Sports Direct Share Discussion Threads

[ignoble] 11/8/2017 08:18

Wonder if it does all kick off in the Far East what happens to the manufacture and export of all the goods made out there.
Does the supply chain get interrupted ?
Not just a SPD problem but for all retailers who have their goods made in that neck of the woods .

Who knows what may or not happen.
Not I for sure.

[nortic 007] 11/8/2017 06:00

Did anyone notice that 1m shares traded after hours.

[terminated] 11/8/2017 00:35

But it is the act of exchanging £ to $ that has damaged profits. The £ buys less because all goods are bought in $, hence margin is reduced. Having a business that generates $'s means you get to bypassvtbe exchange rate. Of course if the $ goes back to 1.50 much of the gains will be lost it then he will also have economy of scale when buying goods.

[ltcm1] 10/8/2017 23:40

All I know is he said he wasn't interested in Debs but I think the idea of this show of support was to gain influence in terms of having more of his goods in Debs.

Regarding the US business, any p&l gain will be offset by balance sheet exchange risk. If the $ weakens the value of the US business would have to be written down. Yes if the $ strengthened and profits are good then it would be win win but what if the dollar weakens and more importantly profits crumble in the US business?

Surely SPD deal with investment bankers and the exchange of pounds to dollars is very competitive? There isn't any way to get round the fact the pound has delcined a lot which is the real problem. Buying a US business might work as a seperate proposition but it won't make SPD any more profitible. It is not the act of exchanging pounds for dollars that is killing him but the exchange rate itself.

[terminated] 10/8/2017 21:00

If he had underwritten the put option he wouldn't have acquired the voting rights I would assume?As for buying s US business when the exchange rate is low, it makes perfect sense when you pay for goods in dollars and your profits have been hammered due to the poor conversion of £ to $. He could effectively use $ cash from the US operations to buy goods rather than convert the $ to £. If the 60% decline in profits is due to the low buying power of the £ then he could effectively recoup all of that by bypassing the need to convert as well as gaining from the strong dollar for any cash converted across. The gains are potentially huge.

[ltcm1] 10/8/2017 20:20

Listen don't take my word for it but it is my understanding MA is the writer of these options not the buyer. It does make more logical sense that way round, to me at least.

The guy has made a fortune these last seven years but where are the dividends or cash mountain?

How can it makes sense going into the USA at these exchange rates??? That's just taking on a new bunch of risks. It isn't managing risk but leveraging yourself.

If he managed his UK business better he could be making a lot more money here. Can you imagine Next running their business like this? As another poster said SPD is in a near monopoly position yet makes a fraction of what Next managed. It's almost like he is bored of it and looking for new interests all the time.

Finally I do think the share chart has an odd look to it. Retail shares don't usually go up in a vertical line like this, the trading pattern is not what you would expect to see IMO.

[terminated] 10/8/2017 17:01

I've just looked into SPD's holding in Debenhams. The entire holding seems to be in the form of a 'put option' purchased at an average of about 72p in 2015 and 2016 and they all seem to expire in Oct and Nov of this year, which basically means he will make around 30p for each share held (73p-43p current debs share price=30p). I don't think he want's anything to do with DEB's at all but is actually betting on it struggling, although he does seem to have purchased some recently and I'm not sure if they were put options of normal buys. Anyone know more on this?


Put Option Agreement with Goldman Sachs International over ordinary shares

(disclosed on 23 January 2015 and 12 May 2016, Expiring:



24 Oct 2017

27 Oct 2017

1 Nov 2017

6 Nov 2017

9 Nov 2017

14 Nov 2017

17 Nov 2017

22 Nov 2017

27 Nov 2017

30 Nov 2017



SUBTOTAL

248,883,241

20.27%

[terminated] 10/8/2017 15:50

Increasing dollar income is his strategy to offset the dollar risk. It makes sense to buy a big business in US and then use dollar income to purchase merchandise for Europe bypassing costly currency conversions.

[ignoble] 10/8/2017 14:01

Maybe that was the game .... some sort of arbitrage between Finish and SPD

Long Finish , Short SPD ...who knows , not me for sure !

[lestat102] 10/8/2017 13:38

Interesting theory from my broker. He reckons Ashley is going to use the bought back shares ( not cancelled and still in treasury and worth considerably more now )
to make an outright bid for the US retail chain The Finish Line. SPD already has a considerable stake. The Finish Line trades around $13 and he reckons Ashley will bid around $20. Could be a good fit with synergies etc. Sound plausible to me. Either way I'm looking at buying into The Finish Line. My broker has bought £0.5M
on his own account!

[mac15] 10/8/2017 13:15

MA being rebranded as a "national treasure", quirky but best at what he does. With JJB, Blacks Leisure and a host of others being consigned to footnotes in history, he has virtually a cleared the field for himself. The fall from £8 to £3 happened in a matter of months(accelerated by the shorters), so hope a rapid retrace is possible.

[nortic 007] 10/8/2017 12:22

True mate .

[ignoble] 10/8/2017 11:34

Maybe a couple of out of work Politicians on the Board would improve the image
or not !
lol

Re SPD that is not the Trump / Kimi stand off

[nortic 007] 10/8/2017 11:32

IgnobleThere're both as bad as each other. He's (Trump) making more Americans as well as the rest of the world a target for these kind of lunatics.

[ltcm1] 10/8/2017 11:29

Personally I don't see much upside for the SPD price. MA seems to be a world expert at paying far too much for distressed business. He does seem highly exposed to the 'bad Brexit' and the increase in the living wage. The Goals Soccer investment makes sense but his buys of Debenhams, Findel, Game Digital just expose SPD to all the same problems that could afflict the main company, only a whole lot worse most likely. It's like he is doubling down and MA doesn't seem to be very good at gambling.

The fact is he should have started the move upmarket in flagship stores about five years ago. And the smaller ones are sad and dated. Also there is MA himself. I mean the penny dropped with the Ryanair guy and he realised his image wasn't good for business. SPD should be a likeable brand that has a sense of fun and gives something back but instead MA has got into all these other problem investments.

Good luck if you are long but just interested what you think of all the other ventures.

[nortic 007] 10/8/2017 11:03

The guy needs a slap. I'll let you decide which one or maybe both!!!

[ignoble] 10/8/2017 10:33

I'm still fascinated to know how markets will react if Trump bombs the backside out of N. Korea.
Is it positive because the potential threat is removed or will all hell break out as the World starts nuking each other to death.

Not a nice thought

[nortic 007] 10/8/2017 10:12

I've got Sharescope. I'll have a look .

[undervaluedassets] 10/8/2017 10:08

That is what I have been doing

Buying at (near) the bottom (we are still near the bottom historically) after a strong change in sentiment.

The change in sentiment is plain for all to see given volumes and share price action.

(For those with Sharescope look at On balance volume indicator)

[nortic 007] 10/8/2017 09:35

UAYour enthusiasm compels me to give you a tick. Maybe I should average up!!! :)

[undervaluedassets] 10/8/2017 09:30

"I think what is coming to the fore here is the fact that this is going to be the largest company by turnover within the next 2 or 3 years."

WTF!

I meant of course "this is going to be largest listed Uk clothing retailer within the next 2-3 years".

[nortic 007] 10/8/2017 08:38

Can't see the mark but well done.

[undervaluedassets] 10/8/2017 08:36

often worth putting a limit order in at a certain price at the auction.