Instore Share Discussion Threads

[crumppot] 25/9/2007 08:33

How is trading? has the move into food products helped?

[libbyb] 24/9/2007 23:17

I am just wondering if the store will eventually go into food only, we have had a lot of our retail goods stopped and more are going to be stopped to make way for more food. Yes you are right a lot of cut backs have been made and many people in HQ have been paid off, i am talking about the staff at the higher level.

In the management side of things we had 7 regional managers and 6 area managers, not any more, we have no regional managers and now have 3 area managers,thats one for Scotland, England, and Ireland, they all report back to one manager in HQ, The HR department has been cleaned out as well, we had 15 staff in HR there is now 3 Regional Advisors and one manager based at HQ.

Big meeting last week in Huddersfield where one manager from each region had the privilege of shaking Mr Tayubs hand, he was outlining what he wants to happen over Christmas, according to the information given out to the bottom end of the scale ( that's the likes of me) not much, no major changes, same rubbish as usual.

By the way all the Hob Nobs cars are now up for sale also, i had to decline there offer as i informed them i am only paid £5.30ph ha ha ha.

Regards libbyb

[ialwayswinatmonopoly] 24/9/2007 21:43

Aziz is no fool and he (and his team) have seen an opportunity to move into variety retail, instead of just foods.

I understand that there has been some pretty basic but roofless decisions made at HQ, resulting in major, much needed costs savings. Aziz is now spending nearly half his time in Instore, which demonstrates his belief in the 'turnaround' story.

Mr Tayub has a very good attitude to basic retailing which will bode well to the likes of Instore. However, things take time to come to fruition.

The biggest challenge for the new team will be to overcome the tug of war which will inevitably ensue when you have 2 major shareholders in the same business. At the moment the two parties are aligned, but for how long and I think that will be the next big question.

I think everyone who has been involved in Instore/Poundstretcher will concede that to drop the Poundstretcher was, in hindsight a mistake and to recover lost ground will take time.

Moving into ambient food lines is a good idea as this will increase foot traffic. It should be said that when M&S sales started dropping 4-5yrs ago it was the food lines that was the life raft. I am not saying that Instore is M&S but it demonstrates that to survive through any storm you must diversify.

Further, radical cut backs will be inevitable and essential for this to turn a corner. A new business ethos should be allowed to roll out and only after this should you judge and predict the future.

Instore has all the fundamentals in place, it's just not had the leadership. Lost ground will have to be made up, which I think will happen and I think Mr Tayub's 'hands on' involvement is a clear sign that this will happen. His financial commitment is not a quick punt, if anything I predict further investment from this source, with perhaps backing for acquisition.

What ever happened to the Woolworths thing?

[wunderbar] 10/9/2007 22:13

Gary Brown's resignation from Instore to join Umbro last week helps explain why he dumped his entire 1.7m shares the previous week. And it's just as well he did, after todays fall the price has finally breached my target of 10p (9.75p). So where do we go from here, how much lower can it go. Answer, I haven't a clue. For all of you who've been waiting for 10p then now is the time for your death or glory punt. Me, I'm staying out, no confidence at all in this business.

Mr Tayub must be shellshocked at present. It's less than 4 months since he bought a 29.9% stake at 14.64p and already his investment is worth 30% less, poor guy's sitting on a loss of £3m! From here on in things should get interesting, with the price at an all time low does he use this opportunity to raise his stake above the 30% threshold, remember if he does he's under obligation to make full takeover. Maybe he's waiting for 5p so he can offer shareholders 10p! Who knows?

Hindsight is great but to state the obvious I think he bought in much too soon. It was obvious (to me anyway) that Instore had much further to drop, it's fall to 10p was inevitable! If I'd been watching INST for some time, as presumably Mr Tayub had, I'd have waited for xmas to pass and assess situation. If Instore had a good trading period (history dictates it'll be another gloomy xmas accompanied by the obligatory profit warning) then great, business is showing signs of recovery, buy in. But if it was another disaster (like the previous 4 years) then I'd wait for the annual shareprice decimation, maybe administration this time round, and pick up company for 5p a share or even less from administrators.

Maybe it's time Anne Robinson stepped forward and anounced....Instore, you are the weakest retailer...goodbye!

[bletherer] 10/9/2007 13:49

Sub-10p, INST finally has the sort of share price which reflects its chronic poor performance. The price/sales ratio makes them look very cheap but unfortunately having sales isn't enough to make a company successful, or even solvent. I was lured into CHUK a couple of years back on the basis that the sales volume gave them great potential if they could find their way back to making even a small profit on the product they were flogging. Unfortunately, though, they couldn't and eventually went into administration. Mind you, on the way the share price did have a +80% rally from my buy price, and something similar could happen to INST from around these levels on turnaround/takeover speculation. For those who like a gamble, could be worth a small double-or-bust punt, perhaps?

