Nutrisystems and Feedback Loops

Company Background -- NutriSystems, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It is a commercial provider of weight-loss products and services, until 1999 offering brick-and-mortar weight-loss counseling and products and then moving to a direct to the consumer model through the Internet, mail order, and phone. Since 2001, the products have been featured on the QVC shopping network and most recently (2009) in Costco stores. Most recent (2010) financial data indicates gross revenue of $510 million with net income of $33 million, down from 2006-2009, likely based on external economic factors (nutrisystems.com, 2011).

Fiscal Performance - NutriSystems revenue has moved from $565 million in 2006 to $509 million in 2010, with spikes of almost $800 million in 2007 and a drop to $686 million in 2008. What is significant is their operating income percentage:

Year

Revenue

Operating

Net

(millions)

Income

Income

2006

565950...
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