As a consequence of our introductory mailing to shareholders, we are delighted to see the following countries represented: AUSTRALIA BELGIUM CANADA DENMARK DUBAI GERMANY GHANA HONG KONG INDIA IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JORDAN KUWAIT NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NORWAY PERU SAUDI ARABIA SINGAPORE SOUTH KOREA SWEDEN SWITZERLAND TAIPEI THAILAND UNITED KINGDOM USA
Monthly Archive: November 2011
Nov 28
Winning Brands Invited to Participate in Duane Reade Launch at 40 Wall Street – Trump Building
Much excitement about Walgreens/Duane Reade launch of their new flagship store in the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street. Winning Brands has been invited to have our Brand Ambassadors for 1000+ on hand during the period December 10-16th. The schedule is being worked on now. This is the building website: http://www.40wallstreet.com/ Here are other related …
Nov 25
A record falls – 51 New Accounts in a Single Day
The collaboration with Karrys today was a resounding success. 1000+ Stain Remover will be available in 51 new store locations, who signed up today during our Winning Brands day. That’s a new single day record for the 1000+ Stain Remover brand. In the picture below, Kristin of Karrys is supervising the telephone presentation for consistency, yet …
Nov 25
It’s 1000+ Day at Karrys!
Special initiative with Karrys today to create awareness for 1000+ Stain Remover amongst the Karrys account base. Karrys is a distributor with 8 Customer Service Desk telephone operators. Today, all day long, they will start every incoming and outgoing conversation by discussing 1000+ Stain Remover. This will add up to hundreds of calls. Thank you, Karrys, for your assistance and enthusiasm …
Nov 24
1000+ Industrial Uses
Thank you, Brotech Precision CNC, for choosing 1000+ Stain Remover Commercial for your facilities and equipment maintenance. Evaluation of industrial and commercial uses of 1000+ Stain Remover is leading to its use in a new crop of settings, by discerning professional customers. The 20L and 4L sizes of 1000+ Stain Remover are attractive for these settings.
Nov 24
Making Stains on the Assembly Line!
Preparing for the Holiday Stains theme launch at Duane Reade in December, we have been experimenting with “making stains on the assembly line”. That’s because we are developing kits for use by our Brand Ambassadors in 50 stores in the pre-Christmas period. Many of those stores have already signed on, and are being unveilled here in the …
Nov 24
1000+ Stain Remover and Equestrian Uses
Thank you to the good people at Shoclean Horseblankets for approving 1000+ Stain Remover (formerly Winning Colours) in the care of horse blankets. Shoclean has been repairing and cleaning horse blankets for loyal customers for over 12 years. Practical testing with 1000+ Stain Remover has now led to it become part of the process. Winning Brands is proud to help experts to be the …
Nov 23
Update: Hospitality Sector
Latest report from Palm Springs, site of our pilot project in the Hospitality Sector, confirms satisfaction of our new hotel/motel customers, as momentum builds. In the picture below, Felix Barajas, who is managing this project, appears with a representative of one of the hotels in the successful test. Several are now permitting their property names to be used in …
Nov 23
1000+ Stain Remover in upcoming National Flyer in Canada
It has been confirmed that 1000+ Stain Remover has earned a place again in an upcoming national flyer at Canadian Tire during December 2011. Any Canadian shareholder knows what an honour this is for a consumer product. The flyer is almost a “national institution” – many households refer to it. To be in this flyer is as symbolic of …
Nov 23
Shareholder Question: NOBO and R/S
QUESTION Thanks for your hard work, I wanted to let you know that I use ETRADE and they told me that I am already on their NOBO but I did not receive a letter from you claiming me as a shareholder. Also I noticed that some people who have gotten letters are being told how …
Nov 22
Update: Australia
There are a number of initiatives which will be showing new life in 2012; things which may have appeared to be abandoned but were merely “stuck” in some way, due to various obstacles that we were working on behind the scenes to clear away. In Australia, we had delays going operational into Mitre-10 warehouses during the …
Nov 22
Update: Duane Reade
The Chrysler Building location of Duane Reade has joined the list for special promotion of 1000+ Stain Remover. Our Brand Ambassador has been invited to spend 4 hours providing staff and customer orientation week of December 10-16th. Pictures below.
