HARDWARE STORES – AUSTRALIA

Woolies’ $2b Masters sale

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 19-Jan-16

Woolworths has decided to exit home-improvement market by selling or winding up the Masters chain. Investors welcomed the decision of the board, with Woolworths shares rising 4.3 per cent to $A23.65 on 18 January 2016. Masters generated operating losses of $A245 million to $A300 million a year.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, HOMEBASE, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MITRE 10 LIMITED

Woolies shareholders look for green shoots

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 26-Nov-15

Woolworths’ strategy to turn around the performance of its supermarkets division is likely to come under scrutiny at its AGM on 26 November 2015. Some shareholders do not expect any real improvement in the business for another 6-12 months, following Woolworths’ move to reduce grocery prices and ramp up investment in its supermarkets. The future of assets such as the Masters and Big W businesses are also likely to be a key focus for investors.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, LUMINIS PARTNERS PTY LTD, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, NBN CO LIMITED

Just how big is the Big Green Box going to get?

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Nov-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 50.4 per cent of Australians aged 14+ (9.8 million people) shopped at Bunnings in an average four weeks in the year to June 2015, compared with 46.7 per cent in the previous 12 months. The survey also shows that the proportion of consumers who shop at Masters Home Improvement in an average four-week period has risen from 6.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent in the last year, while Mitre 10 recorded growth of 0.1 per cent to 9.4 per cent. However, Bunnings’ rivals have all attracted proportionally more customers who are interested in gardening.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MITRE 10 LIMITED, HOME HARDWARE, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Wind down Masters, Woolworths told

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 22-Oct-15

The Masters Home Improvement joint venture is expected to post a loss of $A236m in the next year, following a loss of $A245m in fiscal 2015. Deutsche Bank estimates that Woolworths could boost its profits by around five per cent by exiting the Masters venture. It could also make a net cash gain of $A161m, while joint venture partner Lowe’s would make a gain of $A80m. Woolworths has invested $A2.2bn in Masters to date.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Woolworths, Lowe’s tip $105m into Masters

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 13-Oct-15

Australian-listed Woolworths and joint venture partner Lowe’s have invested $A3.32bn in Masters Home Improvement to date. They invested an additional $A105m in the hardware venture on 30 September 2015. US-based Lowe’s has now invested $A1.11bn in Masters over the last six years. A put option to sell its 33 per cent stake in the venture to Woolworths can be exercised on 20 October. Woolworths and Lowe’s are progressively introducing a new store format for Masters in a bid to boost sales.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, HYDROX HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Woolworths ‘treasure chest’ ready to open

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Catie Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 9-Oct-15

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst David Errington estimates that Woolworths could unlock about $A3bn worth of capital by streamlining its operations. He argues that Woolworths should focus on its core food and liquor business, while retaining its gaming division and offloading Big W and exiting the loss-making Masters hardware joint venture. The Masters business in particular may come under scrutiny when Woolworths completes its board renewal process.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, TESCO PLC, KELLOGG COMPANY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Dump Masters for HOME, Woolies told

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 9-Sep-15

The Masters Home Improvement joint venture between Woolworths and US-based Lowe’s has made a total loss of $A604m over the last four years. Although Woolworths still expects Masters to become profitable at some stage, DGC Advisory’s Geoff Dart believes that Masters needs to reposition its business to focus on home finishing products such as paint and carpets. He notes that hardware giant Bunnings boasts only 2-3 per cent of this market.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SUPER CHEAP AUTO, BOB JANE T-MARTS PTY LTD, REPCO CORPORATION LIMITED, BEAUREPAIRES, TYRE MARKETERS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Woolies investors fear more pain before gain

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 19-Jun-15

Fund managers and shareholders are concerned about the possible actions that will be taken by the successor to Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien in a bid to turn around its fortunes. These include reduced profit margins and asset writedowns. Ben Gilbert of UBS is concerned that Woolworths may seek to combat falling sales by instigating a grocery price war, while Sheridan Hure of Aurora Funds Management warns that Woolworths’ shares may keep falling.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, EGON ZEHNDER INTERNATIONAL, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Masters fails to stem tide of red ink

roymorgansocial 1 Comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 22-May-15

The Masters Home Improvement chain is expected to post a loss of at least $A200m for 2014-15. Deutsche Bank’s figures suggest that the hardware joint venture made a loss of $A66m in the March 2015 quarter and is losing some $A5.1m each week. Woolworths and US-based Lowe’s have invested $A3.07m in Masters so far, and recently invested an additional $A45m in the business. Lowe’s has a 33 per cent stake in the joint venture.

CORPORATES
MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, HYDROX HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE

Woolworths puts more money into Masters

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 12-Mar-15

Australian-listed Woolworths has invested an additional $A30m in its Masters Home Improvement joint venture, while Lowe’s has contributed $A15m. The two groups have now invested more than $A3bn in the loss-making venture in the last five years. Masters posted a loss of $A112m in the first half of 2014-15, but Woolworths intends to press ahead with plans to open 6-11 new stores annually

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DANKS HOLDINGS LIMITED, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, HOST-PLUS, SHOPPING CENTRES AUSTRALASIA PROPERTY GROUP – ASX SCP