3K Discusses Opportunity at Calloway’s Nursery
July 10 2013 - 9:46AM
Business Wire
3K Limited Partnership, the family investment vehicle of
Peter H. Kamin and the largest shareholder of Calloway’s Nursery,
Inc. (OTC Pink: CLWY), holding approximately 19.9% of the
outstanding shares, wishes to again state its optimistic view of
the opportunity available at CLWY under a new direction led by
experienced and independent directors. As discussed in
3K’s proxy statement provided to shareholders, if 3K is successful
in obtaining control of the CLWY board, we plan to take the
following actions:
1. Elect a new chairman of
the board and implement best corporate governance practices for the
operation of the board going forward. As
just one of many examples, 3K would immediately terminate the
generously subsidized stock purchase plan for insiders, under which
CLWY has issued almost 20% of its equity to insiders in only the
past four years, significantly diluting outside
shareholders.
2. Undertake performance
reviews for each senior manager of the company and review their
performance against industry benchmarks; attract new talent to the
company where necessary. 3K believes the
insiders at the top are long overdue to be subject to true
performance reviews led by independent directors.
However, 3K does not plan to undertake drastic changes in
CLWY’s retail operations, employees, suppliers or other business
partners. We think there are many people at CLWY
currently making extremely valuable contributions to the
company.
3. Review and adjust
compensation arrangements for senior managers so that their
incentives are clearly aligned with the interests of
shareholders. 3K believes the current
CLWY executives cannot be objective in measuring their own
performance and compensation since they are, in effect, reporting
to themselves as the individuals who control the board.
The result we believe is bloated salaries and benefits for
top executives and an insider stock purchase plan that benefits
these same executives at an excessive cost to outside
shareholders.
4. Consider the strategic
value of each asset of the company; analyze direct store
profitability and results for each location; consider strategic
alternatives for underperforming retail
locations. 3K believes that CLWY should
not only evaluate the performance and strategic location of each
retail operation, but that the company should consider the market
value of each retail location to determine whether some operations
should be repurposed to a more valuable use. 3K
believes that CLWY should not sit idly on its assets, but that the
strategic value of each retail location should be
maximized.
5. Review and develop the
growth pipeline for potential new retail locations in the core
Dallas-Fort Worth market. 3K believes
CLWY should consider growing its retail locations within its core
market as opposed to the prior failed ventures into the Houston,
San Antonio and Austin retail markets and multiple wholesale
operations, which CLWY has been forced to exit at significant
losses to the company.
6. Undertake a best practices
study to set goals for the organization against benchmarks
developed for leading operators in the
industry. 3K believes that CLWY has
operated for far too long under a non-independent board of
directors with a significant lack of focus on profitability and
returns for shareholders. We appreciate the focus that
the company places on the customer experience. We
believe the company can also achieve fair results for its
shareholders by implementing appropriate operational and financial
performance standards. We believe that by being a more
successful and profitable company, CLWY will be a greater benefit
to its customers, employees and other constituencies as
well.
Despite a long track record of poor results at CLWY—over
22 years of cumulative losses and a stock price languishing around
or below $1.00 per share—we see great opportunity at CLWY under a
new and independent board of directors with a renewed focused on
returns for shareholders. 3K believes that a change in
direction is long overdue at CLWY and that this change should be
led by a majority of experienced outside directors who will act in
the best interests of all shareholders. Peter Kamin
has been a highly successful investor and has a tremendous track
record in improving the profitability of underperforming businesses
for the benefit of shareholders. 3K’s director
candidates have been highly successful business operators at many
public companies.
Despite the shameless and empty scare tactics and endless
entrenchment devices coming from CLWY’s insiders, shareholders
should not fear 3K’s slate of highly successful director
candidates. We believe that CLWY’s shareholders should
see great opportunity at CLWY with 3K’s involvement.
We urge shareholders to review our proxy statement and other
materials in detail. If you have any questions, please
contact us.
3K would like to thank the many CLWY shareholders who
have returned our BLUE proxy card. Every vote
is important, and we ask for your support by returning our BLUE
proxy card today. Based on voting results to
date, victory is within reach for 3K, and we currently expect that
we will be successful in our efforts to replace the current CLWY
board. If you have any questions, or need any
assistance voting our BLUE proxy card, please contact Alliance
Advisors, 3K’s proxy advisor, toll-free at
888-991-1296.
Alliance AdvisorsPeter Casey:
973-873-7710Toll-free number:
888-991-1296
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