Price fall today Bonmarche - a plus size competitor have reported a difficult market - with "no signs of normalising". Their share price is well down. Retailers are reported widely to be finding sales hard to increase, with both food and clothing said to be tough. Black Friday may have given BWNG some help in view of the strong online effort -b ut we must await the reports to find out. III article today on current retail performance is relevant.
Re: Price drop Quote... "N+1 Singer trimmed its sales forcasts"So these smart alecs can see the future and the share price drops 6.5%. Glad I'm an investor not a speculator..
Price drop So why the massive fall today?
Changed mind I visited their store in Oxford St. At the scruffier end near Sports Direct. Poorly arranged stock with a dated feel and prices more expensive than I expected. Many companies use the Premier shopping streets as flag ships and this was disappointing. I popped into M&S which I use as a benchmark for how busy things are and then into Primark where I have been an investor for some time. I sold N Brown and bought more ABF. The queues were as long as ever and I bought 3 white T shirts for £6.
Re: BWNG, FULL Broker Notes................ Calm down dear. I'm not the one with split identities. "Tonight Matthew I'm going to be ........" How do you prefer to be addressed, Joe or Mick? I've no wish for you to shout at me again.
BWNG, Broker Update. 21 Oct 2015 Brown (N) Group PLC BWNG Jefferies International Buy 391.10 380.00 406.00 430.00 RetainsSP Target 430p
Re: BWNG, FULL Broker Notes................ romaron, stop acting like a child. A robot my foot. GROW UP.
Re: BWNG, FULL Broker Notes................ Hi nncalc - a human being and a supportive investor to boot. It seems that oldjoe and MickTKipper (on LSE) are possibly robots or paid to generate interest; they are one and the same with little to add. Vort seems to be happier spreading gloom so here's my view.I liked the webcast. The company is investor and customer friendly and I liked it that they came 3rd for service and customer satisfaction behind John Lewis and Amazon. The management are young and thrusting with a good strategy. My only concern is the major shareholders, the Alliance family who hold over 50%. It is their own money and that is encouraging (think AB Foods) but it also is tempting for them to be autocratic. Having said that they are successful and very rich so know what they are doing.This in yesterday's FT: N Brown climbed 7.6 per cent after the mail-order retailer improved its disclosure metrics and said the second half had started well. About 7 per cent of the shares are on loan to short sellers.I thought there were 2 mistakes here. We are not a mail-order retailer apart from a gradually disappearing carry over and the shorting level. I checked the stock on loan and it is actually 7.34%. As a lowly PI I cannot get this information easily and a subscription is not really economic. It is however a BUY signal for me. I will explain.I bought PFG when it was the most shorted stock in the FTSE at around £9. It is heading for the FTSE100 in December. My bet was that the hedge funds wouldnt understand a non-standard lender that had survived 2 World Wars and whose Chairman attended a Royal wedding. My first school uniform was paid for with a provvie cheque. Im guessing they dont shop at JD Williams either and are aware that it is grim up North. My view is theyve got it wrong and as they tend to move in packs will push the price higher as they cut their positions. I also believe they pushed it too far South and it is a bargain at these levels.Add to this the fact that in the media eyes we are a dated, stodgy old catalogue company and the hedgies agree with them.I have doubled my holding.Be Lucky
Re: BWNG, FULL Broker Notes................ If it is any help, my market research tells me that larger sizes like the convenience of trying things on at home rather than in a "retail outlet" staffed with skimpy assistants who are unconvincing as they assure customers how nice they look. As we are all getting bigger this company may have found the right market and the right way to handle it. M&S needs its premises to sell its up market food but I am bemused by their clothes offerings. Market research again tells me that they have plenty of choice as long as you are standard size but if any of your measures are too high you will probably hunt in vain. I will not be buying M&S but do have a soft spot for N Brown and hope the CEO makes it happen.
