Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
What happened Friday to make you think things are disrupted?
7-11 and Circle K - Anyone know any details about when AAPT products will be in 7-11 and Circle K. I know it takes time to gear up and it's been several months since the announcement was made. As Ben Stein would say, anyone? anyone?
Sorry, no photos. I'm not an iPhone person. I know some people want proof, but all I can say is it is what it is. Nothing to lie about here. Just reporting what I saw.
More Nutrabars at Rehoboth Beach Delaware Walmart. Stopped by today and saw new boxes of Nutrabars dated 022514. Tells me all of the others have been sold and new boxes are in the store.
Agree with your comments. The road to success has many ups and downs. Just look at the giants who had many years of struggles before success. Edison with the light bulb, duPont experiencing many explosions and loss of life while perfecting gun power, which has turned into the world power DuPont company, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, etc. Not to say AAPT is in the same class as the above but showing that success is not a smooth road. From my perspective AAPT has developed an American made dog food product that has great potential. Just getting off the ground floor. Good products, good distribution with Walmart, Amazon and hopefully others (7-11 and Circle K). As for contacting the office, I have called Joel 3-4 times. He has always answered the phone and has given, in my opinion, honest answers that make sense. No big promises that haven't happened and no big future promises, just honest, "here's where we are" type of answers. Have those who say no one is minding the store tried calling Joel? It's easy to cast dispersions but have they honestly tried to find out what's going on. Patience my friends!
King Like you, I bought cheap during the "mini break" and picked up some more at .009. Yesterday it went up .0004 and I made almost $1000. I can only imagine your daily gains on what you have (7M?). I think everyone who has held or bought cheap will see good gains the rest of the year. Get the Ks issued and EG put to rest and we all will do just fine.
Gotta keep a sense of humor when dealing with penny's.
Actually, I have called the company three times over the last three months and talked with Joel. He answered all of my questions to my satisfaction. I haven't found out anything that he told me that wasn't true so I take him at his word. Told me about Walmart when it was beginning, about the relationship with KSU and how AAPT employees are paid and the QC that KSU provides. Told me about a major convenience store and gas station chains (couldn't mention names at the time, but later it was stated that 7-11 and Circle K were the chains), so until I know that someone has deliberately lied, I give them the benefit until I know that they lied.
We shall see when the reports are filed. The potential is there!
A lot of posts seem to question why AAPT hasn't taken off after being placed in Walmart. First, we don't know yet what impact that has had on revenue to AAPT. We need to wait on actual numbers. Second, I don't think this quarter will give a real measurement of the direction of the company. I'm looking for second quarter results to see what the impact of Walmart actually is. Also, hopefully the Eric issue will be resolved, 7-11 and Circle K will be in the system, and the new equipment will be operational. Patience my friends.
Agree with your post. I thought Michelle's comments were open and honest. She addressed major issues and gave good info on the direction of the company. Looking forward to .50 then $1 by EOY.
Makes AAPT being with Walmart even sweeter. Didn't realize WM had 444B in sales. I usually look at market cap to measure rankings, but pleased to see the huge number in sales that WM had. According to Yahoo Finance, Apple actually had 138B in sales instead of 46B that you mentioned, but WM still far out performed that. Can't ask for anything better than being on WM shelves. Add a few more players like 7-11, Circle K and some pet stores and I can only see this heading up
My take on AAPT is huge risk/huge reward. I view AAPT as a big risk that may or may not be the success that I think it will. Could it go up in flames? Sure - remember Enron and Worldcom. High flyers that went up in flames. Then there are the IBMs, GEs, JNJs, INTELs that are fairly safe but yield modest gains. I have "safe stocks" and "risky stocks" like AAPT. I m long on AAPT. Looking for an increase in stock value by year end. With WalMart, 7-11, Circle K, and probably more to come, I am looking for .10 by the end of the year. That would be a 5 bagger for me. If that happens, look for .25 by end of 2014. A 10+ bagger. We apparently disagree about the company, so let's see what happens on Dec 31.
In a way, thanks to Eric because since the stock price has dropped, it has allowed me to pick up twice the amount of shares I normally could have.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, "The reports of AAPTs death have been greatly exaggerated". I just called Walmart Corp and they confirmed that Nutrabars are alive and doing well at the big W. Phone Number: 800 925 6278; product number: 068797400293.
