Moss Bros Share Discussion Threads

[mreasygoing] 20/6/2011 12:26

Nice breakout CR, this will be worth the wait, don't you think :-

[cockneyrebel] 20/6/2011 12:22

Interesting that they said results would beat forecasts - they must be confident or well ahead, there's still 6 months to year end.

CR

[cockneyrebel] 20/6/2011 12:18

Breaking out through last October's high.

A rather nice 133K buy today @ 30p too :-)

CR

[cockneyrebel] 20/6/2011 10:38

Interesting news and trading update - shame the general retail sector isn't a bit more positive at the moment.

CR

[mreasygoing] 20/6/2011 09:54

Sounds very promising !

[davy99] 20/6/2011 07:22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 20 June 2011



Moss Bros Group PLC

("Moss Bros" or the "Company")

Disposal of the Cecil Gee Businesses

and

Trading Update



Moss Bros, the UK's number 1 branded suit specialist, today announces that, in line with its stated strategy of focusing on the core Moss business, it has disposed of 8 Cecil Gee stores to JD Sports Fashion plc, for a cash consideration of £1.7 million (the "Disposal"). JD Sports Fashion plc acquired the business and assets of the 8 stores as a going concern and completion of the Disposal ("Completion") took place on 18 June 2011. The Cecil Gee business comprised 9 menswear retail stores and the remaining store, Glasgow, will convert to a new format Moss store in the next few weeks. The value of the gross assets sold at 29 January 2011 was £3.0m and in the financial year ended 29 January 2011 the loss attributable to those assets was £0.5m



Highlights

· Cash consideration of £1.7 million was paid to Moss Bros in cash on Completion.

· The transaction is integral to Moss Bros' strategy to focus growth and resources on the core Moss business.

· The Disposal, in conjunction with the disposal of the Hugo Boss Franchised business announced earlier this year, will enable Moss Bros to significantly accelerate this strategy as the cash proceeds of the Disposals will provide funding for the redevelopment of Moss branded stores, investment in the service experience, piloting an appropriate roll out of new initiatives such as Moss Bespoke and the development of a customer relationship management system to leverage the value of the hire business.

· The Disposal will result in a much simpler business model.



Current Trading Update

· Moss Bros confirms that it has continued to trade well, with like-for-like sales, excluding the Cecil Gee business, up 13.4% for the 20 weeks to 18 June 2011. Gross margin is currently ahead of last year, although rising raw material prices are expected to limit further improvement in the second half of the year.

· With the disposal of Cecil Gee secured, and the strong trading performance to date, the Board, although mindful of the fragile external trading environment and the importance of Christmas trading to the full year results, nonetheless anticipates that the out turn for the full year will be ahead of current market forecasts.



Commenting on the Disposal, Brian Brick, Chief Executive of Moss Bros, said:

"This is another significant milestone in delivering the strategy we set out of leveraging the core Moss business. Having restored the quality of our product offering and continued the strong momentum in positive like-for-like sales, this transaction will give us the opportunity to accelerate investment and development of the brands which we own, from a position of operational focus and financial strength.

Although we are ever mindful of the fragile trading conditions in the UK, we are making good progress towards leadership of the attractive niche which we have as the UK's number 1 branded suit specialist."



Enquiries:

Moss Bros Group PLC

Debbie Hewitt, Chairman

Brian Brick, Chief Executive Officer

Robin Piggott, Finance Director

[davy99] 15/6/2011 20:11

Moss Bros CEO Brian Brick - interview

By Ben Sillitoe Wed 15th June



Since 2009 suit specialist Moss Bros has certainly been making headlines; it's been the subject of takeover speculation, it has appointed a new CEO, all whilst battling significant annual losses - it even got a plug from Boris Johnson during live television coverage of April's royal wedding.

Under the no-nonsense leadership of CEO Brian Brick in the last two years the company has found itself back on the front foot, and the launch of newly formatted stores and modern fashion ranges are helping drive sales and reduce losses as well as setting up the retailer for a much more certain future.

