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So, looking at these expensive benefits..
Bring Your Pooch to Work - shouldn't cost eve much and yet makes a big difference to the owner. 'Take up'? ... Probably somewhere between zero and one dog..
Free Breakfast ... Few pounds in cereals, porridge and yoghurt. Cleaning costs of bowls (presumably by the cleaner) 'Take-up'... 50%? I bet half the people eat at home anyway and arrive at usual time. The people that do eat at work probably talk about work.
Team Building Days – pretty normal for many years.
25 Days Holiday, which increases each year and have your birthday off too!! - Is 25 days excessive? Birthday, yes, a perk.
Free Mattress and Pillow – Ok, they do cost a bit, as we know, but would you want your eve staff sleeping on an Emma or simba, then saying how good eves are?
Hybrid Working, Flexible Hours and you can do it in another country for 30 days a year. – Saves on office electricity. Saves money on free breakfasts (see above)
Healthcare – people still have to pay higher tax so probably not much take-up.
Wellness programs .. Ummm.
Enhanced maternity and paternity leave. I KNOW that that's helpful and brings loyalty.
Equipment allowance ? Don't really know what that is.
Cycle to work scheme. I'd make that compulsory. 100% take-up with me as CEO.
Discounted Shares. Gotta be good for the staff to push the business.
And if the old regime ('Bold but historic') were still in charge there'd never have been a new DFS partnership.
I have to say that the new Ginko light is not for for family Geeman, but each to their own, and great if they sell :)
I’d vote for you to be on the board D-G. Good logical post.
Why would the old team not have got the DFS deal? They were responsible for all existing partnerships apart from DFS - the likes of Argos. Dunelm. Wayfair. What partnership's have the current team managed to get? DFS. And DFS approached us. The team are too inwardly focused for me. Re the employee benefits I don't have a strong view either way. They should really be cognisant of investors sitting on large losses though when they push the messages externally . Not convinced they are/even really care.
because the old team would not have £4.5m in the bank now and would've gone bust two years ago. There wouldn't be an eve to partner with, I don't think. At the rate they were losing money they would not have been able to raise more cash or get credit. If we are down to the last £4m (as seems likely) it is only because CC has been careful, some would argue 'too careful' – but she's kept the show on the road. CC might get eve through 'zero cash' if she can convince people that eve are going to pull it around in time.
Just my view and could be wrong. My view on the old team is probably right though, otherwise they'd still be there.
https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes/after-his-startup-ipod-in-record-time-everything-fell-apart-with-eve-sleep-co-founder-kuba-wieczorek
Kuba's own words:
Eve Sleep co-founder Kuba Wieczorek
'Kuba founded DTC mattress company Eve Sleep in 2015 with his cousin Jas, and they quickly started experiencing explosive growth. Within just two years they’d raised £35 million and were valued at £140 million. To top it off, they IPOd in record breaking time. It was the stuff of fairytales. But the fairytale wasn’t to last.
“About six months after Jas left I hit rock bottom as well. You know, really rock bottom, I realised that it was either my health and my family, or staying at Eve, so I made the right choice. I resigned.'
(So CC is coping in what is a pretty tough role, and makes it look as though she enjoys it.)
I don't have a problem, with paying staff what they are worth and giving them perks. However what will the staff expect if we ever make a profit, given what they already receive when we are making a loss and burning through cash. Sorry for the rant. I had to get it off my chest as reading the 2021 Annual Report wasn't an easy read, especially with the lockdowns we should of taken full advantage. GLA and I will shut up for now.
Yes she's kept the show on the road but from what I can see keeping the show on the road doesn't help us, it just keeps the team employed for a longer period. They have lofty ambitions to create the worlds first sleep wellness brand yet the actions don't talk to the ambition. Launching a few knick knacks that generate 1-2% of revenue is NOT the answer. They should have used the Covid tailwinds to their advantage - as an example they could have raised cash at 3-4x the current SP to help fuel growth. Why didn't they? I'm coming across really negative and apologies to all. It's just very frustrating. I think CC is the right person for the job (a good operator) but I think she needs help strategically. How much support is she really getting from the part time board?
With the trumpeted quality of the EVE board now — one would like to hear more input from them and how they are making EVE a better business and that they are daily following a careful plan with provides cash increases at the bank, only profitable sales ( which has been promised in various RNS and updates — though hard to see how with such large and continual discounts ) to make EVE a sustainable profitability business.
Wow you really don't give up do you ;) being honest I don't see the discounts as a problem. I'd have confidence pricing is optimised. When to discount. When not etc.
I'm surprised we aren't 'down' today. Looks like someone sold 500k shares today, and the same yesterday.
The people who outline the problems eve face are in the right if you look at the sp (so are right) but I do see it the way I describe. I hope I have some merit in my outlook and belief CC will sort things out.
Yeah the SP has fallen all the way back to the last known cash in bank figure. The market is valuing the business at zero. I really hope that it transpires they're in a closed period right now. If it turns out they're not and not one director has bought in at a zero valuation then I'm out for good as says it all.
Can they trigger options at anytime I.e before an update? It won't make much of a difference, but would show confidence.