Consumer

• Eagle Nice International Holdings’ dividend yield averaged 9.2% from FY 2019 to FY 2023. Its annual dividend payout averaged 72.2% in the same period.
• Eagle Nice (Intl) Hldgs is mainly engaged in the design and manufacture of sportswear for adults and children on an OEM basis. Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings is the largest shareholder.
• Eagle Nice Holdings also has attractive valuations and consistent growth in sales and profits. 

• We are reiterating our Buy rating and $22.50 price target for Betterware after the company reported an impressive 1Q, with better than expected top line results.
• Further, management reiterated 2024 revenue and EBITDA guidance.
• There was also material progress at Betterware, which enjoyed double-digit increases in average ticket and revenue and is nearing the shift to positive growth in Associates.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating and $22.50 price target for Betterware after the company reported an impressive 1Q, with better than expected top line results.
• Further, management reiterated 2024 EBITDA guidance and increased the upper end of the revenue range.
• There was also material progress at Betterware, which enjoyed double-digit increases in average ticket and revenue and is nearing the shift to positive growth in Associates.

• GTX reported first quarter results exhibiting the sales decline management had been warning could appear in the first half of the year
• GTX managed to generate positive free cash flow to repurchase $109 million worth of the stock in the quarter. GTX has been routinely buying back stock with free cash flow.
• GTX maintained its annual guidance on all metrics with management asserting much of the growth would come in the second half of the year

• Yamaha releases new guidance on May 8 for its fiscal year ending March 2025. The  previous Mid-term plan for OP was ¥68bn, while the consensus is looking for just ¥40.9bn.  
• We expect ¥50bn, and think the shares are as much as 30% undervalued.
• Analysts have responded to multiple downward revisions to current year guidance, driven by collapsing Piano sales to China, but haven’t responded to cost cutting or growth in other product lines.

• With the rise in Coupang’s market cap, it’s imperative to evaluate if the Korea Index can attain eligibility to include foreign-listed companies.
• Coupang’s 45% YTD surge nears a $41B market cap, with a 65% free-float rate equating to $27B. Yet, to meet Korea Index eligibility, an additional $23B is needed.
• Aside from Coupang, more companies are preparing for overseas listings. Also, potential stock price increases for Coupang should be considered. The combined market cap approaches the US$50B threshold.

• China Resources Beverage (Holdings) Company Limited is looking to raise US$1bn in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The bookrunners on the deal are BofA, BOCI, Citic, and UBS.
• China Resources Beverage manufactures and sells packaged drinking water and RTD soft beverages  in China.
• According CIC, it was the second largest company in the packaged drinking water market in China and the largest company in the purified drinking water market in 2023.

• CyberAgent Inc (4751 JP) reported 2QFY09/2024 results yesterday which shows further improvement across all three segments. Both 2Q revenue and OP beat consensus estimates, with OP by a huge margin.
• Newly released game titles have helped further recovery in Gaming business while Media segment reported its first-ever OP since the company began investing on AbemaTV.
• As we continue to reiterate, the worst is over for CyberAgent (CA) and we remain positive over the company’s growth prospects.

• The two groups with the highest percentages of female board members (companies with over 30% and 20%-30%) are consistent with the characteristics of companies in which overseas investors primarily invest.
• Companies with over 30% female board members show superior values in many of Board Practices and Key Actions evaluation items. This may be due to improved engagement by overseas investors.
• Companies with no female board members have the lowest values in most Corporate Governance Practices items. Therefore, percentage of female board members indicates the seriousness of improving corporate governance practices.

• LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is not worried about sales pressure on the Chinese mainland as long as its clientele there is growing overall, according to Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony.
• The world’s largest luxury goods group is looking to attract more Chinese shoppers amid a broader slowdown in demand for expensive bags, jewelry, and perfume.
• Many consumers have been making their purchases outside of China, especially in Japan, where the yen is weak, the French conglomerate disclosed in its 2024 first-quarter earnings released last week.

• Yesterday, post-close, Bloomberg reported a headline “*SILCHESTER REPORTS NIKON STAKE; MAY SEEK CAPITAL POLICY CHANGES“
• That was exciting. It was in all caps. It was activist-ish-y. Today the stock rose 10.3% and we got another article saying it was up because of Silchester’s filing.
• Beware the Bloomberg headline. Nuance is sometimes lost. They aren’t always designed to help investors invest. Often, the main purpose is clickbait.

