CNN Money reports that, today (Feb. 26, 2016), shares of Weight Watchers plummeted 30% after the company announced a quarterly loss of $11 million. That means Oprah Winfrey, who acquired a 10% stake in the company last year, lost $27 million.
In October 2015, when Oprah signed on to play a big part in Weight Watchers’ public image, she bought 10% stake in the company, joined its board and became a member herself. I’m sure you’ve seen her commercials touting how she lost 26 lbs. on Weight Watchers even though she ate bread every day.
Weight Watchers’ stock is currently trading almost 60% below the peak it hit in November after Oprah joined the company. The stock is down 50% for the year, with membership and meeting attendance slipping as well.
According to Variety, the plummet in Weight Watchers’ fortunes has led some to call into question Oprah’s ability to sway public opinion the way she once could. Those questions are reinforced by the early ratings for Oprah’s TV series “Belief,” which debuted in October. Variety TV critic Brian Lowry wrote, “Clearly, Winfrey’s intention to transform the network that bears her name into ‘the world’s biggest classroom,’ as she once called it, proved more ambitious than was commercially feasible.”
~Eowyn