Nov 21
Sam’s Club – Test Objectives Met
On Sunday, Robert Hicks’ son and wife came to visit him at Sam’s Club in Houston, where the 5th in a series of Road Show days were held, designing a suitable launch for the 1000+ Value Pack. The test revealed that 1000+ Stain Remover was being purchased, brand unknown, by a sufficient number of shoppers (based …
Nov 21
Shareholder Update: KIND Laundry Products
A number of shareholders have been asking about KIND Laundry Products. The common thread is the question of how the brand will be positioned in a competitive landscape. Most fields are competitive. There is a school of thought that the competitive fields represent the best business opportunities because they reflect high demand. Also, in a …
Nov 20
Shareholder Question: Spartan
QUESTION Working tonight Eric? Is it true that Spartan is gone? Poster _________ says its a huge loss. ANSWER No, Spartan is not “gone”. Quite the contrary. We have tried to help that organization understand the value of harnessing Winning Brands’ willingness to work together on merchandising plans (because some chains are less oriented that way than others). …
Nov 20
Shareholder Question: GSA
QUESTION Can you tell me or do you know how long it takes [with the GSA] to know if we would get a bid after bidding and when shipping to them might start? ANSWER This will vary considerably between situations. It would be natural (and I suspect that we will experience) that in our early …
Nov 19
New Benchmark
Operationally, an interesting new accomplishment for the 1000+ Stain Remover Value Pack and Robert Hicks today. During today’s Sam’s Club Road Show, a 3 hour stretch of 5 ($26.88/each) units per hour through the till. It’s not our norm, it’s not sustainable across a chain without an attended showcase event, but it is an interesting fact, …
Nov 19
Welcome Back, Winning Brands!
It’s an honour to be invited back to a national big box store location by the Manager because he enjoys doing business with Winning Brands, and tells you so. More locations of our retail partners are inviting Winning Brands, on their own initiative, to return for more promotional work, together. Today, the Manager of this location, set the …
Nov 18
New Design of Outdoor Advertising: 1000+ Stain Remover
This new face design for recycle bins will be installed in coming weeks as the signs are replaced for maintenance. Picture can be double clicked for close-up.
Nov 18
Monique Craft at Hardware Store Ladies Night
To help you meet additional members of the team, Monique Craft is shown here, pausing between demonstrations that the Beach Builders Home Hardware, during a Ladies Night a few days ago. It’s interesting how often the Ladies Nights come up as the basis of a special event in the independent hardware sector. We have participated …
Nov 17
Loyalty and Motivation: The value of a brand.
Nice E-mail today from Hong Kong. A consumer would like to buy, and have us send to Hong Kong, 2 bottles of 1000+ Stain Remover. The reason? “Hi, I’m located in Hong Kong, and would like to purchase Winning Colours 1000+ Multi cleaner and Stain Remover. I had used this item before in Canada and it works …
Nov 17
Testimonial from Nigeria
Feedback starting to come in from Nigeria – testimonial just received. The correspondent was very happy with 1000+ restoring the look of an old tile floor.
Nov 16
Nice Surprise
…walking along the aisle of a Home Depot on an errand and found a very nice improvised display, by surprise. I mentioned to the cashier that I’m with the company which makes 1000+ Stain Remover – and she became quite animated, telling me that the product does well in her store. It’s a real pleasure …
Nov 16
Shareholders in a Number of Countries
As we begin to process an introductory physical mailing (as opposed to e-mail) to our shareholders of record, it is becoming immediately apparent that we have stakeholders in a number of countries. These 4 countries were present in only 25 envelopes chosen at random.
