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Once more, we’re proud to introduce Neopia’s leading economic experts. Along with keeping you up to date with all the day’s financial events, Neil and Maria will be joined by Quinton the Quiggle, founder of Health Frog Groceries and owner of the Health Food shop in the Neopian Bazaar. Quinton will be here to discuss how brisk grapefruit sales have helped boost his profits.
KAUVUTO: Hello and thank you for joining us this week at The Neo-Market Report. I’m your host Neil Kauvuto, and as always it brings me great delight to introduce my co-host, former Portfolio Manager of the Eyrie High Flyer Fund, the lovely and talented Maria Blumaroono, who’s here with all the latest news from the floor of the exchange. Maria, take it away…
BLUMAROONO: Well Neil, after falling more than four hundred points in six weeks, it looks as thought the Neodaq is beginning to show signs of life, posting a thirty-three point gain during the first full week of the new year. Could the Neopian economy be poised for a bullish resurgence during the first quarter of Y4? Investors certainly think so, as a number of stocks showed significant gains during the past week.
Leading the way among those making the strongest showing was Jacko and Sons Painting Ltd., whose fourth quarter earnings far exceeded the expectations of most analysts. During a press conference announcing the company’s surprising returns, Jacko the Scorchio said that, “The key to our success has been, without a doubt, tied to the overwhelming popularity of the Christmas Petpet Paint Brushes, which sold like mad during the month of Celebrating. These brushes brought us a whole new level of consumer awareness, and hopefully they’ll be the catalyst for our continued success.”
Another company who’s really turned it around lately has been Kacheek and Sons Landscaping, whose shares have climbed fourteen points in the past two weeks. Thanks primarily to all the hoopla surrounding the magnificent ice sculptures of Fredriccio the Kacheek, the company has posted back-to-back seven point gains. When asked to comment on all the hype surrounding his work, Fredriccio said, “The attention’s been nice, but now that I think about it, I’m actually kind of sad. Because, as you know, soon the snow will melt, and then there’ll be no more ice sculptures… at least until next winter. So if nothing else, I can still say that it’s been fun while it lasted.”
KAUVUTO: After his company dropped a tumultuous fourteen points last week, our next guest decided that something needed to be done. Taking the advice of a loyal customer, Quinton the Quiggle decided to start selling Dried Grapefruit Slices. Since then, grapefruit products have started to build a small but loyal following in Neopia. Now, Quinton is trying to turn this tiny trend into a mainstream Neopian success story. Quinton, thanks for joining us…
QUINTON: It’s a pleasure to be here, Neil. Thanks for bringing me back.
KAUVUTO: We’re glad to have you. Now tell us, how did this whole “grapefruit thing” get started?
QUINTON: Well it’s quite funny, actually. A few weeks ago, a regular customer of mine, Embrose the Eyrie, had come into my shop and noticed that things weren’t going so well. While we were talking, he mentioned that he’d seen the Breadmaster unloading some grapefruit crates out behind his shop. He thought that I could maybe drum up some business with a few grapefruit items. At first I wasn’t so hot on the idea, but I decided that I’d at least give it a shot. After all, things were already going poorly… what did I have to lose?
So, just to see how they’d do, I put out a few bags of dried grapefruit slices. Well, I was surprised to find that they’d sold steadily, so I put out a few more. Once those had sold out, I was stunned when customers began coming in and asking for them by name.
BLUMAROONO: So Quinton, now that your Dried Grapefruit Slices are doing so well, what are your plans for the future?
QUINTON: Well Maria, I really think that there’s a bright future for grapefruit-related items in Neopia. I’ve spoken to the Breadmaster, and apparently his grapefruit products are selling really well, too. I guess when you think about it, it’s not that surprising… after all, grapefruit are low in calories, they’re a good source of Vitamin C, and they taste great! So yes, I think that, if they continue selling at this pace, there’s a definite possibility that you’ll be seeing lots of new grapefruit products popping up everywhere…
KAUVUTO: Well, that’s all the time that we have this week. For Maria Blumaroono and Quinton the Quiggle, this is Neil Kauvuto saying thank you and so long….
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