Re: BWNG, FULL Broker Notes................ I know they made 100 staff when they closed 18 shops that were inefficient but with the emphasis changing I suppose it was to be expected but the new warehouse capacity and export drive will increase jobs. I was attracted by Spindler taking over and she seems eminently capable. the hirings I meant the senior management. If they can do half the things that Primark and QVC do then I'll be a happy man. I'm interested in other investors views as I have some cash burning a hole in my pocket. I sold Sports Direct on Monday as I finally got tired of the contempt they show to the market authorities. My question about the bench mark of M&S (and Next) is more a concern that they are aiming perhaps too high. M&S clothes aren't that cheap and I'd always imagined N Brown to be at the lower end. My wife is no help with advice as she doesn't buy from any N Brown outlet.
Re: BWNG, FULL Broker Notes................ """"wondered if they could transfer from catalogues to the internet.""""" romaron.....You do realise that the company have been trading via the web since 2001 don't you? and that all their current websites are hosted on their 'legacy' systems. as for attracting good staff, they've been making them redundant these past six months.
Re: BWNG, FULL Broker Notes............... joe - I've held these sometime as I liked the story and wondered if they could transfer from catalogues to the internet. I have done well with QVC (Liberty) and wanted a diversification and a British company.They seem to have attracted good staff and are building up a head of steam. I have only a small unease and that is that during QA Angela Spindler said she uses M&S as a benchmark. I guess you are a strong holder here so what would you say about investing a sum and choosing between M&S and N Brown?
BWNG, FULL Broker Notes............... Further to the chart and analysis posted on BWNGs N Brown Group PLC results today, early this morning I have managed to obtain a couple of Broker Notes.Peel Hunt.....HOLD<b><i>Information at last. Perhaps not headline news, but N Brown has significantlyimproved its disclosure, with a more detailed analysis of costs, margins and KPIs.The gross margin calculation has changed too, stripping out depreciation, staffcosts and other overheads, effectively increasing the absolute level of GM%reported. Within the KPI set we note improvements in market share, onlinepenetration and a healthy conversion rate of 5.7%.A stretch to full year numbers, but some positive signs. N Brown has givenwider disclosure with more detailed guidance as a consequence, although weexpect no change to full year expectations, which implies 16% profit growth forH2. Autumn/Winter is said to have started in line with expectations.Comparatives are particularly weak, but September weather has also been mild.Sales in the JD Williams titles are now showing growth, with some dilution fromthe legacy titles such as Ambrose Wilson. Online penetration of first orders hasleapt 21% points to 74%, suggesting success in the new marketing strategy,which is the driving force behind 21% increase in new customers.Converting KPIs into profit growth. After a tumultuous year of downgradesand misfires, there are signs that the transformation strategy is starting to gaintraction in trading. The key question is whether management can deliver thesame returns from its younger and arguably more affluent customers. More cashcustomers mean a less loyal approach to repeat orders and lower financial servicesyield. However, after a series of profit warnings a stable outlook statement andsome internal confidence is likely to provide some support to the share price. Therequired step up to hit full year profits is not insignificant, but the PER of c13x isnot overly challenging either. We retain our HOLD recommendation and expectthe shares to pick up this morning.Singer................BUYInterims are almost in line with expectations, including a c£3m marketing spend allocation in H1 rather than H2. Disclosure has been enhanced today in a number of key areas of the business which the market should find reassuring and enlightening. After a good start to the A/W season and against soft comps the various KPIs and lead indicators look very reassuring and should increase confidence in forecasts which has been lacking in recent periods. There may be enough in the meeting today to positively revise our target price. Maintain BUY stance.</i></b><i>,</i>The stock is currently up 6.7% and looks to have more in it going forward.[link]
BWNG, Breakout On Chart....... BWNG N Brown group PLCBreakout through 325p. Next resistance level 350p followed by 370p.
BWNG, Exciting Times Going Forward...... GOING FORWARD........H2 has started well, with a pleasing performance in September, in line with our expectations - CEOOur new autumn winter campaigns have been well received, and we look to rest of season with confidence -CEO