Marks And Spencer Share Discussion Threads

[hooley] 23/5/2018 07:25

Doesn't read like an obituary notice! Operating cash flow up and divi maintained. Not what the shorters ordered.

[eggbaconandbubble] 23/5/2018 06:20

Expect a bloodbath here today. Halfords results yesterday (sp down 12%) highlighted the MacDonald effect. Same thing here?

[qantas] 23/5/2018 04:37

Shorters doomed to failure now at 12.04%



Please do your own research.

[essentialinvestor] 22/5/2018 23:56

What a success story for ABF.

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 23:39

Primark to become biggest clothes retailer in Britain: After years at number one, M&S is set to lose top spot

Read more:

[loganair] 22/5/2018 21:22

At their current share price puts M&S in 104th position in the FTSE.

Ocado are 88th and in an automatic entry position for FTSE 100 while GVC 91st and Weir 97th.

G4S who are currently in the FTSE 100 are in 110th place.

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 21:09

How can M&S get back in fashion?

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 18:12

That would knock MKS out of the FTSE100 I reckon...


Market report:

Headlines were grabbed by Marks & Spencer as it confirmed the closure of 100 stores by 2022, 21 of which have already been closed. Some analysts suggested the dividend could be curtailed as part of management's turnaround plans.

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 18:09

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "M&S is in a particularly difficult position squeezed as it is between the presence of Zara and the recovery of Next in general merchandise, while also feeling the pressure from its food peers Waitrose and Tesco.

"Having refused to partake in last years end of year discounting the company had a disappointing Christmas period."

[gswredland] 22/5/2018 17:55

Yes very odd to make such announcements before results day. Makes you wonder what is going on
Bit worried for the sp!

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 17:48

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

We shall see :-)

[qantas] 22/5/2018 14:13

M&S, which reports full-year results tomorrow, is able to close stores quicker than many rivals owing to the high proportion of freeholds in its estate.

diku no chance as share price will rise and shorts will be closed.

Please do your own research.

[diku] 22/5/2018 13:59

If Mks were to be kicked out of the FTSE it would make news headlines...

[diku] 22/5/2018 13:58

Those store closure are they freehold or leasehold?...and getting rid of staff will come at a cost...

[moorsie2] 22/5/2018 13:55

I find it very interesting and curious that they have released 3 pieces of news all within 5 trading days of annual results namely

- Deal on pensions liability
- Two new non exec directors
- Additional store closures

Seems strange to me to announce these so close to results - usually they are all just announced in the same statement.

I hope it indicates that they have other very good news they plan on getting out tomorrow to get a "pure effect" on the share price If they results were bad then they would have been better parcelling up these other bits together with it to take the focus off the results

[qantas] 22/5/2018 13:41

No way with all those store closures and they own most of them it is going to generate loads of cash.

Please do your own research.

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 13:31

It's a gamble either way ;-)

[qantas] 22/5/2018 13:26

Doomed shorts gambling today making a big mistake.

Please do your own research...

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 13:26

Steve Rowe's had two years now and they're still running two head offices in Paddington Basin within 100 yards of each other.

Still too many 'lifers' employed.

[loganair] 22/5/2018 12:52

M&S are an indictment of their continued poor mismanagement of the company.

30 years ago M&S were the first retailer to make £1bln profit ($5bln in to days money) and today they are barely able to make £500mln.

Why - Sadly because when it comes to their clothing M&S have been neglecting their core customer base.

M&S where about the only store that represented 20% of UK customers and they served these customers very well. Then for some reason M&S looked out and said to themselves we'll go for the 80% of customers who are served by many, many clothing retailers and neglected the 20% they were representing so well.

Up until the early 1990's M&S were 1 or 1, now they are 1 or Many.

[loganair] 22/5/2018 12:40

Believe it or not M&S are now only 99th in the FTSE and are getting very close to being demoted to the FTSE 250. 10 years ago M&S were in 48th place in the FTSE.

[hurst68] 22/5/2018 12:14

You are missing the point The prime broker will have to recall borrowed stock as the lender have to complete their sales Could create a short term squeezeLook of the top ten holders of the stock Find the index funds Read the latest holding declaration , will state how much stock is on loanThat is the stock I am talking about

[essentialinvestor] 22/5/2018 12:09

Quantas, re hedge funds and shorting retail shares, it's less likely
they are naked short position. They may be short particular stocks, long
others in the same sector, or net short one sector, long another.

There is no doubt shorts in Ocado got a very bloody nose,
but huge money was made on CLLN etc.

Also many of the shorts on UK retail were initiated at significantly higher
share price levels.

[hurst68] 22/5/2018 11:29

The simplest trade in town Keep selling the stock , hedges short ( having borrowed from the index funds ) Stock will leave the FTSE 100Index will have to sell the stockOnce the actual announcement comes out the of company's exit from the FTSEThe index funds will have to call back stock on loanthe shorts will have to borrow elsewhere , could actually cause a bounce short term on the day

[philanderer] 22/5/2018 11:13

20 minutes ago...

Marks & Spencer has announced plans to close more than 100 stores by 2022 as part of a “radical transformation” of the company.


Shares in the group tumbled almost 3 per cent on the news.

The retailer said the 100 stores earmarked for closure includes those that have already shut this year, and 14 announced today, which has put 626 jobs at risk.

The next 14 Clothing & Home stores that will close or are proposed for closure in 2018/19 as part of the transformative programme are:

Bayswater, Fleetwood Outlet and Newton Abbot Outlet – all three of which will close by the end of July 2018;

are:

Bayswater, Fleetwood Outlet and Newton Abbot Outlet – all three of which will close by the end of July 2018;

Clacton and Holloway Road – which will both close by early 2019 to coincide with new nearby Food stores opening;

Darlington, East Kilbride, Falkirk, Kettering, Newmarket, New Mersey Speke, Northampton, Stockton and Walsall – all nine of which are proposed for closure and will now enter a period of consultation with all 626 affected employees. The company said if these stores close, all colleagues would be redeployed or offered redeployment at other stores before redundancy is considered.

The company said: “Alongside relocations, conversions, downsizes and the introduction of concessions, these closures will radically reshape M&S’s clothing & home space.”

The group has struggled to improve the performance of its clothing business in particular over recent years

Sacha Berendji, retail, operations and property director at Marks & Spencer, said: “We are making good progress with our plans to reshape our store estate to be more relevant to our customers and support our online growth plans. Closing stores isn’t easy but it is vital for the future of M&S.

“Where we have closed stores, we are seeing an encouraging number of customers moving to nearby stores and enjoying shopping with us in a better environment, which is why we’re continuing to transform our estate with pace.”

M&S was expected to announced up to 40 store closures this week, ahead of publishing its annual results on Wednesday.

Last month, the group said it was closing one of its distribution centres in September, putting a further 450 jobs in danger.