"What I came into in spring 2009 was a heavily loss-making situation so the business needed to change. Moss Bros's performance is now improving - we're getting there," Brick tells Retail Gazette.

"We're on a cost-cutting strategy at the moment but we will invest in new stores and refurbish existing ones."

Part of this transformation process involves the continued introduction of the company's new sub-brand Bespoke into stores nationwide, as well as the development of more outlets that contain the company's traditional retail offering, hirewear and Bespoke all under one roof.

Brick is encouraged by the early sales levels and customer interest at Canary Wharf, the location of the first store offering all three parts of the business in one place, and clearly sees this format as a major part of his strategy going forward.

"There will be some new stores opening in this format and we'll be trialling some refurbishments during the autumn with the view of completing these transformations next spring and through the next few years," he adds.

Bespoke is Brick's brainchild, and the CEO expects that Moss Bros will eventually boast 50 or 60 shop-in-shops promoting the brand. The offering gives customers the opportunity to buy suits made up of personally chosen fabrics, lining and styles, which have been made to measure – no other high street retailer provides such a dedicated service.


"Customers like the fact they're easy to shop in, bright and airy and there's real clarity in our offer, which is simple to understand. We now talk to our customers a lot more in person and through graphics," Brick explains.

"I think we can say that we have thought through the customer journey."

Many UK clothing retailers have agonised over whether they should increase prices in the wake of rising material costs from countries such as China during the last year, and Brick reveals that there are some big decisions that his company and other fashion retailers need to make.

"We're looking in minute detail on everything we are doing product wise, including whether we should be using better or cheaper fabrics, or if we should use different factories or put prices up – the situation is very difficult."

Despite this backdrop, trade at Moss Bros appear to be improving, with like-for-like (LFL) retail sales rising by 8.9 per cent year-on-year in the 12 months to January 31st 2011.

Pre-tax losses were down from £3.2 million to £2.7 million over the course of the year, and further improvement has been noted in the 15 weeks to May 14th with LFL gross profit up 9.8 per cent on the same period in 2010.

Compared to the outdated and more heavily loss-making company Brick arrived at in 2009, this represents major progress and will provide encouraging reading for Moss Bros's shareholders, especially when the current retail climate of low sales growth and poor consumer confidence is taken into account.

It has been an unforgiving retail landscape in the last two years, with fashion specialist such as Officers Club, Ethel Austin and Faith either entering administration or disappearing from the high street altogether, but it was last September's liquidation of Suits You that is far more pertinent to Moss Bros and Brick in particular.

Brick was the owner of Suits You's parent company Speciality Retail Group (SRG) until 2005, so has mixed feelings about its demise, but he is clear that there are now more opportunities for Moss Bros to grow since its main rival of recent years ceased trading.

"SRG's been through different ownership since I sold it and I'm obviously sad to see it go under, but it wasn't the same business anymore. When I owned Suits You we made money every year.

"Following Suits You's closure we now have less competition on the high street and we can look at their business and learn how not to do it."

Learning lessons from failed competitors is a valuable way for a business to move forward, but good publicity is priceless – and that is exactly what Moss Bros achieved in April during the most widely viewed TV event of the year.

Millions of BBC viewers who had tuned in to watch the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton would have witnessed an interview with London Mayor Boris Johnson in which he revealed to the nation that Moss Bros's Fenchurch Street in the capital had provided his wedding attire.

"What a plug that was," Brick remarks. "I knew he'd been in but that was absolutely fabulous stuff."

"Pam at Fenchurch Street who served Johnson got sent a beautiful bunch of flowers from me – I think we made Boris look very smart."

Retail Gazette has spoken to many retailers over the past year, lots of whom have been rightly cautious about their strategies amid the current problems in the consumer economy.

Brick is one of the most bullish in his business outlook though, but this is justified by the encouraging progress Moss Bros has made under his leadership.

"There are real retail winners at present but also some heavy losers," he said.

"If your offer is right and you are on your game the public are still spending money, but if you are slightly off then you are going to struggle. I'm confident Moss Bros is in the winners' camp."

