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American Company Spotlight

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Tootie Pie Company, Inc. Website:
Click Here |
Information As Of
March 21,
2011 |
| Exchange:
OTCQB |
Market Cap:
6.0
Million |
| Outstanding Shares:
13.9
Million |
52 Low / High:
$0.15 / $0.74 |
|
Price March
21, 2011:
$0.43 |
TOOT Recent Stock Quote and News:
Click Here |
"Tootie Pie is operating their business on similar business
strategies that built Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream into
an industry behemoth that was eventually bought by Unilever
for $326 million. A comparison in sales for the first five
years of operations has to two companies generating nearly
identical sales volumes."
Overview
Tootie Pie Company bakes and sells high-quality, handmade pies through three
basic sales channels: retail, corporate and wholesale. The retail segment serves
individual customers through sales in its Tootie Pie Gourmet Cafe's,
in-store sales, orders via telephone and internet on the Company's website. The
corporate segment serves businesses that purchase pies as a way to promote their
company through client and employee appreciation programs. The wholesale segment
is made up of national and regional broad line grocery and foodservice
distributors who purchase pies and then resell them through their respective
sales distribution channels.
Investment Highlights
- Multiple Revenue-Generating Paths. Tootie Pie
Company bakes and sells high-quality, handmade pies through
three basic sales channels: retail, corporate and wholesale
and sells them through a variety of avenues including
through its Company owned Café’s and online.
- Recently Announces Record Revenue. Tootie Pie
recently reported record revenues of $1,061,215 for the
3-month period ending December 31, 2010, versus revenues of
$910,837 for the same period in 2009, a 17 percent increase.
For the nine-month period ended on the same day, sales rose
from $1,408,864 to $1,711,197, an increase of nearly 22
percent.
- Consistently Improving Sales. Tootie Pie recently
announced a 53% increase in sales for January 2011, versus
January of 2010.
- Gourmet Cafés As Part Of
Expansion In Full Swing. The Company opened its first
Tootie Pie Gourmet Café in 2009 and now owns and operates
five total locations in the San Antonio area; with plans to
continue adding more.
- Strong Distribution Adds To Local Presence. With
a strong foothold in Texas via its own stores and major
supermarket chains, national distribution has taken flight
through giants of the foodservice industry such as Sysco
Food Services, U.S. Foodservices and Ben E. Keith Food
Services.
- Cream Of The OTC. The Company has virtually no
debt, $1 million in cash or cash equivalents on hand and
strong financial backing through an established private
equity group.
Profile
Investors have witnessed many economic upheavals over the
past few years. During this time, many companies have been
forced to close their doors and others have been bailed-out by
stronger forces, while others have emerged from these economic
storms, positioned to benefit from the turmoil and deliver for
their shareholders. These companies have business models that
are set to expand operations and grow their companies in
manners that will make them winners in today’s economic
environment.
The Consumer Confidence Index, a gauge that measures the
degree of optimism on the state of the U.S. economy that
consumers are expressing through their activities of savings
and spending, has steadily been on the rise since plummeting
to an all-time low of 25.3 in January 2009. The barometer’s
latest reading from February registered a 70.4; up from 64.8
in January, and inching closer to the 90 benchmark that
signals a stable economy. The housing market is clearly an
anchor that is still weighting down that Index at this point.
Spending among the affluent community, generally regarded as
households with an income of greater than $100,000 per year,
are leading the pack with regards to consumer confidence. The
latest release of the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort index showed
that affluent consumers have much more confidence in the
economy than the rest of the population does, and that
confidence has risen dramatically from its 12-month lows.
Additionally, the Luxury Consumption Index (LCI) which is
reported by Unity Marketing, was in freefall during 2008, but
has reversed course since and recently improved by 4 points to
reach 76.1 for the first quarter of 2011. An even brighter
spot for companies that target these consumers is the fact
that while these indices are steadily on the climb, much like
consumer confidence, they are still in negative territory
which shows that there is still plenty of room for continued
growth in consumer spending. This is good news for companies
that have weathered the storm and great news for those who are
seeing business flourish at this moment.
Further adding to optimism of ongoing business growth, the
number of millionaires living in the United States is growing
as well. A report issued last week by Spectrem Group showed
that the number of U.S. households worth at least $1 million
rose to 8.4 million in 2010, compared to 7.8 million the prior
year, an increase of approximately 8 percent. The 600,000
members added to the millionaire community is pushing back
towards highs that were achieved in 2007 thanks to the more
than 1.1 million households that joined (or re-joined) the
exclusive group in 2009.
