Member Info for Watchman007

Little chance of a takeover. Too big for that and pe is way too low. Defense would be easy

You may be correct. I was curious why SP started outperforming from the opening bell, before US numbers were in. Shorts haven't changed and no RNS as yet.

Tms Disagree. Happy SP has risen but there’s something else going on.

There is more than just US CPI figures driving WOSG. Pretty much everything is up today. Maybe sentiment has realigned. Maybe an RNS this week

Https://www.watchpro.com/corders-column-can-watches-of-switzerland-ride-rolex-to-become-a-3-billion-business/

Corder is not a fan of WOSG but this offers a balanced analysis of the current situation. Plenty for the Rolex conspiricy theorists to latch on to. In my view luxury jewellery is a better bet than their in house offerings but it will not be a game changer. It is not in Rolex's interests to starve them of supply and there are plenty of independent US Rolex ADs that WOSG will have their eye on. Should duty free shopping be reintroduced in the UK that will have an immediate impact. ATM the airports and central London are down on tourist business.

The acquisitions are contributing to revenue now. The deal was done some weeks ago

The 19 EJ stores include Monobrand Boutiques including the Omega Btq in Birmingham Bullring. These will require very little rebranding as Joe Public sees them as Brand retail outlets. The WOSG have a tried and tested method for converting acquired stores from IT systems to training. The store closures for refurbishment mentioned in the trading update is frankly a red herring as all refurbished stores have a corresponding 'pop up' store in the same shopping centre and do not do significantly differently from the original store. When the refurbed store reopens, thats when the afterburners kick in. The EJ acquisition has achieved two things, increased WOSG presence in UK market and reduced their biggest UK competitor -Signet (who own EJ) The fact that Signet couldn't make them work is down to them. WOSG acquired four Fraser Hart Rolex stores three years ago and they are all contributing to revenue stream successfully.

Big day tomorrow. New stores will be announced. Let’s see how the market reacts.

The buyback will not substantially effect the share price as although they may be taking some shares out of circulation they will hold them in treasury to pay the directors' and senior managers' options. They've used this trick before and when the performance to qualify for the options was missed they moved the goalposts so they got them anyway. As AIInvestor pointed out, they're taking £25m out of the business to pay senior staff.

European expansion is a given. Potential in US is huge. Faith in UK is still there and will demonstrate the strategy of taking market share.

M & A. That is priority

Again, aligned on both points. The market has used Bucherer as an excuse to downgrade. Fair enough, it’s a risk but one worth taking in my opinion. My main concern with WOSG is their overheads. Their top brass are top quality and Anders is a driven man but he can’t control everything.

I agree for at least the next few years. Wosg have invested heavily in a new Rolex Boutique to replace their existing one on New Bond St. It would cost Rolex too much to unwind from all their agreements with WOSG to be replaced with what?

WOSG have 155 outlets in the UK, 9 in Europe and 55 in the US. Rolex account for around 50 in UK, 0 in Europe and around 25 in US. I expect an update on these numbers in the trading briefing.

WOSGs lead team, Brian Duffy CEO, Anders Romberg CFO and Craig Bolton COO are exceptional. Duffy and Romberg worked together at Ralph Lauren for many years and before that Duffy was the brains behind Wonderbra’s ‘Hello Boys’ advertising campaign for those of us of a certain age. Bolton has many years experience at elite management level within WOSG and is inspirational, focused and extremely retail orientated. They are committed to not only increasing profitability but also taking market share off the competition. I am excited for their prospects.

Most of what is posted here are opinions, sometimes based on known facts, sometimes dressed up as research when none has been done. This stock is out of favour atm because it isn’t a big blue chip, dividend yielding company and there is uncertainty about Rolex’s intentions. I encourage all shareholders to register for the call ins when the trading update is released next month. Refer to the RNS for details.

They would lose 40% of their UK revenue. Not sure in US but would be similar. They would loose their Rolex boutiques in Glasgow, Terminal 3 Heathrow, Bond St, Las Vegas and Boston.

Nothing said on this or any other board will directly affects the SP. However gullible investor's sentiments may be disproportionately effected by unsubstantiated claims or genuine speculation. The price may have further to fall, I don't know. However, longer term in a couple of years I would expect this to be significantly higher. Next months trading update and future plans will shed light on the strategy.

I think Rolex will have a difficult enough time keeping all Bucherer's other brands on side without looking to acquire WOSG or anyone else. Swatch Group, LVMH, JLC, Patek and all the others will want assurances that their interests are safeguarded. I'd expect Rolex to give those assurances and take a back seat on the board regarding operational matters.

Hi Ferrari

Thanks for clarifying. Yes, Rolex have been in total control of their manufacturing for many years. The only subcontractors they use are transport companies. I don't think they are intending to take over any of them. They are a manufacturer and supplier of luxury watches with wholly owned subsidiaries in many countries. They supply their subsidiaries who then distribute to the ADs at the agreed service level. I take a different view from you in that the Bucherer deal was done purely to keep Bucherer Swiss owned and was a defensive move. Rolex US will supply American Bucherer stores, Rolex UK will supply British Bucherer stores etc. It appears the market feels you have a point, for now. I think that longer term the strategy for WOSG is unchanged. Cheers!