Nature Vision is now Swordfish Financial

Nature Vision - as lakes consumers knew it - is no more.

In August, the Brainerd-based business that created the Aqua-Vu underwater camera in 1997, signed a share purchase agreement with Swordfish Financial Inc. of Texas selling control of the company.

The result is a scaled-back version of the company based in the Northern Pacific Center and an end to the Nature Vision name. The company is now called Swordfish Financial. Nature Vision founder Jeff Zernov left the company. Michael Alexander is now the president and chief executive officer.

With the agreement, Nature Vision issued Swordfish Financial 10,987,417 shares of restricted common stock for a $3.5 million promissory note.

Reached by phone, Alexander said the company hasn't finalized plans but they want to help the former Nature Vision grow. With a lease in place at the Northern Pacific Center, Alexander said they expected to continue to have a presence in Brainerd. The company is getting product in Wal-Mart and Alexander said they are working with contacts to Bass Pro and Cabela's.

As for Nature Vision's product line, Alexander said they wanted to keep as many products as they can and sell others to address debt. Alexander said he was confident in the company's ability for growth.

"These are challenging economic times," Zernov said from his lakes area home. Zernov said Nature Vision was seriously affected by the bankruptcy of trading partners. It wasn't one speed bump, it was many, Zernov said. He said the bankruptcy of supply chain dealers makes it tough to survive.

"It's not a double-edged sword," he said. "There are 10 edges on the sword cutting you apart."

Zernov predicts 25 percent of the companies in the fishing industry will be gone in two years. The survivors, he said, will be tough.

Zernov said Swordfish Financial brought Nature Vision the best option for its stakeholders and investors and if the company is successful it will be a great story for Nature Vision investors.

Ever the inventor, Zernov wasn't sentimental about the loss of the company's name or his plans for its future. He is already moving forward with new business ventures.

Nature Vision, with its stable of recreational equipment, relied on blue-collar customers who had money to spend. Now those customers are without jobs or worried about being laid off. They are relying on old equipment for entertainment and aren't looking at buying new.

"These are tough, tough times for companies involved in discretionary spending," Zernov said. "And I think we are a year away from any recovery. ... This is hunker-down time. In business and the economy, the new mantra is how fast can you get small."

Zernov said Nature Vision was financially troubled but wasn't on the cusp of bankruptcy. Still, he said, there is no banking support for small business right now. Zernov said predictions for an economic recovery 18 months away is optimistic at this point. And when those blue collar consumers are back to work, they'll be busy paying their way out of debt instead of spending, he said.

When the economic recovery does arrive, Zernov said he thinks the landscape will be changed for the foreseeable future.

"It was a great ride," he said of the experience with Nature Vision. "It was a great learning experience. We learned a lot. We accomplished a lot there. It's time to move on."

In 2005, Nature Vision reported it had its biggest year for new products since the original Aqua-Vu in 1997. In 2006, when Nature Vision was becoming an anchor tenant at the Northern Pacific Center, the company was a $25 million company traded on NASDAQ. A five-year business plan had a goal that Nature Vision would be a $100 million revenue company by 2010. On Aug. 7, the company announced it was voluntarily delisting its common stock from the NASDAQ Capital Market.

Nature Vision had earlier received notice it "failed to comply with the minimum stockholders' equity requirement for continued listing ... because the company's stockholders' equity is below the NASDAQ minimum stockholders' equity listing requirement of $2,500,000, and that the Company's securities are, therefore, subject to delisting from The NASDAQ Capital Market."

In a company statement, Swordfish Financial is described as a "newly formed diversified financial asset recovery company. SFI primary revenue source will come from the recovery and retrieval of orphaned and dormant assets of high net worth individuals and companies held in financial institutions around the world.

"SFI will use a portion of the funds generated by our asset recovery efforts to finance small and medium sized organizations by providing asset based funding against marketable 'income producing and/or marginable' assets provided those companies meet our eco-friendly or humanitarian criteria."

Renata's restaurant at the Red Roof Inn in south Brainerd closed its doors. Theresa Thorsvig, general manager, said there was just not enough business coming through the doors. Renata's opened in 2008 and received acclaim for its Italian menu. Thorsvig said there are no current plans to put another restaurant in its place, however, the Red Roof Inn will continue to use the space to provide catering for events.

The building permit for the proposed McDonald's restaurant in Nisswa was pulled by the developer after there were discussions about the building design.

The Pequot Lakes City Council is expected to hear a rezoning request for a proposed Supervalu grocery store on the Bradmor Motel property along Highway 371 this month.

RENEE RICHARDSON, senior reporter, may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.