Nov 16
Ace: Positive by Definition
Interesting call today! A retailer who draws products from Ace Hardware telephoned. The Manager had been instructed by the owner to get 1000+ into the store. The call was to discuss how to do this, since they are an Ace affiliated store, but we are not yet listed by Ace at the warehouse level. A …
Nov 16
Do it Best: Next Wave
To keep the momentum growing within Do it Best member stores – i.e. discovering 1000+ and placing it in their stores – the next wave of exposure is starting. For the member stores who could not attend the Fall Market in Indiana, October 2011, Winning Brands is coming to them. By special arrangement with the …
Nov 15
Shareholder Question: Concern about Operating Results
QUESTION Eric, I got to say these Q3 sales numbers and the recent amount of volume coming in have me pretty worried about the future of wnbd. I read through the report and realize with the 25k we did have an increase yoy, but its just the amount of volume that concerns me. It feels …
Nov 15
Shareholder Question: Discussion Board
QUESTION Not sure if you clear this up on the blog? How exactly the 3rd qtr numbers came about? Thanks http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=69000534. ANSWER The initial delivery to Walmart was made through a distributor from their own existing inventory. The product was not put on the shelves of Walmart until October 2011 (Q4). Hence Winning Brands did not benefit in Q3 …
Nov 13
More store initiatives that deserve respect…
Photo from a stakeholder, today. A Canadian outlet of a North American retailer is apparently meeting its display needs on a custom basis, and we have been honoured with a place in that display for now. We have been seeing increasing evidence of local initiative within large retailers, whereby local staff seek to balance corporate policy with local desire …
Nov 13
Share Activity; Weekly Recap
Source: OTC Markets For the week ending November 11, 2011: Shares Traded: 21,566,257 Dollar Volume: $23,112 52 Week High: .005 52 Week Low: .0004 Friday Close: .0011 Market Makers:
Nov 13
Update: Sam’s Club
Report in tonight from the field: $564.48 through the till for our retailer, today, in the one test location. We believe that this is a new record at checkout for 1000+ for a single store in a single day. It is not realistic to project this volume through all 600 stores in this chain on …
Nov 12
Shareholder Question: GSA
QUESTION Congratulations on your recent accomplishments. My hope is that we can get the big push we need from a nice order from the GSA. Is it possible that we could hear such news by Christmas? Thank You. Long and strong ANSWER There are two primary ways in which we will be doing business through …
Nov 12
Shareholder Question: 1000+ Name
QUESTION When you changed the products name from winning colours to 1000+, why did you keep”stain remover” in the name? Shouldnt it be 1000+ multi cleaner?Stain remover is only one of its jobs. I personally feel “stain remover” should be removed from the name. ANSWER Thank you for taking the time to share your idea. …
Nov 11
1000+ in French on YouTube
A significant portion of the Canadian market for 1000+ Stain Remover has barely been touched, as our marketing had been exclusively in English. A team of associates is coming together at Winning Brands to ramp up our conversion of messages from English to French and other languages as necessary, internationally. This Canadian Tire video, with …
Nov 11
Duane Reade Times Square Joins December Promotion for 1000+
Our 1000+ Brand Ambassador has been invited to spend 4 hours in this store one day during the week of December 10-16 to introduce staff and customers to 1000+ Stain Remover. It is at the intersection of Broadway and 40th Street (Times Square).
Nov 10
Shareholder Question: NOBO
QUESTION A number of shareholders are wondering why the company wants the NOBO list. I have no problem telling you I own over 16 million shares. I continue to add. Maybe I’m nuts but I believe you’re doing a great job marketing these products. I hope in the future it will be all worth it. thanks …
Nov 10
Stock Holdings: Interesting Facts
In reviewing the NOBO, which describes approximately 90% of WNBD shareholders, it has been established that the median holding of WNBD is 40,000 shares. In other words, 50% of all shareholders have more, and one half less. Of those that hold more, 25% hold 200,000 shares or more. Nearly 500 shareholders hold over 1 Million shares. I thank …
Nov 10
KIND: Mother Ease Cloth Diapers Begins Online Sales
KIND Laundry Products has become easier for young mothers in Canada and the USA to buy, thanks to Mother Ease putting KIND online for their (loyal) customer base. Live link here and photo below: https://canshop.motherease.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=52&cat=Laundering+Products Interesting information about the approximately 11,000 babies born per day in the USA is here: http://www.babycenter.com/0_surprising-facts-about-birth-in-the-united-states_1372273.bc
