Thanks for your comments. They were made a lot of sense.
Recently, I sent an e-mail to the marketing department concerning my visits to 7 local Walgreen stores. I received a pleasant call on Monday from Jim Gallager, the VP of marketing, on my voice mail. I called him back to discuss two observations I had about the Pacer displays. One concerned the small number of Cook Bates/Pacer products on display and the packaging of an upscale nail trimming set. He explained to me that Pacer had redesigned the packaging to make it consistent with the quality of the tools. Additionally , he said that the Cook Bates/Pacer products are going to be marketed as upscale quality products and will have a strong presence in the stores. The second point I raised concerned the lack of Pacer products in the stationary glue section. He told me that Walgreens had three kinds of stores- A,B,and C and that the larger A stores had Pacer products in this section. Additionally, we discussed the prominent display of Pacer products in the serious adhesives section and in the nail adhesive section of the stores. I felt the products were clearly presented and easily accessible to the public. As with other members of the Pacer management, Jim impressed me with his ability to listen, his clarity of mind, his marketing vision, his openness, and his sincerity.
Again, I am convinced that we have a gem of an investment here. Pacer has excellent niche products, numerous sterling distribution channels, a top-notch management, a quality balance sheet, and a very reasonable stock price. |