[libbyb] 01/9/2007 22:35

Our sales are well up on last years performance, as it is every year, i don't know if you are aware but the shops have now started selling groceries and i am led to believe they are coming from Mr Tayubs cash and carry.

The food side of sales are going well and we are all being hit with more and more deliveries.

The only thing is, it does not have a long shelf life so a lot of out of date stuff has to be written of which i suppose is not good for the company.

The people who work for instore are not aware of all that is going on,it is normally me who lets them know, the managers all use the shops as a stepping stones to gain experience then move on, i wont even begin to tell you how many managers i have had in my 7 years. There has been major clean ups within head office, a lot of the high flyer's have been given the boot. Our Area manager was promoted to Director of operations only 9 weeks go, he was only in the job 4 weeks then got the push. We now only have 2 area managers for the whole of Scotland

My long term award, i wont even bother as it is a scabby watch so maybe it would be better just for me to get my redundancy money.

Any way i will keep watching what you all write and perhaps i will send an e-mail to Peter as he sent out memos saying if we come up with ways of improving the company we can get rewards up to £100 my idea must not have been very good as i only got £20.

Thanks for answering my questions anyway, who knows perhaps when they are seeking a new CEO i might be in with a chance of getting the job, lets put it this way i couldn't do any worse than what they are all doing Ha Ha Ha

Once again many thanks

Libby

[crumppot] 31/8/2007 15:58

JayKayTee
How is business in your store and what is the general feeling around the group?

[jaykaytee] 29/8/2007 16:01

Wunderbar,
thanks for your thoughts on the matter - much appreciated.
Your reasoning makes sense to me.

[she-ra] 29/8/2007 10:30

He could go for that old delist (con) trick.

[wunderbar] 28/8/2007 22:55

Today's RNS spells out more dooom and gloom for shareholders and is quite significant in terms of telling us where Instore is heading. Finance Director Gary Brown dumped his entire holding of 1.7m shares helping to push the price down 5.66% to 12.5p. When the FD bails out you know there's a problem. Poor old Gary must be fuming with Instores dire performance, in October 2005 he purchased 792,513 shares at 47.5p taking his total to the 1.7m stated above. I reckon he's lost anything between £250k and £350K on his investment (about 2-3 years salary). Still, makes a refreshing change to see management suffering just as much as shareholders.


JayKayTee,
Would I purchase at 10p? NO. I simply have no faith in this setup now. Gary Brown selling his shares was a major clue in telling us where Instore is heading. You wouldn't offload 1.7m shares at a near all time low if a turnaround was on the cards. The fact he'd rather realise such huge losses than hold on for a recovery tells its own story. If you are prepared to lose everything then by all means go for a death or glory punt at 10p.


Libbyb,
You ask if Instore will still be around in three years time? I'll start by saying I certainly don't expect to see it listed in three years. Abdul Aziz Tayub recently muscled his way onto the board and I believe it's only a matter of time before he makes his move and takes INST private. Parent group Tradegro are literally falling over themseleves to be rid of their shares. This company has been a burden to them (and shareholders) for well over a decade now. Many CEO's have tried to turn things around and all have failed miserably. The fact is Instore is dying a slow death.
If Mr Tayub does take over INST then I'd expect him to streamline the business, basically get rid of stores which are economically unviable, ie not making enough money. Whether that applies to your shop I have no idea. As for your long term employee reward, hmmm, what can I say. I don't know what you expect to get but I suspect redundancy pays more! Here's hoping your store's a star performer!

[libbyb] 30/7/2007 23:30

I don't know much about shares but i like to keep an eye on instore and the reason being i work for the company. I have worked for the company for nearly 7 years which is quiet a long time. I am employed as a sales assistant, so you can assume i don't know much about the financial side of things.

As i say i like to read about the shares and the company and i do this by coming on to this site, i like reading your comments and in doing this i was able to tell a manager within the company about Mr Tayub buying 29% of the company. he was astonished when i informed him of this. You would think that a manager would know this information, i am wondering if even my area manager was aware of this info.

If possible could you maybe give me a wee bit of advice, do you think this company will still be around in 3 years as i will be due for a long term employee reward, ha ha ha and who do you think in 1 years time will be the majority share holder please.

I am sorry if i should not have written on this forum these questions and please accept my apologies if i should not have done this.

By the way i take it none of you are sales assistant.

Regards Libbyb

[jaykaytee] 16/7/2007 12:09

Wunderbar, I have to admit you called this correctly many months ago.
Would you consider jumping in at 10p?
Possibility of Mr Tayub making an offer for the whole company, if so at what price I wonder?

[wunderbar] 15/7/2007 18:19

Well here we are, 15p has finally arrived. Fridays statement said trading conditions remained challenging, "the poor weather continues to have a marked impact on sales of our seasonal ranges." Result of this, shareprice marked down 10%. Getting nearer to my earlier estimate of 10p by year end. When it reaches this level I wouldn't be surprised if Abdul Aziz Tayub tried to take full control of company. At 10p it's a death or glory punt.

