1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLWS) has remained the world’s leading florist and gift shop for nearly four decades by consistently delighting customers through the delivery of fresh flowers and gifts for every occasion. The company promotes industry-leading customer satisfaction through its unique 100% Smile Guarantee®, which ensures that every gift meets and exceeds the expectations of the recipient. FLWS’s commitment to excellence also applies to its employees, as the company was recently named as a winner of the 2015 “Best Companies to Work for in New York State” award by the New York Society for Human Resource Management.

The gifts offered by FLWS include a diverse collection of popular brands – including The Popcorn Factory®, Cheryl’s®, Fannie May®, 1-800-Baskets.com®, FruitBouqets.com, Stock Yards® and FineStationery.com®, as well as recently-acquired gourmet food gift brand Harry & David®. This extensive product catalog gives the company access to a wide variety of gift markets that meet the diverse needs of consumers. In recent months, FLWS has leveraged the marketability of this portfolio to post strong financial growth. During its fiscal third quarter ending March 2015, the company recorded a 29.3 percent year-over-year increase in total revenues and attracted approximately 815,000 new customers, reaffirming the viability of its aggressive acquisition strategy.

“During the fiscal third quarter, we saw solid performance across all of our business segments,” Jim McCann, chief executive officer of FLWS, stated in a news release. “As we continue our integration of Harry & David, we plan to build on this by leveraging our business platform, our growing family of gift brands and the millions of customers we serve across all of our business channels.”

In addition to its consumer offerings, FLWS operates BloomNet®, the leading floral industry service provider. Through BloomNet, the company provides personalized service and quality products to local retail florists across the nation and around the planet, giving FLWS strategic access to the performance of hundreds of local florists and successfully adding to its extensive global market share.

The company’s unique combination of diverse product offerings, industry-leading customer service and developed market presence makes FLWS an intriguing investment opportunity for prospective shareholders. Look for the company to lean on its considerable industry expertise in order to promote continued financial growth for the foreseeable future.

For more information, visit www.1800flowers.com

Since opening its first location seven years ago, Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. (OTCQB: GIGL) has consistently demonstrated the immense market demand for a healthy alternative to traditional family-friendly restaurant and entertainment venues. As the first and only restaurant that brings together high-end, organic food with cutting-edge entertainment for children, the company’s concept has been a hit amongst families in its target areas. As a result of this popularity, GIGL has since expanded to three locations throughout Greater Los Angeles, and this success is catching the attention of a growing number of potential franchisees.

“Since opening our first location in Southern California in 2008, we’ve received strong interest from franchisees seeking to take our concept into new markets,” Joey Parsi, founder and chief executive officer of GIGL, stated in a news release. “While franchising has always been a component of our long-term growth strategy, we chose to establish a strong foundation… by initially focusing on perfecting our experience at company-owned locations.”

Despite the company’s reluctance to commit to franchise locations early in the development of its concept, GIGL’s recent performance in the competitive Los Angeles market has driven expanded interest in franchise opportunities. According to its news release, the company has received interest from franchise operators in nearly every major U.S. city, as well as those in international markets – including Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Though GIGL hasn’t yet agreed to any franchise locations, increasing interest has pushed the company to estimate the potential financial benefits presented by these opportunities. In particular, GIGL expects to receive licensing fees ranging from ‘several hundred thousand dollars to millions of dollars’, in addition to ongoing royalties of as much as eight percent of gross sales.

“[T]his strategy provides a great complement to our core company-owned growth initiatives,” stated Philip Gay, chief business development officer of GIGL. “Based on my extensive personal experience in senior leadership positions with several highly successful enterprises that have benefited from franchising, I believe GIGL is well-positioned for long-term success in this arena.”

If the company decides to pursue growth through franchising, it will gain improved access to an industry that’s posted strong financial growth in recent years. According to a report by IBISWorld, the domestic chain restaurant market has recorded annual growth of 3.8 percent for the past five years, accounting for approximately $104 billion in revenue in 2014. The report also highlights the importance of franchise agreements to this growth, demonstrating the commercial viability of this proven strategy in the national restaurant industry.

As GIGL continues to weigh the strategic advantages offered by pursuing franchising opportunities, the company is in a strong position to record considerable market growth in the future. For prospective shareholders, GIGL’s innovative and highly marketable restaurant concept provides the company with a platform upon which to promote sustainable returns.

For more information, visit www.gigglesnhugs.com/investor-relations/

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WRIT Media Group, Inc. is a holding company growing its operations within the digital media content industry. The corporation is spreading its reach in this business via two branches. It is fully engaged in content creation via its subsidiary Front Row Networks and in retro video gaming via two other divisions, Amiga Games and Retro Infinity.

