Charles Jillings, CEO of Utilico, energized by strong economic momentum across Latin America. Watch the video here.
For those of us whose average price is north of £3, the low price has enabled me to package away all my BooHoo share holding in last tax year's ISA allowance (£20k) & next year's allowance so not all bad news & I treat it as deferred spendng. With proceeds from house sale imminent do I buy more Boo? With my unit of currency a £600k London semi Boo's net profit is not very many London semis. Perhaps I'll wait till next results!
Don't expect really good results from new marketing teams till Q4 but evidence of thickening margin & modest growth would be acceptable. Would like to know how individual brands are performing with definite comparison figures but indifferent performances best hidden in combined results. Luckily house prices are buoyant & I'm selling.
Understand people's concerns, was always concerned that nett PBT too low & am financially exposed but the people above speak sense re: long term assuming the marketing & management teams make the right calls. Worth reading Luke ch 12 vs 15-31 if money & possessions drive you into 2-dimensional living only.
Don't worry!
The business is basically sound....no need for Board to panic, just manage well & go for growth in UK where you can...USA, Europe & ROW won't contribute much in short term...share price not a problem unless you need to raise more capital via a share issue but most capital investment paid for last year....I'm looking at a paper loss of £65k if I sell but I won't & you haven't lost if you hold onto them medium/long term although it is irritating, ties your money up & reduces flexibility. My advice is chill, don't look every day & get on an English course & learn how to spell "does", "don't", "their" (possessive) etc...remember there are...."there/their/ they're! Bon chance mon vieux!
There is no alternative in the medium term but to have faith in the Board in my view. They have invested heavily in capacity, marketing & should benefit from the synergy of having creative people in London but am not expecting to see a return till Q4 2022 so am locked in at over £3. I don't expect a major contribution from USA or Europe in 2022 & better brains than Boohoo's have tried to revive tired old brands to no avail. The Board don't need a high share price if most capital investment has been paid for last year so leave them to drive growth from the remaining young brands in the UK market. It is a medium to long term investment for many older shareholders now. "Don't panic Captain Mannering!"
Obviously a lot of angst out there but wouldn't be concerned about lack of director buys as even directors don't have lots of loose money spare plus there's more to life when you have enough. More worrying to me as an investor( & having run companies) & locked in at £3.02 is:- a) low net PBT gives no room to take more hits b) neither USA nor Europe likely to be much help in next 18 months as Boo behindcthe game here (eg: Shein, warehouse development & Europe generally has more style/ better quality anyway c) continuing high rates of returns hit margins d) continuing bad PR...eg: Mollie-Mae, family bling lifestyle etc e) Jury out on whether Boo team can relate to classier ABC1 consumer & grow historically tired but potentially more upmarket brands; I have concerns e) recent reports that becoming fashionable to keep clothes longer & buy from charity shops & secondhand. I'm no longer so confident & will sell if & when Boo passes £3 but only people to benefit now will be those who bought big at £1.09 & are not too greedy. A share issue now will decimate my holding & make me realise there is serious cause for concern. "Squeaky bum time"
It takes time to recruit new marketing & design teams & many will be relatively inexperienced so don't expect fruits of their efforts till Q4 2022. Earlier feedback from USA that Shein affecting BH poo-pooed by some contributors. Equally I still believe that nett PBT margins are too low & trying to revitalise recently-acquired tired brands is not a "gimmee". Genuine brands are stronger than BH's so key is reaching new consumers as don't buy the "loyalty of existing customers" arguement. Great time to buy but I have to stay in with £3.02 average.
Always enjoy reading the comments but for many who have bought at £3 & above Boo is a a medium to long term hold. The business looks to be solid so one doesn't lose money till one sells so for most rounded investors it's not "squeaky bum time" yet. If you are entering the market at current prices it's a great opportunity to make serious profits in the next 2-3 years. Advice is do your own research & due diligence on Boo, competitors & other opportunities. Be wary of contributors who can't spell (eg: difference between "loosing/losing"), punctuate & have bad English as they will probably have one-dimensional business experience & will be unlikely to have managed all functions in serious FMCG branded companies. Good luck!
