Reed’s Inc. Announces Management Restructuring
September 30 2019 - 4:10PM
Reed’s Inc. (Nasdaq: REED), owner of the nation’s leading portfolio
of handcrafted, all-natural beverages, today announced a
restructuring of its executive leadership team to accelerate its
continued business transformation to an efficient and effective
asset-light model. The leadership changes include the appointment
of John Bello, currently Chairman of the Board of Directors, as
Interim Chief Executive Officer and the appointment of Norman E.
Snyder, Jr. as Reed’s Chief Operating Officer. Additionally, the
Company has announced preliminary third quarter 2019 net sales.
“Today’s announcement reflects the Board’s
decision to adjust our leadership team to align with the stage of
our business development. The Company has executed the initial
stages of its business transformation to a brand platform business
model centered on Healthy Refreshment. With the divestiture of
manufacturing, Reed’s will focus on building world class brands
through on-trend product innovation, effective sales and powerful
marketing. We have now entered a key next stage of our business
transformation, where we are focused on executing the further
development of our outsourced supply chain to support the
anticipated growth of our core brands as we expand our sales and
marketing efforts,” said John Bello, Chairman and Interim CEO of
Reed’s, Inc. “As we enter this next phase in our growth, it is
crucial to develop a team with the experience and skills to execute
our new business model. I will leverage my beverage industry
experience to provide the guidance to drive these important
business activities while partnering with and building our talented
team to support our expanding sales, marketing and product
development efforts.”
“We have implemented an executive search to
identify the most experienced leadership for this next phase of our
growth and have added a seasoned operational executive to enhance
our supply chain and broaden our contract manufacturing
relationships. I had the distinct pleasure of working closely with
Norm as we built SoBe into a powerful national brand which exceeded
$275 million in sales in five years. He was responsible for
building our national production, which included 17 packing
facilities and leveraged high quality co-packer relationships
across North America. Additionally, his CPA and financial
background is an asset in enhancing margins and negotiating
productive contracts and raw material sourcing. His experience,
relationships and proven success at building an effective and
efficient beverage supply chain position us to capitalize on our
opportunities across the craft and healthy beverage industries,”
continued Mr. Bello.
Mr. Snyder brings over 36 years of multi-faceted
experience in operations, sales, marketing, finance, manufacturing,
business development and management with public, private,
international and start-up companies within the beverage industry.
Most recently, Mr. Snyder served as President and Chief Executive
Office for Avitae USA, LLC, an emerging premium new age beverage
company that markets and sells a line of ready-to-drink caffeinated
waters. Prior to Avitae, he served as the President and Chief
Operating Officer for Adina For Life, Inc. a startup beverage
venture that markets and sells ready-to-drink fruit beverages, teas
and coffees. Mr. Snyder was also the President and Chief Executive
Officer of High Falls Brewing Company, Chief Operating Officer of
Rheingold Brewing Company, and Chief Financial Officer, and later
Chief Operating Officer of South Beach Beverage Company, known as
SoBe. In prior experience, Mr. Snyder served as Controller for
National Football League Properties, Inc., and in various roles at
PriceWaterhouse during an eight-year tenure. He worked with Mr.
Bello both at the NFL and Adina for Life in addition to
contributing to the spectacular success at SoBe.
“I’m excited to reunite with John to build on
the success of iconic brands like Reeds and Virgil’s. I am honored
to join the Reed’s team at such an exciting and pivotal time in the
Company’s history,” said Mr. Snyder. “We have a substantial
opportunity ahead of us and I look forward to helping the Company
leverage its brand strengths and build the organization necessary
to support such change and growth in the near and long term.”
Mr. Snyder will succeed Stefan Freeman, who has
served as Reed’s Chief Operating Officer since July 2017. Mr.
Freeman will continue to support Reed’s and move into a
transitional operating role, working closely with Mr. Snyder to
ensure a seamless executive operational transition.
“I want to thank Val Stalowir for his dedicated
and tireless service over the last two years executing our
transformation plan. Val repositioned the business operations and
built out a strong sales and marketing organization that is poised
to drive the business to its next level. As we transition into our
next phase of development, change is expected, and we wish Val the
best in his next endeavors,” stated Mr. Bello.
Reed’s Inc. today provided preliminary results
for the third quarter of fiscal 2018. The company anticipates net
sales of approximately $8.5 million, reflecting 3% to 4% core gross
sales growth versus the prior year period.
“Our third quarter results reflect the
short-term supply chain challenges that began at end of the second
quarter and modest improvement is anticipated as we exit the year.
However, we are pleased to report that we have seen improvement in
fulfillment rates, have expanded our contract manufacturing
relationships and are executing on our initiatives to broaden
production and support our strong product innovation efforts as we
enter 2020. Our enhanced operation team will further accelerate our
supply chain enhancement efforts,” continued Mr. Bello.
About Reed’s, Inc.:
Established in 1989, Reed's is America's
best-selling Ginger Beer brand and has been the leader and
innovator in the ginger beer category for decades. Virgil's is
America's best-selling independent, full line of natural craft
sodas. The Reed's Inc. portfolio is sold in over 35,000 retail
doors nationwide. Reed's Ginger Beers are unique due to the
proprietary process of using fresh ginger root combined with a
Jamaican inspired recipe of natural spices and fruit juices. The
Company uses this same handcrafted approach in its award-winning
Virgil's line of great tasting, bold flavored craft sodas.
For more information about Reed’s, please visit
the Company’s website at: http://www.drinkreeds.com or call
800-99-REEDS. Follow Reed’s on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
@drinkreeds.
For more information about Virgil’s please visit
Virgil’s website at: http://www.virgils.com. Follow Virgil’s on
Twitter and Instagram @drinkvirgils and on Facebook
@drinkvirgilssoda.
CONTACT:
Investor RelationsScott Van Winkle, ICR(800) 997-3337 Ext 6Or
(617) 956-6736Email: ir@reedsinc.comwww.reedsinc.com
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