• In this insight, we take a look at the potential ADDs/DELs for the DAX index and the MDAX index in the run up to the June 2024 index rebal event.
• I currently see no changes for the DAX index but there could be one change for the MDAX index.
• M&A candidate MorphoSys AG (MOR GR) could be deleted in the run up to the June 2024 review.

• 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings (99SPD MK) is looking to raise US$300m in its upcoming Malaysia IPO.
• 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings (99 Speedmart) operates the “99 Speedmart” chain of mini-market outlets, retailing daily necessities across Malaysia.
• In this note, we look at the firm’s past performance.

• March Same-Store sales in China disappoint mainly due to diamond jewellery demand
• Overall, gold demand in China continues to rise both in the retail and the official sector
• Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong pick up but are still ~40% below pre-Covid levels.

• The Grocery Outlet management reported its full-year 2023 earnings results, which were slightly ahead of expectations.
• The company demonstrated strong customer acquisition and traffic, driven by competitive pricing and its treasure hunt shopping experience.
• The acquisition of United Grocery Outlet is one of the major highlights of the company’s performance, as it added 40 stores to the network.

• Mister Car Wash unveiled its financial performance for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.
• The annual results demonstrated solid progress driven by the company’s efforts to enhance its services, physical operations, and team.
• During Q4, sales rose 7% to $230 million, and adjusted EBITDA grew by 5% to $69.5 million.

• In the fourth quarter of 2023, Murphy USA reported solid performance which supports their enduring commitment to drive sustainable value for its stakeholders.
• The company has been successful at achieving more from the same loyal customers, with statistics showing these customers spend 50% more than they did in 2019.
• Furthermore, the company’s new loyalty members showed similar behavior as their most loyal customers in 2019, making about 5 transactions per month and spending at higher levels.

• The fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2023 earnings offered insights into Frontdoor’s financial performance, key initiatives, and strategic moves being executed by the company.
• From the CEO, Bill Cobb’s comments, it is evident that 2023 was a record year in which the company exceeded Expectations and delivered exceptional financial performance.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

Intralot enjoyed good underlying trends in performance in FY23 with encouraging trends in its main countries of focus and further progress on profitability. The much-improved balance sheet and extension of debt maturities mean management can focus on the significant business development opportunities available in FY24 and beyond. The share price looks attractive in the absence of potential new contract wins, which could be materially enhancing to the valuation.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, $37 price target and projections for Guess?
• after visiting stores in the Metro New Your City area and Long Island.
• Management continues to materially upgrade the Guess?

• Anta Sports Products (2020 HK), Li Ning (2331 HK), and Xtep International (1368 HK) have announced 1Q24 operational updates, with additional color given in post conference calls. 
• Anta: Retail sales started to accelerate in mid-March, and March were better than January and February. 
• Li Ning:  offline retail sales down low-single-digit in 1Q24, driven by wholesale down mid-single-digit, while retail grew mid-single-digit.  E-commerce grew 20-30% yoy.  

• At the end of 2023, Chokwang Leather owned 190.3 billion won worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares, which represents 56% of Chokwang Leather’s market cap. 
• Chokwang Leather also has 3.1 million treasury shares (46.6% of outstanding shares). It has the highest levels of treasury shares as a percentage of outstanding shares among Korean stocks.
• Chokwang Leather is likely to be one of the key companies to be targeted to improve its corporate governance as part of the Corporate Value Up program. 

• Plunging sales & growing losses, severe price cuts & layoffs, failed FSD, M2 dropped for Robotaxi, and more, confirm that Elon Musk won’t fix Tesla’s most serious problems—which he created.
• He still demands his “unfathomable” pay package be restored, and his feckless, captured Tesla Board is doing exactly what he wants.
• But what Tesla’s Board should do, what it should have done years ago, is fire Elon Musk, the single greatest risk to Tesla’s future.

• Shimano continues to reel from a slowdown in bike and fishing tackle sales post Covid
• 1Q operating profit beat the analyst consensus, but the upward revision to full year is minor and falls short of street estimates
• The stock has priced in an improving outlook. However, valuations are now looking full compared to historical levels. 

