RushNet Inc (RSHN)

[alopex63]

OK, went to the NY Fancy Food show today, and visited the RSHN booth. Sorry, no pics, I forgot the camera.

Sunday was probably not the best place to go, especially as I was only able to stay a couple hours; it seemed generally slow, and I got the impression (though I’m no expert) that many of the badges I was seeing were from smaller (in some cases very small) operations. I suspect that many of the big boys will be attending Monday and Tuesday, and that the Javits Center will be (hopefully) absolutely insane on those days.

The booth is well placed, with a corner spot at one end of the Natural & Organic aisle. There was steady, slow flow of people, all of whom liked the products they tasted, but again I think it was generally a pretty slow day. Bob was letting Wild Fruitz (http://www.wildfruitz.com/) use some space at the booth; I didn’t actually think this was a great idea, as WF also does sparkling fruit juices, but apparently they have reached a mutually beneficial agreement about distribution— Bob’s gonna help them where Rush has distribution and vice versa. Rush people at the booth were just Bob and a model who was keeping the samples topped up and answering general questions; I imagine they’ll roll out more staff (Alex, Tom) tomorrow and Tuesday. I pitched in at various points and talked to some people, collected a couple business cards for Bob, gave out some literature, etc.

I did get a chance to ask Bob some questions, my notes below. Please note that I am just reproducing what he told me.

He was unaware of the new pinksheets.com rating system (and indeed seemed unfamiliar with pinkseets.com), and said he’ll look into it. I see there’s been some debate here about whether the new rating system is really worth worrying about.

Releasing numbers: He says they are pulling things together to start doing this “soon”.

O/S & A/S: He says the authorized is about 6 billion, the outstanding about 3.9 billion.

Reverse split: “No way”.

Cans: In the works. They are having to find a new canner, as the company they originally intended to go with was concerned about running fruit juices through systems that also handle beer. Bob commented to someone that he didn’t think cans would be ready to go into schools for the coming school year, but that he might be able to drive it.

Signature Leisure: Gone because they were “too busy”.

New labels are in the works for e-water (the mock-up Bob showed me really does look better) and for Cola, GR and XXX (design hasn’t been done yet, Bob is also talking about shifting these from amber to clear bottles). I think a new look for the original line is seriously overdue.

Most interesting thing to me: realizing that he just cannot raise the kind of money he needs on the Pinks, Bob is looking for a parent/partner company that is already listed on a higher exchange, or perhaps for a shell. He has already put together a proposal to work with a company that recently completed a big round of fundraising and has put itself on the OTCBB. He thinks that this a hot time for consolidation in the industry, and he wants to be part of it.

By the way, Gillian Christie of Christie Communications came by the booth. She and Bob seem to be on very good terms, and she seems to really want to bring Bob back on board; Bob says he won’t go back to Christie unless Gillian can agree that only she will work on the account (which she can’t).

If anyone lives in New York, and wants a badge for Monday and Tuesday (and can pick it up in Brooklyn), let me know.