John Lewis Of Hungerford Share Discussion Threads

[davidosh] 23/5/2014 14:47

Lord C.... Very kind of you to tell us about the past but with a steady pick up in the economy, new products, new stores opening (Chiswick opened yesterday)new management in two key areas that deliver growth and also a very visible 18% like for like sales upturn I am keen to see where we are going over the next two years.

I can show you lots of companies that look overpriced based on current earnings but high margins and double digit growth in consecutive years can soon change valuations ! We shall see how the next set of final results look once new stores have been opened six months and contributing ?

[lord c.] 23/5/2014 14:37

These are way overpriced.
1p more like true value.
JLH have a very good record - of none delivery - always jam tomorrow.

[fugwit] 13/5/2014 09:52

I have no concerns regarding confidence in business, I did wonder if she may have decided to move on to new pastures. Nice reminder regarding Chiswick, I must pop up and take a look at the fit out sometime soon.

[davidosh] 13/5/2014 09:46

I think Brian is right and she did buy one a couple of years ago. The sale certainly has nothing to do with confidence in the business as things are all going in the right direction at JLH and the new Chiswick store opens next week. The media and Press day is next Thursday.

[fugwit] 13/5/2014 09:23

FD at SRT can trump that at £55k but I take your point on board. I dare say you are right, I do hope so as I found her rather straightforward when getting to know JLH.

[briangeeee] 12/5/2014 18:17

I think she bought one about a year or two ago.... maybe late on payment!

[davidosh] 12/5/2014 17:22

It has to be said that the FD at JLH is probably the lowest paid executive director on the whole of the Aim market at just £67k salary.... maybe having just been awarded long term options she possibly used the £11k shares as a way of financing something else that she wanted without actually losing a much bigger interest in the company future by way of the options.

Hopefully she wanted a new kitchen from JLH ! lol

[fugwit] 12/5/2014 16:06

Finance Director sells 500k shares leaving her with no shares:

[adamb1978] 17/4/2014 09:28

Isnt Cobham where all the Chelsea football team live?!? Should be a few quid sloshing around there them to spend on a kitchen for their wives and mistresses

[davidosh] 17/4/2014 09:14

I suspect that there will be a number of front loaded costs when you are building for a growth phase....there will be costs involved in locating, planning and designing new stores ahead of opening and recruiting, training new kitchen designers, sales staff etc. They have not opened a new store for some years so Admin costs have been very stable for the last few years.


Anyone live near the new store in Cobham or know the area well ?

[shanklin] 17/4/2014 08:49

davidosh

Still keeping an eye on these. How come their admin expenses are growing as quickly as their sales?

Thank you, Martin

[davidosh] 17/4/2014 08:30

Two new stores now scheduled to be open ahead of the start of the next financial year in July. They could add 10-15% to revenues and at current growth rate of 18% in the core showrooms there is potential to see sales plus 25% next year. That £10 million turnover target for 2016 is potentially achievable in 2015 IMO. The government will want the economy to remain strong into the election year of 2015 so as stated by the chairman barring external threats to the economy (Ukraine etc) they face the future with increasing confidence and so do I.

I think we need to see the brokers more active now and some forecasts in place.

[adamb1978] 17/4/2014 08:08

Solid set of figures this morning - nothing break-neck however continued progress towards their £10m turnover target by 2016. Cant see Mr Market getting too excited by the results though so would imagine the share price will continue to bumble around at current levels

[davidosh] 10/4/2014 20:37

fugwit...haha. Actually bedroom orders in my case ! I think there were at least three getting sized up for new kitchens though. Shareholders get a 30% discount so if any of you need a new kitchen or bedroom then you might as well start by looking on the website checking the designs and styles and then heading to the nearest store !

If any of you want to see how they look and the end results ? I will arrange a video and maybe even interview the designer and fitters lol.

[fugwit] 10/4/2014 14:04

Nice to see JLH slowly ticking up, maybe a few of the participants at the recent Fulham event are buying on the back of their own new kitchen orders :)

[davidosh] 01/4/2014 14:10

A nice mention for JLH here this morning...

[battlebus2] 14/2/2014 07:11

New Showroom

John Lewis of Hungerford plc is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts to lease a new showroom in Chiswick, London. The showroom is expected to open in May 2014 and will occupy a prominent location on Chiswick High Road. The new store will become the 15th in the portfolio, including the bedroom only showroom opened in Wantage last year.

Malcolm Hepworth, Chairman, commented

"We have long held an ambition to open a store in Chiswick as we believe it is a location that fits extremely well with our brand. The new store will enable us to gain greater sales penetration within our core market without impacting on the performance of our existing sites. We continue to explore new sites in line with the strategy set out in our recent financial results".

[davidosh] 31/1/2014 18:02

Here is a very good review of the Agm, presentation and Q&A with the directors and senior management on Monday earlier this week...

[battlebus2] 29/1/2014 21:12

Thanks for mentioning these on the ess board davidosh. I took a few on the update and like the positive tones from the company and the whole recovery in the housing market and hopefully if the economy continues to gather pace we will all have a little more spending power to buy new kitchens and bedrooms.

[davidosh] 29/1/2014 20:55

There were about 30 shareholders at the Agm and the directors provided an excellent presentation with tens of questions coming from the floor. I understand there have rarely been more than two shareholders attending the meeting in the past so this company is now attracting attention and the trading update and confident tones from the management are there to be seen.

There will be a review or two from some of the investors that attended and I will try to find a link when they appear. The presentation should now be on the website.

[morwood] 29/1/2014 18:25

Great update and I see the share price has respond

[davidosh] 22/1/2014 18:59

They have changed the home page but you should not be getting directed to Lovemoney. That was a spin out from about five years ago. This should be your best starting point most days...

[glennborthwick] 22/1/2014 18:27

david. whats going on with motley fool front page. i keep getting lovemoney. Dont like the change

[davidosh] 22/1/2014 09:45

morwood....no problem at all. I do not see myself as purely an investor. I take ownership rights and responsibility very seriously and always engage with directors and management. In good companies they see the mutual benefit.

In companies that sell high value goods to the public there is a huge double whammy benefit as owners should be very good at amplifying messages to other like minded potential buyers. A 'shareholders friends' discount will be next on my wish list.