The analyst who predicted Amazon would buy Whole Foods says only 2 cities have a shot at HQ2
- Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at NYU and business analyst, has laid out his predictions for where Amazon will put its new headquarters, HQ2.
- Galloway correctly predicted Amazon would buy Whole Foods, lending his predictions some clout.
- He narrows it down to five locations on Amazon's 20-city short list.
Amazon is about to choose the location for its second headquarters.
Who will get the $5 billion investment and 50,000 jobs - along with any of the potential downsides?
"It comes down to two locations: the metro area of New York or the metro area of DC," NYU marketing professor and business analyst Scott Galloway says in a new YouTube video.
Galloway doesn't get more specific than that prediction, which technically includes five of Amazon's shortlisted locations: New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Washington, DC; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Northern Virginia.
Why those two regions? Galloway says there are only two items to consider. The first is that Amazon wants to go where it can get the best talent.
"In the eyes of Amazon, the best talent is a 24-year-old [electrical engineering] grad from MIT. This individual isn't concerned with cost of living," Galloway said. "Cost of living only matters when you're in your 30s and you begin collecting dogs and kids."
Then, Galloway says, the next thing to consider is where Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants to spend his time. Bezos already owns homes in New York and DC, in addition to Seattle.
Galloway then goes on to implore Bezos to pick his city now, instead of waiting for the HQ2 bidding process to go on any longer. He also calls on mayors and civic leaders to band together and refuse to offer the company financial incentives to locate in their city.
"Mr. Bezos, come to the light," Galloway says.
Watch the full video below:
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