Jones Soda Increases It's fizz

Jones Soda Co (JSDA) reported some difficult numbers and red ink. The Seattle based company is purporting to be well positioned for 2009. When you read the press release, you cannot help but be struck by the rhetoric coming from very senior executives of the company. Essentially if these guys’s cannot execute after these statements they should be fired.

Here is the comment from Stephen Jones, Chief Executive Officer, who stated,

“The volatile economic conditions that began in earnest last September created a very difficult selling environment during the fourth quarter. Management reacted swiftly to the rapid changes in the market by making further adjustments to our operating platform and cost structure in order to prepare Jones Soda for a successful 2009 and beyond. Importantly, we enter the new year with a leaner infrastructure, a more efficient sales and operating platform, stronger alignment with our key top distributors, and sharpened channel, package & pricing strategies. We are optimistic that the actions we took during 2008 and early 2009 have us in a much better position to deliver improved results in the future, even during these challenging times.”

And then we hear from Joth Ricci, Chief Operating Officer, who also added,

“While 2009 will have its own set of external challenges given the current economic environment, we move forward focused on the areas of our business that we can control. We believe we are now a more productive and leaner organization, combined with a stronger distribution network to properly support our brand and products. This will be instrumental as we look to grow within existing retailers, expand through new points of distribution, increase our bottle business, and launch Jones GABA. We are committed to managing our business in a disciplined and controlled manner, which we believe will allow us to gain market share while simultaneously preserving cash and driving improved operating performance.”

Icebergs straight ahead.