Retail & Consumer Archives - THE STERN OPPORTUNITY

The EV revolution: can Biden take us the last mile?

The EV revolution: can Biden take us the last mile?

By Oppy Staff on May 13, 2021

By Nicolaus Schmandt

113 years after Henry Ford’s first Model T rolled off the assembly line in Michigan, combustion engines remain the dominant means of moving a vehicle. For technology to last more than a century is an impressive run. Compared to phones, computers, and personal electronics, multiple iterations of which are unrecognizable and unusably primitive today, cars have remained surprisingly consistent.

But, finally, the end seems to be coming with Ford planning to put its last gasoline engine in a car in 2034, after which all vehicles produced by Ford will be electric. That’s around the time several governments, including California and most of Europe, are saying they will ban the sale of gas vehicles.…

Turbulence Amid Changing NYC Rent Laws

Turbulence Amid Changing NYC Rent Laws

By Oppy Staff on March 5, 2020

By Gianna D’Alessio

New York renters temporarily rejoiced on February 4, when the Department of State clarified language from 2019 housing laws, effectively banning broker’s fees in New York City. Broker’s fees, which are sums of money prospective tenants are asked to pay towards a broker’s commission, are a large expense to new renters and could cost as much as 12 to 15 percent of one year’s rent. This decision was long-anticipated, after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Statewide Housing Security & Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and the Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act of 2019 on June 14, 2019.…

Fashion Week 2020

Fashion Week 2020

By Conor Clark on February 7, 2020

Full disclosure: I’m writing this article wearing a hard hat in a damp construction shanty in the Meatpacking District. I am not the target market of New York Fashion Week (NYFW), but one thing is for sure: I absolutely love it. For two weeks, NYC is flooded with even more materialism and pretty people than it usually has, and the excuse to party on Tuesday nights (all in the name of networking of course) is never more palpable.

Sure, there are downsides to Fashion Week. Longer lines at restaurants, overcrowded bars and clubs, sleep deprivation. But if those are really dealbreakers, why did you move to New York in the first place?…

Progressive Legislation & Urban Development

Progressive Legislation & Urban Development

By Conor Clark on February 7, 2020

New York City recently passed new ordinances and progressive legislation to improve the safety and carbon footprint of more than 1 million buildings in the five boroughs. I have 1200 words. Let’s make them useful.

SAFETY

Unfortunately, building safety legislation in New York is reactive. New York City’s Façade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP) began in 1980 following the death of Grace Gold, a Barnard College student, when a piece of masonry spalled and struck her. Since then, any building over 6 stories requires routine façade (exterior wall) inspections. Updates in 1998 required hands-on inspections, mandated repairs, and staggered filing deadlines.…

Stern Team Takes on BMW’s Electric Vehicles and Its Place in the Circular Economy

Stern Team Takes on BMW’s Electric Vehicles and Its Place in the Circular Economy

By Oppy Staff on November 22, 2019

Cover photo: The Stern team includes Ben Gottesdiener, Jessica Tou, Leslie Chao and Phil Schroder.

From design to production, BMW’s i3 and i8 models represent today’s standards of sustainable automobiles. The global automobile leader approached the Stern Signature Project team on the commercialization of electric vehicles (EVs) and kicked off their engagement by posing two questions: What are sustainable business models of dismantling electric off-lease vehicles? How can the most valuable component, the released battery capacity, be marketed most efficiently?

“BMW asked us to help them think through how to most effectively monetize its fleet of off-lease (cars being returned from lease) electric vehicles,” said Ben Gottesdiener (Stern MBA ‘20).…