Incorporated in 2007, WRIT Media began life as the Writers’ Group Film Corporation. In the beginning, the company produced films, television programs and entertainment programs for diverse media formats then, in February 2011, the California-based company acquired Front Row Networks and, in August 2013, Amiga Games. By creating a synergy with these subsidiaries, WRIT Media has been able to benefit from the increasing demand for interactive digital content and alternative mobile and theatrical content to transform itself into a digital media company. Under the company’s new structure:

• Front Row Networks provides production, distribution and financing of live concerts, music documentaries and family programs for both theatrical and ancillary distribution.

• Meanwhile, the “retro” video gaming division, comprised of Amiga Games and Retro Infinity (another acquisition), publishes classic video games for the latest technological devices (e.g. smartphone, mobile and TV set-top devices) and for a growing audience interested in such games.

From social media campaigns to crowd funding, WRIT Media is employing innovative approaches to bring additional attention to its mobile gaming products and to reinforce its focus on expanding within the digital media industry. With the backing of its managers, who have 100 years of combined industry experience, such inventiveness has helped the company achieve significant milestones, including a $10 million equity line of financing and the acquisition of Amiga Games in 2013.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.writmediagroup.com

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Despite heavy competition from home consoles and mobile gaming systems, the market for combined restaurant/entertainment venues has continued to thrive in recent years. According to a report by IBISWorld, the arcade, food and entertainment complexes industry has experienced consistent growth over the past five years, accounting for approximately $2 billion in domestic revenue in 2014. Latitude 360, Inc. (OTCQB: LATX), through its chain of award-winning upscale dining and entertainment locations, is capitalizing on this industry growth while laying the groundwork for aggressive national expansion.

Latitude’s current portfolio includes three locations in strong markets across the United States – including Indianapolis, Indiana; Jacksonville, FL; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the first quarter of 2015, the company leveraged the marketability of these locations to record a 19 percent year-over-year increase in gross sales. In particular, Latitude had tremendous success in selling specialized membership cards, surpassing 5,000 ‘360x Club’ memberships since the start of the program in the summer of 2014.

In June, Latitude cleared the way for the continued growth of its membership program by teaming with leading consumer management platform Clutch to upgrade the club’s backbone technology. These upgrades are expected to allow the company to more effectively encourage customer loyalty, in addition to serving as an immediate source of added revenue. Industry leaders, including Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY), utilize similar programs to promote repeat visits.

“We’re excited to partner with Clutch to integrate its advanced technology and provide streamlined, cross-channel experiences that deliver valuable entertainment benefits and rewards to our members,” Brent W. Brown, chief executive officer of Latitude, stated in a news release. “Clutch… [has] taken our concept to the next level by providing our guests with exceptional value while driving revenue and trips to our venue.”

The company’s current membership program is split into three unique tiers providing varying levels of benefits based on membership fees. The free ‘VIP’ loyalty program, also known as the ‘Green Membership’, offers redeemable points for purchases made in any of Latitude’s locations. However, benefits are greatly increased for members of the company’s fee-based ‘360x Club’. These members, which can choose between ‘Blue Membership’ and ‘Black Membership’ programs, enjoy access to monthly benefits worth $150 and $300, respectively.

Through the continued development and refinement of its membership club, Latitude is taking significant strides toward enhancing customer loyalty and increasing its market share. As the company continues to expand its network of restaurant/entertainment venues, it is in a strong strategic position to capitalize on the favorable conditions of the restaurant industry while promoting sustainable returns moving forward.

For more information, visit www.latitude360.com

Gas flaring is a fairly efficient method of burning impurities found in raw natural gas and carbon dioxide, but without the proper equipment in place, much of the wasted fossil fuel is expelled directly into the atmosphere – resulting in billions of wasted dollars and detriment to the surrounding environment.

The National Oceanic Administration Association (NOAA) estimates that gas flares pump 400 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere worldwide each year, adversely impacting local populations of human and wildlife, and often resulting in loss of livelihood and severe health issues.

For Houston-based Well Power, Inc., the environmental and economic obstacles are more of an opportunity than a problem. Through a strategic licensing agreement, Well Power has the rights to Texas, along with the first right of refusal on the other U.S. states, to a new technology solution designed to process waste natural gas into “clean power” and engineered fuels. Based on proprietary technology, these Micro Refinery Units (MRU) are mobile, high-yield and can be deployed with minimum capital expenditure.

