This show proudly sponsored by Real American Freestyle Wrestling. Hi, everyone. It's Brian Kilmead here. Are you tired of those uncomfortable dress shirts, especially when they bunch up under a sweater? If so, then you must check out Collars Co., makers of the dress collar polo.
Listen up. These shirts are four-way stretch, buttery soft polos with firm dress collars on them, so they give you the dress shirt look, but extremely comfortable polo feel. You can wear them with anything under a sweater, with a blazer, or by themselves as an elevated polo. They work for any occasion. These polos are perfect, whether it's in the office, on a golf course, or a night out.
Collars Co. is exploding and have gone viral on social media thanks to the 1 million investment they received on Shark Tank from Mark Cuban and Peter Jones. You don't have to worry about collars that flop down and spread out. They stay firm and sharp all day. It's an amazing array of sweaters, quarter zips, pants, and outerwear.
If you're looking for the performance dress shirt or polo that looks great all day, check out collarsandco.com. Use promo code Brian for 15% off. of any purchase of $100 or more. That's promo code BRIAN. Hey, listen to this.
All it needed was a new starter. Got a great deal on eBay. Did it myself? Yeah, that's cool. But how about the soft purr of an upgraded exhaust when it fits just right?
Eh, for me, it's the little things. Like these new windshield wipers from eBay I installed. From small fixes to big upgrades. eBay has all the parts you need at prices you'll love, guaranteed to fit every time. eBay, things people love.
Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Let's talk about the economy. Marcus Limonis, remember him and the Prophet, unbelievably successful businessman, camping world CEO, and host of The Fixer. Marcus, welcome back.
It's been seven minutes. Good morning, Brian. It's been seven minutes, but I have to tell you, after reading this jobs report, I don't know how much more frustrated people can be right now, to be honest with you.
So we're talking about 73,000 instead of 105,000?
Well, it's 73,000 today, but if we look back over the last couple of months, that number came roaring down. And as I said to you a few minutes ago, you have to wonder, doesn't the Fed get a preview to these types of data points? This is a really important data point. I think, are they waiting for a bunch of people to get fired or are they waiting for companies to say, we're not doing anything until we see some sort of relief somewhere? That's what's frustrating to me.
You know what bothers me? You're going to make the numbers. You're an economist. You're a Fed chair. I just hope it's not personal.
I hope it's not saying, I can't be perceived to be giving into pressure from the White House, so I'm not going to do it. Because they had two officers say, I don't agree with leaving things unchanged.
Well, I think there's a balance, right? I think there is a balance of necessity for independence. And I don't think anybody disagrees with that on both sides of the house. I think the real challenge is that when you talk to business leaders that are really driving the economy, that are hiring people, that are borrowing money, that are spending money on CapEx, they will all tell you that they're in a wait and see mode. And the wait-and-see mode isn't about tariffs.
We understand generally what that tariff scope is. We just heard Jamie Dimon talk about it. And so for most businesses, it's going to be slightly impactful, and the absorption will happen. The benefit of interest rates being lower is that it frees up cash flow for a lot of companies, gives them the comfort that they can spend some money on hiring people, on growing. People aren't doing any of that right now.
So, yeah, so that you're not doing it. You're not letting people go and you're not hiring them, right? I'm in this really weird zone. And so, I look at the businesses that I have. I just, you know, we have Bed Bath and Beyond.
We opened our first store yesterday and we're hiring people. I look at my Camping World business, my numbers are off the charts, but I'm in this really frozen zone where because interest rates affect my PL so much. Without that relief, I'm scared to buy stores, open stores, or hire people. And that's a big problem when you're 30% of the market. And you're revitalizing Bed Bath Meon, right?
We are.
So I took over Overstock. Many people may know of Overstock years ago. It's a company that has both a dot-com business and a blockchain business. And we bought Bed Bath Beyond out of bankruptcy and we're bringing it back. We could be bringing it back, oddly, at the best possible time because I thought that the trough was behind us.
What the Fed's doing is actually elongating that trough, and that's what's concerning. Because concerning, you said.
Okay. Concerning, very concerning.
Well, can I just ask you, Bed Bath Beyond seems to be a staple of the American family. What was wrong with the business model?
