I want to buy a few more retail shares. Can anybody suggest some reasons why I should buy WHS over BGR (which I already hold a small number of)?
Cheers
Eme
Printable View
I want to buy a few more retail shares. Can anybody suggest some reasons why I should buy WHS over BGR (which I already hold a small number of)?
Cheers
Eme
I have been buying WHS down here as I see it as a free hit. It was not too long ago Woolworths wanted to buy them and were happy to pay somewhere around $7.00 per share.Our friendly local supermarket chain took a 10 % stake to block them between 5 & 5.50 from memory.The competition commission whatever it's called denied the bid in the end anyway.In the meantime they make between 60 & 70 mio a year.Imagine the cost with resource consent etc to replicate their buildings & infrastructure in todays market.... So I have been buying with the hope Sir Stephen Tindall decides to tidy it up or Woolworths or someone like Aldi comes and has a look.Just because a bid was denied in the past doesn't mean it will always be so, just look at AMI and IAG ......
That's right, it's a different world now. But I 'm not sure that either Woolworths or Foodstuffs would be interested in WHS these days. Their 10% stakes were originally built to block each other in the days when WHS looked like it was serious about the food business, from which it has since retreated. I thought for a long time that WOW would want to expand their Big W business via WHS but this now looks increasingly unlikely given the lacklustre performance of Big W and WOW's recent heavy investment in hardware in Aust.
I'd therefore discount the chances of a takeover in assessing the investment merits of WHS but would be very happy to be proved wrong in this!
Perception is everything in the retail game which is NZ.
Looks like the Warehouse has lost the perception that it is a place to get bargains and the best deals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/n...ectid=10791832
In every category, there is a competitor which easily beat the Warehouse - Bunnings, Briscoes, JB Hifi etc.
Meanwhile, the company continues to pay high dividends - now only maintained using debt!
Lots of red lights flashing.
[QUOTE=Balance;370225]Perception is everything in the retail game which is NZ.
Looks like the Warehouse has lost the perception that it is a place to get bargains and the best deals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/n...ectid=10791832QUOTE]
Often wonder about the value of on line surveys of a few hundred or so people. How do you compare the brands like "maggi " or " homebrand" for example against a relatively big business like " The Warehouse".
As you say perception is everything but doubt if it will have any long term effect.
Was thinking of buying a few but will wait for the next drop in price.
Westerly
Thanks for the comments. Dividends out of debt to stop their share price falling further/faster doesn't strike me as a great long term plan. Briscoe's with their 90 million in the bank seems better in this regard.
As posted elsewhere, WHS is to delist its shares from the ASX. Shareholders on the Aust register will be transferred to the NZ register or may opt to have their shares sold through a share sale scheme. Only 2% of WHS issued capital is held on the Aust register so any selling pressure resulting is likely to be minimal.
Two page article in the Dompost today outlining the last 30 years of WHS. yes it is there birthday
One telling comment was an admission by the company that five years ago they changed their focus to shareholfers and forgot about the customers
Always interesting question as to who should be at the centre of the universe in the stakeholders model ..... And WHS found out the hard way
Big problem when (greedy?) shareholders demand more and more. Wrong decesions that impact the long term are made. Let's put it down to the fact that insto's think they know best and do act in the best long term interest of the punters who give them their hard earned cash to 'invest.