Marks And Spencer Share Discussion Threads

[pander45] 07/2/2021 14:32

Consumers have already spent it all online, on new cars and getting their houses improved. Don't think there's a swollen piggy bank out there, lots of spend to help people's well-being in tough times. And that's before we get to job losses.......which are, and will be savage.

[pander45] 06/2/2021 16:18

The amount of financial damage being carried by high street retailers from the past year will take years to clear in many cases. And that's before the assumption that folks will rush back to shops in the numbers they did before having found more convenient and cheaper online options.....lots of headwinds and making forward assumptions of a recovery on past volumes is dangerous.....

[netcurtains] 06/2/2021 10:00

The key metric for me is not so much pe ratio but
market cap to turnover.
FRASER market cap is 2/3 its turnover
TESCO market cap is 1/3 its turnover
NEXT market cap is 3/1 its turnover (thats right three times BIGGER)

M&S market cap is 1/5 its turnover.

Come end of lockdown M&S sales increase and with switch to green energy
over time shops at SERVICE STATIONS will be a big winner (captive audience).
M&S are huge in service stations.

M&S on paper looks good value.

M&S NAV is on par with its Market cap which is OK too (FRAS NAV only
half its market cap)

[xxxxxy] 06/2/2021 09:33

HL COMMENT (8 JANUARY 2021)Group revenue fell 8.4% to £2.8bn in the third quarter. That reflects the impact of on-off lockdown restrictions, which had a particularly adverse effect on the Clothing & Home business.Underlying performance in food was more encouraging, but CEO Steve Rowe said near term trading remains "very challenging" for the group as a whole.The shares fell 2.1% following the announcement.Our viewCoronavirus causes a number of issues for M&S.The most glaring is dramatic falls in Clothing & Home sales. This isn't helped by M&S' particular specialism in office and event-wear, which are the first to get dumped in favour of leggings and pyjamas.The deterioration in sales meant huge piles of excess stock were expected to be carried into next year. While it's a big relief to see the group shift more items than planned, that's come at the expense of margins. Slapping sale stickers on everything will help stuff sell, but it's a guaranteed sore point for profits. It's become somewhat of a morose party trick for M&S in recent years.Clothing & Home sales have been a rock in the river for some time, dragging group performance with it. M&S has an oversized (and very expensive to run) store estate with plummeting footfall, and a lacklustre website that fails to plug the gap.A little counter-intuitively, this is where we think the current crisis might actually help.M&S has attempted to reboot itself a few times, but this one feels a bit different. It's been forced to supercharge its efforts because conditions are so tough. This time around almost 8,000 members of staff are being cut, many stores are marked for closure and there are gargantuan efforts to integrate the online and physical stores. The latter is particularly important - coronavirus has accelerated the shift to online and if Marks wants a chance to compete it needs to act quickly. The alleged plans to buy Jaeger (it's brand and stock, not the stores), suggests a concerted effort to become a multi-brand website too.And it's not just clothes being dragged online. The food business has exceeded expectations, helped by the joint venture with Ocado. This deal couldn't have come at a better time - as the pandemic has transformed online grocery demand across the country.The food business is the key to future growth in our opinion. It's a genuinely differentiated product, and that makes it an asset. Lack of footfall in travel destinations (think service stations and train stations) and city centres is hurting sales at the moment, but longer term we think there's opportunity.M&S has put a lot of work into improving its proposition. That seems to be resonating well and goes hand-in-hand with the Ocado launch too.The final thing to note is a healthier balance sheet. This is by no means in rude health, but we've been impressed by the group's ability to keep cash flowing and net debt down, which gives it some breathing room.M&S is doing all the right things to sort its problems out. But we wonder if this gusto has come too late. Ultimately, we think the M&S brand will survive both coronavirus and the high street's revolution. But thriving on the other side will depend on whether the newfound momentum and strategic competence can be maintained.Marks and Spencer key factsPrice/Earnings ratio: 13.010 year average Price/Earnings ratio: 11.4Prospective dividend yield (next 12 months): 2.9%All ratios are sourced from Refinitiv. Please remember yields are variable and not a reliable indicator of future income. Keep in mind key figures shouldn't be looked at on their own - it's important to understand the big picture..... hl.co.uk