• On March 21st, Lululemon reported FY23 results. All things considered, the results were good. Guidance, however, caused some upset. Lululemon shares are down ~29% this year; after being down just 6% before the report, and is currently the 8th worst-performing stock in the S&P 500.
• Lululemon’s implied 11.5% revenue growth for 2024 is a notable deceleration from years prior; having averaged an annual revenue growth rate of 24.4% over the last 5 years.
• This year’s revenue guidance is closer to, but still behind, the 5 years before that; where Lululemon averaged 15.7% annual revenue growth.

• ZEEKR, a Chinese EV maker, plans to raise up to $500M in US IPO. The company put its offering on hold in 2023 due to a mismatch in valuation expectations.
• A fast-growing company will offer ADSs, and the size of the company’s potential IPO is down from their initial target of up to $1B, a negative sign for ZEEKR shares.
• EV stocks have significantly underperformed the broader market this year amid price wars, slow growth ahead and intense competition, especially in China.  

• Fosun Tourism (1992 HK) saw a healthy 15.8% overall business volume growth in 1Q24, with net profit sustaining improvement. This should justify a catch-up in share price.
• The cumulative bookings for Club Med for 1H24 have increased 13% YoY, while those for 2H24 have increased 10%. Positive forward bookings indicate an encouraging outlook.
• Four new Club Med resorts to be opened in 2024 and the increase in attractiveness of Hainan after it turns into a duty-free island by 2025 are both drivers.   

Headlam Group has laid out an ambitious long-term revenue target of between £900m and £1bn, as it seeks to grow its share of the UK floor coverings distributor market. Despite a challenging backdrop due to the low level of residential housing transactions, management is seeking to expand each of its sales channels: Trade Counters, Larger Customers, Regional Distribution and Europe & Other. The FY23 results reflected the more challenging environment and the group trades at a discount to its long-term average EV/sales multiple for FY24.

• Meituan has navigated through its most challenging period since IPO as competition moderates and reorg comes close to completion. 
• 1Q results should kick off an upward earnings cycle through to the end of 2024 when the company’s efforts to revamp loss-making new initiative businesses gather pace. 
• That said, lack of clear topline driver remains the key reason for our cautious view about the sustainability of re-rating. Maintain neutral.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, projections and $41 price target for Build-A-Bear Workshop after visiting stores in Long Island and Connecticut.
• Post-Easter, Build-A-Bear has expanded the product mix both large and small, adding giant versions of key “furry friends” and rolling out new Mini Beans to drive incremental add-on purchases.
• Further, with graduation season just starting (from pre-K to college), Build-A-Bear is ready with fun and unique items for every grad.

• A week after the State Council issued “Several Opinions” (关于加强监管防范风险推动资本市场高质量发展的若干意见》), the CSRC announced Friday five capital market cooperation measures with HK Connect. The goals are to increase cross-border investor flows.
• They include: a broader range of ETFs in Connect, including REITs in both directions, include RMB counters in Southbound, improve mutual recognition of funds, increasing China IPOs in Hong Kong.
• RMB Dual Counters Southbound-eligible will take time. They have some homework, but it is on the “To Do” list “as soon as possible and smoothly.” Watch impact on H/A Pairs.

• Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JCNC SP)‘s current implied stub value is around its highest-ever level.
• The simple ratio of JCNC/Astra International (ASII IJ) is at its highest level outside the 2008 GFC.
• A weak Indonesian rupiah is likely a factor. Still, JCNC is trading rich to its NAV. A takeover from parent Jardine Matheson Holdings (JM SP) is idealistic.

• Value Act’s recent statement might suggest that they have prevailed and Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP) has yielded to their demands. However, the reality might be less straightforward.
• Value Act sought new market expansion, but Seven & I is focused on reinforcing its presence in existing, well-established markets.
• Given Value Act’s impatience, their acceptance of Seven & I’s plan for a 2026 Super Stores IPO, contingent on a business transformation, is unexpected.

• We believe the revenue growth will be slow in 1Q24, but it will still be rapid for the full year 2024.
• We also believe the operating margin will hit the historical high in 1Q24, but it will be just stable for the year 2024.
• We conclude the stock has an upside of 60% for the year end 2024. Buy.

