Agree with your comments, jcr53. When I read the i
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Posted On: 03/03/2019 9:49:24 AM
Agree with your comments, jcr53. When I read the initial responses to the latest podcast, I was bummed. Then, when I actually got around to listening myself, I was reassured. Look: There's no question that the Mexican delay is a bump in the road. It means delayed revenue, and that will be reflected in the short term by a lower PPS and the various headaches that go with it. However: Get in the 'ol airplane and fly up to a higher view, and here's what I see:
1) We are in a secure position relative to the COFEPRIS delay. We won't get un-permitted unless the new regime decides CBD is bad and I don't get any sense of that happening. It's an annoying delay, nothing more. A bug in the program that will soon be corrected.
2) We are building a broad line of products. Multiple lines have a double benefit: They impress distributors, and they reduce risk. It is extra-important in a situation like ours because we do not want to start being seen as (or see ourselves as) a private-label company. The dollar numbers look good in Private Label World; I'm not so sure about the margins, although they're obviously good enough for us to stay the course.
3) Management is making sensible decisions. I ordered the new HEMPd drinks a couple weeks ago and was disheartened to find that they were sweetened with sucralose, which the research indicates pretty clearly is bad for you. (Messes with the digestive microbiome.) I wrote management about it and received a reassuring response: "We know about this and are working on it." The podcast went into more detail about that. They're moving their product lines in the direction of emerging notions about health and wellness (ketogenic diet, healthy sweeteners, etc.). This is a crucial path for reasons both strategic and mission-related. A "products that are good for you" company can't be out there selling products that aren't.
It's not just what is said that matters at times like this; it's how it's said. I paid very close attention to the messengers as well as the messages. Christian, Michelle and Michael all struck me as upbeat and not overly worried about the Mexican bump. I didn't sense a cover-up at any level.
Ultimately, the podcast reinforces for me a message I've put out to this Board more than once. Practice patience. Pay no mind to deadlines. Keep the faith.
1) We are in a secure position relative to the COFEPRIS delay. We won't get un-permitted unless the new regime decides CBD is bad and I don't get any sense of that happening. It's an annoying delay, nothing more. A bug in the program that will soon be corrected.
2) We are building a broad line of products. Multiple lines have a double benefit: They impress distributors, and they reduce risk. It is extra-important in a situation like ours because we do not want to start being seen as (or see ourselves as) a private-label company. The dollar numbers look good in Private Label World; I'm not so sure about the margins, although they're obviously good enough for us to stay the course.
3) Management is making sensible decisions. I ordered the new HEMPd drinks a couple weeks ago and was disheartened to find that they were sweetened with sucralose, which the research indicates pretty clearly is bad for you. (Messes with the digestive microbiome.) I wrote management about it and received a reassuring response: "We know about this and are working on it." The podcast went into more detail about that. They're moving their product lines in the direction of emerging notions about health and wellness (ketogenic diet, healthy sweeteners, etc.). This is a crucial path for reasons both strategic and mission-related. A "products that are good for you" company can't be out there selling products that aren't.
It's not just what is said that matters at times like this; it's how it's said. I paid very close attention to the messengers as well as the messages. Christian, Michelle and Michael all struck me as upbeat and not overly worried about the Mexican bump. I didn't sense a cover-up at any level.
Ultimately, the podcast reinforces for me a message I've put out to this Board more than once. Practice patience. Pay no mind to deadlines. Keep the faith.
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