>>> ASOS +3.35% today - haven't seen any specific news except this article on e-

WWD : Report Finds E-commerce Draws Hedge Funds

Hedge funds are the new e-commerce investors.

A report from Nasdaq OMX by retail analyst Calvin Silver and technology analyst Michael Stiller called “Is E-Commerce the Growth Story It’s Widely Believed to Be?” views the e-commerce play as a story about disruption.

The conclusion is contrary to the initial thought that e-commerce would attract traditional growth investors.

Silver explained that the presumption of interest from growth investors was initially based on public company reports in the softlines sector in which executives spoke about “double-digit growth in the e-commerce channel versus overall revenue. There was a clear disparity there, with the notion that the e-commerce channel was going to be where future growth for the industry lay.”

He added that consumer spending data over the last 10 years showed that spending on apparel and footwear completely underperformed in comparison to general consumer spending patterns. “We wanted to find out whether or not the market was growing and whether [these companies] were reaching new clients. A lot of times the information was vague about what double-digit [growth] actually meant,” Silver said.

Stiller explained that what they found when analyzing the data was that the disruption was coming from the perspective of wallet share. “Where are you getting your sales from? Consumers can go into stores or go online. Retailers were stealing share from each other online,” rather than generally growing their overall businesses, he said.


As consumer shopping behavior began indicating a preference for free shipping or faster shipping methods, companies also saw margins erode. Conversion of online shopping carts to actual purchases also initiated some deleveraging of fixed assets, such as the need for fewer brick-and-mortar stores. More importantly, companies now have to figure out how to best integrate the physical presence with the online channel, as well as how to allocate a purchase when consumers go to a store to see a product but choose to buy online, the analysts said.

They found that companies that are either e-commerce pure plays or brick-and-mortar with an e-commerce component saw an increase in hedge fund concentration of 175 percent and 95 percent, respectively. Hedge fund ownership of firms lacking an e-commerce play was down 17 percent.

According to Stiller, there’s no incentive for the growth investor, who is looking for a longer-term investment with a typical three- to five-year time horizon, when “retailers are fighting for the same market share and are picking off from each other.”

In contrast, hedge funds can play the disruption angle because they’re looking for unique trading opportunities that they can move in and out of fairly quickly, Silver said. E-commerce plays into that tactic, he said, either because they can short a loser or make a bet based on a perceived opportunity for a pop in the stock price.

And while companies with an e-commerce or omnichannel strategy on average saw their share price appreciate 63 percent from 2010 to 2014, those that underperformed also open themselves up to activist attention and elevated short interest from hedge funds that may short the stock, the report said.

WWD : LVMH Said Eyeing Proenza Schouler Stake

PARIS — Could Proenza Schouler be the next buzzy young brand to end up in Bernard Arnault’s sprawling luxury empire?

According to market sources, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has held talks about acquiring a stake in the New York-based fashion house. It’s understood discussions involve the 40 percent stake of Proenza Schouler that Andrew Rosen, John Howard and other investors jointly acquired in 2011 from Valentino Fashion Group.

The likelihood of a deal could not immediately be learned. It is not clear whether the founding designers might be willing to cede their majority control in order to partner with the luxury goods giant.

A spokesman for LVMH had no comment, while a spokesman for Proenza Schouler did not respond to a request for comment.

LVMH and its competitors have recently stepped up the pace of investments in young designers. Last year, LVMH sealed deals for a 52 percent stake in footwear firm Nicholas Kirkwood and a 46 percent holding in London-based fashion house J.W. Anderson, whose designer, Jonathan Anderson, is also creative director of LVMH-owned leather goods house Loewe.

Meanwhile, rival Kering acquired stakes in London designer Christopher Kane and American designer firm Altuzarra, helmed by Joseph Altuzarra.

Proenza Schouler has certainly been on LVMH’s radar for some time. Last July, the Left Bank department store it controls, Le Bon Marché, opened a Proenza Schouler corner. And earlier this year, the retailer hosted a vast, ground-floor retrospective exhibit of 80 favorite looks of Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.

