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Been here for a very long time ! This share needs to start producing the benefits soon . When or what will be the next turning point I wonder .
… that this stock starting moving again!
Promoting Pippa to MD following her temporarily stepping in after Bernie’s departure looks like a huge vote of confidence to me, and a deviation in strategy away from the one that resulted in the recent mess.
With inflation falling and interest rates expected to start falling in the not-so-distant future, everything seem to be lining up nicely for a rebound here.
I envy those who were able to load up at 20p.
I’m furious that I missed the RNS regarding the MD change, however. How the hell does one sign up for RNS alerts for CRL?
Had to get noticed eventually. Hoping for good news and a bit of traction from Emma Hardie. Just one good influencer could be all it takes.
A good finish yesterday and also start to today. A c20% rise over this period hopefully is more than just down to low volumes etc
I like that they promoted Pippa Clarke but why have they not got an immediate CEO replacement?
CRL don't usually provide trading updates, but with the SP going nowhere it might be helpful if they gave us some guidance either just before or after the YE. H1 reported in Dec wasn't too bad considering and a small profit was reported. Hopefully supply chain and inflationary pressures have eased in H2 so trading should have improved.
CRL do seem to manage costs quite well so any revenue increase should flow to the bottom line.
Look at the volume
Because there's ugger all liquidity
Any idea why the 15% rise today ?
Great post lorenzo I think we broadly agree
I suppose the new md whoever that is will take the “kitchen sink” approach and clear out as much bad news as possible - blaming the predecessor to get as much of a clean slate as possible - meaning there could be more bad news in the short term to come..
As mentioned before it needs new imagination that the business does not currently have - it also surprised about the poor export performance? Wasn’t that a big growth strategy a year or so ago? It’s gone backwards!
I guess everyone needs to reavaluate the stock..
Is it a growth stock - no
Is it a dividend stock - no
Is there a plan? - no
Takeover targets - possibly? Although looking at the assets there are only really a few brands that might be worth it? Or selling..
It needs either a competent MD or a takeover.
Starmog,
Agreed on EH. Brodie and Stone made sense imo, and I think we could see some nice sales as the economic struggles really take hold in the U.K. It was, at the very least, logical. The sum paid and timing however, was questionable.
Emma Hardie however, was a shambles in every way imaginable. CRL’s margins and return on capital have never justified borrowing money at such high interest rates, let alone for the purpose of buying a luxury brand that barely broke even good times, during an economic crisis! It was completely irresponsible and it demonstrated that the management team know absolutely nothing about economics.
The extra cash and lower interest payments would have seen us in a very different position at the moment.
William and Pippa, if you follow this board, please find an MD that understands inflation, interest rates, cash flow, short-term debt cycles, how to treat employees, how to advertise effectively on social media (use influencers and it’ll cost peanuts!), and how to develop a company’s general online offering.
There’s a huge opportunity for a turnaround here, but for me, it all hinges on the MD appointment. If another clown takes the helm, I’ll cut my losses.
I must admit that I had some sort of blind faith in the Emma Hardie acquisition at the time. I strongly disagreed with the payment terms, the amount paid and the timing etc, but I thought ‘they must simply know much more than myself and the other shareholders’. Couldn’t have been more wrong. Would love to see a presentation, but I doubt they’ll have the audacity. Would be nice to hear more in relation to the strategy moving forward… you know… a plan… and one that actually involves people using their brains.
Lastly, I must say that I now agree with your stance on Pippa becoming MD; I would much rather us get somebody else in. Just look at how Darcy has turned around Card Factory in no time at all
I think we can now see why Bernard left
The deal for Emma Hardie with the shares cost a bomb, looking at the numbers for growth on both of the brands there isn’t any. Basically all of the Covid bounce in turnover and profit was spent on a couple of duds… brands are not growing in turnover at all! In fact must of gone backwards when you take into account the purchases.
The decline in contract sales was massive!
Private label holding the show togeather.
I would say they have done well maintaining and improving margins in inflationary environment. But where is the growth and leadership?
I just don’t see what is going to drive the share price when there are others that will have a vision
Seems a reasonable H1 - revenues down but costs have been well managed so profits are slightly up.
Borrowings are down considerably too, which is nice to see.
Really need the newly acquired brands to start performing better as this is where the highest margins are, however, hopefully this is the start of an upturn.
Certainly not all doom and gloom
@Starmog
1. So he is going to bite his nose off to spite his face? All because he’s butt-hurt.
2. Neither you, I, nor anyone on this board know the current state of this business. We can expect results anytime in December. As Lorenzo said, we simply do not know whether Bernard’s departure was a reflection on performance or a spontaneous event or simply relationships breaking down.
3. I appreciate your honesty and welcome a balanced view. No hard feelings.
Finally, regarding Pippa, I agree she’s probably a nightmare to work for, but she knows her onions and drives sales hard. As Deputy MD, she may well have had more than a hand in Bernard’s departure. As I’ve said to you before, I want to make a return on my capital, not work there, so see strong management as a positive.
