Hardy Amies Share Discussion Threads

[bungler] 22/11/2007 17:08

Again not desperately significant but interesting nonetheless - this time on the new Edinburgh store:

Smarten up your act for winter
Source: Scotsman (Original Article)

WITH the odd exception, west coast gents have always been seen to have the edge over the Capital's men when it comes to style.

So the decision by a Savile Row tailor whose designs first graced the front cover of Vogue back in 1947 and is today popular with the likes of Orlando Bloom, Jake Gyllenhall and the band Razorlight to launch its innovative diffusion line from its new Scottish flagship store on George Street store was intriguing.

Hardy Amies and its new Hardy Amies London Collection chose Edinburgh over Glasgow, Manchester or even London, but it is a decision it is confident will pay off.

"There is this perception that men in Edinburgh aren't as stylish as their west coast counterparts, but that's not true. They have great contemporary style," said one of the tailor's creative directors at last month's launch.

The event showcased the brand's coveted range of slim-fitting directional shirts in a plethora of colours and prints, merino wool cardigans and V-necks, smart and casual jackets, and expertly tailored trousers all at affordable prices.

"This is why out of the whole of the country we chose Edinburgh to launch this new collection."

[seizetheday] 22/11/2007 16:20

agree entirely

[boscolane] 22/11/2007 08:31

Good spot bungler. What is clear is that China certainly isn't going ino recession and there are increasing numbers there who will buy HRD clothes. Expanding in China, and the UK for that matter, will allow huge growth in the company and makes it a no brainer investment at these levels. IMHO.

[boraki] 21/11/2007 17:56

Ok.

Thanks for that.

I shall watch and wait.



The markets in general are un-nerving me anyway, so maybe this is not the best time to invest

Thanks for your help.

Boraki.

[ladybird1] 21/11/2007 17:51

Boraki

The share is very lightly traded, with half the shares any way owned by Arev. In consequence, the spreads tend to be wide, fluctuate on small marging & can be difficult to trade. One to be bought & put away, not a 'trading' stock.

[boraki] 21/11/2007 16:55

I am thinking of buying this share, but the spread worries me. (A lot to loose straight away) also I read on another bulletin board somewhere, that this stock is very difficult to sell and the market makers won't even quote for the nms of 2000, (which I thought was illegal)

Can anyone advice me

Thanks

Boraki

[bungler] 21/11/2007 10:04

No problem and i agree that two years down the line - so long as don't slump into a worldwide depression before then - we could all be very happy.

[seizetheday] 21/11/2007 09:51

bungler
excellent, thank you very much

im attaching the link which shows also how recent the article is (November 20, 2007).
I found the article in other websites, so well publicised by the press.
This share could make us seriously happy in the medium term.

[bungler] 21/11/2007 08:58

Nothing new but more detail on the Aussino deal in China. The last para is interesting - I'm not sure I'd want to see Hardy Amies stuff in 8,000 stores worldwide but I wouldn't mind being in a select few of them!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aussino enters into JV with Hardy Amies

AUSSINO Group, a lifestyle retailer, is positioning itself to ride on China's growing luxury fashion market through a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with UK's luxury fashion brand Hardy Amies.

It has teamed up with Hardy Amies International Ltd (HAIL) to open Hardy Amies stores in China to target the luxury men and ladies' fashion market there.

HAIL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hardy Amies plc. The JV company, known as Hardy Amies (BVI) Ltd (HA BVI), will have an initial issued and paid-up capital of £pounds;1 million (S$2.98 million).

Aussino's investment for the 50 per cent share in HA BVI will be financed internally.

HA BVI will establish a wholly owned subsidiary in China known as Hardy Amies International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd (HAIT), which will hold the master distributorship licence for Hardy Amies in China, Hong Kong and Macau.

HAIT will handle the wholesale and retail of Hardy Amies men's and ladies' fashion apparel in China.

Said Anthony Lim, chairman and CEO of Aussino: 'We are moving full speed ahead into the fashion market in Asia, riding on the region's consumer boom.

'The luxury apparel business is attractive for us due to its higher margins and the growing demand for such products among the increasingly affluent consumers in Asia, especially in China. We are optimistic of continued robust growth in China, and we plan to launch two Hardy Amies stores in Shanghai and Beijing by the middle of 2008. And we are not stopping there; we will continue to grow with Hardy Amies. And we plan to launch their luxury ladies apparel brand called 'Black Label' soon to target the fast growing luxury market in China,' Mr Lim said.

