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could be....but office and manufacturing buildings for a company this size is rarely worth $75 million...
I believe that the "Zero Carbs" branding made the difference. Musclepharm could come up with zero carbs products too if it wanted to....without getting religious.
what a waste of money! Premier Protein was bought for $180 million by post holdings with revenue of $130 million.
Isopure sounds like a brand nobody really cares about.
i sort of agree....but only because i can make money on others being terrified.
that's how we have made money the last couple of years....lots of terrified Americans and Europeans saving up at 0.2% in the banks, when terrifying investors like us have taken advantage of these scared people, I know I have used them every single day by investing into stocks....they paid for the low interest rates.
Will the show soon be over?...yeah, after the next rally it will be over...I think so. Fact is that some of these terrified Americans have gotten up of the chair and gone out buying new house, furnitures and car...that means we are getting closer to the end of the lower interest rates.
still, a lot of Americans are happy with 0.2%...tells a lot
well, it is part of the equation with the risk of non-payment. Weve seen what can go wrong with low interest rates in the past with Greece and the Latinos buying houses they could not afford in both US and Spain....
Still, lending standards have gotten way better nowadays....and banks have gotten better capitalized.
Emerging markets and some credit unions might be a little exposed...by not having assessed the risk good enough...or everybody else was just too conservative.
2% semi-subprime car loans offered by many credit unions seem a little peculiar...but on the other hand, with 1% 5 yr Cds theyll probably be fine.
Interest rates are not rising dramatically anytime soon. Just look at the inflation, there ain't much of it. Most likely interest rates are too high in America and even more so in Europe.
I would bet that Electrobras is a far better investment than JPMorgan over the next month.
the only thing that surprised me is the relationship btw facebook versus twitter....made me regret that i didn't pull the trigger on twitter when it was in the 30ties and made me realize how educated users of Musclepharm's product are.
Worry about GNC sales and not bodybuilding.com sales.
GNC had revenue of $2.6 billion in 2013, which is more than 6 times higher than bb.com.
Internet vendors are under attack for not taxing out-of-state purchases....so, the brick and mortar channel may be the best place to bet on for the future.
Given that GNC gives more and more space to Musclepharm, Musclepharm might achieve a 5% market share within GNC...that's $130 million....and 3% is like $78 million....so far, Musclepharm has sold for less than 1% of what GNC sells.
Now you might understand
1) why Brad Pyatt and other where piling up on MP stocks back in Aug
2) why inventories are building up
3) why BB.com is becoming less important to Musclepharm
It is very likely that Glanbia told bodybuilding.com to tone it down a little bit with Musclepharm....without Optimum Nutrition and bodybuilding.com wouldn't be what it is today.
Quote of Cory in 2013:
Jeremy DeLuca, who now works at MusclePharm as our EVP and chief marketing officer, took a chance on Brad and I with a huge order for a campaign with Bodybuilding.com in 2010. Our business was never the same after that day and we never looked back. We appreciate what Jeremy did for us in the early days, and now he is huge asset to the MusclePharm team and a proven industry professional.
Source:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bodybuildingcom-supplement-company-of-the-month-musclepharm.html
You can keep on speculating what the SEC is finding..but Musclepharm is not gonna tell you anything before the investigation has ended...and there is not a single piece of information that gives us the slightest clue what is found.
Bodybuilding.com introduced Musclepharm to the market and was close to exclusive vendor of it. That has changed as both bodybuilding.com and musclepharm have grown exponentially.
The deluca brother probably ain't too comfortable with bodybuilding.com and musclepharm remaining too closely tied up as it hurts the credibility of the website to other supplement companies and to the majority owners of bodybuilding.com...
Bodybuilding.com concept is to have all brands. Furthermore,
Optimum Nutrition is clearly the market leader in sports nutrition and thus the most important brand to bodybuilding.com....
i agree with that...plus the fact that it seems like Musclepharm was not having much of a warehouse or sales organization to begin with....so bodybuilding.com acted as distributor/close-out agent.
still, i have the feeling that bodybuilding.com acts as warehouse for musclepharm...but i will have to dig deeper into the annual report to see what properties Musclepharm is leasing in Boise and elsewhere.
didn't musclepharm get some warehouse in the deal with biozone?