So how does this “higher-end” population resurgence equate in
the business world? It means potential; plain and simple. It
taps into some of the most basic characteristics of the
general U.S. population of image and quality. In a world where
most businesses seemed to be predicated on cost-cutting and
mass-production, few companies have maintained a standard of
quality that far surpasses the norm and, for that, people are
willing to pay for products and services. No matter what the
economic condition, consumers still like to identify with the
“best in the business” and when presented in a price range
that still can be afforded by a wide array of genres, it
greatly increases the likelihood of success for the company.
One of the most well-known examples of this sort of business
strategy is that of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. An upstart
company in 1978 with less than $10,000 in the bank, Ben and
Jerry’s is now a household name known worldwide for their
premium homemade ice cream. With a “down-to-earth” business
plan that included small expansions while maintaining a tight
budget and keeping operations local (the first out-of-state
Ben and Jerry’s didn’t happen for five years), the Company
developed a reputation in the Northeast United States that
steadily leaked across the United States and into Canada and
then internationally, producing higher sales year after year
after year until the industry beast was finally bought by
Unilever (NYSE:UN) in 2000 for $326 million…and it all started
with a solid business plan.
Following a similar business model to that of Ben and Jerry’s
is Boerne, Texas-based Tootie Pie Company, Inc. (OTCQB:TOOT),
a micro-cap that is steadily building a legacy of its own.
Tootie Pie Company bakes and sells high-quality, handmade pies
through three basic sales channels: retail, corporate and
wholesale. The retail segment serves individual consumers
through in-store sales, orders via telephone and internet on
the Company's website. The corporate segment serves businesses
that purchase pies as a way to promote their company through
client and employee appreciation programs. The wholesale
segment is made up of national and regional broad line grocery
and foodservice distributors who purchase pies and then resell
them through their respective sales distribution channels.
The Tootie Pie Company is a true American story, with its
roots firmly embedded in Texas soil. Its creator, Ruby
Lorraine “Tootie” Feagan, built a reputation with her
award-winning, secret pie recipes. In mid-2005, she sold her
recipes and name to an investor group headed by Don Merrill,
the Company’s current President & CEO. From that day forward,
“Tootie” Feagan, (who to this day is still a shareholder of
TOOT) has seen her dream of sharing her pies with the world
truly coming to fruition. What started as a “Mom & Pop”
operation, has seen steady growth and expansion in only five
short years; with sales in 2010 nearing $2 million (which,
incidentally, parallels sales for Ben and Jerry’s for the same
time frame).
Tootie Pie recently reported record revenues of $1,061,215 for
the 3-month period ending December 31, 2010, versus revenues
of $910,837 for the same period in 2009, a 17 percent
increase. For the nine-month period ended on the same day,
sales rose from $1,408,864 to $1,711,197, an increase of
nearly 22 percent. Gross profit jumped to $704,796 for the
period, versus $639,536 for the same period in 2009. Gross
margin after depreciation remained virtually unchanged at 66%
of net sales for the period. Operational cash flow came in at
a record $300,088 for the period, versus $154,024 for the same
period in 2009, a 95% improvement. Even more impressive is the
fact that January 2011 sales were recently released which
demonstrated a whopping 53 percent increase over January sales
from 2010 and marked the 15th consecutive month of increasing
profits over the year prior period.
With a sophisticated mix of wholesale distribution, online
advertising and a priceless level of “word of mouth” about the
quality of Tootie Pie, the Company has invested heavily in
establishing and building its brand. Now, the business plan
moves into what management calls its “aggressive growth
model”, which takes the Company directly to its loyal customer
base through the opening of Tootie Pie Gourmet Cafés in
affluent neighborhoods in the San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and
Houston areas. The first Tootie Pie Gourmet Café was opened in
2009 and, since then, four additional locations have been
opened with plans to continue adding locations in the future.
"We will continue to invest in our accelerated growth model,
as represented by our Gourmet Cafes," said Don Merrill, Tootie
Pie Company's President and CEO. "The Cafes represent
significant revenue growth, but they also enable us to sell
more pie at higher margins. We believe they are the next
logical extension of our brand. We are adding Cafes at an
average of about $100,000 per location, which is well below
the national average for quick serve restaurants of this size.
