Boot (henry) Share Discussion Threads

[banter] 19/1/2004 19:20

hopi

sorry to be thick but where can you find out what shares are being shorted

thanks

[porkpharm] 19/1/2004 12:46

I have no positions in BOOTs at the moment.
I used to work for BOOTs and am surprised that they have managed to defend their market share for so long. Baker is making costs savings, but this is not going to keep the share price going up, that will need increased sales growth.

Can Baker deliver increased sales growth? I think this is more than just about price, it is also about the way people shop. Boots has many small stores, some as small as 100m2, and for these stores they have high costs, for each you need a pharmacist( high wages) and then staff to serve at the counter, so a large % of the sales are going to be eaten up by costs. Also people now prefer one stop shopping, even the large Boots stores cannot provide this, whereas Tescos, Safeway can. I now buy all my toiletries from Sainsburys, only going to BooTs if I happen to be in the area.
Boots's prescription business will keep a few old customers returning and buying their soaps and shampoo, but they are dying out.
I think Bakers agressive price war, may reduce the chance of sales dropping off so quickly, but I don't see any long term sales growth,which is what the share price needs.
Short term, I think the price is going to depend on the FTSE/DOW and other retailers. Recent peaks of around 7.20ish I think are the top, and I am tempted to open a short unless it advances from here soon.
Has anyone got any more views from a technical viewpoint?

[jokerman] 18/1/2004 21:58

Hopi/Majic

Interesting comments - thanks

I'm edging in favour of Majic and having been 'singed' (its not only you JonC) , and then stopped out, with my recent short I'm looking to repeat it very soon.

[majic] 17/1/2004 19:57

Fairplay Hopi, I think the general view of Boots is similar to that of Marks and Spencers. They have some traditional air about them, some sort of British stamp. They are more pricy, but have stores in the middle of town rather than out of town, and many that use them are not price - oriented, but like the quality and service. If wallmart tactics are used, I can't see them coming out on top as they will need to cuts costs to compete on price and there goes the profit from those who didn't mind paying more, there goes the quality to produce goods cheaper and there goes the service as less floor staff are needed.
I like Boots, and it has its place, but I have some worries if a price war starts. Maybe thats what tescos wanted, they know they will win if the battle is labelled "price war" rather than "helpful-personal service war". Fund managers may not base their decisions on breakfast TV but lots of amatures do, Breakfast TV tipped Boots and Leeds United!!

[majic] 17/1/2004 18:23

Time to short on these. Too costly to keep this price and its only there because breakfast TV said they had done well in their results. Very tough times are coming. Thanks to Hopi every feme now has 6 months worth of makeup from xmas and wont need to shop at boots till mid summer. Down we go, unless we can stir a flu epidemic!!

[jonc] 16/1/2004 17:19

Nice one Hopi.

Bit singed here.

[jonc] 16/1/2004 13:31

mike,

It wasn't my best move this morning.

Should have waited.

JC

[mike24] 16/1/2004 13:26

jonc might join you soon, consumer spending running out of steam,
now the sales are nearly over,
retail only looks safe in the food sector

next taking a dive this afternoon

[jonc] 16/1/2004 08:18

Increased my short on these results.

[mikeatwork22] 15/1/2004 17:33

The Reward card Boots have is one of the few worth while. My other half spends a lot of money in Boots - make up perfume etc and she is always getting stuff for free ie the Reward card pays for it...

The Peterborough Boots has the best Pharmacy, bright and airy, free pick up service, in the center of town. The main competitor, Co-op, is a bit dingy.

[bz4f8c] 14/1/2004 16:54

From todays BBC -

>

"Boots, whose core market of health and beauty products has already been snaffled by supermarkets, is reckoned to be highly vulnerable too.

It has carved out market-leading positions in niche businesses such as film processing, gifts and snack foods, but now looks hopelessly muddled to many analysts."

[bz4f8c] 14/1/2004 13:28

£5 on the horizon...and still 1.5 days until Christmas sales statement. I think Boots are in a bad way. DYOR. Good luck to all.

[jonc] 14/1/2004 12:29

You are all heart Bio.

JC

Still short.

[biomax] 13/1/2004 21:01

Profit warning 3 time would be nice