No. of Recommendations: 25
<<He continued: 'Thinking about Alibaba I got charmed by their position on the chinese internet. I didn't start to realize that they are still a god damn retailer. It's gotta be a competitive business. It's not gonna be a cakewalk for anybody.'>>
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I kind of agree that retailer is not a good business in general. However, BRK also invested in Amazon, and Munger himself is a big fan of Costco. So Ain't there some exceptions?
An unkind person might suggest that his stated concerns about the limitations of retail as an investment sector might be a bit of a deflection from the elephantine issue in the room, being jurisdiction risk.
His BABA position (and its true value) isn't risky or underwater because Alibaba's retail operation is succumbing to cut-throat competition, it's because of political issues.
But he can't say that, for a variety of potential reasons.
A kinder person would say nobody hits every ball, and everybody has a few losers.
Not always one's biggest swing of all time, but still.
Jim
