Oprah announced Monday that she has invested in the Weight Watchers business for a 10% stock holding. She intends to make changes, focusing even more on a healthy lifestyle, and competition with MyFitnessPal and LoseIt, etc. it will be interesting to see what other changes develop.
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There was a time when Oprah's "touch" was magic and anything she was involved in turned to gold - who didn't have a copy of "In the Kitchen with Rosie"? Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz - many hopped on the Oprah train to fame and fortune.
However, like many before her, while her name is famous, I think her star has lost a bit of it's shine. I am not sure what the underlying purpose of this new pursuit is. Is she a master business person? From what I understand, her cable TV venture OWN is struggling. She admits to a lifelong struggle with her weight and seemed to eventually accept herself for what she is and simply focus on being healthy which is a bit too off the mark for a diet company. I will say that I won't be running to Weight Watchers just because Oprah's name is attached to it now.
I did a post about this on my weight loss blog. I think it will help WW get people in the door. She is apparently going to be involved in marketing and is using the program. There is a new program coming out in December, so I'm sure that will get a lot of press and Oprah's association will help. She is also someone who is highly thought of among the core demographic of Weight Watchers. She won't be enough to save WW by herself, but I do expect it to help.
Jane, I'm interested to watch and see what happens. I have a lot of doubts that WW will survive long term, mainly because of how cheap mobile calorie trackers have become. WW really needs to be different than what's free, and differentiate themselves. If they can be different, and if they can sell that well, then they will be around for another generation. They really need to pull in the 30- and 20-something crowd; previously they’ve stated they target the 50-somethings, in my mind because they’ve gotten a bit comfortable catering to a known crowd. I am not convinced Oprah is going to pull in the younger demographic, but I don’t watch a whole lot of media, much less her show to really know.
Is Oprah enough? Maybe. Maybe the “weight loss queen” can turn this into a personal success as well as WW’s success. (I certainly wish anyone well in their weight loss journey!) But by looking around there’s some doubts this will be just another diet for Oprah… because if she already has a personal chef and still is overweight, it’s not a matter of having good food around. She certainly has a lot of business sense, but if OWN is indeed struggling as Happy2bme indicates, one has to wonder if she is sharp enough in the present business arena.
Personally I would love to see WW revolutionize themselves. They’ve got a lot of good things to teach, and human behavior is tricky to work with.
Koshka – how new is the new program? Is it another massage of PP?
No one knows exactly what it will do. I think it will still have points, but will be calculated differently. WW says there will be more personalization so we'll see.
I think Weight Watchers needs to stop relaying on the number of the scale. I had a problem with the people weighing me. I got to the point where I would avoid certain centers and certain weighers because they were horrible.
I can honestly say that I have never had a bad experience with someone weighing me in and I've been a member since 1988 (there were some years I didn't go). But, I know some people have had bad experiences.
By the way, WW now lets members select their own goal which can be above the official weight range. If your goal is above the range (and you don't have a doctor's note), you don't get free lifetime status, but you have met your goal. I think that is a good change.
Hi everyone..I am new today to this sight.. I have used ww in the past and was very successful. 6 children later and diabetic.. I feel aweful because i have failed so many times since. I am desperate after many attempts with beachbodye ...and have been diagnoised with PCOS.. I need to lose weight, which isnt going to be easy.. I get very discouraged when I dont see lose.. anyway... I just happen to pull out my ww books toI w they have a new program.. with that said I saw a I am going hey to give it a try.. I like the fact that they are making sugar less appropriate...
Sugar is KILLER, damn. I wrote a whole thing on it on my blog, but I think these changes could be good in the end. Much more of a push to healthier eating. My WW leader was one of the pilot testers and was really enthusiastic about it.
Oprah new investor in Weight Watchers
