Firebones » BWLD

Be Wild? Why Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) is Not My Bag

Chris — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:17:45 +0000

In 2008, I picked Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) in a stock picking contest. YTD, it’s up around 30%. But I ate there for the first time the other week (after picking up $75 of chicken wings for other occasions). I’m not so bullish now. Why?

The atmosphere. Okay, I’ll admit I was kind of overwhelmed the first time I went there. Boneless wings costing between 75 cents and a buck each? Yeah, good stuff, but not the kind of thing that I’d do once a quarter.

Eating there was disorienting. Dozens of screens. Noise through the roof. Lousy acoustics. Air temp designed to drive you out of the place. Sensory overload. Cheap burgers, pithy amount of fries. Great wings. Even the kids were overwhelmed. Everything oriented towards turning you over quickly.

It reminded me of the time we took a Caribbean cruise, almost a kind of tourist trap, complete with smiling kitchen staff peering out through their porthole sizing up the next round of suckers they were reeling in. Perfunctory service. We won’t be back anytime soon.

So I’m down on BWLD. Yes, they’ll do well simply because they are in that stage where they aren’t mainstream yet, and there are plenty of folks who have yet to experience the store, dropping a load of cash there in the process. But it has no legs. Watch for this thing to jump the shark sometime in the next 24 months. This isn’t even analysis, it’s just a channel check. No one there appeared to be enjoying themselves. They all looked like anxious monkeys waiting to flee.

Family Stock Contest Update: Bouncy Week

Chris — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:02:33 +0000

After yet another wild week, I’m pulling ahead in the family stock contest. Translation: I suck less than my family members.

Me	$87,694.07	-12.31%
Niece-in-law-to-be	$85,331.46	-14.67%
Little Firebones	$84,163.55	-15.84%
Mrs Firebones	$82,892.81	-17.11%
Nephew	$70,340.52	-29.66%

Of the stocks selected, the only winners are my pick of Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD: up 5.6%) and my wife’s pick of CVS Caremark (CVS: up 0.25%).

In terms of indices, I’m beating the following indices:

NASDAQ Composite
NASDAQ 100 Stock
Russell 2000
CAC 40 (France)
DAX (XETRA) (Germany)
Nikkei 225 (Japan)
ASX All Ordinaries (Australia)
Korea Composite

The “wisdom of the crowd” theory is not holding up well; the combined portfolio is down 17.92%, which ends up being closest in YTD performance to the NASDAQ 100 Stock index (which is down 17.71% YTD).

Stock Contest: Valentine’s Day Update

Chris — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:54:20 +0000

I’ve managed to pull into the lead in the family contest, being down only 5.42% on the year. Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) is pulling me through.

Berkshire Hatha Class B Ord Shs	0.70%
Mindray Medical International Ltd	-19.66%
PowerShares Water Resource Portfolio	-8.18%
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc	10.90%
Mueller Water Products Series A Ord Shs	-9.66%
Central European Distribution Corp	-5.42%

Wild Couple of Weeks

Chris — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:58:17 +0000

One Asian and European mini-crash, a monster fed cut, and one stimulus package later, here’s the carnage for my 2008 contest picks: down -11.05%, and in second place. Of the collective picks in the contest, only one stock—that blue chip of widows and orphans, PetMed Express Inc (PETS)—is up a stunning 3.14%. On my own picks, my best two—Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD)—are down just a couple of percent.