The MRUs, currently in development, will provide the opportunity to turn a wasted resource into a product of value while at the same time enabling wider access to energy, improved environmental conditions, and economic development for local populations where gas flaring is prevalent – such as North Dakota. By focusing on eliminating legacy flaring and minimizing new flaring, Well Power has an opportunity to assume a vital role in the continual for sustainable resource development and energy efficiency.

Well Power also intends to offer its technology along with full-service engineering, design, construction, modular fabrication, maintenance and construction management services to clients in the upstream areas of exploration and production.

Development of the product is ongoing, with the first MRU expected in the near future.

For more information visit www.wellpowerinc.com

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Investor conferences are a widely popular means for public companies to place themselves directly in front of willing and financially able investors looking for new investment options. With a particular focused on life sciences companies, the Redefining Early Stage Investments Conference (RESI) is coming up in Boston on September 16. RESI conference planners say the Boston event is on track to be RESI’s biggest event thus far, with an expected 600 attendees.

RESI is an ongoing conference series that connects early stage life sciences companies with attending investors, providing opportunities to create relationships that lead to funding. RESI Boston will bring together 200 eager and early stage corporate venture investors, 300 fundraising executives, and 100 service providers for a one day international partnering meeting that gives early stage life science companies the chance to book target meetings with relevant investors.

RESI creates meetings based on a common fit, which promotes compelling conversations, facilitating the development of qualified investor relationships. The RESI Partnering Forum allows fundraising executives to identify and book up to 16 meetings with life science investors who fit their company’s technology sector and stage of development. Presenting companies benefit from a receptive audience ready to hear each company’s story and business model.

Panels, workshops and one-on-one meetings throughout the course of the day create a fast-paced yet efficient atmosphere of productive dialogue, networking, presentations and close investment rounds designed to benefit the showcasing companies as well as investors in attendance.

Boston RESI follows highly successful events in San Francisco and Houston, and features a lineup of sponsors including Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS, Charles River Laboratories, McDermott Will & Emory and Wuxi App Tec.

For more information, visit www.resiconference.com

Insignia Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISIG) is a developer and marketer of innovative in-store products, programs and services that help consumer goods manufacturers and retail partners drive sales at the point of purchase. The company’s at-shelf media solutions are utilized at approximately 13,000 retail supermarkets by an extensive client list of more than 200 major consumer goods manufacturers – including General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), Kraft Foods, Nestle and P&G (NYSE: PG). By helping clients make an impact on the three-second decision cycle of consumers at the shelf, Insignia has thrived in the marketing industry for 25 years.

The company’s latest addition to its marketing portfolio is The Like Machine™, a groundbreaking consumer engagement tool that harnesses the power of social media to reinforce brand confidence and promote increased sales figures. Through the use of this technology, consumers are able to give immediate feedback to store managers and fellow shoppers, opening the door for an improved shopping experience built on the preferences of a particular community. In a six-month limited release, The Like Machine garnered more than 480,000 shopper endorsements, demonstrating the vast market potential for the technology as it approaches full-scale release.

“We have created an easy and immediate way for shoppers to express their opinions about what they’re buying, and to be informed by the decisions of others in their neighborhood at scale,” John Gonsior, president and chief financial officer of Insignia, stated in a news release. “It is a powerful indicator whether shoppers are buying cereal, laundry detergent or orange juice, and a unique new data set for retailers and manufacturers to leverage.”

In the first quarter of 2015, Insignia successfully leveraged the marketability of its product line to promote solid financial growth. The company’s total net sales for the period rose by 2.2 percent from the previous year to $6.5 million. Additionally, Insignia recorded a 0.9 percent year-over-year improvement to its gross profit margin for the quarter, achieving $2.8 million in gross profit. Moving forward, the company will look to build on this financial performance through continued innovation of its core assets as needed to meet the evolving demands of the retail market.

For prospective shareholders, Insignia’s established position within the retail marketing segment could provide a platform for the company to realize sustainable returns in the months to come. Look for Insignia to continue leaning on the versatility of its portfolio of core assets in order to promote continued financial growth for the foreseeable future.

For more information, visit www.insigniasystems.com

On the Move Systems reports that after conducting its own market research, it finds that a shared economy courier service offers clear and distinct advantages over companies built on more traditional business models. The company says these findings empower its proposed service, for which the company is now actively scouting possible locations.

“We’ve found several compelling stats that lead us to believe a shared economy courier service would prosper in the right situation,” OMVS CEO Robert Wilson stated in the news release. “For example, such a service would have a tremendous competitive advantage thanks to lower capital and labor costs compared to someone like FedEx or a local ‘hot-shot’ company. We’d have a flexible workforce driving their own vehicles, eliminating the need for any brick and mortar facilities and dramatically cutting overhead.”

