Member Info for oldveryold

Mapp, is it a waste of time to try to lift you above the bottom rung of wit and wisdom? On second thoughts, don't answer, ever.

Two small quibbles. Over-production causes devaluation. You are now entering the Zimbabwe phase. You have a meaningless currency.

Secondly, your understanding of English is poor. "I" is the subject. You cannot say "money from I", so you cannot say "money from You and I" This is a common mistake from pretentious people with no proper education.

Do you remember when you last needed a doctor?...a plumber?... a mechanic? When did you last need a philosopher/doggerel writer? Yup, thought so. Me too.

I have worked frequently with test labs, preparing many products such as fire protection, impact absorption, vehicle safety elements etc. for test. All these things have clearly defined parameters. I and those with whom I worked, ALWAYS over-specified and, of course, tested in-house, using test-rigs matching those of the customer/specifier. That is normal.
There are two simple words for the CEO to use when told that a product is ready. - "Show me". - Whoever ran this project is transparently incompetent and must resign - the delinquent CEO, also.

Would any of those be a reason for temporary suspension? I'm on (170,000) tenterhooks.

I bought 1000 at lunchtime through HSBC instantly, with limit a penny over sell. Luckily, I had my heart checked (YAY for NHS!) last Thursday.

The French would probably prefer to dine "À la Table de Spanghero".

Fallingknife, I live in France and my home is my hobby. I'm sure, from years of personal experience, that Screwfix is a paragon of hardware retail, B&Q is just average and the French offerings, useless. Over many years now, the figures have reflected this. When I'm in the UK, I always buy online from Screwfix and, of course, it goes like clockwork. Here in France, online shopping is years behind the UK - take a look at ebay.fr - Nearly all the stuff comes from the UK or China. Nobody trusts the sellers or the deliverers (with justification).
Brico Depot is dire, stock figures are a joke (except when they say indisponible) and service is woeful. What amazes me is that KGF persists with this. Clearly, they know how to do better but when will the surgery start? I watch and when I see, I'll buy.

Something doesn't quite stack up. Palpable optimism in this mornings report but check out the Brico Depot website - pick any branch - the listings are peppered with "PRODUIT INDISPONIBLE". As ever, it's always the stuff I want and the shop hasn't a clue when it's arriving. You can't sell what you haven't got.

How about Ocado for investment, M&S for gamble? Nearly 4% today. Still room for in-and-out?

jam2morrow,
In the age of the internet, as far as product purchase is concerned, it's "if at first you don't succeed, go elsewhere". Immediacy is how you compete, especially on commodity products. If a firm is not visibly competitive, why would you invest?
On "The stores always seem to be overstaffed to me"... You must be better looking than me.

`Sirious,
The reason I wanted to discuss this with shoppers was to avoid confusion about the criteria for judgement. I have a large portion of my capital invested in enterprises just like KGF and would be a shareholder if they got their act together. But Ive been waiting for a long time now. Shareholders have been told of the spreading effectiveness of rationalisation, but I have seen no evidence of that effect, whatsoever, except for some new branding of, frankly, rubbishy products. There is no distinction between B&Q, Bunnings, Homebase, Wickes or Bricomarche.

Where there IS a distinction is with Screwfix. All evidence is that Screwfix should be the model for rationalisation. The figures clearly speak for themselves. Try them out! Visit them!

And yet KGF perseveres with the B&Q/BricoDepot model, a model that should have boomed following the Westfarmers retreat. Clearly, after that, the writing is now on the wall for that pattern, and slim hopes for any form of satisfactory disposal of the KGF stores as a going concern. Drug on the Market or what?

I can't help noticing that your opinion finishes with the resounding uncertainty of a "might"

The Stock Market has many, many better opportunities. Trading costs are low and monitoring is easy. If there really is a turn-around, jump back on - a day or two will make little difference!

