Aerogrow International, Inc. (AERO) SEC Filing 10-Q Quarterly report for the period ending Friday, June 30, 2017

Exhibit 99.1

 

AeroGrow Reports Strong First Quarter Results

·	Revenue up 14% to $2.5 million

·	Significant Retail and e-Commerce Distribution Increases Planned for Fall, 2017

·	New Products Planned for Fall, 2017 Launch

Boulder, CO - (August 14, 2017) - AeroGrow International, Inc. (OTCQB: AERO) (“AeroGrow” or the “Company”), which is the manufacturer and distributor of the world’s leading indoor gardening systems – the AeroGarden line of Smart Countertop Gardens  – announced results for its first quarter ended June 30, 2017.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2017 the Company recorded net revenue of $2.5 million, an increase of 14% over the same period in the prior year.  Loss from operations was $728K, compared to $653K in the prior year period. 

“The strong consumer demand and retailer support that we have experienced over the past year has given us an outstanding start to our fiscal year.” said AeroGrow President & CEO J. Michael Wolfe.  “Sales were up 14%, led by continued gains in our e-commerce sales platforms.  Loss from operations came in slightly higher than last year as we increased our advertising-related expenditures and worked to improve our infrastructure, while adding a bit of personnel expense in support of anticipated significant growth later this year.  Overall, our operating expenses were up just 4% year-over-year as we continue to keep very tight control on our overhead.  Our cash position remained strong with over $8.2 million cash on hand as of June 30^th and no debt.

“The real story of our first quarter, however, is not told on the income statement nor on the balance sheet.  It’s told in the excellent progress we made in building on the sell-thru success that we had last holiday season and working toward increasing our distribution and product offerings for the upcoming holiday 2017 selling season.  We have been focused on three key goals for this holiday season:  (1) increasing our presence on the web by expanding our programs at Amazon platforms worldwide and by adding several key new .com retailers, (2) increasing our retail distribution in terms of number of stores and partners, and (3) launching several innovative new products.

“Beginning later this fall, look for the AeroGarden to be available at not just Bed, Bath & Beyond, QVC and Sur La Table – where we had solid success last year – but also at many other proven retailers such as Macy’s, Kohl’s, Home Depot and others in the U.S.  We’ll also be in Hudson’s Bay and Canadian Tire Stores in Canada and will be expanding our presence on various Amazon platforms throughout Europe.  All of this will be in addition to growing our established programs on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca (Canada) and our own Direct Response business.

“As much progress as we made on the retail distribution front, I think we’ve matched it with our product development efforts.  In addition to expanding our line of highly successful Wi-Fi enabled AeroGardens, we’ll also be launching two exciting new products this fall:  (1) The AeroGarden Farm and (2) the first-ever AeroGarden designed exclusively for kids.  The Farm will be by far our most advanced indoor garden ever with 24 pods and automatically-adjustable 120 watt, 24 inch LED grow lights that offer our biggest and best growing experience yet.  While we’ll only “soft launch” the kids garden this fall, we think it represents a potentially huge market for us – especially when you think about the possibility of selling to parents, grandparents and even schools.  Look for these new products to be available early this fall.

“I’m also excited about the marketing programs that we’ve been putting together to help drive our sell-thru for this year, with an expanded television investment, a number of new digital and social initiatives, and many co-op programs that we’ll be driving in conjunction with our retail partners.   And we’ve also been working with our retail partners to expand our in-store season – with the goal being to stay on-shelf beyond just the holiday season. These marketing programs are also coming during a period with steady increases in interest in indoor gardening.  I think partly due to our advertising spends, the category seems to be gaining accelerated interest and awareness from consumers.

“Our upcoming Fall, Holiday and Spring selling seasons are poised to be the best ever in our Company’s history.  Increased retail distribution, innovative new products and dynamic marketing programs have a chance to be game changers for us.