Taking advantage of lower overhead, OMVS says it could offer competitive rates, and with a flexible workforce available at a moment’s notice, the new shared economy courier service could also provide faster deliveries than traditional companies. With an online, on-demand service, OMVS would avoid the need to open and operate costly call centers or drop-off locations, as well as the hiring of ground and administrative staff, or loading crews. This would free OMVS from incurring debt, which is an issue for many traditional courier companies.

In recent years, courier service revenues have been steadily climbing, up nearly 15 percent to nearly $95 billion in 2014 from $80 billion in 2009. A survey of courier companies reported most enjoyed double-digit revenue growth in 2014 with expectations for similar results this year. Market analysts peg the courier industry as a $216 billion market overall.

For more information visit www.onthemovesystems.com

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The Aristocrat Group Group this week made a significant advance in its international expansion of distribution when the company’s joint venture partner in Canada, Westcoast Spirits Company, Ltd., began its marketing campaign to promote RWB Ultra-Premium Handcrafted Vodka in British Columbia.

Obtaining Canadian distribution has been a priority for ASCC since RWB Vodka’s debut. In late 2013, ASCC began its partnership with Westcoast Spirits to capitalize on market growth in a nation where vodka is the most popular distilled spirit category. On par with its distribution initiatives, ASCC announced last week that its first Canadian shipment of its flagship spirit would arrive in Vancouver, one of Canada’s most important markets for distilled spirits.

“The Westcoast Spirits Company has already begun reaching out to buyers in British Columbia about stocking our product,” ASCC CEO Robert Federowicz stated in the news release. “We believe our potential for growth in the Canadian marketplace is huge. RWB Vodka is one of the only spirits in the country approved for ‘gluten-free’ labeling, and that’s going to make our product stand out from the pack.”

The recipient of 17 tasting awards over the past two years, ASCC celebrates the GMO-free RWB Ultra-Premium Handcrafted Vodka as one of the most highly decorated American vodkas in the distilled spirits marketplace. ASCC is currently in the midst of a major expansion behind the continued success of RWB, as well as the impending debut of Big Box Vodka, an ultra-premium bag-in-box distilled spirit. Earlier this month, ASCC announced that it expanded its distribution network to include the state of Louisiana.

For more information visit www.aristocratgroupcorp.com/investors

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Arch Therapeutics is a medical device company developing a novel approach to stopping bleeding and controlling leaking during surgery and trauma care. The company’s leading product candidate, the AC5 Surgical Hemostatic Device™, is being designed to achieve hemostasis in minimally invasive and open surgical procedures, effectively making surgery faster and safer for patients. Unlike currently available products, AC5 has been shown to promptly stop bleeding by conforming to irregular wound geometry, and, with a completely transparent construction, it allows surgeons to maintain a clear field of vision directly into a wound without hampering future healing.

In recent months, Arch has made considerable progress in the development of its promising hemostatic device. In April, the company announced the results of a study designed to compare the effectiveness of AC5 against currently marketed hemostats. Arch’s device demonstrated an average time to hemostasis of significantly less than 30 seconds, while the commercially-available gelatin-thrombin hemostat took an average of more than 200 percent longer. In June, the company built on these results when it received favorable data from a preclinical toxicity test indicating that AC5 was well-tolerated among test subjects.

“These results present another snapshot of promising data for AC5,” Dr. Terrence Norchi, president and chief executive officer of Arch, stated in a news release. “We are continuing to study the characteristics, safety and performance of AC5 in preclinical studies as we prepare to start our human clinical trial next quarter.”

In an effort to fund its upcoming clinical studies, Arch recently completed a private placement that is expected to provide more than $3 million of additional capital after related expenses. With this added flexibility, the company will look to continue marching toward the eventual commercialization of AC5 following the completion of its impending human trials.

When commercialized, AC5 will give Arch improved access to the rapidly growth market for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). According to a report by Photonics, the global market for MIS is expected to reach $50.6 billion by 2019, up from just $25 billion in 2012. AC5 is ideal for this market because of it leaves no sticky or glue-like residue, enabling for improved precision during both MIS and open surgical procedures, as well as faster recovery times for patients.

Moving forward, Arch will continue toward the future commercialization of its innovative device. For prospective shareholders, this progress, along with the vast commercial potential of AC5 in a selection of thriving medical markets, makes the company an intriguing investment opportunity in the months to come.

For more information, visit www.archtherapeutics.com