As I’ve said, the results will speak for themselves. If they are good, then I’ll have some of Bernard’s shares.
I’m not sure most holders have much of a choice not to hold!
Ref the comments on pippa, I don’t agree reading a number of the comments from previous employees on glass door etc, it seems she was the problem! Also she would of been part of the decision to buy broadie and stones brands etc?
Starmog,
Personally, I think the negatives are more than priced in by the market; a stark contrast with how the market overvalued the company (imo) previously when it was around £1.30 per share.
Should Bernard offload his shares, it will create one hell of a top up opportunity, so I don’t fear this at all. I think it’s futile to speculate on this matter, unless one is trading (something I rarely engage in), but you make a valid point regarding short-term price movements. If I was in his shoes, I’d want to pass those shares on to my offspring or sell at fair value, when that is achieved.
Usually, I would be topping up right now, given the valuation, but I must admit, I want further clarity before I commit to a top up or a sale of my shares.
Myself and the other Creighton’s investors I know (friends and family), all hold Pippa in very high regard. If she takes the MD position, it would certainly settle my nerves.
The big question here, for me, and the only question I think any of us need to be asking, is ‘what exactly has Bernard done to be sacked so abruptly, and what impact does this have on the business?’.
I think we are all unanimous in our stance of this being a ‘wait and see’ situation. I think the SP could continue to slide if the board fail to elaborate on yesterday’s RNS in swift order.
Worse then that he is late 70’s!
I agree. The ex CEO knows the current trading position and appears to be in his 60s so 5m shares at 20p is still £1m - a nice retirement nest egg.
If he does sell even some of the shares as he owns 7% of the company this will clearly have a negative effect on the SP in the short term and the SP fell 20% yesterday so it is clearly vulnerable.
It also appears he was sacked so i suspect he is not leaving on good terms
1. Why would he sell his holding..
Well he is in the later years of life, 20p share price for the amount of shares he has is still a decent chunk of money. Better than 0p? Also we do not know how the relationship ended and if there was bitterness. He might not sell today, but in the coming months?
2. Business performance has been poor, clearly poor decisions are being made, staff turnover is high, costs increasing but sales are not.. do I think they are going under tomorrow? No. Are they anywhere near hitting £1 share price again? Absolutely not. And there are no comms to say otherwise. The board have all been in place for a long time, they were all part of the decision making process…
3. I have no shorts here, I did hold as you can see from posting history. I have an interest in this share due to that. This is a discussion board right?
Lorenzo’s post hit the nail on the head. Are they about to implode - probably not. But the market is not happy - the numbers don’t lie over the last 12 months…
@Starmog
1. Why would he want to offload his massive holding at 20p just because he got the sack? Please explain
2. Even if he does, how does it impact the company’s performance?
3. Why are you here? I can’t see any short positions? Just being a Good Samaritan I expect.
I don’t see why Bernard would want to offload his shares, unless the company really is in dire straits, and if it was, I don’t see why he’d be sacked with no explanation. Moreover, there was no profit warning and the directors haven’t been selling en masse. If we disregard this black swan event, there’s huge upside here, potentially, so for now, I’m holding, but I must admit, I am concerned.
I don’t like to speculate, but the wording in the RNS appears to suggest gross misconduct to me, as there is no ‘thank you’ for his services after 20 years (or so) of being MD.
The fact that it appears to be a sacking, and not a suspension, implies to me that whatever action has been taken, is regarded as unforgivable, and the evidence must have been beyond any reasonable doubt.
Brown envelopes or the like? A complete breakdown of relations with the rest of the board (he seems to be a very assertive man, possibly to his own detriment).
At this stage, I think it’s far too early to write the company off, and this could provide us with a huge turnaround opportunity, with fresh ideas and a more suitable MD. For example, the website (at least from mobile) is unsatisfactory. Customer service could be improved. Staff desire and deserve better treatment. The acquisition of Emma Hardie appears to have been a shambles in every way imaginable. Cash wasn’t preserved effectively in the face of serious headwinds (imo). There is certainly a lot of room for improvement.
I was hoping that Bernard would part ways with the company, but upon recovery and due to retirement. This is a curve ball, but it’s certainly not the kiss of death… just yet… I hope
The departing CEO has over 5.2m shares so that's a decent chunk if he is to dispose of them.
He has options too but they are worthless at these prices.
His basic salary was a very conservative £92k so this won't be a massive hit if he due say 6 months salary
Certainly pointless meselling at this level. Hopefully they wońt dilly dally getting the results out., whatever they may be. Uncertainty is the kissof death on AIM. Never put a put wrong, in my opinion until they bought Emma Hardie. Does anyone know why Emma Hardie no longer appears to be? On the Creightons website?
There are 2 further reasons I would be worried
Clearly trading will have been bad, hence him going, the up coming results are likely to be terrible
As I have mentioned, he is now going to want to offload his holding…quickly if he has been sacked I would
Imagine..
Further downward pressure coming..