We probably need some more transparency from Musclepharm's side...Just look at Jeremy Deluca's Linkedin profile...it looks like something of a 5 year old and he makes like $3 million a year...Not really conveying much trust.
Musclepharm ignores investors by not describing it's organization in greater detail....It gives the impression that they are hiding something or taking us all for a ride. It probably ain't so as there is an ongoing SEC investigation, that should deter the company from fraudulent activities going forward.
if you have been part of building up a plus $100 million business, would you then settle with less than say $10 million for your next project?
The deluca brothers are clearly not academics, but they are very good at what they are doing. Compared to Denmark, I don't even think anybody in the sales department of LEGO makes what jeremy deluca makes...but the difference is that jeremy deluca is building up musclepharm....a few years back there was no such company...now it's here and it's growing fast.
also, bodybuilding.com is one out of many online vendors of musclepharm products...with higher shipping cost and worse return policies than Amazon.com or GNC. GNC allow you to return opened products....so does Costco.
probably bb.com filled orders for musclepharm and served as it's distributor until it opened it's own logistics operations in boise, idaho. 40% of musclepharm's sales went through bb.com.
jeremy deluca is probably paid a lot as he is a self-made salesman and channel guy..The deluca brothers are so good at selling proteins that they impressed billionaire malone from liberty media to put $100 million into bodybuilding.com.
billionaires usually can tell who is worth their money and who isn't...like phillip frost investing into musclepharm as he trusts the management.
bb.com was musclepharm's extended arm...now, musclepharm got it's own logistics unit with cfo, comptrollers and the whole shenanigan...next to bb.com in boise, idaho with jeremy deluca in charge....hello?
sec is investigating what was disclosed or not...im not worried at insurance covered musclepharm's legal costs related to sec investigation so far....and only the cfo has been changed with another figure. brad has told us that he believes there are no material items being investigated...i sort of believe him most the way....there have been errors in the bb.com and musclepharm partnership of the past...but i have a strong feeling we can live with them
the less your manufacture yourself, the more inventory
nevertheless, i have the feeling that most of musclepharm's inventory is fresh and like money in the bank...
the more you sell the more inventory you need...unless you don't mind being sold out all the time.
Brent Baker and the rest of the International sales department has been pretty successful right!
When will you start saying something positive about this great company?
The post was 2 years old and look now...30% in international sales and growing.
UFC is huge abroad...as it is among minorities in America.
Boise, Idaho....Musclepharm got major operations there since 2013....and before that, Musclepharm had a major partner there, doing what it now does itself.
Some hard working Italians grinding protein...it is what it is!
Nothing has changed since last week....
I think they very soon will sell for $100-200 million per quarter. Reason is that they are entering the high volume businesses of protein bars, energy drinks, sports nutrition drinks and protein enriched drinks...In addition to that, Musclepharm is coming up with a new brand, Nature Sport and possibly a Tiger Woods line of products.
Musclepharm might come up with 5 different protein bars, targeted at different segments in the market.
Not only, I have the feeling that Musclepharm's ambition is to compete with supplement companies like Nature Bounty down the road.
So, my guess is that Musclepharm possibly could sell for $500 million in 2016.
Is there anything suggesting the opposite? Like 2 years back, Musclepharm was a rising star at bodybuilding.com...a website for those seeking some new and exciting. Now, Musclepharm got a whole wall at GNC, it got all it's product on Amazon.com and it is very competitive priced and available at all vitamin shoppe. On top of that, Musclepharm is loved internationally.
Musclepharm is moving away from being a brand for MMA alone....now it is aiming at becoming any athlete's company.
why are you so obsessed with sales at bodybuilding.com?
It is not in the interest of any business to rely too much on a single account....that weakens the business' bargaining power.
If you believe in $800-$900 sales per Costco warehouse per week...wouldn't that translate into approx. $20 million in sales?....on one product alone....not bad at all!