Nov 10
Shareholder Question: Share Count
QUESTION Just saw the update. When will the rate slow down? ANSWER The rate of issuance is affected by four things in particular; A) Requirements B) Prevailing Share Price C) Financing Structure. D) Rate of retirement of current promissory notes. All four of these things will benefit from recent developments. A) Our sales are likely to increase, …
Nov 10
Shareholer Question: DTC
QUESTION Can you tell us where we stand with the Ameritrade chill and if there is any progress to resume buying? Anything you can tell us regarding this problem would be of help. ANSWER It is my understanding that a broker has come forward who will warrant that the shares which they would like to …
Nov 09
People Power
As our shareholder base has grown over the years, a number of creative talents have emerged. We are a group with a vested interest – to help the public at large, and now governments, discover what we already know; Winning Brands has terrific products! These talents have shown themselves in video, operational ideas, field research and …
Nov 09
Do it Best – Growing Store Count
Received report today – we have reached the shelves in 207 Do it Best member hardware stores as of yesterday. All Do it Best regional warehouses (Retail Service Centers) carry the product, and each has client stores in their zone now. These zones are based around Cape Girardeau, MO; Dixon, IL; Lexington, SC; Medina, OH; …
Nov 09
Shareholder Question(s): NOBO
A number of shareholders have contacted us with the desire to be on the “Non-Objecting Beneficial Owner” list. This is the list which is accessible to the company, setting out who its shareholders are, if the shareholders hold their stock in the form of a nominee. Brokers often hold their clients’ shares in the name of their …
Nov 08
Government Opportunities: Notifications
Now that we are properly set-up in the system(s) in both countries, this sort of notice is starting to arrive. The point is not that we will gain all these contracts, of course. The point is that now we can, for the first time ever, participate! This is going to be fun. We are capable …
Nov 08
U.S. Government Portal Operational: GSA Advantage Goes Live with Winning Brands Products
Activation in the U.S Government online purchasing system is beginning. For example, the following is a link to the 1000+ Stain Remover SKU Listing: https://www.gsaadvantage.gov/advantage/s/search.do?q=0:01000%2B+Stain+Remover&db=0&searchType=1 The variety of price points in the product listing describes different delivery configurations, such as an entire pallet, a case, or single unit -for a variety of sizes. Winning Brands will be combing …
Nov 06
Duane Reade: 250 Broadway Location Joins December Promotion of 1000+ Stain Remover
For a week in December, 1000+ Stain Remover will receive special promotional activity in many Duane Reade locations in New York. 250 Broadway is the latest location to join the list.
Nov 06
New Store Record Set at Home Depot
The Home Depot store in Parry Sound, Ontario set a record of 1000+ Stain Remover bottles sold in a single day - 39 transactions yesterday, through an in-store promotion of their own design. The significance of this record by Home Depot for 1000+ is both that it arises from the initiative of the local Home Depot staff themselves and that their leader …
Nov 05
Weekly Recap
Many shareholders do not follow their holdings of Winning Brands as closely as discussion board posters, or prefer not to be in that environment. I therefore hear from many of you about how useful that you find this Winning Brands CEO Weblog. Direct corespondence from you to that effect has increased sharply, and I have responded. Thank you for your interest in …
Nov 04
Communicating Value – Sam’s Club Shoppers are Responding
Robert is finding that the remarkable value of 1000+ Stain Remover as a multi-cleaner when diluted with water in a spray bottle continues to strike a chord with people to whom he demonstrates. Again today in Houston, a shopper on her own accord said “…Oh, I’d better take two.” That’s a $53.76 transaction. She was …
Nov 04
Update: GSA
We are starting to appear in some of the online resources of the GSA system. Contractor Directory information is now live. There will be many other indications that we are showing up in the system. We will share these as they occur. http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/contractorInfo.do?contractNumber=GS-07F-0052Y&contractorName=NIAGARA+MIST+MARKETING+LTD&executeQuery=YES
Nov 04
Winning Brands Shareholder Count Remains Strong
Despite the risks associated with our stage of development and difficulties in the microcap environment, Winning Brands net shareholder count has held strong. In fact, as of October 31st, the net number has increased by 13 account positions, since last reported, to 4,497 beneficial shareholders.