Just seen the shortened DP ad on afternoon TV. It was professionally shot & created a good vibe. Unlikely to bring people to a sale but will create good awareness amongst past customers if there are more OTS (opportunities to see) & new marketing team have done their work in an increasingly fragmented market place. If BH can post good results at Christmas time & get nett PBT up from recent low of 7% back to historic 10% I might get back in circa
March 22.
Useful info all together....thanks. Hadn't picked up you worked for BH but use of "our" interesting & dependent on next set of results & if BH open about results by brand (Burton, Debs, Wallis, Dot P etc) could be tempted to invest some further funds.
Always good to see growth figures again. Can you also post the nett percentage bottom line PBT alongside as well as nett profit margins a bit tight. Must avoid "busy fool syndrome" & not as much to play with as I would like.
Aldi booklet in Sunday Times superb (photography, product, quality of paper etc) & TV ad significantly better than Sainsbury's weird offering. If BH successfully pushes into more ABC1 customers with better quality product via its more upmarket brands in a parallel fashion the medium term looks promising for investors. With the Council finally rehoming my family of 8, opportunity to sell another house & consider investing more in BH; PTL!
Solid comments from Pipedreamer. Am locked in a £3.08 on BH but bought Edwardian houses at £28-£32K mid-late 1990s in Nottingham which returned c12% on capital employed for the first 10 years till universities entered the market with their own apartments. Yield very low now but house prices c.£145k & rising so a good investment over 20 years. Even with CGT will make a good double figure return so spreading one's risk & investing in growing markets after extensive research better than accepting "wealth management con" taking their commission up front & offering derisory, less than specific forecast return. Council unexpectedly offered to rehouse my tenant so some cash now available in Spring to get rid of another fixed asset; PTL!
Did anybody see last Sunday Times's article on Shein & the clever way they are marketing to the young? They are bigger than we think & it has sinister elements in its business model which don't play to the rules giving it a competitive advantage in the short to medium term. On the positive side our Council has finally accepted responsibility for re-homing my tenants now with 6 kids so will be free to exit the rental industry on this one. BH a possible investment if it can get PBT % up from below 2% (too risky) to 4+% or can spread it around large family to avoid the govt taking 40%; either way freeing up resources is an answer to prayer@
Thanks...figures & continuing analysis much appreciated.
I'm BH fan & both my wife & myself are serious investors. Have seen your sales growth figures several times which make for good reading. Am chasing a deadline for a biography so could you add another 2 columns to the right of the 2012-2021 sales figures for us all? The 2nd column to be nett profit before tax & the 3rd column nett PBT as a % of sales for all the years quoted in your sales growth. Thanks
Thanks Trading4Good & 2 others for your observations, hope & thoughts for future. My wife is tied in at £3.81 but our faith has never been in our paypackets so have peace in the situation. Will now hibernate till Q4 2022.
Having spent nearly 40 years succesfully building major brands & looking at all aspects of the marketing & promotional mix, am increasingly concerned that Boo is being attacked on all fronts now, most recently from below with Shein & its lower cost base. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past & may exist to an extent in upmarket brands but not in the BH brand so am pinning my faith in BH's leadership, abilty to attract new consumers & roll out to new countries. Am locked in at £3.02 & feeling increasingly nervous....any observations from somebody with real life & business experience?
Great sucesss in the past targetting young, C2s & the Towie-end of the market but if BH is trying long term to go upmarket & target a classier BC1, more upmarket & educated consumer who will pay more for better quality products it might be time to look at a different umbrella name for the overall group under which the individual brands could develop their own distinctive "persona". It matters less in the USA but overstating the case, in the UK you wouldn't have the Netto Group as the umbrella name for Netto, Waitrose & Fortnum & Mason if they were all owned by the Netto Group. Food for thought long term as BH items I have bought have been admittedly inexpensive & good value as regards "look" but not of good quality & low specification which would not encourage repeat purchase with BC1 more upmarket consumers. Am heavily invested so want them to be successful but suspect I am locked in for next 18 months & that's assuming new marketing teams successfully reinvigorate Product Life Cycles of tired brands recently bought & sales drive for new consumers successful.