[xxxxxy] 05/2/2021 17:55

Britons who shop at smaller grocery stores could be spending up to £320 ($438) more a year than people who shop at larger supermarkets.The coronavirus pandemic has meant that many people have relied on their local branches and smaller convenience stores to do their shopping and avoid crowds at larger shops.According to Which? research, customers would be paying 9.5% more a year at Sainsbury's Local than a regular Sainsbury's (SBRY.L).The consumer group compared the average weekly price of 48 own-brand label goods over five months at Sainsbury's Local and Tesco Express compared to the main grocery stores.It means that on average, the trolley of 48 items would have set shoppers back £71.26 a week compared with £65.08 at Sainsbury's large stores.The products with the largest price difference at Sainsbury's were a 400g can of Napolina chopped tomatoes, which was a third more expensive at Sainsbury's Local.Supermarket manager wins £500,000 on lottery as puppy spends a pennyMeanwhile, a 250g packet of McVitie's ginger nut biscuits, which was just over a quarter pricier at a Sainsbury's Local store compared to a bigger grocer.The study also found that Tesco Express customers could be paying 8.4% more a year than those shopping a larger Tesco (TSCO.L) store.A number of Tesco own-label products were a quarter more expensive in Express stores than in bigger shops. This includes Tesco 0% Fat Greek Style Yogurt (500g) and Tesco Orange Juice With Bits, Not From Concentrate (1 litre), according to Which?Full article... Yahoo Finance

[netcurtains] 05/2/2021 12:33

Gut feeling Marks will be £1.50 at some point

[debsdowner] 05/2/2021 08:53

QANTAS

Thanks fort that.

This shows the terrible state of uour High Street, I know a number of property centres which have plummeted in value, the Strand in Bootle was bought by the council years ago for tens of millions and also plummeted in value. It has some of the ARCADIA brand stores and also other brands which have now gone under and the shops will be permamently closed.

Mnay shoping centres are simply ghost areas I know a particualr arcade which has about 50 shops which is virtually empty.

What is a double blow for a landlord is many cannot be converted, they are unsuitable for residential or office and becoming white elephants.

Neither will this change as the pandemic could be around for years to come and shopopign habits have now changed in any event as most people now buy online.

With shops closing coffeee bars will also be hit thus making the situatuon much worse. You wouldnt wangt a coffee bar in an empty arcade there wouldn't be the custom.

Many a landord must be very worried as most property landords highly debted.

Thanks again for your contribution to retail news.

[qantas] 05/2/2021 08:41

A shopping centre in Coventry that eight years ago was valued at £37 million was sold this week for only £4.9 million, setting alarm bells ringing among lenders, landlords and local authorities nationwide. West Orchards' importance as the city's primary shopping destination cannot be underestimated - "It's almost our Galeries Lafayette," Trish Willetts, director of Coventry's business improvement district, said, comparing it with the landmark Paris department store - but now interest in the centre is spreading far beyond the West Midlands and what, from May 1, will be the UK's "City of Culture". - The Times

[philanderer] 05/2/2021 00:30

UK retail footfall plummets to lowest point since May

[xxxxxy] 04/2/2021 13:57

1:43pmConsumer spending expected to outpace business investmentAndrew Bailey is asked what the 'upside' implications may be from a stronger-than-expected boom in consumer spending when conditions normalise.He passes on to deputy governor Ben Broadbent, who says an increase in household wealth through the pandemic has been factored in to the MPC's projections:There might be some upside from that, because these are liquid assets generally.He said however that most of this wealth (chiefly in bank deposits) may be held by people who typically spend less, however – meaning there are risks in both directions.... Daily Telegraph

