Talk about a crash diet.
Weight Watchers’ stock took a 30 percent dive among disappointing earnings, months after officially shedding its name and shifting its focus from points and weigh-ins.
"While we are proud of our accomplishments in 2018, we had a soft start to 2019 versus last year's strong performance with the launch of WW Freestyle," Weight Watchers CEO Mindy Grossman said in a statement. "Given our Winter Campaign did not recruit as expected, we have been focused on improving member recruitment trends."
The slump follows Weight Watchers’ 2018 rebrand to WW, or “Wellness that Works.”
“We will always be the global leader in weight loss, but now WW welcomes anyone who wants to build healthy habits—whether that means eating better, moving more, developing a positive mindset, focusing on weight…or all of the above!” the firm said in a statement at the time.
Oprah Winfrey, WW's part owner and celebrity pitchwoman, heralded the shift.
But Google search data suggests people may be interested in structured plans. “Weight loss” eclipsed “wellness” as a search term both locally and nationally (except in New Mexico and the Dakotas, where “wellness” has a slight lead), data show:
And the pivot wasn’t enough for some critics. An online petition demanding actress Kate Hudson step down as a WW brand ambassador logged thousands of virtual signatures.
“(I)f Kate Hudson really wants to promote holistic wellness, she would never promote intentional weight loss,” it read.
Area residents who have had success with Weight Watchers aren’t sure what to make of the stock slide.
“I don't know it's the issue of their wellness rebranding or that now there are a million different options - it feels like everyone I know is doing keto - so people are doing their own thing,” said fitness blogger Erika Redding. “Not everyone wants to spend money to lose weight, and WW is an investment. These days you can follow people on social media and just copy their workouts and food plans.”
Scott Flynn started noticing changes even before the official rebrand. Weekly meetings where leaders would hand out materials gave way to information being shared via the brand’s mobile app, he said. He didn’t love the switch to the Freestyle food plan, meant to offer greater flexibility.
“I liked the program better before they went to the Freestyle program,” the WSB digital content producer said. “It felt like there was more accountability.”
His parents also have had success with Weight Watchers in the past, and miss the interaction meetings offered.
“I'm still doing it,” Flynn said. “But feel like I had better success when I first started.”
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