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Post by Laura M on Feb 29, 2024 17:15:44 GMT
Quarterly Meeting Transcript is Up: WW
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Post by Jennifer on Mar 2, 2024 3:06:46 GMT
I never can make heads or tails out of these reports!
Where's our Kitty?
🥰
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Kitty
Transcendent Member
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Kitty on Mar 2, 2024 7:29:22 GMT
Jennifer, I read the report. It was, honestly, fairly uninteresting to me. It was mostly about the Sequence purchase which is now WW Clinic and how they feel it fits with WW because medication needs to have a behavioral component as well (which is true). They also talked about some employers that are starting to offer WW as a benefit to employees. There really wasn't much at all about WW other than the medication plan. There was a lot of talk about how WW clinic tries to help people find a medication that is covered by their insurance (I forget the percentage and it was actually fairly low). There was also discussion about the supply constraints for medication. One slightly interesting thing. They said that historically WW always had a big jump in memberships in January and then would lose memberships over the course of the year. I know that is true and have seen the charts for years. Apparently, that pattern is starting to change. Now, most people joining WW are buying a longer term plan and the most popular is the 10 month plan. So that is something out the membership a bit more.
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Post by Jennifer on Mar 2, 2024 13:17:39 GMT
Thank you Kitty!
It's no wonder people sign up for 10 months at a time, it's $10 a month for digital instead of $23 and I think around $25 a month for a monthly pass instead of $45 a month.
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Post by dar1965 on Mar 2, 2024 22:36:55 GMT
Jennifer, I read the report. It was, honestly, fairly uninteresting to me. It was mostly about the Sequence purchase which is now WW Clinic and how they feel it fits with WW because medication needs to have a behavioral component as well (which is true). They also talked about some employers that are starting to offer WW as a benefit to employees. There really wasn't much at all about WW other than the medication plan. There was a lot of talk about how WW clinic tries to help people find a medication that is covered by their insurance (I forget the percentage and it was actually fairly low). There was also discussion about the supply constraints for medication. One slightly interesting thing. They said that historically WW always had a big jump in memberships in January and then would lose memberships over the course of the year. I know that is true and have seen the charts for years. Apparently, that pattern is starting to change. Now, most people joining WW are buying a longer term plan and the most popular is the 10 month plan. So that is something out the membership a bit more. Thanks kitty always look forward to your reviews.
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Post by jammytart on Mar 2, 2024 23:37:15 GMT
There are some interesting notes in the SEC filing, as well. Workshops are presented as a risk because of conditions that WW created by closing workshops. “ We may not be successful in evolving our in-person or virtual community offerings, including our workshop offering, which could adversely affect our business, brand, or financial results. We believe that the power of our community is one of the factors that enables us to attract new and returning customers. However, we have continued to observe significant recruitment declines in our Workshops + Digital business. Our mix shift toward our Digital business in recent years negatively impacted revenue and continues to do so. Additionally, our Workshops + Digital members may choose our new Clinical offering, which could further decrease the demand for our workshop offering and negatively impact revenues for our Workshops + Digital business. These revenue declines may be accelerated by evolving consumer tastes and preferences regarding in-person or virtual communities. The evolution of our traditional in-person formats, or the introduction of new formats, may dilute the competitive advantage of our community or discourage current or potential Workshops + Digital and other members from subscribing to our offerings. New iterations of our workshop format may not develop as rapidly alongside the evolving science of weight management to provide the latest in science-backed community support initiatives, or alongside evolving consumer tastes and preferences, which could negatively impact our business, brand, or financial results..” Restructure - they decided to pivot and centralize services, which will fire people. They did this as such a sharp pivot that they couldn’t format it in time for the report. “ The Organizational Restructuring has resulted and will further result in the elimination of certain positions and the termination of employment for certain employees worldwide.” They listed their difficulty to be sold as a risk They noted that that may not be able to be sold due to Virginia law “Provisions contained in our articles of incorporation and bylaws and the laws of Virginia, the state in which we are incorporated, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our shareholders. ” www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/105319/000095017024022144/ww-20231230.htm
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Kitty
Transcendent Member
Posts: 1,447
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Post by Kitty on Mar 2, 2024 23:42:02 GMT
jammytart, Interesting. Seems consistent with how I have felt about it. I think WW has a tough road ahead of them.