• In this insight, we take look at Quiddity’s expectations for index changes and capping flows for the TDIV Index for the June 2024 index rebal event.
• Since my last insight, my index change expectations and flow expectations have changed significantly.
• My latest estimate for one-way flow in June 2024 is US$1.06bn (down from US$1.22bn a month ago).

• The New/Better A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
• SOUTHBOUND’s consecutive buying streak ended on Monday 25-March, then started again. NORTHBOUND has been selling recently (this week and last buying semi tech, selling renewables)
• Hs fell sharply vs As. AH Premia very wide. Alpha on portfolio vs straight H vs A but a bad week as liquid Hs underperformed liquid As by 2.5+%.

• The Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Monitor. Like the A/H Premium Monitor and HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Monitor. Lots of Flows/Position Tables and Charts with which to play.
• Last week saw NORTHBOUND net SELL RMB 6.7bn of A-shares on decent volume. A-shares out-performed H-shares quite dramatically, taking back H-share gains from the week before, which reversed prior weeks.
• This week saw net buying of semiconductor/chip names, and net selling of the EV/Solar/Battery space and buying of the Ping Ans, but most notable was liquid A vs H performance.

• The story of Hero is the story of persistence, collaboration and achieving goals that many would have regarded as impossible.
• From its humble roots of selling bicycles in 1956 Ludhiana Punjab, to becoming the world’s largest two wheeler company is an extraordinary feat.

• Maintaining the momentum, protecting its market share and setting sights towards ‘Future of Mobility’ is something special.

• Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial (2555 HK) (SBBI) raised around US$330m in its HK IPO.
• SBBI sells new-style tea drinks through its ChaPanda stores. According to F&S, SBBI ranked third in China’s new-style tea shop market with a market share of 6.8% in FY23.
• We have looked at the company’s performance and valuations in our past note. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.

Key points

• VFC is a large apparel company with iconic brands such as The North Face and Vans
• Shares are currently undervalued following a disappointing FY23, with estimated fair value of $40/share
• Strong brands and opportunities for portfolio rationalization and margin improvement make VFC a potential growth opportunity with new management in place.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• JD.com (9618 HK) announced this week that it has repurchased 2.8% of the outstanding shares of the company in the first quarter of 2024. 
• Improved shareholder returns is a key thesis for the stock, given that there is little market expectation on such given limited track record.
• A positive catalyst on full year performance could be the government’s announced stimulus policy for home appliance in April this year (trading old for new).

• Stricter voting standards for domestic investment managers seem aimed at increasing value through engagement for companies that show little improvement in efforts to improve stock price and return on capital.
• Stricter voting standards for policy shareholding ratios of domestic investment management companies are expected to push companies to consider reducing cross-shareholdings. Reference to deemed shareholdings is also commendable.
• Since engagement of overseas investors has been effective in increasing value of companies, engagement by Japanese investment managers more seriously than before will contribute to enhancing the value of companies.

• Since my previous insight on China Tourism Group Duty Free (1880 HK) in October 2023, the stock has declined 33%, and year-to-date, the stock has declined 13%.
• The company faces headwinds from continued overall weakness in Hainan duty free sales and potentially increased competition in Hainan.
• The company already announced preliminary 1Q24 results, with sales down 9% yoy and net profit flat.  The company is trading at 18x 2024 earnings.

• Vinfast (VFS US) released 1Q2023 results, with its revenues increasing three-fold YoY but falling QoQ due to the seasonal impact of Lunar New Year on both EVs and EV motorbikes.
• The company saw a significant pick up in its sales to the US and continued to increase its dealer network which should drive future sales along with new models.
• More than half of Vinfast sales were to related parties, which is an overhang in terms of the sustainability of its business models, whilst valuations remain above peers.

• In the Q3 2024 earnings, NIKE, Inc. outlined how it is driving growth despite not performing to its potential.
• The company is focusing on four key areas: a sharpened focus on sport, continuous product innovation, bolder and more distinctive brand marketing, and collaboration with wholesale partners to expand the marketplace.
• A significant measure of progress is the alignment of the organization to focus on the consumer and sport.

• A pullback in global equities is underway following steep uptrend violations on MSCI ACWI (ACWI-US) and EURO STOXX 50. Both are 4-5% off their highs; further downside may be limited.
• Several 5%-10% pullbacks are to be expected in any given year, particularly after the historic 5-month rallies, so we view this as healthy and normal within the ongoing bull market.
• ACWI-US is currently testing important support at $105; if this area were to break, next major supports are $102 and $99; this is where we would be buying.

