Member Info for FED1

Question is: who is the better retailer?

Dan or Mike?

Kamani clan now irrelevant. Don’t even want Umar involved in PLT. But I’m a minority so it isn’t my choice.

I’m not short. I’m long. Too long.

I want to exit at cost.

ASOS strategy is to focus on fast fashion like Inditex. Short lead times, desirable but cheap own brand stock.

Zalando is targeting brands.

Boo has said it is turning into a marketplace. I wonder if Boo are actually retailers? They need to compete on price, but are they competing on fashionable apparel? Selling cheap Chinese stuff when there is a bigger Chinese player worries me. I am concerned that Dan’s strategy lack depth. Is he a retailer?

My concern with Boo is that they are market traders.

They sell cheap Chinese dresses at market stall prices. They somehow managed to turn this into a multi-billion revenue operation. It was the online version of Primark.

Then an even bigger market trader moved in. Shein.

Does Boo go up a level in terms of quality and service, or take on Shein?

LDLD,

If only there was a large activist shareholder who was equally peeved who could call an EGM and shake things up.......

Oh right, there is....

and the patsies voted for the status-quo

I am finding Finlay’s more recent statements on Boo concerning. As is the market.

We were told late last year that th BoD had a credible plan. I am personally not convinced that rolling out marketplace is a credible plan.

Share price has halved. No capital markets day. And new CEO seems to think we are at the start of a reset!!!!!!

I wonder if Dan is actually a retailer.

Inditex are quality. Zalando is quality. ASOS talking about making its merchandise desirable.

Marketplace is not a strategy FFS

Boo needs a customer base to sell clothing.

I feel share price is now significantly lower than if Mike won EGM

There is no credible plan. No capitals markets day. And revs down double digits after a prolonged declined.

I don’t want a CEO to tell me we are at early stages of turnaround. WT-actual-F!

The simple fact is there are two shareholders vying for control.

They both want it on cheap. You cannot dilute one with highly dilutive emergency rights issue.

That aside, I am disappointed with the pessimistic tone Dan is taking on Boo/PLT. Yes he has done a good job on Debs but he needs to be careful about managing expectations. Share price has halved since the BoD told us they were focusing on value for all stakeholders.

I’m not a ramper, but ultimately I do think ASOS will be taken private or taken over by a bigger rival.

Did we come to a conclusion on whether tariffs are applied to where clothing is manufactured, or will Boo benefit from selling Far Eastern clothing into the US under its own brand from a UK DC?

So we completely missed out on the global equity rally which started in October 2023, but have now reconnected and are correlated again to world market movements.

Great

If I was to surmise, I would say that Shein raises prices, enabling UK operators to raise prices enough to offset their duties. HOwever, margins remain the same for UK operators.

I do not have an opinion either way.

I think the argument goes that previously Shein had such a cost advantage, that it has already decimated the US market for UK based competitors. However, the UK retailers now have a comparative advantage versus China in terms of import duties. Shein will have to raise prices, and although the UK operators will also have higher duties, if they can also raise prices in line with Shein, then it should lead to margin expansion.

I had a precursory glance at May 2024 results and it shows that the US has the highest gross margin (which includes duties but excludes operating costs) out of all the regions.

I am not sure if the US will apply China tariffs if they come via UK? Someone on Asos message board was talking about bonded warehouses.

Looks like Trump will scrap de-minimis on 2 May.

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/02/trump-temu-shein-de-minimis-tariffs-pdd

Https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/DEBS/boohoo-group-plc/company-page

The share price appears to be holding up in what is a torrid day for markets

I notice the Boohoo Deserves Better website is down.

I checked and there isnt a Debs Deserves Better website.

The name change and corporate rebrand is ultimately window dressing. Yes it signifies the strategic direction of company. Yes Frasers is being petulant.

The market needs an improvement in the abysmal sales growth figures.

From Povlsen perspective, the recent TopShop deal didnt change anything if he were to later bid for Asos.

He got 75% of TS, and Asos used the proceeds to pay down debt. He is essentially musical chairs from his viewpoint.

He had to step in to stop private equity and Shein getting TS. However, maybe he didnt have the funds. Maybe there is a stage 2 to the transaction (i.e., he buys out Asos when he gets funding in place). The creditors probably needed paying off first anyhow.

If Ashley got a premium to his cost price, and a deal to have Fraser Pay, then this could be a quid pro quo.

If a bid were to happen, then the executive team have options with a strike price of £6.70. This was the EGM which was rushed through in August. We then had the TopShop announcement.

I don’t know what a Povlsen bid would need to be, but you would imagine he needs both Ashley and mgmt incentivised.

Unless Ashley needs the money for another deal, I reckon he is happy to play long game. I think a serious bid would have to be made £8.