No wonder Musclepharm is not selling more to bodybuilding.com....it probably cannot keep up with demand.
bellator_exec...costco is a lot cheaper than bodybuilding.com...and musclepharm has become available at international vendors.
i lived most of my life in denmark and italy, and i can tell you one thing...customs in european union are very strict when it comes to buying from united states. ive been there, ive tried paying like $100 in additional duties for some supplements I bought from vitacost.com and other vendors of supplements. Not only that, Ive had supplements returned because of American marketing of supplement don't comply with European standards. In Europe, substances and their marketing have to be approved.
So, if your favorite protein powder can be bought locally, so much less stress.
could be that Musclepharm had problems keeping up with demands from GNC and Costco...and put bodybuilding.com second...or that bodybuilding.com has liquidity issues that Musclepharm knows about.
Really, Musclepharm needs to do what is in the stockholder's interest....$30 million annual sales to bodybuilding.com is not that bad though if bodybuilding.com sells for some $400-$500 million (marked-up sales)...meaning approx. some 10% of it's sales is Musclepharm products.
Great company, I love it!
Musclepharm is a great company too...and it could learn something from Premier Protein in terms of having a less pumped image for certain segments of the market.
You were right and I was wrong!
Musclepharm did disclose sales to bodybuilding.com for the 6 months that ended June 30 and it clearly indicates no growth whatsoever on this account.
Im not too surprised though as Musclepharm has become widely available at other retailers and the SEC investigation was about the relation to bodybuilding.com.
please compare sales for a few quarters y-o-y for a single customer. you cannot conclude anything looking at a single quarter.
Whole Foods Market got like 3 percent market share of the market for grocery stores in many metro areas. Costco got like 5% market share.
Not only that, Whole Foods Market and Costco own the educated, wealthy and exploring grocery shoppers.
Personally, I cannot stand Walmart but love Costco.
Whole Foods Market is not for me, IMHO it is not competitive to Publix, Costco, Fresh Market or TraderJoe's we got here in Miami....
kids, don't do drugs!
Musclepharm products are becoming widely available in retail.
In Miami, Florida where I live, I see Musclepharm at Costco (MP Combat), I see it at GNC in the mall (MP, Iron, Fitmiss), I see it at Walgreens (Fitmiss Delight) and I see it at Winn Dixie (MP, Iron, Fitmiss)...
Eventually, Im sure I will see it at Whole Foods Market when the Nature Sport brand comes out.
Costco and GNC give the brand a lot of shelf space really....which gives me some hope for the future.
Winn Dixie gave Musclepharm products as much space as Gatorade's non beverage products. Fitmiss and Iron products stand out visually....very nice packaging!
Im not so sure that you will see Amino 1 in all 7-eleven anytime soon. The Amino 1 RTD product is a Gatorade look-a-like sports drink, with some different ingredients....Such a product would probably do better in Costco to begin with.
Muscle Milk is everywhere because Cytosport signed a distribution agreement with Pepsico....something that gives you reach but ain't that profitable.
Musclepharm spends a lot of money on being cool....but it cannot compete for any significant share of the RTD sports beverage market and be profitable. Musclepharm will most likely aim for a few percentage share of that market and be happy with that.
Companies like Treehouse Foods, Ralcorp....all they do is to imitate, come up with look-a-like products that are slightly cheaper but very good quality....the kind of products you find in Costco.
Having a brand and a packaging that is a little cool like Musclepharm doesn't hurt....but all Musclepharm will do is to provide an alternative to the really cool brand GATORADE. Musclepharm is not GATORADE, and not even close to become POWERADE....these brands are worth billions.
Some of the products that are better suited for gas stations, 7-Elevens are the protein powders and protein bars....a crowded market, but Musclepharm could make some good market there.
The Coco Protein RTD could become a killer product as it is more original than the Amino1....I just have the feeling that Musclepharm will begin with Costco as a distributor.
Really, Musclepharm is growing fast, but not faster than necessary. Musclepharm may reach the $500 million and beyind annual sales goal within long, but it wont get there unprofitable.
The marketing to become a Cool brand is costly....it is worth it, but you cannot sign Walmart and Pepsico to begin with.
Cytosport did that, and the son of the founder....had to sell after 4 years as CEO....Cytosport sold a lot, but it was struggling to become profitable....Musclepharm won't make that mistake.