Well, you look at the way the company operated before. They had billions and billions of dollars of debt, terrible inventory management, weren't really focusing on training their people, weren't really getting in and taking care of the customer and being smart about it. And most importantly, they started abandoning all the things with these big brands. Bed Bath and Beyond really went through what I would call one of those classic examples of being tone deaf to what was happening in the world. We have a fresh start.
We have a debt-free company. We're opening up some stores and we'll see what happens. But as I look at tariffs and I look at the labor market, It isn't a perfect science, but it could be a lot cleaner if we would just get a little bit of relief. You know, if you talk to anyone in the Trump administration on the economic side, they're all about bringing manufacturing and business back here. You make your car here, there's going to be no tariffs.
Is that something that gratifies you?
Well, I think the thing for me in being in the RV business, all of our RVs are built here in America.
So it's part of our DNA already. And so when I go to Elkhart, Indiana, and I see thousands of people working, that's obviously really satisfying. When I see things coming over from China, quality is poor, freight is expensive. You do have to ask yourself. You look at where furniture can be manufactured in Mississippi, where it can be manufactured in Alabama.
And I think the Trump administration is thinking really, really, really intensely smart here about understanding: will companies start to make the seismic shift? Will land prices go up because factories are being built? Will the labor market get better because factories are being built? That's ultimately what I think the Trump administration's goal is. I'm trying to figure out who's getting in the way.
Are you playing Koy or do you know who's getting in the way besides the Fed who's disappointing you? I think the Fed policy really is getting in the way. I mean, I could just be that blunt about it. You look at companies willing to spend CapEx dollars. Those CapEx dollars are going to service debt.
Those CapEx dollars are going to service real-time, short-term and long-term interest rates. And a little bit of relief is meaningful. In my camping world business alone, and this is a small number compared to some big companies, a quarter of a percent interest rate cut frees up $8 million of cash flow on an annual basis. $8 million to buy new stores, hire new people, invest in the markets. Little teeny numbers.
That's a small business, by the way. I'm a $7 billion business, not a $70 billion business. Before we get into this week's episode and the series, quick question to you personally, because you hang out with a lot of people who take risks. You take a risk. I'm going to try to get Bed Bath Beyond back.
I'm going to see if these RV things are going to work. And if so, where do I open this up? And I'm going to have to hire people, and I'm going to have to build a facility. I really feel like guys like you, and I know you don't do it for praise, don't get enough credit because, yeah, you're looking to make a profit and be successful, but you're not going to do it without people. And when you hire people, you help them earn a living, they raise families, and they look because you took a risk.
People's lives have changed. Do you think guys like you and women like you get enough respect in our economy these days? I don't know that respect is what I'm looking for. I think what I'm looking for is the acknowledgement of how difficult it is to start an idea, to run a business, to take a chance, particularly in a consumer cyclical world. And what I feel like the Trump administration is doing more than maybe I even felt like he did the last time is focusing on how do we get businesses to take chances on people and how do we get them to take chances on investing.
And the backdrop we have now is: don't take risks. That's the backdrop. Real American Freestyle is the first ever unscripted pro wrestling league created by Hulk Hogan, Chad Bronstein, Israel Martinez, and Eric Bischoff to give elite wrestlers a real shot at a professional career. Real American Freestyle is where Olympians, world champions, and NCAA legends come to compete, not in a cage, not in a script, but on the mat in front of fans around the world. This is Real Wrestling.
Reimagine for today. The first event kicks off August 30th in Cleveland, featuring matchups with some of the best wrestlers on the planet. You've never seen wrestling like this. Learn more at realamericanfreestyle.com. Hi, everyone.
It's Brian Kilmead here. Are you tired of those uncomfortable dress shirts, especially when they bunch up under a sweater? If so, then you must check out Collars Co., makers of the dress collar polo. Listen up. These shirts are four-way stretch, buttery soft polos with firm dress collars on them, so they give you the dress shirt look, but extremely comfortable polo feel.
You can wear them with anything under a Sweater with a blazer or by themselves as an elevated polo, they work for any occasion. These polos are perfect, whether it's in the office, on a golf course, or a night out. Collars and Co is exploding and have gone viral on social media thanks to the 1 million investment they received on Shark Tank from Mark Cuban and Peter Jones. You don't have to worry about collars that flop down and spread out. They stay firm and sharp all day.
