Member Info for chilting

Indeed, just waffle and best filtered in the absence of constructive informed comment.

trunky
M&S are still improving their network of stores, and this does include closing some unprofitable High Street stores.
But the usual outcome is that they open another store in a better location in the same locality, usually in an out-of-town location, however as a result of Covid they are also looking at better vacant or cheaper to rent High Street locations as well.

Regarding the staff, with unemployment low it's difficult to find good quality well trained people in retail, so it would be extremely stupid for them to leave because of poor pay.

As I said sentiment has driven the SP down, this is inevitable with the bad macro, but fundamentally nothing has changed for the long term and the business is now well funded to ride out the economic downturn.

So, as a long term buy OCDO is a no brainer even if the short term is uncertain.

I do appreciate that this is a contrarian view and it's important, as always, that investors hold a balanced portfolio.

The SP has been driven really low now by the combination of bad macro and sentiment with a little help by the shorts.

As a long term buy OCDO is a no brainer, but have we hit the bottom yet.

Friday's mini budget may hold some of the answer in the UK, but it will need the global economy to show the future turning point before we can be certain.

My guess is that this could be the low point - shares prices will recover well in advance of the economic recovery, investors just need to see evidence of that recovery.

The same applies to investors in new tech.
I am confident that Ocado Group will pick up new contracts and especially more expansion business from existing partners.
Ocado tech is much cheaper to roll out now and increasing labour costs will be the main incentive that pushes retailers away from bricks and mortar to online.

The SP has been driven really low now by the combination of bad macro and sentiment with a little help by the shorts.

As a long term buy MKS is a no brainer, but have we hit the bottom yet.

Friday's mini budget may hold some of the answer in the UK, but it will need the global economy to show the future turning point before we can be certain.

My guess is that this could be the low point - shares prices will recover well in advance of the economic recovery, investors just need to see evidence of that recovery.

You need to look at how ENQ is performing in the FTSE350 - especially in bear market conditions with sentiment shot.
It's actually doing very well - about 50% up on its year low.

Very upbeat - excellent results - digital sales up 8% - rise in full year guidance.

From Kroger -
"Accelerating with Digital
Improved delivery sales by 34% over last year driven by Kroger Boost and Customer Fulfillment Centers

Announced a new Kroger Delivery Customer Fulfillment Center in the Denver Metro area , one of the fastest-growing areas in the country
Opened a new Kroger Delivery Customer Fulfillment Center in Romulus, Michigan, supporting customers in several geographies, including Michigan, Northern Ohio, and Indiana
Expanded the Kroger Delivery network by opening seven new spoke facilities, which serve as last-mile cross-dock locations, including Louisville , Nashville, and Chicago in existing geographies, as well as Austin, Birmingham, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio in new geographies"

https://ir.kroger.com/CorporateProfile/press-releases/press-release/2022/Kroger-Reports-Second-Quarter-2022-Results-and-Raises-Full-Year-Guidance/default.aspx

It would seem logical that Kroger would bid for Ocado, but Kroger shareholders are wedded to their dividends and any thought of them buying a high-tech capital demanding company like Ocado would have them spitting out their cornflakes - or whatever they eat for breakfast out there.

Stumpy
I think investors are just slightly less pessimistic than they were a week ago - not sure that we can call it a rally.
The rally will come as soon as investors can see a recovery on the horizon - sometime early in 2023, I guess.

Stumpy
I think the SP movement below 120p over the last few days is more likely manipulation by the shorts, especially yesterday's fall against the market rise.
We could see that fall reversed over the coming days as the shorts close - I don't think they are here to build a position; they simply create and exploit volatility in a thin bear market.

The whole UK retail sector is showing a very lackluster performance on the LSE at the moment - hardly surprising with the appalling macro - no one knows where the bottom is.

This is reflected in volume of shares traded - well down on usual levels - allowing the shorts to easily manipulate the share prices of many UK retailers.

Therefore, the SP has slid well below the long-term valuation for MKS, remaining a firm hold for long term investors and at some stage a very strong buy, but only when it's clear that the macro is showing signs of improving.

Excellent news this morning, successful delivery of this flagship project will undoubtably lead to many more in France.

The French really love new tech, especially green tech, and gasification ticks all the boxes for their local politicians and business leaders to show they are combating global warming and cleaning up the environment.

The first record I have is that Blackrock were shorting MKS at 0.61% on 1st November 2012.

It seems the OP was around 10 years out.
Rather pathetic.

M&S owns a 50% share in Ocado Retail the UK online supermarket.
It has been trading very profitably but has been knocked back slightly by a combination of the ending of Covid restrictions and the economic situation.
Long term this business will thrive - both companies are agreed of a vigorous expansion plan.
M&S have an option to purchase the other 50% of Ocado Retail on the run up to 2030.

The rest of Ocado Group is a tech company rolling out the Ocado online supermarket concept globally with supermarket partners such as Kroger in the US.
This is a fast-growing business that is consuming huge amounts of capital - profitability will come from commission on sales in the medium term.

While both companies are obviously suffering economic headwinds, both have excellent long-term prospects.

The elderly probably have more to gain from shopping online than the rest of the population especially if they have mobility problems or don't drive.
I would guess though, that there are more elderly people who have relatives ordering on their behalf than there are ordering directly - its probably a big hidden market that particularly benefitted from the Covid pandemic.

Great set of results but the market is still on the dark about how much profit is going to be paid out to the EPL.

M&S is very much an open book for private investors.
We can visit the stores and their every move is followed by the media.

The news flow lately has been very good with very few negatives, and the stores I have visited have been obviously trading very well with friendly well motivated staff.

One important consideration Owls.
Its often the brightest stars that fall further - look at Dunelm and Greggs for example over the last couple of years.

I guess its because they become overbought in good times and fall flat when reality takes over.

The Fed and BoE are both talking tough to try and knock inflation back.
Therefore, its difficult to gauge how bad the economic situation actually is.
We have to assume worst case scenario with interest rates continuing to rise and remaining high in 2023 but I guess if the tough talk and hard action works that may not be the case.
Also, they are playing catch up, after failing to act earlier in the year.

Yes, there is no safety net at the moment.
I don't see that anything that the UK Government can say or do will make much difference - its all down to the global macro.