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Post by jammytart on Mar 3, 2024 11:30:59 GMT
jammytart, Interesting. Seems consistent with how I have felt about it. I think WW has a tough road ahead of them. They do. I noticed that in previous years they called themselves s global wellness company, fhen a human-centric technology company, and now a technology company. One aspect of their report is that they do not seem to do market research. There is no guidance for their decisions other than industry trends and their app usage data.
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Post by bbbearsmom on Mar 3, 2024 18:58:07 GMT
"They do. I noticed that in previous years they called themselves s global wellness company, fhen a human-centric technology company, and now a technology company." jammytart, The problem being we are people not machines.
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Post by bbbearsmom on Mar 3, 2024 19:00:33 GMT
jammytart , Just read your big post. Thanks for posting. Doesn't sound good. I shared it with my group of local WW friends who meetup now that our meeting has been cancelled.
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Post by jammytart on Mar 4, 2024 4:13:08 GMT
jammytart , Just read your big post. Thanks for posting. Doesn't sound good. I shared it with my group of local WW friends who meetup now that our meeting has been cancelled. I think that the real legacy of ww is that we know what to do, and can figure it out together without them.
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Post by Guest on Mar 4, 2024 15:03:09 GMT
Judy said " the problem being we are people, not machines." So well said. I've seen the beginning of the end coming for several years now. Now with Oprah dumping her stock, making a beeline out of there, (even though I read WW insists she still supports and recommends the program), the crash and burn is in motion. Even though I dropped the program a while back, it is sad when I think of what was and what will be.
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Post by NatureLover on Mar 4, 2024 17:42:10 GMT
Our mix shift toward our Digital business in recent years negatively impacted revenue and continues to do so.
I'm readying myself that WW will probably be going away. So sad. I'd better save all my favorite app recipes in another format.
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Post by jammytart on Mar 4, 2024 23:28:49 GMT
Our mix shift toward our Digital business in recent years negatively impacted revenue and continues to do so. I'm readying myself that WW will probably be going away. So sad. I'd better save all my favorite app recipes in another format. Is is interesting that they never mention the recipes. That’s probably the part of the app that is solid and could be sold. The bar code scanner and food databases require different countries to have different app versions, they probably could get away with recording workshops and having them stream on demand. I don’t see how they survive with the current CEO. They are burning money by redesigning the app every other week.
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Post by jammytart on Mar 4, 2024 23:51:43 GMT
Judy said " the problem being we are people, not machines." So well said. I've seen the beginning of the end coming for several years now. Now with Oprah dumping her stock, making a beeline out of there, (even though I read WW insists she still supports and recommends the program), the crash and burn is in motion. Even though I dropped the program a while back, it is sad when I think of what was and what will be. Oprah had multiple agreements. In 2019 she signed one that released her from one agreement after 2023, then she shimmied her way out of the board with the conflict of interest explanation, and the advisor agreement is in place through May 2025. It was such a different company when she signed the agreement, I don’t blame her for looking to the nearest exit. “I believe in WW’s mission and the power of its program to create positive, lasting change for everyone who wants a partner to help support them in pursuing a stronger, healthier life,” said Oprah Winfrey. “I am passionate about WW’s potential to reach and inspire even more people in the years to come. I am fully committed to WW’s future and our continued partnership, and I intend to continue my service on WW’s Board of Directors into 2025.” Since October 2015, Ms. Winfrey has been a Board member, strategic partner and advisor, and shareholder of WW. She will continue to collaborate and provide her insights on the Company’s strategy and initiatives, including on consumer motivation, community activation, creative strategy and the overall consumer experience, through April 2023. In addition, she will continue to serve as a key advisor to the Company through May 2025.” corporate.ww.com/news/news-details/2019/WW-and-Oprah-Winfrey-Announce-Extension-of-Partnership-Into-2025/default.aspxI am interested to see what she does next - if she starts something in the wellness industry as WeightWatchers is now seeing themselves as a tech company. That’s an interesting pivot and anyone actually using the app knows they are definitely not a tech company. Sima sounded like she was about to cry in the call when she said that North Carolina state insurance would not cover GLP-1s, she said that it was a form of discrimination. They stripped the shops, workshops , programs,and fired a bunch of people to pay for Sequence without doing market research. They could have had the GLP-1 side of the app without buying Sequence, as Noom and others have demonstrated. So for $120 million dollars, WW gained an albatross and lost the world’s most influential billionaire. Well done Sima.
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