In today’s briefing:
- Toshiba – The 3D Dilemma
- Descente: The Next Goldwin?
- Skylark Holdings (3197): December Sales; Industry Update; Omicron
Toshiba – The 3D Dilemma
- After a brief respite in their never-ending drama over the holiday period Toshiba is again in the news as 3D reiterates their demands for a “review of all options”.
- We have lost count of the number of reviews which haven’t resulted in a PE sale.
- The question is exactly why 3D appears to be so aggressive even relative to other less than bashful activists.
Descente: The Next Goldwin?
- Descente Ltd (8114 JP) is about the same size as Goldwin but has traditionally depended for half of its sales on South Korea.
- Itochu Corp (8001 JP) acquired control in a fraught battle with management, in order to reduce this dependence. As a result, Descente managed a return to the black in 1H202.
- It has ambitious plans to create a set of brands strong both at home and abroad by copying much of Goldwin’s playbook, particularly its investment in retail and online.
Skylark Holdings (3197): December Sales; Industry Update; Omicron
December SSS: Recovery progresses thanks to promotions. Same-store sales rebounded on the back of a recovery in the foot traffic
Same-store sales were 114.4% vs. December 2020 (December 2020 = 100%; 95.3% for November), and 89.8% vs. December 2019
Our view on Omicron variant risk. the adverse impact on profits should be mitigated by the expectation of subsidy income if requests for shorter hours are issued
Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma
