I have some thoughts but probably as many questions too. I starting buying VPCO in the fall of 2013. I continued to buy and ending up selling 20% of my position in Dec 2014 for a huge loss. I still hold a significant position and continue to watch it melt away. I thought ECIG would bail me out and now I hold "a lot" at a little over $1 dollar. Needless to say the e-cig/vapor market has "not been good" for me.
VPCO claimed 60,000 retail locations at one point. I think that number is 45,000 now? They are in the US and "somewhat" Canada under a private label but no other international presence.
They also hold a handful of patents related to e-cigs/vapes.
Q4 2014 sales did a major nosedive. The excuse was the transition from cig-a-likes to vaporizers. Some things I don't understand:
VPCO had a good variety of vaporizers, pens, disposables, re-fillables, etc. They also have US made e-juice and devices for dry-herb, CBD oil. So how were they not prepared for the transition?
Has ECIG used that excuse yet? i.e. the transition from cig-a-likes. In the US, other than the FIN AVS system I know of no other vaporizer products?
VPCO did a merger recently where they gave away 45% of the company. The new model is building brick & mortar retail stores. They have 5 or 6 open now with plans to have 20 by the end of 2015. They plan to get away from the distributor model. Q1 2015 sales were terrible but they claim it is too soon for the effects of the merger. The company they merged with already had some stores, various vaporizer products, but maybe most important a billionaire backer. They are talking about another RS and they need more capital to survive out of one side of their mouth and how the stores will be great, increase margin, make them a leader, etc. out of the other.
If the reason for their demise is bad management/decisions then my investment with them is screwed. If it's because e-cigs/vapes are dying already, market over saturation or something along those lines then I am really screwed!
A big lesson so far for me is to take at least some profit if/when you can. I failed to do that with both. The other is "patience alone" may not be a good thing. Probably some other stuff I forgot but I'm getting depressed writing this so I better go...