We think this is an excellent investment that should produce
both short term and long term benefits for the Tootie Pie
Company.”
National distribution will continue to spread through
distribution agreements with some of the biggest names in the
food service industry such as Ben E. Keith Food Services, US
Foodservices and Sysco Food Services. In total, Tootie Pie
Company’s current market coverage includes 15 distributors
which places Tootie Pies in restaurants and high-end grocery
stores in 13 different states. In Texas alone, Tootie Pies are
available for purchase at more than 40 HEB stores, the largest
grocery chain in the state and have been part of major
promotions with industry-leaders such as Kraft Foods “Cool
Whip”.
Financially, Tootie Pie is well-capitalized, having raised
approximately $4 million in equity, including $1 million from
Dawson Holdings, LP, a private equity group that recently
upped their equity stake in Tootie Pie from 15% to 25% through
an additional $600,000 investment. Even with the costs
associated with adding the Gourmet Cafés, Tootie Pie still had
nearly $1 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand, only
carries a long-term debt of a paltry $100,000 and does not
have any convertibles or “hidden debt” (as of 12/31/10). Gross
margins after depreciation for the latest quarter, as recently
reported to the SEC, are still an amazing 66 percent.
Technically
speaking, the TOOT chart has been on a slide off its highs
last November when it found resistance at 74 cents, but it is
now approaching a very strong support level at 40 cents. The
price per share has dipped below the support at $0.40 on
several occasions, but has quickly pulled back up each time
indicating that investors are seeing the opportunity as a
value chance to grab some shares. The large candles, however,
indicate that there was a wide bid/ask spread, so the
likelihood of a retail trader ever being filled on the bid
side would have probably been few and far between and would
also explain why traders took the opportunity to hit the ask
in order to acquire shares. The last three days of trading, as
indicated by the smaller candles, show that the spread appears
to have tightened into a much closer range.
Technical traders always look to historic trading patterns and
what happens when a indicators and the price per share reach
certain levels. In the case of TOOT, the RSI tends to bounce
off of 30 and not break into “oversold” territory. The same is
true for the commonly used MACD with bouncing into a bullish
cross upon touching -0.035, which happens to be right in the
vicinity at this point. The Full Stochastics, another very
commonly used indicator to gauge the momentum of a stock, is
still holding an uptrend and trending above 50. This positive
divergence is often considered a prelude to a reversal in
price and keenly watched by the technical community. Other
indicators that are not shown here, but will be featured in
our video presentation of TOOT will show indicators such as
the ADX which is at an extremely exaggerated level,
registering a whopping 84.99, which is also going to be
requiring a correction which is typically fueled by a change
in direction of trend. As always, this
assessment of the TOOT stock chart is merely
AllPennyStocks.com's assessment, and we always encourage
investors to do their own due diligence and consult with a
financial advisor prior to making any trading decisions.
At AllPennyStocks.com, we have been following Tootie Pie
closely for over a year; watching the Company steadily
increasing revenue on an uncannily consistent basis while
maintaining a tight share structure (only 13 million shares
outstanding) to protect shareholder value. Tootie Pie is a
rarity in the OTC markets, as it is truly a sound company,
inside and out, with a real product to sell. It is led by a
seasoned, opportunistic management team that has proven it is
focused on its business model that is built around low
overhead, high profits and a concise expansion plan of a
product with rapidly growing demand. A recent pull-back in
price has resulted in a slip in market cap to the area of $6
million, which, at 1.5 projected sales, is well-off a typical
valuation of 5 times projected sales. It is for these reasons,
as well as the ones mentioned above, that we have decided to
turn our latest U.S. spotlight upon Tootie Pie Company, Inc.
(OTCQB:TOOT) and encourage our members to perform their due
diligence immediately and follow along with this resilient
company that has not only weathered the storm of the
recession, but actually grown bigger and stronger during that
time.
Recent News and Press Releases
Tootie Pie Company Trading in its Common Stock Moves to
Electronic OTC Marketplace
Business Wire (Mon, Mar 7)
Tootie Pie Company Sales Up 53% for January
Business Wire (Thu, Mar 3)
A New Audio Interview With Don Merrill, President and CEO of
Tootie Pie Company Regarding the Company's Record Revenues Is
Now at SmallCapVoice.com
Marketwire (Wed, Feb 16)
Tootie Pie Company Reports Record Revenues
Business Wire (Tue, Feb 15)
Tootie Pie Company Sales Up 18% for December
Business Wire (Wed, Feb 2)
Management
Don L. Merrill, Jr. has been the Company`s Chief
Executive Officer and a Director since Tootie Pie`s inception.