• The problem lies in the fact that even with a 10% increase in net profit, ROE only grew by 0.5%. This is due to having too much cash on hand.
• TSE has provided an opportunity for companies to develop measures to increase their corporate value. However, not many companies can derive concrete ways to effectively use cash.
• Since many companies are expected to take time to find concrete solution to this problem, an increasing number of companies are expected to go private once they have done so.

• ADEA announced it has licensed its intellectual property to Austrian service provider Magenta Telekom in what could be of bigger significance than what ADEA’s stock price portrays
• The license is the first for ADEA with a European service provider. This is also the first major customer win ADEA has announced since becoming a standalone IP company
• The size of the deal with Magenta is most likely small, but our focus is on what it could mean for ADEA. Magenta is owned by T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom.

• During the latest earnings, W.K. Kellogg Co demonstrated its strategic plans for the future and reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2023.
• The CEO, Gary Pilnick, emphasized the company’s commitment to delivering on its promises and its focus on execution and engaging its team.
• The company achieved net sales at the high end of their guidance range and EBITDA margin above their guidance range indicating effective business planning.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, projections and $22.50 price target for Betterware de Mexico with the company announcing 1Q24 (March) results after the close on Thursday.
• We believe, with momentum returning at the Betterware division, JAFRA remaining on a new product and marketing focus, the United States market becoming a larger emphasis and BWMX continuing to offer a compelling (and secure) dividend yield of 8.5%, BWMX remains well positioned to reward investors on multiple levels, and we reiterate our Buy rating and $22.50 price target.

• We are initiating coverage of a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp.
• (“a.k.a. Brands” or the “company”), a leading owner of primarily online apparel-based brands focused on Generation Z and Millennial consumers, with a Buy rating and $14.00 price target, or 10.9X our 2025 EBITDA projection of $20.2 million.
• The company’s brands include: 1) Princess Polly, focusing on 15 to 25 year-old women; 2) Petal & Pup, which offers feminine styles for 25 to 34 year-old women; 3) Culture Kings, a street wear destination; and 4) mnml, a high-quality street wear designer focused on bottoms.

• Perfect Medical Health (1830 HK), post a correction of consumer discretionary stocks in HK, now trades at a yield of 11.5%, with cash&investments representing 24% of the market cap.
• HK is experiencing a dip in consumer sentiment, and the company isn’t immune to it, but flat sales/profitability, a 24% net margin, and >40% ROE provide great margin of safety.
• The stock trades at 9.3x FY24 PE and 11.5% yield (assuming a 110% payout average across company history) with a growth option once the HK economy kickstarts.

• Inageya Co Ltd (8182 JP) announced a share exchange offer by United Super Markets (3222 JP) at 1.46 USMH shares per Inageya share.
• The share exchange aligns with Aeon Co Ltd (8267 JP)’s well-flagged intention of making Inageya a wholly-owned subsidiary of USMH.
• Aeon’s 50%+ shareholding in Inageya and USMH facilitates the two EGM votes. The deal metrics are broadly fair for both sets of shareholders. 

• KWEB giving an attractive entry point here, as it begins to outperform the domestic FDN.
• Toyota>Honda and look for that relationship to continue going forward.
• JD>BABA, a new dynamic divergence between the two, and my opinion is JD will be the leader in 2024 and beyond.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• China Jinmao Holdings
• JSW Steel Ltd
• Sands China
• Yuexiu Property

• The full-year 2023 earnings of ADT revealed notable developments and financial figures in its operation highlights.
• The company has seen a solid performance, with investments for its future and a shift towards its core security and smart home business as primary focuses.
• The plan to exit its residential solar business promises simplicity and concentration on expanding its consumer oriented model.

• Under Armour Inc.’s Q3 2024 earnings revealed a challenging retail environment and uneven consumer behavior across markets.
• Despite the difficulties, the company achieved Q3 results aligned with November projections, better-than-expected earnings, and has made substantial progress in boosting global demand and simplifying consumer interactions.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

• Global-e Online Ltd.
• announced its fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results and we would term the outcome as largely optimistic, yet grounded in the challenging macroeconomic conditions of the past year.
• The company concluded 2023 strongly, with the fourth quarter being its most successful to date.

