Tobin Smith says Forget about Bar Codes! NEOM?
This is from the latest Tobin Smith EMail Letter dated Dec. 19, 2004.
ChangeWave #4:
"Thank you, Wal-Mart"
A tectonic shift has already hit the trillion-dollar retail supply chain. And while hardly anyone is talking about it, because it doesn't fit into easy, made-for-TV 10-second sound bites...
... it can truly make you rich.
It's not sexy like nanotech or fuel cells. But while most investors chase that fool's gold, which is still years in the future, radio frequency tags -- or "radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) -- are here to stay now.
Learn the whole story -- and all about our top "tag stock," up 24% in the short time we've owned it -- in 4 ChangeWaves to Earn You 3 Years Worth of Profits in the Next 6 Months
But first, let me fill you in on the breadth of the opportunity here.
The first thing you must realize is that Wal-Mart is driving this RFID ChangeWave -- a fact I noted early on at ChangeWave Investing. Target, Merck, the Department of Defense -- and many others -- have now jumped on the bandwagon, too.
But make no mistake, it's Wal-Mart you have to thank most for this immediate opportunity. And "immediate" is the key word -- I'll explain why in just a moment.
Forget about bar codes
That's yesterday's technology -- about as akin to radio frequency tags as slide rules are to laptop computers.
Radio frequency identification uses low-powered transmitters to "read" information on a tiny data chip equipped with an imbedded antenna. The chips can be read up to 400 feet away.
They can store much more data than a simple bar code.
And RFID systems can read cases stacked underneath others on a pallet -- making it faster, easier and cheaper to inventory stock.
Almost any system where there is physical inventory can now be tracked automatically. No human intervention. No human error or theft.
No wonder Wal-Mart is cracking the whip.
Late last fall, Wal-Mart summoned all its large suppliers to a meeting they dreaded the thought of, but knew was coming.
That's when the retailing giant laid down the RFID law: If you want to sell to Wal-Mart, you're going to have to tag everything you deliver.
If anybody else made that demand, the suppliers would have laughed and put the conversion off to a future date. But as everyone in the business knows, you don't cross Wal-Mart.
And that, my friend, is the big break we've been waiting for at ChangeWave Investing.
I knew the technology worked perfectly. Our Research Alliance backed that conclusion 100%. And I knew it was headed for common practice sometime -- while inventory suppliers were slow to accept the change, the end users were drooling over this technology.
I just didn't know -- until weeks before the formal announcement -- what the tipping point would be.
You see, Wal-Mart's push was exactly what was needed to crush the final barrier to widespread use: Cost.
The tags were fine for Gucci bags already. But to put them on everything from T-shirts to laundry detergent, we needed economies of scale to drive prices to a pittance.
And that's where we're headed. Rapidly. Much quicker than most people realize. And this transformational shift -- one that will change much more than the retail industry -- can make in-the-know investors a huge return in the next 12-18 months.
In the near future "tags" will replace the common credit card -- they easily carry much 5greater information. Car keys? You won't need 'em. And you'll be able to carry your entire medical history around with you.
That's the future. And there will be dozens of ways to profit at ChangeWave Investing over the next 5-10 years.
But for now, I'll be happy to DOUBLE our money in the first leg up. Here's the one stock I want you to own now. Wal-Mart says "everything comes with a tag or you're out." The U.S. Defense Department has told its 24,000 suppliers the same thing.
Wal-Mart says "everything comes with a tag or you're out." The U.S. Defense Department has told its 24,000 suppliers the same thing.
So how do WE profit?
I've heard some gurus say "Texas Instruments." They're a big supplier of these tags, and demand is going through the roof.
Problem is, the tags themselves are fast becoming commodities, just like every other microchip that's ever come to market. So that's NOT my choice at ChangeWave Investing.
You see, nobody was really ready for the rapid deployment of RFIDs. Now they have to pay premium prices to get up to speed. And this company is one of the few places they can turn for help.
END.
PS ...
Sure looks like the Pump of NEOM has ended, at least as far as Tobin Smith is concerned.
Anyone want to call or email him to see if he has NEOM as a Buy, Hold or Sell? ... Strong Sell?
I wonder if he still has his NEOM shares?
Anyone care to do the Due Diligence here?
