Things may not be going as planned for Vital Living Products, Inc. Yesterday, the, Company indicated that its new anthrax test kit would be sold through Meijer, Inc. (a supermarket chain that operates 152 stores). Today, Meijer is saying that isn’t so. Meijer insists that it has not made any decision to sell the product. In fact, a spokesman for Meijer indicated that they hadn’t even seen the product yet.
The Meijer snafu follows on the heels of a similar “misunderstanding” between ACE Hardware and Vital Living. In recent days, Vital Living’s President, Donald Podrebarac, has suggested that ACE agreed to make the Company’s anthrax testing kit available to its 5,100 stores nationwide. ACE says that it just ain’t so. A spokesperson for ACE explains that the hardware chain is still reviewing the test, and is waiting to hear from governmental authorities before it considers placing any order.
Meanwhile, investors who have been hearing about these so-called purchase orders continue to gobble up Virtual Living shares. Almost 4.8 million shares were traded on October 25th, the day Virtual Living announced the Meijer “deal.” That day, the price of Vital Living stock jumped almost 20%. Another 2.1 million shares changed hands on October 26th.
Meijer and ACE are the only potential merchants named by the Company so far. What’s next?
It looks like the stock has been much easier to sell than the test kits.
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