Yes, I found it a little surprising that short positions in this...

Yes, I found it a little surprising that short positions in this stock were as high as 5% as recently as last week, according to that shortman website.

You would have thought that the short sellers had ample warning over the past couple of months: the problematic bloom conditions in California in February, the decent crop estimate from the company at the the end of the same month, and the situation with the China tariffs on US nuts more recently. Any one of these factors might have suggested that the share price might have been on track for a rebound.

The fact that short positions remained so high even as recently as the start of this month might suggest that many have been evaluating this company through the lens of inappropriate metrics.

A few days ago, while I was in a shopping centre, I noticed this little Sunsol cart, pictured below. I have been a shareholder for several years but I can't ever recall seeing any Select Harvest brands being advertised locally in such a prominent manner.



The people attending the display cart were handing out little cups with Chobani yoghurt and Sunsol museli. I spoke to one of the people there and asked if these displays were all over Sydney, and he said no, they had just been to Hurstville previously.

Hurstville has the largest Chinese population in Sydney, so I am guessing that these display carts might form part of the 'China strategy' of the company. I suspect the aim is to familiarise Chinese students and travellers in Australia with the brand. And probably just as well, given that Coles and Woolworths seem to hide all of Select's products in the middle of the supermarket or on the lowest rung of the shelves.

If my assumption is correct, it doesn't sound like a bad idea, provided it is long term thing and not just a flash in the pan.