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Musclepharm definitely won't dilute the stock much further this year with this kind of secured loan agreement.
I'm not even sure it can get away with much dilution next year either....until it removes stocks from this bank's treasury.
Musclepharm will be fine as the market is looking for a "muscle" branded energy drink and protein bar....I think you got it all wrong once again.....
bellator_exec aka lenny_levine under a new name....
I sense that Musclepharm will be profitable in q2 or q3
"still-developing and not-yet profitable"...we already knew that about q4....but the recent addition of a $4 million loan at 5.25% could be an indication that things aren't that bad after all.
5.25% interest....hmmm, Musclepharm is apparently doing a lot better than what investors think.
perhaps we should give Musclepharm a break on the late announcement of q4 results.
Musclepharm is undergoing a SEC investigation and the company is in a major adjustment after it decided to sell through Walmart and Sam's Club. This adjustment will not help the bottom line in the short term.
We should probably worry more about the qualities of the CFO and the cash at hand than when Musclepharm announces it results while adjusting to larger revenues and lower margins.
funny enough, I'm not so concerned about branding or dilution any longer....What keeps me up at night is the choice of CFO and the limited credit available to Musclepharm.
Musclepharm has constantly been improving it's packaging and branding....and it got some good people working on that...so, no worries any longer.
Regarding dilution...I doubt Brad will issue lots of stocks when the stock is so low.
At $13, Brad would probably have been considering diluting the stock aggressively. Now, he acknowledges that he could kill the stock for good doing that...I mean, with fewer interested investors the stock will suffer.
Musclepharm needs to increase the credit available to the company and Musclepharm needs some seasoned CFO with a background from a profitable company.
Musclepharm's energy drink packaging is nice aesthetically...and the Japanese style pictographs are spot on (and seemingly inspired by Jym Nutrition's packaging).
The color schemes might not work that well though, if same colors cover different flavors...I do agree with that.
I just don't feel that we should put too much into that until Musclepharm launches something in April. Most likely Musclepharm is still trying to figure out what flavors would work best.
Same thing with the Hardcore line....it's most likely still a work in progress kind of thing. One day, that line might blow us all away, with repackaging and another name.
Protein bars and the RTDs that are higher margin products should be sold more widely that powder products.
Protein powder sold through specialty retailers and selective wholesale warehouses is fine with me.
Maintaining high margins on most you sell is probably a good idea when all you do is branding and designing products.
Sears sells a lot...but it doesn't make money. That's not really Musclepharm's headache. Eventually JC Penney will disappear and that will help Sears.
Well, if not Sears...then Target and Sam's Club might be some other good suggestions...I think Musclepharm branded compression and tight fitting synthetic products would be ideal for these stores.
Also, Musclepharm should definitely throw some products out to TJMaxx and Marshall's if possible.
The Musclepharm brand is ideal for Latin American, Turkish and East Asian department stores....and the brand would probably do well in Hypermarkets in Europe as well, with weight on Eastern Europe.
Musclepharm could sell it's apparel products at Sears, K-Mart and in Latin American, Turkish and East Asian department stores.
It might be worth a try at least....
That's easy if we didn't have the SEC investigation.
UFC had a decline in popularity last year, but my understanding is that it is regaining popularity lately. UFC's popularity is very important to Musclepharm as a rise in popularity could make the Combat Crunch protein bars fly off the shelf and become a snack product that Musclepharm could license Worldwide.
Musclepharm is probably worth approx $220 million right now if it had to be bought.
An acquisition could be forthcoming.
It is speculation based on the fact that Musclepharm bought back Musclepharm Apparel for more than one would have thought it to be worth. Controlling the brand image might be important to a prospective buyer.
Musclepharm probably doesn't wanna disclose any information regarding a possible acquisition prior to the conclusion of the SEC investigation. The closure of the SEC investigation may very well be the condition of any prospective buyer, that wouldn't like to assume any unknown liabilities.
I believe this is built into the stock price:
1) Q4 disappointing in terms of revenue and earnings
2) Q1 not going to be too great, but somewhat better than Q4.
3) minimal dilution expectation going forward
4) Tiger Woods a transaction that will never make money for MSLP
So, in order for the price to go up short term, any of these assumptions need to change for the better. Any further dilution will kill the stock for good and make it a no go stock for institutional investors.