The Hardy Amies JV is the latest of Aussino's recent fashion expansion push in Asia, coming after the Doppio JV in Australia and the launch of the Sino London ladies' fashion label in Singapore.

Aussino is involved in the design, development, distribution and retailing of soft home fashion furnishings and fashion products.

Its merchandise is available through more than 8,000 retail outlets worldwide, according to the company.---Business Times

[seizetheday] 16/11/2007 16:13

the MM want HRD shares at all costs, at cheap price scaring weak holders by dropping artificially the price (even when there are more buys than sells like today!!), keeping a wide spread and all sort of tricks.
Guess why?
Wellm, read the last rns's, read previous posts, give a call to the new branch in edinburgh, look at the current evaluation.

This could be a serious 5-10 bagger.

[boscolane] 10/11/2007 20:23

Steady ladies. This is a board for decent discussions about HRD. We want to make some money not get involved in the some personal fued between the crankies !!

[boscolane] 10/11/2007 13:58

Err dont worry chancer6 i didnt believe him for a moment. Just having some fun !
Must be worrying to have a drug crazed cyber stalker though.

[chancer6] 09/11/2007 18:11

PS. go and see how the twisted smackhead spent his friday on my Paros thread.

[boscolane] 09/11/2007 17:28

If chancer 6 is a 'pump and dumper' it would quite possibly be the smallest and most pathetic operation of stock market manipulation in the history of share trading.
It would mean he bought the shares at just over 12 hundred pounds and sold them for Nil profit.
Not really criminal high finance !!
Having said that perhaps the FSA should be informed. The charge sheet would read 'chancer 6 you are charged with manipulating, over a three day period, a share by investing a small amount of money for zero profit'. I sentence you to forfeiting your dealing costs and need a pledge that you never to mess with AIM stocks again. You must never again 'do something which has no effect for no monitary gain'.
As you might gather its been quiet here today although watching barclays price collapse has been alarming yet fascinating.

[8trader] 09/11/2007 14:05

Your pump and dumper has exited this morning hence no posts !

Chancer6 - 7 Nov'07 - 08:47 - 709 of 751


Picked up 50K this morning at 2.60p.

[seizetheday] 09/11/2007 14:01

excellent measured article

[aim_trader] 08/11/2007 21:19

"Hardy Amies - Receives much needed boost from Japan
08-Nov-2007
The market was decidedly worried about the outcome, but breathed a massive sigh of relief after Chairman, Andrew Manders, said it had secured a three year agreement"

[chancer6] 08/11/2007 17:58

IMO nice to see some coverage starting to appear.

[chancer6] 08/11/2007 17:50

www.proactiveinvestors.com have written an article re the Japanese deal today;

The market was decidedly worried about the outcome, but breathed a massive sigh of relief after Chairman, Andrew Manders, said it had secured a three year agreement

Well, Hardy Amies certainly put out the right type of press release last week. Shares in the high-end apparel group spiked by almost 125% after announcing that it had completed negotiations to licence its brand in Japan. The market was decidedly worried about the outcome, but breathed a massive sigh of relief after Chairman, Andrew Manders, said it had secured a three year agreement which would provide a minimum sales income of £850,000 per annum; an increase of 88% on the previous licence agreement. Hardy Amies also said it had agreed a joint venture with the Aussino Group to develop retail outlets in China, which will require a capital commitment of £0.5 million from each party - the first store is expected to open in 2008. Last, but certainly not least, the company said that it opened its second UK store on 18th October, in Edinburgh.

Compared with press releases of the previous few months, this update was nothing short of miraculous. In one fell swoop the company had secured revenues from Japan for a further three years, officially announced the launch of its second shop in the UK, and signed a deal to spearhead its expansion into China.

The Hardy Amies label is still best known in the UK for individually tailored suits for men (starting at £700) and a small range of women's formal wear that are hand made and finished to exact specifications. Overseas, however, the company has managed to sign licence agreements that have allowed it to sell shirts, ties and off the peg suits in high end department stores and boutiques. The Hardy Amies brand was created in 1946 by Edwin Hardy Amies who opened a shop at 14 Saville Row in London.

