lifted Covid travel restrictions.
Fitch estimates Singapore will achieve 80% of its pre-pandemic gaming revenue in 2022, and 95% in 2023.

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NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat is founder of Bigface Brand coffee.
Butler’s retail business is growing through an e-commerce partnership with Shopify.
While his name gets the attention, Butler says of the growing coffee brand, “I’m actually in it, I’m actually with it, I’m going to these places and I’m learning more and more every single day.”

Whether it’s on the basketball court or behind the barista bar, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is determined to be the best. That’s why he has involved himself in every step of the process when creating his own coffee company, Bigface Brand.
“I want to be in every Zoom call, every meeting, on every sourcing trip, no matter where it is, anywhere around the world,” Butler said at the CNBC Small Business Playbook on Dec.14. “Just because I want to let people know, yes, my name is in it, on it, it’s a part of it, but I’m actually in it, I’m actually with it, I’m going to these places and I’m learning more and more every single day.”

Like many others at the peak of Covid-19 quarantine, the six-time NBA All Star said he found himself bored. With his newfound downtime, Butler decided to combine both his love of competition and coffee in creating his own coffee brand. 
The brand began gaining traction when the NBA was forced to move its operations and games to Orlando to play its “bubble” season, where Butler found the coffee options unsatisfactory. Taking matters into his own hands, Butler started selling $20 cups of coffee to fellow NBA players, cups that he brewed himself with an espresso machine he brought to use in his Orlando hotel room, using beans from El Salvador. 
“From when the [NBA] bubble started I wanted to be the best barista,” Butler said. “Now Bigface Brand, Bigface coffee is a real thing, and I’m just trying to get the best coffee and the best experience out to the world.”

Jimmy Butler
Source: Bigface

Butler officially launched Bigface in October 2021 in a partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify and through its creator program. As a part of the program, Butler receives all profits, and Shopify is able to leverage the athlete’s name, image and likeness. Earlier this year, Shopify announced deals with six high school basketball players to help build their own direct-to-consumer brands.
Bigface currently offers four different blends of coffee, and a collaboration with coffee brand Onyx Coffee. The brand sells more than coffee beans — Bigface’s site also features apparel like hoodies, crewnecks and t-shirts, and accessories like coffee mugs and tumblers.

“Shopify really made my idea as an ecommerce [platform] make sense,” Butler said. “I had all of these different ideas and I didn’t know how to really bring it to life. … They made that transition legit flawless and everything looks so great. I was so comfortable in the way that our business model was moving along and I think they helped me to bring this entrepreneur idea to life.”
Butler said the idea for Bigface began as he saw the power of people bonding over cups of coffee. As the brand grows, he said he hopes to open Bigface cafes all over the world.
“That’s what this whole thing was built off of, is trying to bring individuals together, laughing and having a good time, no matter if you’re getting an iced coffee, hot coffee, cold coffee, cold brew, and sit down and have a conversation and realize how alike you are as individuals,” Butler said. 
Butler’s advice for anyone interested in starting their own business: surround yourself with a team that pushes you to be the best, and don’t compare yourself to others.
“Just do what you do, remember why you’re doing it, stick to that, and success is literally on the other side of very, very hard, because it has been very, very hard,” Butler said. “But that’s the fun part of it, because nothing worth having is easy.” More

City-Scape Landscaping, a family-run operation based in Queens, installs 120 fir trees shipped from Nova Scotia along Park Avenue for almost 50 blocks.
Park Avenue has been a key part of the company’s business since 1972, City-Scape’s owners said.
The Park Avenue Christmas tree project brings in $100,000 a year for City-Scape.

NEW YORK – The prestigious Park Avenue neighborhood has a small business to thank for bringing holiday cheer to its streets year after year.
City-Scape Landscaping, a family-run operation based in Queens, installs 120 fir trees shipped from Nova Scotia, Canada, along the avenue for almost 50 blocks, from 49th to 97th streets.

The business has maintained the avenue’s grassy medians – known as the Park Avenue Malls – for 50 years. A crew of six to seven City-Scape employees positions the fir trees. The company brings in more than $1 million in annual sales from all its clients, according to Experian Business Data. The fir tree process accounts for close to $100,000 of that a year.
Park Avenue has been a key part of the company’s business since 1972, City-Scape’s owners said, helping pay salaries and keep families fed.
City-Scape Landscaping started when late owner Vincent Sofield’s older brothers, Joe and Duke Sofield, were hired by their neighbor Peter Van de Wetering — “the unrivaled tulip impresario of Park Avenue” — to help his team plant and maintain the malls, Vincent said.

Christmas tress installed by City-Scape Landscaping on Park Avenue in New York.

Shortly thereafter, Van de Wetering moved to Long Island to start Van de Wetering Greenhouses, which continues to keep the avenue lush with tulips and seasonal flora. He passed off mall maintenance permanently to the Sofields, and City-Scape was in business.
“I don’t think Park Avenue would have quite the same glamour if the median walls weren’t in place,” said Vincent Sofield’s son, Dylan. “I think it really creates a good contrast with the concrete jungle — kind of softens your eyes up a little bit, makes it less aggressive.”

A half-century later, City-Scape is keeping the business in the family. After becoming a co-owner earlier this year, 26-year-old Dylan is taking over the operation in the wake of his father’s recent passing.
“A lot of people don’t believe me when I tell them I own the company,” he told CNBC earlier this year. “They ask for the boss, and I say, ‘You’re looking at him.’ But they quickly lose that once they realize I know what I am talking about.”
Sofield said he has played a role in the business since he was young, not because he had to, but because he “always wanted to be involved.”
“I was probably pulling a rake before I could walk,” he joked.
Despite the avenue’s high profile, Sofield said he has felt unphased by it because it is “all he knew” growing up. But as he has gotten older, he now recognizes that Park Avenue is not just any landscaping job.
“It’s definitely something to be proud of,” Sofield said. “I see my work all over the place, TV, Instagram. I will be scrolling and think, ‘Oh, there’s my tulips,’ or ‘There’s my lawn.'”

Dylan Sofield, owner of City-Scape Landscaping.

For most of the year, City-Scape tends to the malls every Monday ahead of high traffic weekdays. Crews weed, mow the lawns and hedges, remove debris, water the plants and repair damaged wood barriers.
The company is hired by the Fund for Park Avenue — the neighborhood nonprofit responsible for the malls — to maintain the green spaces year-round.
The malls change by the season: tulips in the spring, begonias in the summer, chrysanthemums in the fall and temporary fir trees in the winter.
“It’s people’s front yard, front gardens along Park Avenue,” said the group’s president, Barbara McLaughlin. “So everyone who’s lucky enough to live on Park Avenue really enjoys it every day, but also, it’s a wonderful place to walk and it’s enjoyed by a lot of people.”
The trees are lit up at the annual Park Avenue tree lighting at Brick Presbyterian Church, an event that drew 4,000 people this year, a church spokesperson said.

Christmas tress installed by City-Scape Landscaping on Park Avenue in New York.

“It’s such an intimate event for New York City,” McLaughlin said. “It’s a neighborhood event, neighborhood feel, but all are welcome.”
The trees will be taken down in mid-January.
“We’d love to have them stay longer, but they’re not planted,” McLaughlin said. “These trees are installed temporarily, so they do get dry.”
And as the trees mark the changing of seasons, they also mark a season of change for City-Scape. It was Dylan Sofield’s first holiday tree installation running the business without his father.
“I still have the help of my family,” he said. “My uncle is still around, and he’s been doing this for 50 years; he’s not going anywhere.”

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