[sco77harris] 03/6/2011 10:40

impressive results, might be a long time until movement in the share price but i think it will be worth it.

[davy99] 19/5/2011 15:37

Broker finnCap says that Moss Bros has the "financial firepower' to withstand a challenging market and to develop its brand format.

While the menswear retailer faced tough comparatives in the first quarter with the first 16 weeks of last year showing a like-for-like (LfL) sales growth of 12.6% (this included the recently-offloaded Hugo Boss franchised stores).

"Seen in that context, this morning's trading update is impressive. LfL sales for the 15 weeks to 14 May are 8.2% ahead of the equivalent period. Total sales are 12.9% ahead," said analyst David Stoddart.

With a improving gross margin and strong cash position, the broker retains its 'buy' recommendation, but raises the target price from 46.7p to 64.9p.

[wjccghcc] 19/5/2011 10:44

Yup. Happy with that.

[cockneyrebel] 19/5/2011 07:58

Decent statement today - must be inline for the year at least imo.

CR

[rainmaker] 24/4/2011 17:24

Yep, CR that's probably the best approach-buy now but be prepared to add lower if you get the opportunity. By my calculations the sale of the Hugo Boss franchise means the Company is roughly trading at liquidation value and of course, it's now profitable.

regards

[cockneyrebel] 24/4/2011 10:06

refers to Deb's buy last week.

CR

[cockneyrebel] 21/4/2011 07:42

Director buying again this week but sems few are interested in MOISB at the moment. Suspect it might need a trading confirmation in the new year or broker upgrades. Will hold the few I have Rainmaker but won't cry if they go lower and I can add cheaply.

CR

[dm1] 02/4/2011 14:38

Moss Bros Group PLC announced on 7 February 2011 that it had entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Hugo Boss UK Limited, relating to the disposal of the Hugo Boss Franchised Business, for a cash consideration of GBP16.5m. The disposal constitutes a Class 1 transaction pursuant to Chapter 10 of the Listing Rules and was subsequently approved on 3 March 2011 by the shareholders of the Company at an Extraordinary General Meeting. The transfer of the business to Hugo Boss UK Limited will take place on 1 April 2011 with GBP4.2m to be received on that date, and the balance in instalments as each lease is assigned to the purchaser.

[rainmaker] 30/3/2011 15:45

Thanks CR and good luck with MOSB.That's the salient point- profitability in the second half.

regards

[cockneyrebel] 30/3/2011 07:38

Well onm those results they must have been in profit in H2 and current sales look very encouraging, especially in this market.

Breakout soon imo.

CR

[cockneyrebel] 28/3/2011 10:11

Interesting to see you sniffing Rainmaker, I bought these today:



"Philip Dorgan, retail analyst at Altium Securities, believes Moss Bros will remain in the red at the full-year stage, but trimmed his underlying pre-tax loss forecast to £2.9m after last month's news of a solid second half"

If that's right after a £3.3m H1 loss then they've made a profit in H2.

Now with Hugo Boss gone the interest on the money from the sale will be greater than the operating profit Hugo Boss so good scope to be fully profitable this year imo - and recent sales much stronger.



Looks like a nice bowl formed on the chart too imo.

Results Thurs

CR

[rainmaker] 26/3/2011 14:01

Yes..............shhhhh.Watching with interest but as currently loss making so will demand a large margin of safety ie lower prices.

regards

[cr6196] 24/3/2011 22:01

has anyone noticed that if the transaction with Hugo Boss AG goes through the company will be selling for less than the cash on its balance sheet? i can't understand why the market hasn't reacted? is this because the company has such a small float (the volume seems pretty decent to me for stock of its size)? or is it because people think the deal won't go through? i can't work it out?

[sco77harris] 08/2/2011 14:56

yes i think it might drop back further, but i think that the general trend will be upwards this year, it will be interesting to see the year end accounts.

Also i do not know if you have been watching marry portas on channel 4 but what they are doing with ipads etc is it what she has been calling for, and it seems to work quite well and i know the suits they get tailor made are by the factories that make all the designer brands, so i am sure quality will be great.