[xxxxxy] 04/2/2021 11:20

My speech during the debate on Exiting the European Union (Value Added Tax), 3 February 2021FEBRUARY 4, 2021 5 COMMENTS As the Minister has told us, these are two important statutory instruments for the facilitation of trade generally and for the facilitation of trade within Northern Ireland and between GB and Northern Ireland, and to the extent that they make things easier and allow zero rating of important services and goods, I welcome them wholeheartedly. But, of course, as others have said in this debate, we meet today against the background of clear difficulties and problems in the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol, where it appears that a number of important impediments to GB-Northern Ireland trade have been inserted, and it is crucial that the talks go well and we get rid of them as quickly as possible.So when we look at the administration of VAT, which is an important part of the trade process, I would like an assurance from the Minister that these regulations, and all the other VAT and excise rules applying in Northern Ireland and throughout the United Kingdom, will be solely administered and enforced by United Kingdom authorities, because I have much more confidence in them.Will he also assure me that the aim of these statutory instruments, and the wider VAT legislation that they add to and amend, is to ensure that the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, or the other way, will be as smooth and easy as the movement from London to Surrey or from Manchester to north Wales, because that is what I thought we had agreed and signed up to-that Northern Ireland was a fully integrated part of the United Kingdom single market, under our single market and taxation rules? I would like the reassurance through these statutory instruments that we are intending for that to be true.Will the Minister also confirm that there has for many years during our period in the European Union been an important VAT border between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, but that it has always worked very smoothly and was not enforced at the physical border, in accordance with the spirit of agreements and not wanting barriers at the land border?It was an electronic border and adjustments were made by computer or by correspondence so that these things could be sorted out in a sensible and decent manner without having to have people queuing at borders to make complex calculations and submissions.If that is the case, does the Minister agree that it is in that spirit that we need to find the answer to the current impositions and difficulties affecting our trade across those borders? It seems very odd that we cannot replicate that success of our past trading, where electronic manifests, trusted trader schemes and so forth, and proper electronic VAT registration worked very well. Surely the UK authorities, if we are the proper and sole enforcement authority in Northern Ireland, can work with trusted traders, VAT-registered hauliers and ferry companies and so forth, and we can accept their certification or word that the goods on their load are entirely GB-Northern Ireland or Northern Ireland-GB. We can then accept, therefore, that there are no other considerations and the loads can then move as smoothly as from London to Guildford or Manchester to north Wales. It would be very helpful to hear the Minister's views on how that can be achieved and how quickly we can get to that point.It is absolutely crucial to the people of Northern Ireland, as we have heard from their representatives, that they can trade smoothly with the rest of the United Kingdom. That was fundamental to the spirit of the agreements that the United Kingdom entered into with the European Union over the issue of trade with and between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I hope the Minister will have good news for us and that these things can be sorted out quickly... John Redwood

[xxxxxy] 03/2/2021 20:50

Amazon gears up for fight of its life as UK sales jump more than 50pcThe US tech firm has recently been caught in the cross hairs of regulators, concerned about the scale of the companyByHannah Boland and James Cook3 February 2021 • 6:27pmAmazon's British revenues soared 51pc to $26.4bn (£19.3bn) in 2020 amid a historic Covid online spending spree – almost as much as sales at John Lewis and Marks & Spencer combined.The spending equates to £36,000 a minute or £290 for every British man, woman and child, cementing the US firm's dominance of the market as beleaguered rivals with physical stores come under massive pressure. It puts the UK on track to become Amazon's second largest market after the US as soon as this year.By contrast, the John Lewis Partnership – including Waitrose – recorded sales of £10.2bn in its its most recently published annual results. M&S's latest sales were also £10.2bn. These figures predate the pandemic, and revenues could be significantly lower when the pair report for 2020.It is likely to spark fresh debate over whether the playing field is tilted in favour of tech businesses over bricks and mortar stores, with critics warning that the success of online retail is putting towns and city centres at risk.Record UK growthAmazon's sales rose faster in Britain than any other major country. The UK is the company's third-largest market but could this year move up to number two, overtaking Germany where sales were up 33pc at $29.6bn in 2020.Patrick O'Brien, of GlobalData, said: "Amazon UK has been growing faster than Germany for a couple of years, but what will be interesting is how consumer behaviour adapts post-vaccination."Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's chief financial officer, told analysts on Tuesday evening that strong growth in international revenue including in the UK came directly from the impact of lockdowns.He said: "I would attribute it really to the government actions and lockdowns that we saw, especially in the UK and Europe.... Daily Telegraph

