Retail

LVMH Q1 sales down 5.2%

9 Apr 2003

The group has been hit by negative currency impacts. Wars and viruses certainly don't help either. But organic growth looks surprisingly healthy, all things considered.

M&S clothing shrinks

8 Apr 2003

Likeforlike clothes sales at the UK retailer actually fell in Q4, even though it kept market share steady. Marks & Spencer should still squeeze out healthy profits. But its rivals may not be able to.

Benetton set free

1 Apr 2003

Slipping into the red may be the best thing that ever happened to the Italian clothing group. At least the Benetton family, which still owns 69% of the business, is stepping aside.

H&M shows Inditex up

26 Mar 2003

Like Inditex, the Swedish retailer's sales were up less than expected. But the good news is that H&M managed to boost margins.

Inditex cracks

21 Mar 2003

The Spanish retailer tripped over in the fourth quarter. Ebitda was practically flat. Inditex has had a charmed run so far and been valued accordingly. Can this last?

Richemont hit by profit warning

20 Mar 2003

The Swiss group says operating profits will be up to 40% lower than last year. But a chunk of that is a restructuring charge. And investors may take some comfort from that.

Four Safeway bidders to face longer antitrust probe

19 Mar 2003

The shock decision to refer Morrison to the Competition Commission as well as the big three potentially opens the way to financial buyers. Safeway shareholders may yet end up with a heated bidding contest; but they'll have to wait until Augst and even then it's not certain.

Morrison puts best foot forward

17 Mar 2003

The UK supermarket chain's strong results show that its original business model still delivers. Snag is Morrison itself thinks it's going to need Safeway to keep up the pace. And if it wins, it'll be a whole new ball game.

Safeway manoeuvring to start in earnest

14 Mar 2003

An imminent antitrust ruling will trigger the next stage in the £3bn battle for the UK supermarket chain. WalMart and Morrisons look the most likely winners. But don't expect a rapid resolution.

Carrefour reports 15% eps growth

5 Mar 2003

In these tough times, that seems to put the super back in supermarket. But the retailer s operating performance was actually quite stodgy.

Ahold break-up looks fraught with difficulty

26 Feb 2003

The problem is not merely that the Dutch supermarket group looks like a forced seller in a bear market. For all their quality, Ahold's assets may be of limited strategic interest. It won't be easy to drum up an auction.

Ahold bonds imply insolvency risk

25 Feb 2003

On the information currently available, Ahold s assets are worth more than its debts, even in a distressed breakup. Bondholders are obviously worried that more skeletons will fall out of the Dutch supermarket group s closet.

KKR drops out of Safeway battle

24 Feb 2003

The LBO firm had no competition issues. But it faced higher hurdles than other potential bidders. It needed more information and couldn't match the synergies of Philip Green. Better to focus on hotter assets like Six Continents.

Ahold CEO, CFO quit on earnings restatement

24 Feb 2003

The Dutch supermarket giant s past of acquisitionled growth has finally caught up with it. Ahold s bad disclosure and terrible cash conversion led investors to smell a rat. Was the board asleep on the job?

Kingfisher powers ahead

18 Feb 2003

B&Q's Q4 likeforlike sales surged 8.8%. Moreover, the business may not be as exposed to a dowturn as its rivals. And, in spite of Dixons January bloodbath, electricals retailer Comet held up better than expected.

LVMH shifts focus to star brands

14 Feb 2003

Concentrating on the most profitable brands and cutting the dead wood is clearly a wise idea. But where is the group s future growth supposed to come from?

Gucci delays YSL profit to 2005

12 Feb 2003

With sales at the core Gucci brand shrinking, the group now more than ever needs its smaller brands to pick up the growth baton. But this isn t all bad news. If YSL isn t delivering the goods, designer Tom Ford could be less inclined to leave Gucci.

Kingfisher dumps exec stock option scheme

10 Feb 2003

Instead, the UK group has hatched a plan to make its top executives keep substantial shareholdings in the company. This way executives are incentivised, whilst not being encouraged to take wild gambles to boost the share price.

Morisson’s bid for Safeway should be waved through

5 Feb 2003

The Big Three should be referred for further scrutiny. And the regulatory waters are murky for KKR, and perhaps even Phiilp Green. But there s no logical reason why Morrison s bid should be scooped in with the rest.

Morrison gets £750m contingency firepower

31 Jan 2003

As it stands, the group s allshare offer is worth 30% less than Safeway s market cap. It can t expect Safeway s shareholders to be enthused But why should Morrison bid against itself? There will be time to sweeten the deal later on.