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7
Apr-18
Saturday

Nine West bankrupt in the US

16
According to Reuters, US footwear and apparel company Nine West filed for Chapter 11 protection and said it would sell its Nine West and Bandolino footwear and handbag business to the Authentic Brands Group.  Nine West owns brands such as Anne Klein and Gloria Vanderbilt.  Apparently, the company has a debt of about $1.5 billion and assets in the range of $500 million to $1 billion.   Nine West has changed hands before and this confirms our long-held belief that as businesses change owners, their ethos progressively evaporates.
6
Apr-18
Friday

Amazon's easy ride to meet increasing friction

23
Technology giants are finally being singled out for increased public and regulatory scrutiny.  Privacy violations, massive power to manipulate public opinions and disruptive market influence are now in the open.  Reuters reported that the US President said that he would take a serious look at policies to address what he says are the unfair business advantages of online retailer Amazon.  We too have a problem with large US technology corporations that use capital from the markets to subsidise their loss-making operations.  This distorts the economic environment – big time.

Retail apocalypse debunked

34
Matthew Shay, the CEO of the NRF commented on the so-called “retail apocalypse”, which made seemingly endless headlines over the past year, despite reams of evidence to the contrary. Media and various ‘experts’ declared retail dead, dying or totally disrupted by e-commerce.  Shay pointed out that once one considers accurate, complete data on retail overall, it becomes evident that the industry is doing quite well. True, there have been store closings and bankruptcies — that’s inevitable in business. But there are also new entrants and store openings. Retailers are changing, adapting and transforming to compete and better meet customers’ needs. That’s a sign of a healthy, growing and evolving industry. Not a dying one.

Deceptive voice?

26
The NRF commented about a recent study showing that consumers want personalised voice experiences, but are wary of brands being more present on their voice devices. The report states that families are the biggest users of voice-enabled technology and, while more consumers are attempting to shop using voice, a lack of visual confirmation, high potential for mis-ordering and the inability to easily compare prices and availability are key barriers.
5
Apr-18
Thursday

Fast fashion woes

20
The Australian Financial Review published interesting statistics about the fast fashion segment in Australia.  Three global fast fashion chains (H&M, Uniqlo and Zara) generate about $1 billion annually in Australia, but pre-store sales in the segment have dropped dramatically.  If the AFR figures are to be believed, H&M per store sales dropped by about 25% (6% total sales drop while store numbers grew from 23 to 32).  AFR also mentioned Dotti pre-store sales dropped by around 9% and store closures by Forever 21, GAP and Top Shop.  Clearly, the market is undergoing a major reshuffle.  Some try to blame it on e-commerce, but it looks more like just a simple case of market overcrowding.

AfterPay questions?

25
The Australian reported that AfterPay shares slumped nearly 6%, seemingly in reaction to claims that its services could be easily used by minors and even people with a fake identity.  We think that the share movement had more to do with speculation whether the original owners will start selling their escrow holdings (23%) when the escrow expires on 8 May.

NBN fiasco continues

24
Mainstream media reported the departure of the NBN CEO, focusing on his remuneration package and progress in NBN rollout.  The NBN-killer, 5G networks have been barely mentioned.  We warned repetitively that this White Elephant Network will cause grief for all involved and will make Australia about $50 billion poorer. Pity to see our predictions come true.
4
Apr-18
Wednesday

Blue jean revival?

22
Bloomberg commented that some of the leading brands are hoping for a blue jean revival.  The jean making industry has been distressed in the recent years as jeans have struggled to beat back more comfortable styles such as leggings and yoga wear. Last year, imports of elastic knit pants surpassed those of jeans for the first time, according to the US Census Bureau.  However, there are signs of a rebound. The jeans maker Levi Strauss posted an 8 percent increase in revenue in 2017, thanks to a significant revamp of its women’s range - its strongest annual growth since 2011.  Ralph Lauren reported similar increases and other leading jeans brands also commented on encouraging results.

Lovisa loses another C-level executive

18
The AFR reports that Lovisa has lost its second C-level executive in just over six months, following the announced departure of CEO Steve Doyle and former CFO Graeme Fallet last September. The news was delivered alongside a trading update to reassure shareholders that Mr Doyle's departure is not due to performance issues. Lovisa booked a 7.4 per cent increase in comparable store sales for the first half of FY18 and top line sales growth of 18.8 per cent compared to the prior corresponding period.    

Housing approvals still at record high

27
The ABS released housing approval statistics, which show that while apartment approvals have slowed down, houses continue to be approved at a rate of 10,000 units per month.  This will lead to high level of completions and fit-outs.  It is also reinforced by a record high value of house renovations.  These numbers indicate a robust economy, but, at the same time, average house prices have dropped e.g. in Sydney by 2%.
3
Apr-18
Tuesday

SFG restructure about to happen?

13
Specialty Fashion Group (SFG) has announced to the ASX that Anchorage Capital Partners has made a $100 million cash offer to acquire the plus-sized City Chic and Autograph brands.  However, the announcement mentioned a “range of outstanding issues”.  According to the announcement, SFG’s Independent Review Committee is considering a number of options to “improve shareholders value.”