It was not long before he was designing clothes for the then Princess Elizabeth. "A very grand lady asked me to make coats and skirts for what she called her 'gels' and they turned out to be ladies-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth" he recalled. The Princess saw them and asked him to make clothes for her visit to Canada in 1948 and the royal warrant was awarded in 1955.

Amies was best known for his work for Queen Elizabeth. Although the couture side of the Hardy Amies business was its less successful area financially, the royal warrant gave his house a degree of respectability. One of his best known creations was for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee portrait which, he said, was "immortalized on a thousand biscuit tins."

While Amies' royal patronage validated his international image, his menswear and related fashion efforts were his most successful enterprises, financially, with leather goods, ties, knitwear, and shirts, produced and sold under licensing agreements in various countries including America, Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand, making the Hardy Amies label a household name. Amies' work also included designing for the service industries, such as hotels and airlines. Sir Edwin Hardy Amies retired in 2002, and was succeeded at Hardy Amies by Ian Garlant as design director.

So, Hardy Amies is a premium brand with an international reputation, and the company is attempting to develop the brand and widen its market presence with its foray into China. It is somewhat surprising that the only wares the company only sells on its website are its own label fragrances and men's shirts! Perhaps clothes best advertise a high-end label when a skilled attendant has been available to proffer advice on purchases ...or perhaps the company has simply has its mind on other things than web commerce.

The Hardy Amies brand took a new direction in 2005 when it jumped into the deep end and listed on AIM, moving up from OFEX where it had been listed since 1998. In the years leading up to the AIM listing, revenues had been pretty flat with turnover in 2001 of £0.95 million, only marginally raised to £1.05 million in 2003, but losses were cut substantially, from approximately £2 million in 2002 to under £0.6 million in 2003, as the company went under the knife and worked on increasing its range of ready to wear clothing. The company raised £2.04 million before expenses, at 6 pence per share, to essentially start Phase II – the recovery. This included more ready to wear clothing, launching a perfume brand, and expanding into home wares, accessories and leather goods to compliment its range and build up brand awareness.



Hardy Amies plc also owns the Norman Hartnell Brand, and wanted to re-establish it in the United States and Far East, where it is still well recognised. On listing on AIM, Japan accounted for 61% of the group's brand licensing sales, so the plan was to replicate the brand's success in other territories, particularly China.

Fast forward to 2007 and, unfortunately; the company doesn't appear to have made as much progress as one would hope. Interim Results for the period ending 30th July 2007, showed turnover up by 8.9% to £728,531 and losses before tax of £372,252. As a result of making losses, stricter cost controls were introduced which, in June, resulted in an arrest warrant being issued for a former financial controller, with regard to exceptional items totalling £167,656 in 2005 and £185,021 in 2006. So, on the bright side, this is good evidence that the pennies are now being counted carefully at Hardy Amies!

Besides the considerable stability in the revenues generated by Hardy Amies' oversees licences, the company saw a 60% increase in turnover inside the UK thanks to a new menswear range. The new range coincides with the opening of the Edinburgh store, and a third shop is expected to open in Chester shortly. The group is looking for three or four additional locations in the UK for 2008. There is also a ready to wear women's range "close to seeing the light of day". So there is still hope that this PLC can build its market share in the UK, whilst leveraging its brand overseas with third parties. Though the road has been long and tough, it may result in a stronger entity from a financial perspective.

Hardy Amies' largest shareholder, Arev Brands Limited, has supplied a £2.85 million loan facility which has allowed it to continue its expansion plans despite trading at a loss and the irregularities found through cost control measures. In the full year results, AC Manders, Chairman and CEO, admitted that additional funds will be required in 2008, which is bound to play on investors' minds. But investors will be hoping that the company can build on the goodwill generated from Japan to avoid any heavily discounted fundraising in the near future.

[chancer6] 08/11/2007 15:58

Online bid price is now 2.81p....very encouraging!

[boscolane] 08/11/2007 14:38

Blimey bollinger band charts on the HRD thread !! We've made it !!
In a few months we will all be drinking bolly too !

[chancer6] 08/11/2007 13:39

Couple of 30K buys today. L2 is still 1 v 3.

[seizetheday] 07/11/2007 23:13

i hope you meant 4 quid obviously