I believe we need to wait for guidance for Q2 for any real upside though as Musclepharm is adjusting to the Walmart and Sam's Club deal. Yearly guidance numbers are not trusted as he will miss Q4.
Building out existing lines by adding new product categories seem to be the only path forward. Adding a Black line and a Nature Sport line might be worth considering down the road.
Forget about Hardcore and Oxysport though....it's ridiculous having like 10 different lines that for the most part do the same.
Only differentiator in ingredient is plant based and only differentiator in target is age.
Older users of the products just need to scoop less as their metabolism and kidney function is declining. Excessive protein consumption is potentially very damaging to kidneys for all age groups, something worth considering in terms of future labeling....how to protect the health of consumers while not hurting profits. I believe in telling consumers the truth and I believe that is an industry responsibility.....because ultimately this discussion will arise as proteins increasingly are replacing fats and carbs in diets of non athletes
Frost sold almost 50% at P/S=1....and he knew Brad personally....so definitely Brad is getting the thumbs down from the only Billionaire investing in the company. Also, there is not a single small investor on Investors Hub that supports Brad and larger institutional investors are staying away....
Hopefully, Brad gets the message....that everybody acknowledges that he built up the company, but that he needs to take it easy with the spending and unrealistic promises. Also, I'm personally getting the feeling that the Musclepharm brand cannot be stretched much further, and that a second powerful brand, with a name and logo as appealing as Musclepharm needs to be invented for incremental earnings. A Black Label MP line is okay....but we don't need any Oxyclean line.
MuscleTech got the worst branding imaginable with so many different lines that you get lost in translation. It seems like Brad is looking for inspiration the wrong place: in Canada.
Shark Tank is a TV show, like 99% of the deals never happened.
If you are not comfortable with your investment, then sell it now.
If you are confident this company is a flop, then whatever you lose is a sunk cost...it is irreversible.
I feel different, and I might be wrong...Bellator_Exec's Brad to drug addict analogy might be 100% correct and I'm being the naive, throwing more good money after bad.
Brad thinks very big and sometimes he is out of touch with reality, sometimes he is spot on, like with UFC and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Brad understands that the reason why America and Western Europe countries are number one in the World in terms of GDP is because they brand cool products that are sold in large volumes.
Brad understands that most branded products are designed at the headquarters and then manufactured elsewhere. I mean, Graham watches may come from a Swiss watch company, but the parent company only designs the watches, the manufacturing of the timepiece is done by another Swiss company.
I don't know what to tell you? Investing into MSLP is more risky than investing into Pepsico...so, you gotta make up with yourself how much risk you are willing to take..
Combat Crunch sold through Costco could be next announcement made by Musclepharm.
It would be a natural incremental step for Musclepharm to take....and it would benefit Costco too by giving Musclepharm products a better presence in the stores.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, UFC and Tiger Wood endorsing your products all at once is pretty strong recipe for success.....even if one of them is down temporarily.
At least Musclepharm didn't lose revenue on the Tiger Woods deal as it didn't have any Tiger Woods specific products out yet. Tiger Woods is a somewhat tricky endorser to embrace for a sports nutrition company, so more time to elaborate the right strategy might work just fine for investors.
The stock is undervalued right now, considering the availability of Musclepharm's powder products and the promise of wider scale launches of protein bars and RTD products down the road.
Dilution, expensive under performing endorsements and lack of profitability is the worry among investors.
Investors should cheer those endorsements that do give a decent return like Arnold Schwarzenegger that is currently selling wide, through specialty and big box retailer (and where specially designed Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilding apparel might gross millions).
Furthermore, Musclepharm is close to breaking even....and it doesn't have much debt.....so, there shouldn't be that much worry about the company going down before it hits critical mass.
Dilution should be expected to be minimal going forward as the stock price is under pressure following some bad news and lots of stock bashing for the last 4 years....and there is no need for major investments in endorsers or payment of employees above industry averages.
There is only 1 million shares left for employees, and they will be spread over some years.
So, really...it's about waiting for critical mass being reached, similar to waiting for christmas to get your year-end bonus.
Musclepharm Apparel might be worth paying a premium of $300,000 from one year ago....or, it really doesn't matter much to us, if it isn't.
