RE:HOMEGROWN RESEARCHGreat homegrown research, Mike! Also hope new CEO will try maximize his stock options value.
So far he is staying low, I think he should start talking (and doing some interviews) with his mission and vision.
Starsearcher80 wrote: People think research only comes through analysts etc, but some of the best research you can actually do yourself. I still remember a newsclip from about 20 years ago, where this guy was being highlighted as a successful investor, and what was his tips/strategies. He laughed, and said it was all quite simple. He went to the malls, checked which stores were packed with customers, and then invested in the companies. Sure enough, the big quarter would come for them, and he would win. Now I'm sure there was more to it than just that, however the example does highlight how much you can do on your own.
So with this thought in mind, I took some time to go visit two sales venues in Ontario. One was downtown Toronto, a Tokyo smoke location, and in Collingwood Ontario. This venue just opened a few weeks ago.
I chose to go in this morning, a day with freezing rain warnings all across the province. If ever there was a day where I thought the place wouldn't be busy, especially in the morning, today would be that day. People are just cocconing at home, riding out the weather.
So I arrived there at 11am, with freezing rain warnings, and the weather is not good. Well to my surprise, the place was VERY busy.
I spent about 1/2 an hour talking with one of the store assistants who was really quite knowledgable. I let him know that I was curious about the sales from an investor's point of view. Here are the questions I asked, and his responses.
1) Question: How have sales been your first few weeks, this being a small town.
Answer: It's been REALLY busy. We thought it would be, but it's a lot more busy still.
2) Question: Do you have any of the Tweed Chocolates in?
Answer: We did, but they sold out within a couple of hours.
3) Question: Is there a breakdown in demographics and what they're buying?
Answer: Yes, completely. The younger people are buying stuff to smoke, and focus on thc level and price point....and that's it. The 40+ demographic isn't that into smoking, but are really interested in gels, and KEENLY interested in 2.0 products coming in. We've got a LOT of people coming in looking for them and asking questions.
4) Question: Any word on the beverages?
Answer: We hope to have them in in the next week or two. We've had a lot of people asking about them.
He then said something that suprised me. He said "about 20% of the people coming in are Seniors. And apparently it's all the talk amongst them. They are coming in here pretty knowledgeable too."
Takeaways for me:
1) For the youngest demographic, price point and thc content (litterally bang for the buck) are all that matter. This make sense, because their disposable income is less and they are not interested in paying a premium if they can get the job done for less. This will change as they mature, and as their disposable income goes up.
2) I thought the 2.0 products might be really popular, but I think I may have underestimated HOW popular they are going to be. That is a HUGE demographic in the 40plus range, and if they are not only willing to adopt, but are KEEN to adopt, then this is going to be a VERY good thing.
3) I was surprised to hear the interest and knowledge level of seniors. And 20% of the customers coming in?? Very surprised. But then again, maybe it makes some sense. Seniors today were teens in the 1960's. Add that to the aches and pains, and it makes sense for this demographic to be strongly represented.
4) Again, this store, in a small town, on a lousy weather day, at 11am, was BUSY. Tokyo smoke downtown Toronto? Sure, I would expect that to be busy. But small town rural Ontario? It's not an interest issue that has stumped LP's. It's ONLY been an access issue. As this is resolved in Ontario over the coming months, there should be a huge uptick in sales, and the share price should respond accordingly.