[xxxxxy] 03/2/2021 15:17

A Klana review on Trust pilot.......?Updated 17 hours agoI would not recommend this companyI would not recommend this company. I was getting notifications to pay for items even thou i had paid the app wasn't registering my payments then they would send out letters then they send letters off debt collectors out even thou youhave rang them and told them you have paid and have proof from my bank ck statement. Please avoid using this klarna it's awful....Marks need to be careful. Legal maybe, but business Ethics comes into this.

[debsdowner] 03/2/2021 12:51

ASOS shares surge after ARCADIA deal



With having no bricks and mortar stores they will be able to cut costs increasing competition.

[xxxxxy] 03/2/2021 10:55

His comments suggest that Boris Johnson is prepared to trigger Article 16 of the Protocol, allowing the UK to unilaterally override parts of the deal policing how customs checks are conducted, should the EU not agree.The measure was previously seen as a last resort, but Mr Johnson is facing mounting calls from unionists to use it in order to overcome the difficulties being experienced by hauliers and businesses moving goods between Britain and the province... Daily Telegraph

[xxxxxy] 02/2/2021 18:47

Responsible retailers should remove buy now, pay later from their checkouts," she said. "Marks & Spencer and other well-known British brands are basically endorsing this form of credit by offering it. They need to think about their customers because people are getting into debt they cannot get out of."This newspaper has reported on multiple cases where shoppers have signed up for buy now, pay later contracts without realising and spent beyond their means. Debts are also hidden from credit referencing agencies, meaning it can be hard to establish when customers are in financial difficulty.Mr Woolard said firms preyed on shoppers by only presenting the benefits during the checkout process. Users were given the impression that "everyone else" was using similar services and websites were structured so key information on late payments was hidden.Klarna, Clearpay and Laybuy are three of the biggest operators in Britain. Many consumers wrongly believed they were protected by regulators, but users presently have no ability to refer cases to the Financial Ombudsman Service should something go wrong.When questioned by Telegraph Money, Mr Woolard said firms had used loopholes in the Consumer Credit Act to avoid coming under the regulator's scrutiny. He said providers were "relying on an exemption in the law from 1974" and said the act was "never intended to cover this level of activity".Retailers and providers should also implement some of the report's recommendations as soon as possible, he added.Ms Creasy echoed this call and said the easy credit offered during the pandemic was a "recipe for disaster". She urged the Government to bring forward legislation using the Financial Services Bill, which is currently progressing through ParliamentFull article.... Daily Telegraph

[xxxxxy] 02/2/2021 15:32

8:47amGrocery sales rose 12.2pc in three months to end of JanuaryUK grocery market sales rose strongly over recent months following an acceleration over the Christmas period and the introduction of tight national restrictions.Shoppers spemnt £1bn more on supermarket food during January alone compared to the same period in 2020. Alcohol sales proved particularly popular, with sales up £234m year-on-year, according to Kantar.Fraser McKevitt, the research group's head of retail and consumer insight, said:We expect to see strong growth for all the grocers fall off as we reach the anniversary of the first national lockdown in March.  Sales will then be measured against the high volumes recorded in spring and summer 2020.  With the vaccine rollout underway, there's also hope that the hospitality sector will re-open, meaning demand for take-home groceries is likely to subside. Ocado was once again the fastest-growing retailer, with Morrisons increasing sales the fastest out of the big four supermarkets.... Daily Telegraph

[netcurtains] 02/2/2021 09:12

I think the fact that M&S is at the bottom of a trading range.
and shops are going to open soon.
That means about 30% more turnover for M&S