Distil Share Discussion Threads

[berny3] 12/10/2015 12:23

another for Blackwoods Gin Grantham Arms

[berny3] 11/10/2015 20:24

another for Redleg Rum



another for Blackwoods Gin

[berny3] 09/10/2015 11:34

another for Blackwoods Gin

[berny3] 07/10/2015 11:36

another for Blackwoods Gin

[berny3] 04/10/2015 22:03

not sure.

a new outlet in US stocking Blavod

[petersinthemarket] 02/10/2015 13:33

Thanks Berny. I'll check out Hi Spirits. So how does the money change hands? Does a distributor buy the goods from DIS? Does the pub etc buy from the distributor? Like i said i don't know how the booze business works. pete

[berny3] 02/10/2015 13:17

Pete, the company used to be a distributor with its own brands. The company has undergone a change and is no longer a distributor and only has its own brands. If you look back through he news items you will see that Hi Spirits is the UK distributor. i.e. the company High Spirits receives made product from Distil and they distribute. Distribution is not a cost or responsibility of the company any more. You will see it has a distributor in Europe and the US.

So to answer your question the company does not distribute there are third party companies that do that job now.

The whole basis of the company now is a drinks manufacturer.

[petersinthemarket] 02/10/2015 11:32

Nice to see you back Berny. I know I have mentioned this before but at the risk of sounding like a stuck record I am still very concerned about distribution. Particularly distribution costs. I know little or nothing about the booze business, except as an occasional customer. How can it possibly pay to send relatively small amounts of booze to hundreds of outlets in several countries. I have seen no definitive information about who does the distribution or how it might impact on margins. Does anyone have enough trade knowledge to advise. cheers, pete

[berny3] 02/10/2015 10:39

Pete, been off the radar on hols.. It is not too long until we get the half year results we get to see how close the company is to break even.

[berny3] 02/10/2015 10:36

another tasting event in Portugal for Blackwoods Gin

[berny3] 02/10/2015 10:34

Sorry to disappoint.

New bar for Redleg Rum.

[petersinthemarket] 01/10/2015 20:11

Come on Berny! Almost a week without a new outlet. Has the distribution network faltered? (only winding you up)(and breaking the silence) GL holders, pete

[berny3] 25/9/2015 14:29

..and another establishment in Cambridge stocking Blackwoods Gin

[berny3] 25/9/2015 07:38

two more posts on Blavod in the US from distributors and Halloween

[berny3] 24/9/2015 14:06

nice write up

[petersinthemarket] 24/9/2015 11:40

Thanks for comments guys. I have been assuming that fxd costs might have reduced somewhat. Didn't I read somewhere that they had moved HQ to cheaper premises. OK, the manufacturing process is still there and still expensive and likely to become more so as the volumes rise with the number of additional brands going into export markets. Not sure whether they have enough current capacity for these increases or whether additional plant and equipment will be required. Also, does anyone know how long the booze has to be stored before sale. That is, is there a long production and stocking lead time prior to sale. One of the further aspects that still troubles me is distribution. It seems to me to be inherantly difficult to reduce or even control distribution costs for such a potentially huge and growing range of smallish outlets. In fact, the more i think about this company the less I think I know about it. The amount of published material to date is absolutely minimal. One thing that does make me confident is that the BoD have skin in the game. The ex Diageo CEO also has an important reputation to preserve. I reckon this company will succeed albeit in a fairly modest way in such a crowded market. The only question is when. It is probably right to assume that the summer is the quieter season. This is compounded by the fact that production is still in its infancy and still being ramped up. But the important party season is just ahead of us now. Halloween, Nov5th, Xmas, New Year. If the product is sufficiently widely known and also available in the necessary quantities then the end of FinYr figures next Spring could be impressive. In the meantime, the interims last year were on 16Dec but we have been told they will be in November this year which I hope is a promising sign that there will be something to tell us. We are desperately short of enough information on which to make anything other than crude estimations. I believe the end of FinYr figures will at last see us through to break even and give us something on which we can at last make meaningful calculations. I remain hopeful but frustrated. GL all, pete

[berny3] 24/9/2015 09:31

Just to add first tweet from the US requesting where they can get hold of Redleg Rum.

[berny3] 24/9/2015 09:06

Hi Pete, interested in all aspects. I am focused on looking at distribution as that is a key factor to the companies success. The strategy currently has been to focus on own brands and increase margins. By having a system in place with good margins. The next phase is to increase turnover and maintain margins.

As an explanation (excuse me if you are already aware of this) the cost of the company are split into two types. Variable costs (costs that increase proportionately with the number of items sold)and fixed costs. Fixed costs are those costs which do not change and stay constant irrespective of number of items sold.

From the last results we had revenue from number of items sold less variable costs gave a 50% margin. i.e. for every £1 achieved from sales the company had 50p gross profit. Previously the fixed costs have exceed this 50p resulting in an overall loss for the company. If sales can be increased sufficiently so that Gross Profit can exceed fixed costs then the company will be in profit.

Hence my focus now on distribution as the larger the distribution the greater possibility of breakeven/profit.

Reviewing the UK side of distribution this has grown steadily through the year. It would appear Redleg has been received well. My views are coming from following twitter posts.

The other area that is interesting me is the current share price and trading. I have tried to buy more myself over the past few days and have struggled to get any at a reasonable price. The market appears to be extremely tight and not liquid. I would imagine that this surrounds the up and coming half year results. Summer is traditionally the quietest period so not sure whatto expect from teh results.

[dietcoke197] 24/9/2015 00:18

My view: post 1113 pete

I've since revised my expections up a bit dur to the obviously improving gross marigin, the likelyhood that admin costs have continued to be controlled.

The only fly as far as i'm concerned is the promotional spend which will have eaten up some of that improved margin.

I'm still expecting breakeven for the finalncial year, but not the current half year.

I do think the share price will be 2p ths time next year.

[petersinthemarket] 23/9/2015 17:03

I note you are still very interested in product distribution berny.
Is this anything to do with your employment?
Personally i am much more interested in the likely date for break even.
I appreciate our different viewpoints do have an obvious connection.
If anyone has a calculations-based view on break even it would be gratefully received. As a chart follower (and an engineer) rather than an accountant i am not too skilled in the accounts part of the game.
(And we could do with a few more contributions on this thread).
All comments gratefully received.
Gl all, pete

[berny3] 23/9/2015 14:38

Blackwoods is on the Wine bow group site

[berny3] 22/9/2015 08:55

Slightly more activity on Blavod's twitter - not a surprise leading up to Halloween.

what do we reckon 7 weeks until half year results?

[petersinthemarket] 21/9/2015 13:43

Doesn't take much to move the share price around. That sale earlier today can't have been much more than two and half grand and down it comes. On that basis institutional sized buys would be a blessing, and sells a disaster. Curious it seems to have happened at 7:30am when the market was closed. Anyway, roll on break-even. Lets have some real numbers and get some genuine confidence into all this.

[berny3] 20/9/2015 10:27

Dante - agreed the US has the potential of a big market for Blavod. Have no indication of what the drop in sales in Eastern Europe is in monetary terms. Halloween is the big one have to keep an eye on for Blavod.