The Hour Glass

[dydx]

The just released Q2-FY10 results make interesting reading.....
http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/V...8001702DE/$file/2QFY2011_Results.pdf?openelement [Results announcement]
http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/V...8001702DE/$file/Press_Release_1HFY2011.pdf?openelement [Press release]
It is indeed another quarter of solid performance by a rock-solid business!

With H1's EPS at $0.0667 already much ahead of the corresponding last FY10's $0.0489, I think full-year EPS is poised to exceed FY10's $0.1408 by a good margin. This is entirely possible, as historically 2H (Oct to Mar)'s business volume and profits benefit from X'mas shopping and CNY spending. A quick review of last FY10's results announcment will confirm this pattern.....
http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/V...E001951B5/$file/THGL_FY2010.pdf?openelement

[pianist]

quote from the news "The Hour Glass has developed a new multi-brand, multi-category 7,600 square feet luxury concept store which will open in January 2011 at Knightsbridge in Singapore. A first of its kind in the world, this new retail format will present a highly differentiated product range which will also include many new-to-market brands."

I wonder how is the shopping sensation like in that 7,600 sqft orchard store, a 1st of its kind in the world.

[MrValue]

7600 sq feet is really huge space for a watch retailer!
Hopefully, it will become a destination store for watch enthusiast and high net worth customers around the region!

[dydx]

The coming new store - a duplex, i.e. with 2 levels - located at the new Knightbridge on Orchard Road will very likely be a great store. The chosen name "Malmaison by The Hour Glass" already signifies something different, high-end, and European (French).

The meaning of "Malmaison".....
http://www.musees-nationaux-napoleoniens...3_u1l2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Malmaison

I can't wait to visit the new store.

[dydx]

Yesterday (24Nov10), the Government announced generous bonus for our 74,000-strong civil servants.....
http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/art...id=4480249

Would the 1 extra month (on top of the usual 13th-month pay) of year-end bonus payable to all civil servants in Dec boost demand for branded watches and The Hour Glass' business? I guess there should be at least a certain positive impact.

In next Mar11, under the Special Variable Payment scheme, the Government will also pay out another round of bonus to those good and better performers - 1 extra month for good performers, and up to 1.6 months for better performers.

It certainly looks like the local retailers of discretionary luxury items are poised to enjoy pretty good business in the next few months.

[kazukirai]

Ahaha, that's true in a sense. Haven't there been some stat board/civil servants with expensive tastes lately?
SLA guys with flashy cars...Oh and a little further back, that Perm Sec who could go for expensive French cooking lessons.

[kazukirai]

I'm really late in posting this but I was reminded by an article in today's edition of MyPaper:


China leads world's renewed interest in luxury watches

I came across a UBS Investor's Guide some time last week. In the report, there is a section on the Chinese preference for luxury goods and it spelled out what I think are two broad macro trends that will benefit The Hour Glass:

1) The Chinese's cultural attitute towards luxury watches.
2) That the chinese buy many of these goods overseas and account of most luxury goods sales in overseas locations.

Also, China tourists make up one of the largest visitor groups to Singapore, numbering some 1 million Chinese a year. Numbers to be taken with pinch of salt because the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) uses disembarkation card stats which makes the actual no. of tourists a little fuzzy.

Note: I'm not saying that The Hour Glass is a buy or sell or is the best beneficiary of this trend. I'm just pointing out that this is possibly a huge trend that benefits THG and if THG plays their cards right, they could do very well.

[pianist]

The Hour Glass has presence in Hong Kong where I know many well-to-do mainlanders crossed over to buy luxury goods to avoid heavy tax incurred if they were to buy in the mainland.

[JJW]

Came across the following when reading Executive Chairman Henry Tay's Statement to Shareholders in the 2010 AR:

"I would like to conclude by highlighting some key organisational values and operating tenets that The Hour Glass' management team adheres to. Some principles that are not so obvious and some that may be. It is invariably easier to start with the things we won't do. We are not in the business of generating short term market excitement and don't have ambitions to present ourselves as the biggest watch retailer in the world. We don't want to be the company that carries the widest selection of brands nor do we have the desire to hold the title as an operator with the most number of stores. We plan to be in this business for the long haul and believe in the merits of long range planning, ensuring that our business and financial goals reflect this creed. We aspire to be the best in class. To deliver the highest degree of customer service and to do so in the most consistent manner. To be regarded as a model employer and a dependable business partner. Financially, this translates into our goal of building an enduring and profitable business that assumes a moderate risk profile generating constant, sustainable long term returns and cashflows through the careful allocation of capital investments back into our business. By sticking to these time honoured guiding principles, we are certain that good things will follow"

Just thought that the above is worth sharing with fellow forummers.

[guru]

THG has proven to be a tortise. But for those who have been patient with the tortise, it has proven to win the race.

I've participated in the scrip dividend program and believe that this is the best way of enjoying in the continued success of the group