I have found Walmart to be very accommodating in getting products in their stores if customers ask and if the product is available ( in the WM system). Mine did not have Nutrabars as soon as others did, and when I inquired they looked it up and said 2 boxes are in the system to be delivered.
Just read and saw a picture from a Facebook friend (that I really do know and trust) that showed a CapriSun drink, made by Kraft, that had a slimy mold in the package. The straw got clogged and the mother cut open the package to find the mess. Just pointing out that things do happen with food processing. Waiting for Kraft to address the issue. No one wants things like this to happen, but like the moldy Nutrabars, it can happen. If these are one-time events and remedies are made by the company, they can survive. I think the mold issue is past with Nutrabars, but when I saw this, it made me think about the Nutrabars. We need to see results from second quarter with all of the new sales and contracts to see where AAPT is headed. Hopefully, we are at the low point and can start to gain some traction going forward. GLTA!
Appreciate your objective comments. I agree that they have done a remarkable job in getting product into big name retailers with more to come. Need to give them until second qtr to see some results then see what those results will do to the stock price.
Just for record keeping, add Delaware to the list that have Nutrabars.
Assuming that Nutrabars are in 1000 Walmart stores, anybody have any input about the other 3000 stores? I assume all WM have pet departments so I would think that eventually ALL WM would carry Nutrabars.
The governor of the State of Delaware is waiting permission from federal authorities before issuing medical identification cards for patients to use medical marijuana. The Delaware AG warned that Delaware employees that participated in the creation or regulation of mm could be subject to federal prosecution. If federal approval is given, Delaware will issue mm use. Besides Colorado and the State of Washington, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington D.C. are issuing permits for patients to use mm. From the News Journal (Delaware) March 9, 2013.
Exactly. If part I (growth) is successful, then part II (stock price increases) will occur. Basic business management.
Give AAPT breathing room to see what impact a full quarter with WM and 7-11 will have. Probably won't impact next quarter but look to the next quarter for positive results and growth spurt in stock price.
TD Ameritrade is Canadian (TD - Toronto Dominion). Perhaps they can do MDIN without restrictions.
Joel did mention another chain of another 100 stores but the 875 store chain was the biggest news to me. I did ask who and when but he said that until everything is finalized he cannot comment further. I don't think he would have been so open about the two chains if something wasn't in the works.
Talked with Joel about the mold. His take is only a couple out of hundreds of thousands reported mold and the few complaints they received, they sent new bars to the customers. Not to excuse, but things happen. Probably a packaging issue that had some small opening that a mixture of air and heat caused mold spores (in the air we breath) to bloom. Walmart isn't concerned at this time. If more occur then that may be a problem. They have QC that monitors for things like contamination thru KSU labs.
Future looks promising with WM, new national convenience store contract with 875 stores and continued follow up from Expo.
Last week Joel told me that they can ramp up production anytime to meet demand, running 2 shifts, 7 days if necessary. Currently only running 1/3 capacity and keeping up with WM reorders. The mold was probably due to too much inventory to start shipments to WM but contract didn't get approved as soon as they had hoped. No excuses, QC should have caught how old product was and potential of mold, but can overcome if handled properly.
Add Delaware to the list of Nutrabars. Didn't take pictures but by now everyone knows Walmart carries Nutrabars - just adding another state.
Just got off the phone with Joel (first time I have called him). Good call in my opinion. Seemed genuine and forthright. I asked about AAPT ability to deliver bars for reorders from WM as well as any new customers. He said they have an inventory of thousands of bars and can turn around orders in 4 days. Bars are made by AAPT hourly employees at KSU (not by students) as KSU has the equipment as part of their AG school lab. KSU probably has a farm type of school to study crops, animals, etc. This sounds reasonable to me since I know that many Universities have speciality labs. For example the University of Delaware has a wave action lab to study ocean currents and a solar energy lab building (that I worked with from private industry). So Universities do have a collaborative relationship with private entities. Production is currently at 1/3 capacity and can ramp up to meet demand to keep products fresh. If needed, they can operate 2 shifts 7 days a week to meet demand. Joel also said they just got a new contract with a national convenience store, but couldn't name it at this time. PR news to follow about new contracts as well as results from Pet Expo in Orlando.