We are better served without these kind of transactions, but if no more are of such nonsensical actions are forthcoming...it's pretty much peanuts involved.
Apparel might have some value in branding and cross selling for Musclepharm....so, I think we should let it rest for now.
It doesn't make any sense....and who are these people
Worldwide Apparel LLC?
I wonder if Worldwide Apparel LLC is the same company as Pan World Brands, or Pan World Brands got the license for Europe?
http://www.panworldbrands.com/
Pan World Brands is distributing MacGregor golf clubs and bags and Lee Cooper Denim....Lee Cooper is a known denim brand in France and UK, much bigger in the past, but still around.
http://www.4-traders.com/MUSCLEPHARM-CORP-15867051/news/Musclepharm--Trademark-Application-for-FITMISS-APPAREL-Filed-19027430/
I guess Musclepharm has no intentions to focus on what it is good at.
Well, if Musclepharm can get into department stores in Latin America, Singapore, China, Turkey and Eastern Europe with it's clothes...then be it. I personally find it unwise to use this strategy in Western countries like USA, Canada, Western Europe and Australia....it's just not credible to do so. Musclepharm doesn't need it here.
Brad keeps on diluting the stock on nonsense.
To be honest, I had preferred if Musclepharm didn't have any clothing line...as only athletes are suppose to endorse their brand.
Red Bull is quite successful in not letting anybody wear it's hats, but only endorsers.
That said, it could hardly be something that he should worry much about....what was done was okay, but definitely not worth wasting time on. Doing more would be a bad idea.
I found this on the Internet:
In 2007-2008, almost two-thirds of adults snacked two or more times daily, contributing an average of 24% of total daily calories (586 kcal for men and 421 kcal for women
Musclepharm with 50% sales in protein bars and 50% sales in powder products, that would be a dream come true.
The big question is whether Musclepharm is ready to do that?
It would need to have a place to manufacture that many protein bars, and it would need that the protein bar products be shipped to Walmart, Costco, 7-Eleven, etc....
Musclepharm's combat line and iron line should work great for the mass market, so I truly hope that protein bars become the next big product from Musclepharm.
Tiger Woods branded protein bars would be great too, whenever Tiger Woods retires and becomes a legend.
Employees that already got lots of Musclepharm stocks, vested and unvested, I hope they will focus on delivering results in 2015, instead of being greedy, craving for more stocks.
More stocks could be issued whenever these employees have delivered whatever is expected by institutional investors.
The list of institutional investors is too short, while the list of major stock holders among employees and endorsers is too long. This is not typical of a Nasdaq type company, that is expected to be very frugal when it comes to the issuance of the company's stock.
...and Carl Icahn and Mark Cuban exited Lions Gate Entertainment at $7, now a $32 stock.
Frost probably wasn't too happy with Musclepharm's massive write up of the cheap biozone assets. Also, the legal issues between Musclepharm and Cocrystal probably didn't help either...it made him look bad and it showed him that Musclepharm does whatever is in Musclepharm's interests.
That said, lifestyle companies like Musclepharm may fail as much as they may succeed. Musclepharm got any chance to become a great company....if the management grows up and acts more responsibly by becoming profitable and by not issuing more stocks.
POSITIVES
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We probably focus a little too much on the problems and the things that need to be fixed and forget all the positive.
Fact is that:
1) Musclepharm's packaging is pretty damn good for the core lines, MP Combat line and the Iron line
2) Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsing a line of protein products is like a dream. He is exclusively endorsing Musclepharm's products and no other company's products.
3) The UFC sponsorship does make the Combat line very popular
4) MP Combat Crunch is very promising...The packaging seems to be very powerful
5) Musclepharm is selling through Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco and GNC, all at once.
6) Musclepharm is popular internationally
There are problems, but that's life....not everything is going to be perfect for any company. Signing Tiger Woods has been expensive to shareholders thus far....but most likely, Musclepharm shareholders will get something back from that investment one day....The endorsement spans until the Summer of 2018, with possibility to extend it to Summer 2020. Clearly, Tiger Woods has to make up his mind about what to do with his career, and if he cannot compete at a high level.....then he will retire as a legend, many years before 2020....So, WE WILL GET OUR MONEY BACK eventually....because Tiger Woods will remain being a big name, 30 years from now.
if Musclepharm made money, that list would have been a little longer...
there is nothing nonsense about much I'm writing...Tiger Woods is a real issue of Musclepharm....unlike your worries about channel stuffing and low margins at Walmart and Sam's Club that are pretty short sighted to say the least.
