OT: NutriSystem Sets Sights on Male Dieters

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

Interesting speculation. Note that one position is " hold " .. not " buy " .

Seems to me that the answer to weight loss for " most " folks is simple ..

if they really wanna lose weight. Just use up more calories than you

consume .. and that's not hard to do over a period of time .. if .. one

really wants to lose weight. ;-)

 

I was able to lose a bit over 30 pounds in around 18 months .. which is

not a lot when compared to many diets, exercise programs, etc. I now

weigh about what I did when I retired from the US Army in January 1999.

The only foods I gave up were ice cream, chocolate candy, baklava, and

the massive amounts of fresh bread I was consuming daily. And .. worked

out 3 days a week in a gym plus walked at a rapid pace for 1 to 1.5

hours a day. I gave up nothing else .. my meal portions remained the

same .. as did my daily ration of super-fine ice cold beer. ;-) I've

been able to maintain the same weight for almost a year now .. without

a lot of effort.

 

But .. I guess that for some folks its not that easy because a lawyer

friend of mine gained around 50 lbs in 2 years .. then had a heart

attack and survived it .. he stopped smoking and lost most of that

weight during a 3 week stay in the hospital .. and in the last 6 months

he has started smoking again and gained around 40 pounds. He's an

educated and intelligent man and knows that what he is doing is

likely to result in early death.

 

I reckon the last statement in this post .. " People are underestimating

their potential, " is a matter of fact.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

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NutriSystem Sets Sights on Male Dieters

 

By DEBORAH YAO

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Nate Griffin, a former Army sergeant, watches what

he eats. At one point, he even tried juice diets and other products to

shed pounds. But ask him whether he'd join a group to talk about weight

loss, he cringes.

 

" To talk about a diet means you're really weak in a certain area. You

have no control over it, " said Griffin, a self-employed personal trainer

in suburban Philadelphia. " It's like saying, 'I need this group to help

me beat that.' "

 

NutriSystem Inc. believes it has the right formula to appeal to men like

Griffin who want to lose weight but don't like groups, counting calories

or laborious food preparations.

 

Last week, the Horsham, Pa.-based weight loss company rolled out an

advertising campaign geared toward the large but underdeveloped market

of male dieters. It's the second act for NutriSystem, a company whose

fortunes had acted like the weight of a yo-yo dieter. A makeover four

years ago led to soaring sales and profits, but left Wall Street

wondering about the next growth driver for the firm - especially with

rivals rolling out their own prepared meals.

 

NutriSystem believes it's male dieters, a market that hasn't been fully

tapped by its biggest rivals. After many focus groups, the company

realized that it takes a different approach to get men to diet, compared

to women.

 

That's why the company's ads focus on sports metaphors, confidence and,

sometimes, sex.

 

" Since NutriSystem, my sex life is excellent, " a male dieter says in one

testimonial that claims a loss of 62 pounds.

 

The company also dangles this lure before men: They can eat pizza,

burgers and pasta. NutriSystem's portion-controlled meals come

prepackaged and microwavable. There are no group meetings and they can

diet at home, privately.

 

Later this year, the company plans to target seniors by offering foods

infused with more vitamins as well as gingko biloba and green tea.

NutriSystem also expects to start a marketing campaign in Canada in

2006, with other nations in 2007 or 2008.

 

" Seventy million people are on a diet - 20 million are men, " said

Djordje " George " Jankovic, NutriSystem's president and chief operating

officer. " It's a huge market. "

 

Founded in 1972, NutriSystem operated mainly as weight-loss centers

where customers purchased packaged meals. In 1990, systemwide sales hit

a high of $1.2 billion and the company had over 1,500 centers. But

increased competition and mismanagement led to bankruptcy in 1993.

 

Chicago financier Michael Heisley headed an investment group that bought

Nutrisystem out of bankruptcy court and took it public again in 1999. He

tried to revive the centers, and later attempted to tap the Internet to

boost sales, with limited success.

 

Seeing a fallen star with comeback potential, HJM Holdings LLC, an

investment group, and venture capital fund NewSpring Ventures LP, bought

a 58 percent stake in NutriSystem for about $10 million, or 62 cents a

share, in 2002.

 

" It was a huge brand, a huge business and a huge opportunity, " said

Michael Hagan, chairman and chief executive of NutriSystem and

co-founder of VerticalNet, a one-time Internet highflier. He had led the

now-dissolved HJM Holdings.

 

The new management team put the company on a diet, closing weight loss

centers and moving the entire business into direct sales to the

consumer. The changes saved millions on overhead and personnel.

 

NutriSystem updated the packaging, improved the quality of its food and

began aggressively marketing through television, print ads, the Internet

and QVC.

 

Their pitch: pay for the food and get counseling and group support for

free. No membership fees.

 

Valori Zaslow, a 39-year-old entrepreneur, said she lost 30 pounds over

10 months with NutriSystem. She has kept the weight off for 10 months

and is happy to wear a size 10 or 8. She used to be a 16.

 

" I always wore black to appear thinner and heels to appear taller, " said

the 5-foot-5 Philadelphia resident. " To be able to wear jeans at a size

10 is the biggest conquest. "

 

With NutriSystem, the food " comes to my door. How much easier can it

be? " she said.

 

People like Zaslow are expected to propel company sales to over $200

million in 2005, up over 400 percent from 2004. Earnings per share are

projected at 58 to 59 cents, up from 3 cents in 2004. NutriSystem will

report 2005 results on Feb. 21.

 

The company's stock reflects its vastly improved performance: from about

$3 at the start of 2005, shares are now around $47.

 

Still, it's an uphill battle for market share. NutriSystem wasn't named

by dieters in an October survey by The NPD Group, a market research firm

in Port Washington, N.Y., because other programs or eating plans had

more participants.

 

Moreover, a report last year on diet programs by Consumer Reports, which

didn't include NutriSystem, gave Weight Watchers the highest marks.

After a year, followers were far more likely to stick with its plan.

 

Weight Watchers uses weekly meetings to reinforce its decidedly simple

philosophy - eat less and exercise more.

 

Scott Devitt, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, has a " hold "

recommendation on NutriSystem due to the stock's fast rise and increased

competition in the industry.

 

Earlier this month, EDiets.com Inc. kicked off a premium food delivery

service called FreshCuisine. Jenny Craig Inc., which has gotten

heightened interest from dieters after hooking up with actress Kirstie

Alley, began its meal delivery service last year.

 

But David Block, an analyst at The Seidler Cos. in Los Angeles, said

even though the stock has soared, there's more growth to come not only

from men and seniors but also from international markets.

 

" People are underestimating their potential, " Block said.

 

01/29/06 17:04

 

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