• IPAR has started 2024 with what could be described as relaunching of the Lacoste fragrance line after IPAR encountered under investment by the previous licensee
• There is increased investor concern consumer appetite for fragrances could wane even though so far there has been little sign of it
• Specific to Lacoste, we expect greater excitement when IPAR releases its first fragrance for the brand later this year

• On 17 April, Affinity Equity Partners offered a tender offer of a 30% stake in Lock & Lock at 8,750 won per share.
• The tender offer period is from 18 April to 14 May.  The number of shares that are included in this tender offer is 13.14 million shares (30.33% of outstanding shares).  
• Lock & Lock’s share price could trade higher close to the tender offer price of 8,750 won as the date as the end of the tender offer period approaches.

• Since “profitability of capital” like ROE or ROIC cannot create value in mid-to-long-term without improvement, the fact that ROE has stalled is a cause for concern for future stock prices.
• The slow growth in Net Profit Margin and the sluggish improvement in Asset Turnover and Financial Leverage indicate that it is still holding too much cash, cross-held shares, etc. 
• Nearly half of all listed companies are companies with major shareholders of 20% or more, which is an obstacle to improving corporate governance.

• We expect Miniso’s revenue for C1Q/2Q24 to be 1.0%/2.7% higher than consensus due to adequate inventory and strong sales of the Chiikawa series. 
• We believe Miniso has found a new competency in quickly turning around IP sales through economies of scale in supply chain and store network.
• We maintain the stock as BUY and raise our TP by US$3 to US$34/ADS.

• The core of Belle’s transformation is to inject “digitalization” into existing massive store assets, with strategy of “omnichannel+multi brands”. Belle also devotes significant resources to online channels and online-to-offline integration.
• Benefiting from the DTC retail model, Belle increases the probability of success when launching products. Licensing/acquisition are important ways to empower new brands and promote growth. Belle’s performance has rebounded.
• However, the path of transformation hasn’t yet been completed. Belle still mainly relies on heavy asset mode and is exposed to inventory risks. There ‘s still room for further improvement.

• Las Vegas Sands Corp.
• reported that Macao delivered $654 million of EBITDA for the quarter, a significant enhancement since the coronavirus pandemic’s end.
• According to them, robust growth in both gaming and non-gaming revenues is anticipated, propelled by their substantial share in non rolling table win, rolling table win, and slot ETG win.

• Mao Geping Cosmetics (1478187D CH) is looking to raise around US$300m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The bookrunner on the deal is CICC.
• Mao Geping Cosmetics (MGC) operates in the premium beauty segment. Operating via its two brands, MAOGEPING and Love Keeps, MGC offers a wide range of color cosmetics and skincare products.
• As per F&S, MGC was the only domestic market player among the top ten premium beauty groups in China, ranking eighth by 2022 retail sales.

• Winmark operates five resale brands through a franchising model, including Plato’s Closet and Play It Again Sports
• The company’s focus is on providing access to quality used products at value pricing, contributing to the circular economy
• CEO Brett Heface discusses the dynamics of managing the brands, growth strategies, and the company’s mission to provide resale for everyone

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• Levi Strauss & Co reported revenues of $1.6 billion, reflecting a decline of 8% on a constant currency basis due to a $100 million shift from Q2 into Q1 related to the ERP implementation in the U.S. However, excluding this shift and the effect of exiting the Denizen business in Russia, Q1 revenues were flat.
• The company’s adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.26, which outperformed expectations.
• This improvement was mainly driven by a 240 basis-point increase in gross margin and prudently managing the company’s expenses.

• SIG is a specialty jewelry retailer with a strong presence in the US, Canada, and the UK
• After struggling with poor management and high mall exposure, the company has made progress under new leadership in 2018
• SIG has focused on shutting down underperforming stores, particularly in malls, to improve productivity and aims to continue growth in the jewelry retail industry.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• Sonos, the leading speaker manufacturing company, recently reported its Q1 2024 results.
• Extenuating despite various cyclical challenges, Sonos exceeded its expectations by delivering a revenue of $612.9 million, a GAAP gross margin of 46.1%, and adjusted EBITDA of $115 million.
• Its free cash flow was also improved to $269 million.

