market folly

Clint Carlson's hedge fund firm Carlson Capital has filed a 13D on their position in Vitamin Shoppe (VSI).  Per the filing, Carlson now owns 5.34% of the company with 1.58 million shares.

Their equity exposure to the name has more than doubled since the end of 2014.  The filing details they've been sporadically buying throughout late March and as late as April 20th.

The 13D also notes they've engaged management in discussions about the business, management, and strategic alternatives/direction.

Per Google Finance, Vitamin Shoppe is "a multi-channel specialty retailer of vitamins, minerals, herbs, specialty supplements, sports nutrition and other health and wellness products (VMS). The Company markets over 900 different brands as well as its own brands, including Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech, True Athlete, Mytrition and PLNT. It offers varieties of products among VMS retailers with approximately 8,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) offered in its store and approximately 18,000 additional SKUs available through its e-commerce and other direct sales channels. Its product offering enables the Company to provide its customers with a selection of products that is not readily available at other specialty retailers or mass merchants, such as discount stores, supermarkets, drugstores and wholesale clubs. The Company sells its products through two segments: retail and direct. In the Company's direct segment, the Company sells its products directly to consumers through the internet."