[beta_adjusted] 05/6/2007 13:49

lol ....

bottom line is cash generation and cash. Theoretical valuation is PV of cash flows, bring them into the present and the enterprise is worth more.

Profit = accounting trickery, only worth anything once it becomes recognized in cash flows (and thats true for losses too. Asset writedowns may be symptomatic of problems in the company but the problems may already have passed). And as for goodwill amortisation ...

B

[jacobia] 28/5/2007 09:00

It would appear that Crown Crest is part of Sterling Super Group which is also part of a £2billion cooperative as per below:-
WELCOME TO STERLING SUPERGROUP LIMITED

STRENGTH THROUGH CO-OPERATION.

Founded in 1966, the Sterling Supergroup is a true member's buying co- operative, with 52 wholesalers and an annual turnover in excess of £450 million. The membership consists of family owned wholesale companies located throughout the United Kingdom, supplying over 40,000 retail and catering outlets. Product ranges supplied include ambient, frozen, fresh and chilled food stuffs, alcohol, confectionery, crisps and snacks, tobacco, soft drinks and non-foods. The Sterling Supergroup is associated with a larger buying group with a turnover of £2 billion and this gives improved negotiating power. The wholesalers within Sterling support a national promotion programme arranged by the Head Office but retain their individual identity. They fall into the following main supply categories:

[callumross] 25/5/2007 12:16

dreadful mistake by myself to buy in at 23.5p as the 29.9% stake has just changed hands at a miserable 14.62p!!

[callumross] 21/5/2007 19:46

disagree wunderbar, you are tainted by the past - I look to the future and if even a 5% margin could be squeezed out of that £280m turnover, then the shares are dirt cheap. Also look at the positive cashflow even in 2006

[wunderbar] 21/5/2007 18:03

Forget recovery, INST are in serious trouble, losses widening to £9.1m and CEO resigning is a complete disaster. Poor old Trevor Coates only lasted 17 months in the role! Even with his talents he probably realised he had no chance of turning this around, he now joins Angus Monro in the INST hall of shame.

Next onto the conveyor belt is Peter Burdon, ex-ceo of Thorntons. I personally can't see him or anyone else turning this company around, as far as I'm concerned it's had it. The competition in this sector is too fierce, Instore just hasn't got the financial clout nor the right personnel to make it a success. I suspect parent company Tradego realise this which is why they're trying to reduce their stake, they must know this business is a lost cause, if this new guy can just stem the losses for a year or two then maybe someone will take it off their hands, and boy, wouldn't they be glad to be shot of this white elephant.

How on earth the shareprice rose 10% today is beyond me. The only positive I could muster was like-for-like sales for the 11 weeks ended May 12 were up 7.9 percent. But we've seen this all before. With INST these sales increases are never sustainable, and more importantly never materialise into decent profits.

I can't believe Christo Wiese is paying tribute to Mr Coates (just as he did when Angus Monro resigned). For all his efforts during his short tenure, Trevor just didn't cut the mustard. I don't care if he reduced stock levels or significantly increased net cash, bottom line is profit, and with a £9.1m loss you have to say he failed shareholders.

Currently 24.25p this values INST at £55.6m. Richard Ratner, analyst at Seymour Pierce has cut his current year forecast from a profit of 1 mln stg to a loss of 1 mln stg. Do the maths, the numbers just don't tally up, a company with uncertain future and expected 2007 loss of £1m being valued at over £55m! Given the circumstances I'd say a fair price for INST is 10-13p, valuing the business between £23m-£30m. My opinion, big drop to come.

[callumross] 21/5/2007 13:58

I've bought in as good signs of recovery here - 30k at 23.45p

[jacobia] 08/5/2007 11:41

Watch this over the next week or 2 as something going on

[fantasy crusader] 08/5/2007 09:50

Stock has risen 25% since the divestment announcement. Any views?

[beta_adjusted] 28/3/2007 13:04

What an amusing stock. Fell about 4% odd yesterday on ... no volume! not a single share traded.

B

[wunderbar] 15/3/2007 19:12

Today's RNS told us Fidelity now holds 16.6m shares representing 7.29% of total shares in issue. This means they've reduced they holding by 28%, from 22.98m (10.06%). Have they finally had enough of this non-performer and decided to call it a day? In which case they've plenty more stock to dump.

Must say I'm surprised to see the shareprice still managing to stick around the 20p mark. I was expecting to see atleast 15p by now. Nevertheless I'll stand by my original prediction of a fall to around 10p in the coming months. Why? Because quite simply there's no reason why it shouldn't! Future trading looks ominous and besides, when was the last time the company had anything positive to say? 3 or 4 (I've lost count!) profit warnings in the space of three years says it all, added to the fact that no-one has posted a message on this bb for nearly 2 months is testament to the poor reputation this company has stowed upon itself.

[only who?] 17/1/2007 09:58

Was tempted to average down when it hit rock bottom. Now wish I had.