It's an amazing array of sweaters, quarter zips, pants, and outerwear. If you're looking for the performance dress shirt or polo that looks great all day, check out collarsandco.com. Use promo code Brian for 15% off of any purchase of $100 or more. That's promo code Brian. Have you used utilized AI to a great length yet?
Well, AI has become a necessity, but the one misnomer that I think has happened is that a lot of Detractors from AI think that AI is a replacement of labor. It's an enhancement of labor. It makes things move faster. It makes things less expensive. It gives the customer the opportunity to buy things for less.
If you balance AI and tariffs, Brian, to be candid with you, and you get efficiency out of your business, which allows you to lower your operating costs, then the tariffs can be slightly more absorbed. We know that that $150 billion that came in last month, that matters. Here you are.
So on your series, The Fixer, which is streamed on Fox Nation and on FBN on Tuesdays, here is one episode, a cut from one of your episodes: Happy Gene versus Evil Gene, cut 50. How long have you worked here? 25 years. Uh-huh. What?
You've been with Gene for 25 years? 25 years. I've been here 15 years.
So you guys like it here if you've been here that long. Um It's okay sometimes.
Sometimes it's just too much tension. What drives that? Who came up with such a stupid idea? Where was the brain power to come up with that? There's two genes, I always say: there's a happy gene, and there's an evil gene.
You don't know what you're walking into.
So tell me about this business.
So, Brian, just as a reminder, that the show airs its premiere episodes on Fox Network on Friday nights. And then Fox News and Fox Nation will play the reruns of them over the next several weeks because we wanted to be all in the Fox family. This particular business is a microcosm, in my mind, of every business in America. People stay because they don't know what else to do, but that doesn't mean they're happy. And at the end of the day, even if you went into a great company like Home Depot or a great company like, you know, whatever it may be, General Motors, you're always going to find dissenting people.
And that's what we find in these small businesses as well. And you said this is a little different from your last series. You feel like you'd be out to be a little bit tougher, more direct. You know what happened was I got candidly got taken advantage of a lot over the last decade and trying to help people out. And, you know, they get aggressive with you in this particular case.
particularly with the economy, I came in a lot hotter. As my friends and family will tell me, now I look like no bullshit, Marcus. Excuse my French. I think before I was more concerned about how everybody felt and making them feel good. And what I say to them now is: there is no time.
To make you feel good, your business is either going to succeed or it's going to fail. We're going to get right to it. What is this business? What was this business? This was an audio.
For those of you that remember, in the old days, you'd take your car and you'd go get new rims and you'd go get new speakers and an alarm. It's that kind of business, and they service dealerships. What I loved about it is it's driven by five mechanics. And I grew up in the car business. I grew up in the parts department.
I was a service advisor. And I understand that manual labor in this country, you talked to me earlier about do we not get enough credit as business leaders who take chances. The folks that aren't getting the credit are the folks that are making the cars, building the houses, paving the roads, fixing the cars, doing the plumbing and the electrical. The trade world, I think, is ultimately what Trump is trying to really revive here. Interesting.
And do you do you have a preview of this week's episode?
So, this week's episode, there's two episodes on Fox Network tonight. There's a business, two businesses that I walk out of. Without even doing anything. It's probably the most frustrating episode of the series. And then there's another episode where I made an agreement to go to their business only to find out that they were closed when I got there.
Wow. I didn't know that.
So, what I wanted to do on the show, Brian, is give serious entrepreneurs a look inside the business. I'll tell you one quick story because I know we're limited on time. About four years ago, I got a phone call from a gentleman on the phone, and he said, I want to tell you that your show helps me and my company. It helps every business in America because you're teaching people how to be responsible, how to work for something, how to do a deal with a good old-fashioned handshake. The conversation went on for five minutes, and I ended up finding out that it was Jamie Dimon telling me that what we're doing for entrepreneurs is not being done enough.
We're not putting enough focus on every big business starts as a small business.
So, that's exciting. That is awesome. He's a great guy and unbelievably successful. Marcus Limonis, thanks so much. Look forward to checking out the fixer.
Everywhere you see Fox, you'll see Marcus. Thanks. Listen to the all-new Brett Bear podcast, featuring common ground, in-depth talks with lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle, along with all your Brett Bear favorites. Like his All-Star Panel and much more. Available now at FoxnewsPodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