King
So what happens with a buy back?
mike 1975 - Thanks for the info. WM corp answered on first ring (that was impressive - world's largest retailer - I was expecting about 3-4 levels of phone direction) transferred directly and gave them the UPC. Within minutes, came back with store location where Nutrabars are. I had checked before, but nothing was in on shelves. The worker said they were redoing the Pet Dept with many items being discontinued and many replacements being stocked. I 'm disappointed that the stock has fallen off, but perhaps people are waiting for after the "magic date". I am poised to buy some more at a much reduced, "bargain" price. If this was easy, we would have bought Microsoft, Apple, etc when they were start ups and all be millionaires today! In this business, reward is directly proportional to risk. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. I also have low risk, low reward positions like GE, MCD, JNJ, KO, but they may return 5%, whereas AAPT has POTENTIAL to return 2x, 5x, 10x investments. GLTA.
Anyone got the UPC code for Nutrabars? Didn't write it down when I saw the WM receipts and now I want to see when they be at a WM near me. Thanks.
Already at .305.
Got it. Will make a call tomorrow. Thanks.
I don't have any problem with you or anybody else that decides to buy, sell, short, long whatever. That is each individual's personal decision. When anybody has a question, like you do with AAPT and APS ( forgot the symbols), why don't you and anybody else that has a question call Joel or someone else at AAPT and ask them that question and post the answer. Then we can decide if it is the truth (from them not you) or not. At least we will have some explanation. I don't have any phone numbers for AAPT. If anyone has called somebody at AAPT, ask them:
1. Where are the bars made
2. Is KSU involved (I don't care - just it seems to be a big mystery)
3. Can AAPT deliver the reorders from WM
4. What is the bar production capability
5. Any more orders from the trade show
If anyone has a number, I'll call and post what they tell me.
GLTA!
WalMart and Shark Tank. On Shark Tank Friday night, one of the sharks told people looking for a shark to bankroll them, "you need to get your product in into a big retailer like WalMart but that is extremely difficult to do". So, let's give AAPT some credit and a little time to establish a product relationship with WalMart. WM is redoing their Pet Dept and looks like AAPT is in a good position to show their product(s). Started slow with only 2 boxes in 1000 WM, now filling reorders, plus 39 new POs. Sounds good to me to even be in the big W if only 2% of people trying to get in WM are successful, confirmed by a shark saying "extremely difficult" to get in. Not gonna happen overnight. Be patient.
Close at .0198. Staying steady around .02. Looking for .03 by end of March, then traction as we start to do reorders for WM and any new POs we get from the Expo.
Can AAPT produce enough Nutrabars? I am long but also trying to be realistic. Last week someone posted a nice analysis (sorry, forgot who) about potential for sales based on .05% of all dogs getting Nutrabars. I ran that to estimate that would require 140M Nutrabars a year to meet demand. Is AAPT set up to do that? Does anyone really know, just not make a guess? If I remember correctly, Barry stated that they could produce a million bars a day or a week, not sure which exactly.
Walmart redoing Pet Dept. Probably old news but just confirming what two different WM Pet Dept personnel told me yesterday. Happened to be in two different locations yesterday so I stopped at two different WM in Delaware. Both did not have Nutrabars, but both said that next week all WM are redoing their Pet Dept stocking. Many old products are being discontinued and many new products are replacing them. Didn't know specific names off the top of their heads but I expect Nutrabars are part of the new products, especially with WM Made in America emphasis. Golden Opportunity!
Good stuff! Love the analytical approach. Let's run this one step farther. Say your estimates are reasonable, 78M dogs at a 0.5% participation rate equals 390,000 bars consumed and thus replaced ( manufactured) daily. That would mean for 365 days it would require over 140,000,000 bars to be produced a year. Instead of saying AAPT can't do that, don't you think someone looking to make a few million would see how they can partner with, or buy out, or merge with AAPT to produce the products. I read that Barry said "a million bars a day". Well, looks like that, or something like that, may be what it will take. Is AAPT set up to do that? If not, who out there is able and willing to venture in and reap the profits if, in fact, the product is good. Maybe this is where a big dog food player will see something and step in and take it over. Or AAPT realizes what needs to be done and has a plan to set up a production operation. The potential is there.
Nice post! Sounds like a reasonable analysis, especially using worst case scenarios.
Actually started the year at .022, and now (pre opening today) we are at .021, so we are almost back to where we started the year. Not bad with a roller coaster January. Now with WM we are ready to move.