- Global distribution capabilities with established fulfillment centers in the UK, US, Australia and the recent establishment of a new center in Brazil, currently a high growth and strategic market for the Company;
- Virtual storefront development and branding to enhance the product offering of headshops and retail stores by reducing inventory costs;
- Reduced logistical costs through the Company’s world class shipping relationships;
- Managing costs through specific unit repair and replacement functions; and
- Multi-lingual customer support for international markets.
TORONTO, ONTARIO–(May 16, 2016) – Namaste Technologies Inc. (“Namaste” or the “Company”) (CSE:N)(OTC PINK:NXTTF) (FRANKFURT:M5BQ) reports the launch of a new wholesale division, the development of multiple new e-commerce and social media platforms specifically designed for the vaporizer and accessories community, and the expansion of the senior management team.
These developments accelerate Namaste’s strategy to be an integrated leader in the international vaporizer and accessories market, through innovative in-bound marketing e-commerce and social media platforms, industry leading logistics and fulfillment capabilities, and differentiated wholesale solutions for manufactures and distributors.
Wholesale Expansion
The management team of Namaste is pleased to announce and welcome Mr. Peter Tollmann Jr., as the new Executive Vice President, Wholesale Division. Mr. Tollmann was previously one of the leading sales managers at the largest vaporizer distributor globally and is an expert in the motivation and management of sales teams. In that regard, his experience spans 20-years of managing relationships with internal staff, cross-functional teams, retailers, distributors and vendors, while consistently driving revenue growth, expanding market presence, improving processes and managing costs.
Based in Florida, Mr. Tollmann will be responsible for establishing the Company’s wholesale technology, fulfillment and customer service supported product offerings to e-commerce companies, headshops and other retail distributors. Mr. Tollmann has identified initial members of his global team and will develop a sales force focused on nine countries globally.
Key differentiating elements of Namaste’s wholesale offering include:
- Global distribution capabilities with established fulfillment centers in the UK, US, Australia and the recent establishment of a new center in Brazil, currently a high growth and strategic market for the Company;
- Virtual storefront development and branding to enhance the product offering of headshops and retail stores by reducing inventory costs;
- Reduced logistical costs through the Company’s world class shipping relationships;
- Managing costs through specific unit repair and replacement functions; and
- Multi-lingual customer support for international markets.
E-Commerce Expansion
Namaste is currently investing significant resources into the acceleration of its inbound marketing e-commerce strategy through organic search engine optimization and technologies. This strategy includes best-in-class natural rankings, trust of brand growth, client population expansion, and sales conversion optimization. The objective is to significantly increase the sustainability and reoccurring nature of sales at a lower customer acquisition cost than pay per click. For the month of April, Namaste achieved a top-decile conversion funnel with 6.3% of site visitors adding products to the cart, 4.7% reaching checkout and 3.1% making purchases.
In addition to enhancing overall e-commerce traffic and maintaining high conversion rates, the Company is focused on launching new portals and applications to facilitate social and commercial interactions between vaporizer and accessory community members. These include:
- The creation of Snap420, a social media application that provides community members an exclusive portal to share imagery, messages, reviews and more. This will integrate into e-commerce product offerings and exclusive coupons and discounts (www.snap420.com);
- Branding of Vaporizer Acquisition Syndrome (“VAS”), a platform focused on educating the market about the compulsive purchasing of vaporizers and accessories. This initiative will feature Dr. Ken Grey, a leading authority on VAS (www.vaporizeracqusitionsyndrome.com);
- Development of VASTrader, an online community for vaporizer enthusiast to buy, trade and sell vaporizers and accessories. This platform, the first if its kind to focus exclusively on the vaporizers and accessories industry, will allow community members access to a full range of products and will drive recurring revenues by generating multiple sales from a single unit (www.vastrader.com); and
- Expansion and enhancement of YouTube channels with additional product reviews and locational content targeting specific markets. This initiative will feature Ms. Kim Owen, an international pageant model.
Management Commentary
Mr. Sean Dollinger, President and CEO of Namaste, comments: “Our integration of wholesale and e-commence operations will allow Namaste to reach a larger audience with our products and synergistically enhance the offerings of both divisions. This expansion also positions the Company to address the entity of the estimated US$2.0 billion vaporizer market, which is characterized by approximately 80% of sales being generated through physical retail locations. I firmly believe these strategic developments further advance our objective to become the leading integrated vaporizer and accessories company internationally.”
Corporate Security Appointment and Option Grant
Namaste announces the appointment of Mr. Darren Collins, Chief Financial Officer of Company, as Corporate Secretary. The Company has also granted 300,000 stock options to officers, directors, and consultants of the Company. The options will have an exercise price of $0.15 per share for a period of 5-years.
About Namaste Technologies Inc.
Namaste Technologies Inc. is an emerging leader in vaporizer and accessories space. Namaste has over 30 e-commerce retail stores in 20 countries, offers the largest range of brand name vaporizers products on the market and is actively manufacturing and launching multiple unique proprietary products for retail and wholesale distribution. The Company is currently focused on expanding its product offering, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, and entering new markets globally.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Sean Dollinger, Chief Executive Officer
Further information on the company and its products can be accessed through the link below:
www.namastetechnologies.com
www.namastevaporizers.com
www.namastevaporizers.co.uk
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management’s reasonable assumptions. Namaste assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law.
Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company’s disclosure documents which can be found under the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The CSE has neither reviewed nor approved the contents of this press release