I am not a KGF shareholder but I rely on the Market for my income. Neither am I a spoiler but you may find interest in my point of view. I live between homes in France and England and I am an avid DIYer. When I look for investments, I want to see, naturally, all the right numbers but also clear evidence of a strong, well-run, ethical business with no hint of trip-wires - so no on-line betting, gold mines, tobacco, miracle cures etc.
The four major parts of KGF impress me as follows: BricoDepot is omnipresent in France and widely detested. The staff are sullen, unavailable and unknowledgeable. I have seen 80 year old customers struggling with dangerous loads and fork-lift trucks driven through un-cordoned public access areas. The quality of goods is frequently appalling. Despite online stock figures, items prove impossible to find. Check-outs are impossibly slow by UK standards. The stores are generally uninviting.(subjectively) The upside is that where items are from reputable manufacturers, the prices are excellent.

B&Q is broadly the same in terms of quality of goods; whole categories bought from low-grade manufacturers with absolutely no evidence of quality-control or, indeed product knowledge on the part of KGF. Staff are friendlier but sometimes hard to find.

Screwfix have friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, cheerful staff. Service is prompt. There is a wider choice of products from the cheap to the luxury. Pre- ordering has never let me down. Communication is 100%. Access to the branches is not always convenient but the delivery service is as fast as humanly possible.

Castorama has nothing to attract me or my wife, who is French, or her family. It's just dull.

I follow the KGF market reports fairly consistently. The roll-out of X-year plans and so forth, over the, now, 20 years that I have shopped on both sides of The Channel, has had no impact on my impression as a purchaser.

Summary: 3/4 of this firm sucks. Screwfix rocks. Year to year there is no change. Put these factors against the charts, the outcome is clear. BOTTOM OUT?? YOU WISH!

Please, if you respond to this post, qualify yourself as a KGF customer as well as a shareholder.

I'm sorry.... Was that a contribution?

Am I the only person who invested in this compay because they are tackling incurable disease?

Does anyone with direct experience of setting up a nationwide distribution deal in the U.S. have anything to offer on this? Uninformed opinion on this goes nowhere - real KNOWLEDGE might lighten the burden of waiting.

From today's report, it appears that Diageo have cash coming out of their ears. Could they use an extra brand? Or might that brand be such a thorn in their side that they would buy it to take it out of the market? Howeve far from reality, both these notions present genuine upward pressure on the brand value.

I have held (500K) DIS now for about 18 months, continuously, and of course the charts show that I should have been out and back on several occasions but my crystal ball.... As far as the profit is concerned, the first question is "Do I need it?" and the answer is totally subjective. The next question is "Where can I go that's better?" I'll consider all suggestions but it seems to me that DIS is a fairly serious concern doing better than might reasonably be expected with a tiny budget. It is NOT reasonable to hope that they will wave a magic wand and tear open the US market tomorrow. But they have already started to pick away at the corners. My gambler's nerves will keep me edgy but there is ever-mounting evidence, in my eyes, that this is one to stick with.

My domestic letting problems were handled entirely by letting agents - and, I thought, very poorly but I was abroad. End result was I lost 14 months rent which I now get repaid at £17/month. The commercial case was fairly epic. The tenant abandoned the lease on completely spurious grounds but stuck to his guns as far as The Appeal Court against advice from his counsel and the initial Judge. The case was dismissed as "completely without merit" and I got my claim and costs with very generous interest but it took 10years and, of course I was covering my own costs as I went. £1100 looks like reasonable value. Have you thought of offering half that to the tenant to quit now? (without prejudice). Aah! The Market is so carefree! I sleep at nights!

I've tried that Drillbits. I had delinquent tennants, even criminal, in domestic lets, over which I was powerless, and 10 years of litigation over a commercial property. Eventually won with costs but euch!! The only real estate for me is my homes but even there, only in the UK. Most foreign property markets are centuries out of date so cartels of hangers on take any cream even if market liquidity allows you a sale. At least with the The Stock Market, you can quantify any hit by the moment and move on. Also, if you have had any degree of success, you can regard a slice of your gains as a cushion. Too serious...What about Distil's other brands? Non-starters? Toe in the water? Seeds to nurture?