Specialist
Former C-level Executive at Etam Holding
Agenda
- Ability to stabilise LFLs and the strength of offerings across categories
- Gross margin expansion opportunities
- Channel strategy including CAPEX for estate rationalisation and online roll-out
Questions
1.
What are the core trends that you’re picking up on in the Dutch market at the moment?
2.
The most recent results show an obvious decline in Q4 in particular. What do you believe is driving this decline?
3.
The apparel category is crucial for the performance in the Netherlands in particular. Could you go into more detail on where you believe the collection is wrong?
4.
Management has mentioned that they’re looking to reduce SKUs by around 20% and this is going to be applied across categories. Do you think there’ll be a 20% SKU reduction in the clothing division, or will it be more or less significant?
5.
You mentioned that the pricing in womenswear is perhaps inflated at the moment considering the product. What do you believe an adequate price reduction would be?
6.
Do you foresee any potential upside in like-for-like growth within Hema’s clothing division?
7.
Do you have a like-for-like outlook for the company in the Netherlands this year?
8.
When do you believe the beauty division will begin to have an impact on top line?
9.
Aside from beauty and innovations in the apparel division, are there any other categories that Hema could expand into?
10.
How does Hema compare to its key competitors in the domestic market?
11.
Do you have any idea of changing market share dynamics in the domestic region, which could help us understand who is taking market share from Hema across categories?
12.
You said that the womenswear division prices could come down around 20%. Do you have a sense for the additional categories and how fairly priced they are, and what other potential reductions there could be?
13.
How would you compare the severity of Hema’s markdowns to Action or the broader market?
14.
What is the markdown outlook, in terms of Hema ability to drive full-price sales?
15.
What do you think is driving the agreement between Hema and its franchises?
16.
Regarding the profitability of the franchise model, as you say, gross margins and costs are lower. From an EBITDA perspective, is there a potential benefit or downside from operating a larger franchise model?
17.
As you said, the online rollout is crucial to the success of the business. Now that Hema is moving online, it will be competing with a different type of player, mainly the pureplay online retailers. Given this change in competitive landscape, what is Hema’s ability to compete with these players?
18.
Considering the profitability of that channel, how margin dilutive is the online channel for Hema, in your opinion?
19.
Do you have any thoughts on how vertically integrated the bakery division was, and the impact of the divestment and what this will have for the food division more broadly at Hema?
20.
Looking at the overall percentage of food for the group now, do you have a sense for what the bakery division contributed from a percentage point of view?
