Low meeting turnout and demand from lesser valued competitor weight loss programs caused Weight Watchers to slim its worth for 2014 over 25 percent The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Issues with keeping veteran members on Weight Watcher plans during a day and age where many utilize apps on mobile devices, and other gizmos are also to blame The Journal reported.
"Management are moving forward and trying to turn this ship around, but that will take time," J.P. Morgan analyst John Faucher told The Journal. "It will take time to determine when/if the company will return to growth. We see no reason to turn more positive at this time," Faucher told The Journal.
Weight Watchers estimated its income would fall over 50 percent in 2014 because of the decrease in profit, and the company putting more money towards new objects in attempt to revive the company.
"While reducing costs is a necessary building block of our transformation, by itself, it would be insufficient," Nick Hotchkin Chief Financial Officer at Weight Watchers told The Journal. "That is why we are investing in support of product innovation particularly for the winter diet season 2015 and healthcare," Hotchkin told The Journal.
The company is optimistic about rebounding in 2015 The Journal reported.
"We don't like our performance so far in 2014, and we are working hard right now to improve it," Jim Chambers, president and CEO at Weight Watchers said in a statement in a conference call Thursday The Journal reported Friday. "Our plans for the 2015 product innovation and healthcare initiative are on the right track," Chambers said in the statement.
"The headwinds from free apps and activity monitors have only continued to intensify," Chambers told The Journal. "And our marketing efforts in the early part of this year have been less effective than we had hoped, putting our top and bottom lines under greater pressure," Chambers told The Journal.
