The latest indication of difficulties for the brand as it battles to compete with novel weight-loss medications is Oprah Winfrey’s statement on Thursday that she is leaving the board of WeightWatchers, sending the company’s shares down.
Winfrey’s exit comes after she disclosed last year that she was using prescription anti-obesity medicine. Throughout her prominent broadcast and business career, Winfrey has frequently discussed her personal weight difficulties.
The market value of manufacturers like Novo Nordisk of Denmark and Eli Lilly of America has increased due to the positive reception given to a new generation of anti-diabetic medications, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro.
WeightWatchers shares fell sharply on Wall Street following Winfrey’s exit, falling 24 percent in one day before somewhat recovering to close at eighteen.
WeightWatchers announced in a statement on Thursday that director Oprah Winfrey has chosen not to run for reelection at the company’s upcoming annual meeting of shareholders.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) will receive Winfrey’s WeightWatchers stock donation, which the corporation verified. The amount of the stock has not been disclosed.
“Ms. Winfrey is making the donation to support the NMAAHC’s goal to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans, and to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight-loss medications,” read the statement.
As the head of a sizable conglomerate, Winfrey has long championed health initiatives. She was the primary face of WeightWatchers, which she once claimed was responsible for her own remarkable weight loss.
The new, albeit pricey, medications are posing a threat to WeightWatchers, a subscription-based diet program founded in the 1960s.
It has tried to provide support for those taking medications like Ozempic, which resemble the appetite-reducing hormone GLP-1, in an effort to reverse a fall in membership.
With revenues down 14.5% to $889 million in 2023, WeightWatchers reported a $112 million loss and stated it anticipated more losses this year.
The 70-year-old Winfrey, who became a board member in 2015, declared she will keep working with WeightWatchers.
Winfrey stated, “I plan to participate in a number of public forums and events where I will be a vocal advocate in advancing this conversation,” the statement from the firm read.
Winfrey’s enormous impact extends beyond politics, where she famously supported Barack Obama for president, to her book club, which has spawned numerous instant blockbusters and contributed to the “Oprah Effect.”
