Ashley (laura) Share Discussion Threads

[srpactive] 31/10/2013 10:52

Morning all

I was listening to a commentator a couple of weeks ago,
cannot remember who but it was around the time of the
new ceo announcement at Burberry, who said about the Chinese
thurst for the west products, but also mentioned that it is
very important to the chinese that the product has tradition and
a story, well our Laura Ashley has both.

Just thought I would mention it before I forgot.

dyor

regards

active

[elbillo] 27/10/2013 19:02

Well I've made my contribution towards turnover purchased a nice Darwin chair.

[srpactive] 27/10/2013 18:21

Not anymore

[elbillo] 26/10/2013 22:36

Do shareholders receive any perks like discount off products

[wolterix] 26/10/2013 21:43

I dunno about you lot but I can't wait to put a Laura Ashley frock on, at the weekend

[lady liz] 26/10/2013 21:29

Does this company know what it wants to be?

Maybe they would be better to ditch the fashion business as they have no idea what fashion is about.

Boutique Hotels might be a great avenue to explore, as this is a great marketing tool for the home furnishings and fabric business. Better to dump all the bits and pieces and give up trying to enter the E-Commerce business. They just need to use the web to take bookings for the Manor and to sell home furnishings.

Ashley Manor Hotels sounds good and sounds like a quality brand for the company to market.

Maybe they would like to offer me a directorship?

[srpactive] 26/10/2013 21:09

Returning cash to its owners is what should happen with
all stocks.

regards

active

[thorpematt] 26/10/2013 19:51

Payout ratio on this stock is one of he highest I've seen. It's really quite odd.

Can anyone explain the logic in such a policy?

[srpactive] 30/9/2013 14:13

maskva

I have these on my radar since 4p, at the same time I
was buying rtd, I kept buying rtd, although I am glad I did
as they eventually got bought out for the equivalent of 41p.

But bought these a while ago with a 12% yield so not complaining,
news of the chinese franchise will happen soon imho, especially
with all the new secretaries moving and shuffling.

dyor

regards

active

[maskva] 25/9/2013 20:03

bought 200,000 of these in 2002 @ 6p. two grand dividend gone into my SIPP nearly every year since.
what's all this short term dividend no growth rubbish. if all these doomsayers drive it back down to 6p again I'll have 400,000 this time thank you.

[simon templar qc] 25/9/2013 17:05

LA getting poor press which wont help when they are picked up tomorrow...



The only growth in furniture and at that almost flat.

[simon templar qc] 25/9/2013 15:55

However no directors are buying!

Marks and Spencer Autumn collection been well received and the fashion market extremely competitive.

Interesting but I have learnt from past experience not too get carried away with high yield stocks as dividends can be cut.

[d40eq6] 25/9/2013 15:38

- state ROC to be 27.7% and ROE to be 24.2%. The forecast yield is 7.27%. The debt is negligible. They have a pile of cash. Admittedly the dividend cover is only just over 1 and there remains a risk of a cut. However even if they halved it, the dividend would still be well over the market average. It is on technical analysis an undervalued share.

[d40eq6] 25/9/2013 14:13

I agree that the performance of this share has not matched others recently. However this is still a quality company measured by yield and return on capital/equity. It also has a unique place in the market. I think the fall today has been overdone (I bought in at the peak of it) and I believe is but a blip in what is a good solid yield share to tuck away for some nice long term growth.

[pka3] 25/9/2013 13:07

This is one share you should definitely ignore. The dividend payment is one off and was made to ensure that MUI get a return after so many years of no ROI. The management is particularly weak. The CFO is a not a qualified accountant in any sense of the word and was made joint COO and now back as CFO. Why can't they attract a proper CFO ?!!!!. THe CEO has also come back in that role. The management has changed time and time again. If there is a stategy it's simply not working. More likely is there is no strategy. MUI were sold a "pup" and have simply not grasped the UK retail culture.

[joe say] 25/9/2013 10:36

me too - surely Asia will swallow this product up for that exact heritage reason

[gorse] 25/9/2013 10:28

But nostalgia is very popular: 'Downton Abbey'. Anyway, I decided to buy another tranche.

[whiskeyinthejar] 25/9/2013 10:18

Is it just me that thinks Laura Ashley has a brand image problem they aren't addressing? I saw segment the other day about Laura Ashley museum on breakfast telly. Brand strength seems to be in nostalgia etc, not fashion.

[srpactive] 25/9/2013 09:00

Topped up a few more this morning, we will quickly
bounce back to 24p, good yield and we still have the
awaited chinese store franchise to happen.

dyor

regards

active

[wjccghcc] 25/9/2013 08:57

Perhaps but cash is down significantly and inventory is up a lot. If things don't improve in Q4, the odds on a dividend cut are increasing.

[w1ndjammer] 25/9/2013 08:54

yes the big boys are in this one for the divi, so can`t see it being cut unless things get really bad, but with the economy in general looking up and the building sector going from strength to strength. I think this small loss is a temporary blip the management here seem to be on the ball.

WJ.

[q2u] 25/9/2013 08:46

didn't get so many but took the same view. I don't believe there will be a bid but the cash in the bank is some insulation against any more shocks.

[w1ndjammer] 25/9/2013 08:33

nice 8.5% yield could be best in the market, got me 20k to start with see what happens.

WJ.