I was just quoting what goals Musclepharm had set 17 months ago. $500 million of profitable revenue doesn't seem to be that unrealistic as we are nearing $200 million of revenue in 2014.
Treehouse Foods, Ralcorp, Perrigo, Teva....Do you think Musclepharm is moving in the direction of selling generic products or private label products for Costco and others with the Amino 1 RTD?
This product that is expected to reach markets in 2015 looks very much like Gatorade or Powerade.
I hope Musclepharm will go in that direction, at least partially as it is almost impossible to compete with Pepsico and Coca Cola as a brand.
Costco is known to be the Mecca for quality Private Label and Generic products.
Phillip Frost knows everything about this kind of business being the chairman of the board of Teva.
Brad Pyatt's goal was $500 million annual sales in 2013. Brad means business, he is not a CEO for the status quo...he clearly wants to win and grow the business he founded.
Quote from 2013 shareholders letter:
Going from no revenues to over $78 million
in less than four years was impressive growth, but all of us here at MusclePharm® have the goal of reaching $500 million in annual sales — but only at a profitable level. We are excited about focusing on our core business without the after effects of burdensome financings.
If you have any questions regarding our Company, please feel free to contact me directly or our office at the numbers listed below.
Sincerely,
Brad Pyatt
Chief Executive Officer
I believe the Musclepharm stock is being traded by more and more investors as awareness of the company has increased. Investors specialized in micro caps and pre-listed companies might have come to the conclusion that this company's success is for real and worth trading.
So far Musclepharm hasn't really been covered by any analysts, so the price has to a great extent moved upwards on the positive effect of Phillip Frost and his followers interest.....and moved downwards on the negative effect of lacking the goodwill of established companies
CEO buying does not drive the share price...it was about the confidence vote of the CEO at the AGM and the loads of trademark applications filed
Musclepharm is a growth story, it has surprised SEC, it has surprised many in the industry...
Musclepharm tries to build on some close relationships with key customers: GNC, Bodybuilding.com and Costco....They want to be where it makes most sense earningswise. Dealing with mass market/high volume customers/distributors like Walmart or Pepsico has not been the priority so far (opposite Cytosport).
Musclepharm has understood that it is all about generating cash....and with own manufacturing in the works, I think what will really uplift the stock going forward are EARNINGS!
Musclepharm's revenue will continue to rise, but what will interest investors is how much money it will make.
Musclepharm : Trademark Application for "NATURE SPORT BONE & JOINT"
Trademark applications like this and the Fitmiss lines clearly demonstrate that Musclepharm is expanding into broader categories of sports nutrition than protein based products.
It would be nice to know how the packaging and branding will turn out...but clearly Musclepharm is a very dynamic company when it comes to product management and branding.
This was my concern:
Churn
To make both buy and sell orders through different brokers, usually in large quantities, to create the impression of increased interest in a security and thereby raise its price. An investor churns if he/she has a long position on the security and wishes to sell it at an artificially high price. Churning is a form of manipulation, and is illegal under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Most likely your trades were legal though as you haven't been warned by your broker for whatever you did.
useful information...thanks!
Apparently Colorado-based Whitewave Foods is looking for a protein company to buy.
Colorado that also got Leprino Foods, the largest mozzarella producer in the World that owns 49% of Glanbia cheese (the largest producer of mozzarella in Europe). Leprino Foods produces a lot of whey protein.
Quote:
CytoSport, which is owned by the Pickett family, first started talking to potential buyers in the fall of 2013. Hormel was considered a possible buyer from the start, along with Irish cheese maker Glanbia and Colorado-based butter and soy milk maker Whitewave Foods.
http://postbulletin.typepad.com/kiger/2014/06/hormel-bulks-up-portfolio-by-buying-maker-of-muscle-milk.html
I don't know what you are talking about....Yesterday, there was a huge volume in the 13.80 to 14.00 price range and there was close to none below that....Today, there hasn't been too much volume so far...Really, you cannot predict anything...only that buyers lately have been a little more confident than sellers....
If you see volume over a few days when the stock drops, then you might need to worry...at least short term.