Nov 04
Statistics – Finding the Meaning
The purpose of comparing sales performance of individual stores within a chain is to identify the reason for differences and apply the learning. An interesting current case proves how even a single person can contribute disproportionately and the value of word-of-mouth. One of the big box home improvement retailers in Canada with stores in the US as …
Nov 04
Literature Approval for Use in New York
Whenever a logo is incorporated in a brochure, or changes made, permission is required. New York Brand Ambassadors and stores will be equiped with materials, including brochures. Despite the obvious advantages of digital media, a brochure can have a long life. It can be discovered in a kitchen drawer, even months later or when scrambling …
Nov 03
Duane Reade – 2nd Confirmed Promotion Location – 1000+
Duane Reade, 37 Broadway, Near Exchange Place, confirmed to participate in the Brand Ambassador Program for 1000+ Stain Remover in December
Nov 03
The kind of mistake that you like to make…
It would have been easy to assume that $26.88 was the highest you can go in a transaction price for our category, for a single consumer purchase. That would be a mistake. Robert had two customers today in our new Sam’s Club program, who purchased 2 Value Packs each. That’s $53.76 per consumer. The best …
Nov 03
He’s ready for any question that you can throw at him…
This is a man who knows his product, his customers and the good things that happen bringing the two together. Robert Hicks, pausing between demonstrations, is determined to meet this goal – to get people to discover 1000+. He has now achieved the creation of a front line in the launch of a product in the world’s largest retailer; the Walmart group of companies. …
Nov 03
Shareholder Question: Clarification
QUESTION Eric could you give a quick clarification. When you said there was modest growth, were you refering to year over year or quarter over quarter. There seems to be some confusion as to what you meant. ANSWER Year over year. That’s more realistic because the underlying patterns of activity are somewhat seasonal, and tend …
Nov 03
Shareholder Greetings – from Japan!
What a terrific surprise this morning when a package was delivered from Japan, from a Winning Brands shareholding member of the U.S. armed forces. The pictures below show that several of us were gathering around to see the Japanese treats, chop sticks and lucky cat figurine. Thank you so much “K” for these mementos. The …
Nov 02
Badge of Honour
Preparations are underway for the 50-store promotion in Duane Reade’s busiest locations to start December 10th with the theme of being ready for Holiday Stains. We are developing tools and protocol for a team of Brand Ambassadors; New Yorkers who, many of them, live in the areas close to the stores. Below is the Duane Reade at 95 …
Nov 02
It’s a Joy!
What a nice experience it is rolling out 1000+ Stain Remover with our new store friends at Do it Best. In October, Winning Brands attended its first Do it Best Fall Market to introduce 1000+ Stain Remover. Orders were received at the market too, not merely discussions. Our Retail Support Manager, Deberah Ruddy, has been calling dozens …
Nov 02
Design Development – Next Generation of Shipping Cases
Opportunities are growing for us to have impromptu displays in hardware retailers for the 909 mL bottle, where a permanent rack is not feasible for a number of reasons. Accordingly, Winning Brands is converting its case packaging into display modules, ready for use at any location as a display tower, pallet, counter, end-of-aisle, etc. Below …
Nov 02
Completing the Circle
Commencement of our work at Sam’s Club is now verified by this payment item. It will not be the practice to show this regularly, It is only for the purpose of confirmation of operations being underway in this venue.
Nov 02
Update: GSA – Welcome Letter
There is only one way of putting it – “A Class Act”. I am truly impressed with the GSA. Today we received our “Welcome Letter” and attached reference guide which sets out on 34 pages how contractors can operate most effectively in this setting. Whereas some vendors may go cross-eyed with 34 pages of do’s …
Nov 02
Update: Serbia
ROMA Distributor is preparing to implement new EU regulatory harmonization into their inventory, which just came into effect, as Serbia moves toward EU membership. We are already prepared for this and were merely awaiting word to release the new inventory for their next shipment with adjusted label details for local compliance, once these adjustments were reviewed locally. …
Nov 01
Update: GSA
The SIC material described in earlier updates was forwarded to GSA on time and is already being reviewed now by appropriate GSA personnel in Texas. Everything going smoothly.
Nov 01
Are you on the NOBO List?
Shareholders can ensure that they receive contact from the company about matters of interest to them by having their brokers record the shareholder as a ”Non Objecting Beneficial Owner” of Winning Brands and that you would like to receive correspondence and notifications by e-mail or post. This will ensure that Winning Brands correspondence can reach you. If you are not on …