• Belle Fashion Group (2007708D HK), the largest fashion footwear company in China, is seeking to raise up to US$1 billion in a HKEx IPO. 
• Belle Fashion originated from Belle International Holdings (2129452D HK), which was privatised in 2017. In October 2019, Belle International spun off its sportswear business as Topsports International Holdings (6110 HK).
• The investment case rests on a market-leading position, return to growth, margin improvement, cash generation and modest leverage. 

• Company recently demerged from Ghcl Ltd (GHCL IN) and guiding for 30% revenue growth and double margins from here onwards with cotton prices being stable.
• A Debt Free Textile company available at 0.56x Price to Book with growth plan in progress and adding Value added products in its portfolio.
• Due to Forced selling from DII, FII company remained undervalued, now with changing margin profile, the Company will be available at a cheap valuation compared to peers.

• Shakey’s Pizza (PIZZA PM) had a disappointing end to FY23 despite the 32% YoY systemwide sales and 23% YoY profit growth. 4Q FY23 sales/profits were +15% YoY/-21% YoY.
• Network expansion was a solid 369 outlets (base of 1772 outlets), primarily led by Potato Corner (359 outlets). Expansion in FY24 was guided at over 400+ outlets (1+ bn Pesos). 
• Stock trades at 15.6x FY23 earnings and 13x FY24e with mid-teens growth on the top/bottom line guided by the company for FY24

• Leading furniture retailer Nitori recently announced it would work with French platform developer Mirakl to build an online marketplace. The site will be available late 2024 or early 2025. 
• Nitori wants the mall to contribute 20% of revenues by 2032 within a sales target of ¥3 trillion, when overseas store numbers are expected to be double those in Japan.
• But, founder Akio Nitori says he wants to see overseas sales much higher than official targets and may well get there through close targeting of the rising Asian middle class.

• In the recent fourth quarter 2023 financial results, Columbia Sportswear highlighted some key achievements and challenges they faced throughout the year.
• This provides an informative insight into both the company’s strengths and weaknesses moving forward, forming a neutral foundation for an investment thesis and resulting summary analysis.
• A cornerstone of Columbia Sportwear’s strategy in 2023 was their inventory reduction plan.

• Constellation Brands reported strong Q3 results, driven by robust performance in their beer business, achieving over 8% depletion growth for its beer portfolio.
• This performance is a testament to continued strong consumer demand and contributed to the company’s 55th consecutive quarter of depletion growth and tenth leading share gains.
• The company also executed $215 million of share repurchases in Q3, maintaining its net leverage ratio at 3.2x, excluding Canopy equity and earnings.

• CarMax, a leading used car retailer in the United States, reported its Q3 fiscal year 2024 results indicating a continuation of a strategic plan that has led to sequential year-over-year improvements across key business areas for four consecutive quarters.
• Total sales for Q3 FY ’24 were $6.1 billion, down by 5% compared to the previous year due to lower retail and wholesale prices and lower retail volume, partially offset by higher wholesale volume.
• Retail unit sales declined by 2.9% while used unit comps were down by 4.1%.

• Conagra Brands maintained an overall positive tone regarding its performance and future prospects in its latest earnings.
• While there were signs of optimism and forward-looking strategies, there were also concerns about certain aspects of its operations and broader market conditions.
• The company was seen focusing heavily on volume as being crucial for growth.

• The fourth-quarter earnings of Colgate-Palmolive were decent and the company demonstrated impressive resilience in 2023, focusing on sustainable organic sales growth, rebuilding margins and strengthening cash flow performance amid an increasingly challenging operating environment.
• However, some challenges persist, such as geopolitical unrest, foreign exchange headwinds and industry shifts, which might impact results in 2024.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, $14 price target and projections after reviewing the company’s early summer catalogs for April 2023 and 2024.
• We remain impressed by the shifts in the catalogs, from a deeper focus on features and story telling, impressive gains in swimwear and related accessories, expansion of categories such as outerwear, totes and lifestyle apparel, shifts in footwear that we believe will presage the relaunch of the category as a licensed item and overall similar pricing.
• We continue to believe Lands’ End is on the right track to drive higher returns and strong consistent profitability, and reiterate our Buy rating and $14 price target.,