Mr. Merrill has over twenty years experience in capital
markets, where he began his career with Merrill Lynch in 1983.
In May 1989, Mr. Merrill left Merrill Lynch and began
consulting directly with primarily early stage companies until
September 2005 when he joined the Company. Mr. Merrill has
provided his expertise on a consulting basis to companies in
many business sectors, including specialty retail,
telecommunications, financial services, and high tech
communications, for close to twenty years. Mr. Merrill has
evaluated many young companies and provided his expertise in
raising both public and private equity.
Bobbie Keese has been the Company`s Vice President of
Baking Operations since its inception. Ms. Keese has over 25
years of retail business administration experience; as well as
several years of working with early stage companies. Ms Keese
worked alongside her mother, Ruby Lorraine “Tootie” Feagan, in
baking pies and operating her pie business at various
intervals for over ten years prior to helping Mr. Merrill
start the Tootie Pie Company, Inc. As the Company`s Vice
President of Baking Operations, Ms. Keese will work to ensure
the preservation and continuation of the Tootie Pie brand and
its quality reputation.
Randy G. Graybill has a 25 year track record of
excellence in competitive sales, management and developing
high performance teams. Working with M&M/Mars and PepsiCo, Mr.
Graybill has distinct expertise across a diverse range of
businesses including retail, specialty and foodservice. His
roles involve the sales and development of branded products
for market, as well as overseeing the restaurant division,
through its management and development of the Tootie Pie
Gourmet Cafés. During his career he has successfully
implemented and improved customer service, distribution and
packaging operations within existing and start-up operations.
Kirk Jones was promoted to Controller, after two years
as the Company`s Head Accountant. Kirk has an accounting
degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he
worked for Tootie Pie Company while finishing his degree.
Contact
Corporate Office:
Tootie Pie Company
129 Industrial Drive
Boerne, TX 78006
Investor Relations:
Carla Carter
Phone: 210-737-6600
Email:
Carla.Carter@tootiepieco.com
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report includes forward-looking
statements that reflect Tootie Pie Company, Inc. current
expectations about its future results, performance,
prospects and opportunities.
Tootie Pie Company, Inc. has
tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using
words and phrases such as "may," "will," "expects,"
"anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "plan,"
"should," "typical," "preliminary," "we are confident" or
similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are
based on information currently available and are subject to
a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that
could cause Tootie Pie Company, Inc.'s actual results,
performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially
from those expressed in, or implied by, these
forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and
other factors include, without limitation, the Company's
growth expectations and ongoing funding requirements, and
specifically, the Company's growth prospects with scalable
customers, and those outlined above. Other risks include the
Company's limited operating history, the Company's history
of operating losses, consumers' acceptance, the Company's
use of licensed technologies, risk of increased competition,
the potential need for additional financing, the terms and
conditions of any financing that is consummated, the limited
trading market for the Company's securities, the possible
volatility of the Company's stock price, the concentration
of ownership, and the potential fluctuation in the Company's
operating results.
Disclaimer
AllPennyStocks.com feature stock reports
are intended to be stock ideas, NOT recommendations. Please
do your own research before investing. It is crucial that
you at least look at current SEC filings and read the latest
press releases. Information contained in this report was
extracted from current documents filed with the SEC, the
company web site and other publicly available sources deemed
reliable. For more information see our disclaimer section, a
link of which can be found on our web site. This document
contains forward-looking statements, particularly as related
to the business plans of the Company, within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to
the safe harbor created by these sections. Actual results
may differ materially from the Company's expectations and
estimates. This is an advertisement for
Tootie Pie Company, Inc. The purpose of this advertisement, like any
advertising, is to provide coverage and awareness for the
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AllPennyStocks.com has been compensated
three thousand dollars by a
third-party, SmallCapVoice.com, Inc. and forty thousand
rule-144 shares of TOOT in March 2010 and another two
thousand five hundred dollars and forty-five thousand rule
144 shares of TOOT from the Company in March 2011 for its efforts in presenting the
TOOT profile
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