That said, anybody that writes here does so because that person likes to share thoughts about the companies that person invests in....sometimes there is no audience...but that's real life. There is no audience for types like you either in the real life...so, you know the feeling.
I'm not writing to influence the stock price...as it is illegal.
I don't write either because I'm crazy....I'm married and I have a second girl on the side that wants me too....so, what's so bad about my life?
i
Cory Gregory should be doing more of what Jim Stoppani does....perhaps with Eric Serrano and some nutritional expert assisting him....And lines specifically meant for Bodybuilding.com should be built around them.
If it works for Jym Nutrition, it might just as well work for Musclepharm.
At the end of the day, Musclepharm cannot let competitors take market share from it...it should always be in the position of taking market share from them.
Problem with Tiger Woods is that he wants to protect his own name as good as possible by giving companies he endorses as little control as possible over what they are getting.
So, Tiger Woods might not even be too interested in Musclepharm selling too much with his name on it...because the royalties he potentially could receive from Musclepharm compared to what Nike and other endorsers would be paying him are peanuts.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a much better partner to Musclepharm as he doesn't endorse any other products.
Tiger Woods screwed Musclepharm and Hero MotoCorp!
He knew he wasn't ready to play golf, so why did he sign multi million dollar contracts to do so?
Unless Tiger Woods allows Musclepharm to use the same TW logo as Nike....I see no positives coming out of that relationship....more like a negative relationship.
With the TW logo....oh yeah, that would be a bonus. The TW logo is not worth as much as Air Jordan logo...but, it is a brand associated with Nike that probably will continue to exist even after Tiger Woods retires....as Tiger Woods is a legend.
If that ain't gonna happen....then I think the best strategy for Musclepharm would be to make a separate Tiger Woods line that is associated with the MP logo, as little as possible per contract. Musclepharm and Tiger Woods together is an odd couple...Only the TW logo should allow for a strong association.
It seems like Gatorade, Clif Bar and Quest Nutrition are the only sports nutrition companies that have been managed well and have been performing well from the beginning.
The companies focused on protein powder have faced too much competition selling what consumers believe to be very similar products. Product differentiation is limited, so only flavors, endorsements, packaging, claims of superior quality and good instructions into use of produces have driven sales.
The protein powder product category has however always been a tough place to be in...because protein powder is considered to be as generic as sugar by the consumer, even if it isn't.
brand-wise Musclepharm is doing a lot of good things, but it should seek outside consultants and ask the following questions:
1) What do you think about our plans for Tiger Woods? (whatever those plans are)
2) What should we do with UFC? Do we need a UFC endorser?
3) What do you think about the Hardcore name for a line for Bodybuilding.com? should we change it to Muscle Addict, XX Athletics, whatever..
4) What can we do brand-wise to compete againt Dymatize, Cellucor, Optimum Nutrition, MuscleTech, BSN, Jym Nutrition, etc?
5) What should we do about Fitmiss brand? Do you think we need a better endorser? Should we change logo? Should we incorporate more sex into advertising, packaging? like having a Brazilian beach volleyball player endorsing the products and using silhouettes of sexy bodies on packaging
Musclepharm could pose many other questions to brand consultants and try to optimize it's strength of brands.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to branding... as long as quality of product is decent of course.
what happened to UFC on the Musclepharm web-site? Is Chady Dunmore more important to Musclepharm than UFC endorsers?
I believe a company should remember it's roots, even if it broadens it's reach.
Make UFC cool, it's young people fighting in places like California, Florida and Las Vegas....so, what's so hard making it cool?
Tiger Woods can me made cool too....by focusing on his legacy and his winnings...and his athletic body.
I think Musclepharm is only getting 5% out of it's endorsements and sponsorships when it should get 100%..
When you got UFC sponsorship, then you should at least have one UFC fighter to represent your coumpany.
kind of bad if Musclepharm reports guidance late for two consecutive quarters, and if it doesn't issue any shareholder letter this year.
Consistency and openness are signs of strength in investor relations....