Bonmarche Share Discussion Threads

[aishah] 19/4/2017 13:26

Have also added here today. Looks to be stabilising. Mkt cap only £39m. Sterling recovering and sector turning up.

Bonmarché breaks its run of profit warnings

Ashley Armstrong, Retail Editor

19 April 2017 • 11:35am

Bonmarché has broken its run of profit warnings with a slight lift in guidance for the full year after a recovery in online sales and better trading in March.

The over-50s retailer warned that trading still remained challenging and recorded a 4.3pc fall in shop sales over the 53 weeks to April 1, while online sales lifted by 2.2pc.

However, more recent trading indicates an improvement, with shop sales falling by just 0.5pc over the 14 weeks to April 1, and online sales jumping by 15.2pc.

[loveandmoney1] 19/4/2017 08:37

in for a few here.gl

[luckymouse] 23/3/2017 00:34

Tks Ed

I had a look at the website - it works ok & the prices are cheap. I'm no clothing expert but the ranges & presentation do seem a bit dull - aimed at a certain mkt perhaps (mumsy, unadventurous, mature, economical etc). Some online retailers such as BooHoo seem to have the online experience, & targeting their exact audience, down to a fine art form - everything looks fab & gorgeous.

So definitely needs one of these high street style makeovers one would have thought. And perhaps that reflects the slightly outmoded old board too. Lets see if this new CEO brings the required glossy n desirable spark of life rather than just a few new ranges of pants.

[ed 123] 20/3/2017 09:39

Hi LuckyMouse.

I see your reasoning.

You may know ... Helen Connolly (BON CEO) spent 11 years at Asda (George) and rose to be Buying Director.

Sale plan? Nothing near term, I'd say. They need to get their revenues motoring before any thought of a sale, imo.

Clothing retail is very tough in the UK atm. 2017 will be a difficult year for the sector - fall in Sterling will bring margin pressure and rise in minimum wage will increase costs. Also, the average BON customer will be hit across her purchases of all kinds due to price inflation - so will need to cut back a bit on non-essential items.

Imo, it is like Bonmarche are on a moving walkway going in the wrong direction - they will have to run fast to stand still. (Could be wrong, though. We'll see.) (No advice intended.)

[luckymouse] 19/3/2017 13:12

Hi Ed - yes the news isnt great lol - but wasnt there a tiny blip up in the last qtr - plus in line guidance - portents that the new CEO may at least have stabilised the ship - hence appearance of a potential chart btm. The brave will tend to have a speculative punt here on a successful turnaround before the news arrives. Or at least a little reversion to range mean.
Signs in the news that a new board have a good turnaround plan, intend to execute with purpose, bringing consultants, marketing specialists, online experts for a face lift/rebrand/relaunch will all help - if they materialise. So early days.

One of the advantages of the bowl shape is that its fairly slow & predictable. Of course the RNS will have to bear it out. And if you wait for that news you may miss the btm. Always the pi's dilemma!
Does this new CEO have a good track record & a turnaround or sale plan do we know?
ATB LM

[ed 123] 18/3/2017 12:27

Hi LuckyMouse.

The 20th January update showed online sales had fallen 3.8%. Retailers are generally reporting increases in online sales as customers continue their shift from physical shops to the internet. In this context, Bonmarche had done poorly (albeit less poorly than the previous update.) Bonmarche shop lfl was marginally up. I think that positive performance had some connection with the closing of a competitor - BHS.

Looking back a bit, the trading trend appears to be moving in the less bad but still negative direction. Note also that the profit margin slumped in the interims. My expectation for the April Q4 update is overall lfl slightly negative and profit margin well down on last year.

And the chart? ........... My guess is it continues to track sideways. Bonmarche still has some cash and therefore time to turn itself around. Imo, the market will need hard evidence of trading improvement before the shares begin any uplift.

So, sorry, I don't see you getting your bowl!

[luckymouse] 18/3/2017 11:53

Haha - well the news will have to improve - but two different targeting systems are pointing to here if it does

free stock charts from uk.advfn.com

[ed 123] 18/3/2017 11:33

Would that be a begging bowl? ;-O

[luckymouse] 18/3/2017 11:30

Possible bowl

free stock charts from uk.advfn.com

[lord gnome] 16/3/2017 19:24

Perhaps shares in Sun Partners are a better investment. Bonmarche looks increasingly like a pump and dump flotation.

[walbrock82] 16/3/2017 13:13

As a boxing fan, we hear people say "Styles make fights" Well, in the fashion industry, these leaders motto should be "Style sells clothes" period!

[qvg] 17/2/2017 18:54

Smithless - your comment is very interesting: "Recent consumer satisfactions reports seem to imply Bonmarche may be turning around its designs and fortunes" could you please give details of the major such reports?

[smithless] 09/2/2017 13:28

Not a holder, but last trading update showed some sort of normality returning to the business. Not sure if the internet side is so important, as its discount and is not selling into a tech savvy clientele. I would have thought designs of its clothing is of absolute importance. If brokers forecasts are right, it looks cheap and is trading around net tang assets. Whether the new ceo can re-image and re-focus the group time will tell. One to watch?

[she-ra] 20/1/2017 11:36

The fact that the online part of the business is doing badly is very worrying. As the high st is looking as though it is dying Bonmarche needed to be good in this area. Does not bode well for the future.

[dr know] 18/1/2017 15:40

So, are all the insiders furiously buying shares in advance of a stonking trading update this Friday ? Errr - not exactly.

[w1ndjammer] 23/11/2016 16:45

chugging along just nice, we will be alright as long as the heard don`t arrive.

WJ.

[mister md] 21/11/2016 09:11

dividend maintained. Results pretty awful but perhaps already priced in ?

[diku] 21/9/2016 23:23

I am assuming most of their shops are on rental lease...probably on high rents & business rates...

[she-ra] 21/9/2016 17:14

I've been told by someone who shops at Bonmarche that they think styles are terrible.

The high street is an expensive and more than often an unprofitable place to be. People are leaving high streets and they are just in a downward spiral with only charity and pound shops dominating these town centres. There are competitors with an online only presence kicking lumps out of these kind of players.

[mammyoko] 21/9/2016 16:15

£9m in the bank. Who can say whether the div will be cut? But Sun will want to extract what they can as they still own 52.4% so wouldn't say that a cut is certain. DX, in much worse shape, have stuck to their revised dividend promise. Ex-cash P/E of around 7 assuming worst case of £5m profit.

[ed 123] 21/9/2016 11:26

Mammyoko

Hope it goes well for you and other holders, of course. I wouldn't say that the final dividend is secure. If things don't improve, my expectation would be for a cut.

Yes, the timing of Sun was excellent. Well done to them! Would they have the boldness to come back at c.40p? Would holders be prepared to sell to them? It must hurt.

Harbridge

Bonmarche already has a good online presence. It's problem is that it's operating stores (high fixed costs) but not maintaining sales volume. So, there's big pressure on their profits. They desperately need to get their offering improved. They keep blaming the weather but weather always affects buying. They need to accept and accommodate this. It can't be a perpetual excuse.

We are only 3 weeks into September. Those must have have been a shocking 3 weeks, as Q2 is down 8% lfl.

One week left of Q2, then into Q3. Does anyone have confidence they'll do better in the Autumn?

[harebridge] 21/9/2016 09:43

Another retailer that just couldn't keep up. Going the same way as French Connection & Debenehams. Even Primark hit hard as it couldn't be bothered with an online presence. The writing has been on the wall for a long time here.

[mammyoko] 21/9/2016 09:33

Rinse and repat by Sun European Partners? Probably have to halve again to be tempting