Clint Carlson Ups His Stake In Vitamin Shoppe Inc. (VSI) To 6.63%

The multi-channel specialty retailer and manufacturer of nutritional products appointed Colin Watts as its new Chief Executive Officer on March 3, 2015. The newly-appointed CEO embarked on this new journey on April 6, so the market should not expect any dramatic changes right away. Colin Watts succeeded Tony Truesdale, who announced his plans to retire in September 2014, after working for more than nine years at Vitamin Shoppe. The experience of Colin Watts in the consumer products and healthcare industry, acquired through the course of his career at a few well-known firms such as Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) and Walgreens, will definitely assist Vitamin Shoppe in developing and growing its operations further. In May of this year, Vitamin Shoppe announced that it would no longer be selling products that contain BMPEA, a substance that does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary ingredient. In addition to that, the company will not sell products that contain the botanical acacia rigidula either, which are at risk for containing BMPEA. Considering the fact that the portfolio of products manufactured and marketed by Vitamin Shoppe somewhat tightens, the freshly-assigned CEO will surely be seeking for new opportunities when it comes to providing a wider range of products, which will eventually boost the company’s growth.

The financial results for the fiscal first quarter of 2015 were disappointing and the company was genuine enough to acknowledge that. Vitamin Shoppe posted net sales of $336.8 million in that quarter, which ended on March 28, compared to the top-line figure of $307.8 million reported in the same quarter a year ago. However, the company reported fully-diluted earnings per share of $0.63 in the quarter, compared to earnings per share of $0.67 reported a year ago. The management of Vitamin Shoppe has also announced a share repurchase program that allows the company to purchase up to $100 million of its shares over the next three-year period. This adds to another in-process $100 million share buyback program announced last year, so it is quite clear that the company is set to deliver shareholder value in the upcoming years. Within our database, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group is among the largest investors in Vitamin Shoppe Inc. (NYSE:VSI), holding 956,047 shares.

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