“I love what they do. They have an amazing talent — just look at the fabrics,” Delphine Arnault, the daughter of LVMH chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault, and executive vice president at Louis Vuitton, said at a cocktail party when the exhibit opened last February.

“We’ve been following their work for a while,” the executive said at the time, sidestepping questions about a possible business interest in the brand.

According to sources, McCollough and Hernandez were approached about designing Givenchy a decade ago — before that house settled on Riccardo Tisci in 2005. The current talks with Proenza Schouler, which one source characterized as being at an advanced stage, come at a time when the French group is putting a greater focus on the American market, having just named a new ceo for Marc Jacobs International, and plotting a new business strategy for Donna Karan International.

Proenza Schouler is seen as a scalable business with international resonance that could benefit from LVMH’s expertise in leather goods and global retailing.

According to sources, Rosen may be willing to give up the stake in Proenza to focus on the contemporary businesses Theory, Helmut Lang and J Brand, part of the Link Theory subsidiary of Japanese fashion giant Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.

While best known for its megaluxury properties, headlined by Vuitton and Fendi, LVMH has a history of investing in smaller brands, dating back to 1997 when it invested in Marc Jacobs’ business, and hired him as artistic director of Vuitton. LVMH also held talks in recent years with Rodarte about investing in the label founded by California sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy in 2005, but never concluded a deal.

Hernandez and McCollough have been darlings of the New York fashion scene practically since launching the label based on their mothers’ maiden names in 2002 at age 23. Named CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year three times, the designers were also the first recipients of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2004.

The designers recently inked a license for swimwear, and made their first steps into retail, opening an uptown Manhattan boutique in 2012 and a flagship in the SoHo neighborhood last year.

(BN) Telefonica Board Said to Discuss Improving Bid for Vivendi’s GVT

Telefonica Board Said to Discuss Improving Bid for Vivendi’s GVT
2014-08-26 07:31:32.231 GMT


By Daniele Lepido and Rodrigo Orihuela
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Telefonica SA’s board plans to
discuss boosting its offer for GVT to value Vivendi SA’s
Brazilian broadband unit at as much as 8 billion euros ($10.6
billion), according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The new bid could be presented before Vivendi’s board
gathers Aug. 28, and before Telecom Italia SpA puts forward a
formal rival bid, the person said, asking not to be identified
because the deliberations are confidential. Telefonica this
month offered 6.7 billion euros, mostly in cash, for GVT.
No final decision has been made, and Telefonica’s board
could decide to stick with its current offer, the person said.
A representative for Madrid-based Telefonica declined to
comment.

For Related News and Information:
Telefonica Offers $9 Billion for Vivendi Brazilian Unit GVT
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Telecom Italia Said to Prepare GVT Bid of Up to $9.4 Billion
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Goldman, Credit Suisse Said to Work With GVT on Sale Process
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Top Technology Stories: TTOP <GO>
Bloomberg Industries: BI TELC <GO>

To contact the reporters on this story:
Daniele Lepido in Milan at +39-02-8064-4266 or
dlepido1@bloomberg.net;
Rodrigo Orihuela in Madrid at +34-91-700-9647 or
rorihuela@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Kenneth Wong at +49-30-70010-6215 or
kwong11@bloomberg.net
Ville Heiskanen

WSJ : Swatch Switches Gears on Smartwatches as Apple Looms

Swatch Switches Gears on Smartwatches as Apple Looms
Its Stock Falling, Swatch Adds 'Smart' Features to Watches

ZURICH— Swatch Group AG UHR.VX +0.62% is starting to get worried about smartwatches.

For years, Biel, Switzerland-based Swatch has dismissed Internet-enabled watches, such as Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -0.49% 's Galaxy Gear and Pebble Technology's Steel, as novelties that won't disrupt business at the world's biggest watchmaker.

Chief Executive Nick Hayek has said smartwatches don't have the elegance of his company's high-end Omega and Breguet brands, and displays on the devices are too small to be useful.

Now, with its stock slumping and analysts saying Apple Inc. AAPL +0.22% 's expected launch of a smartwatch poses a serious threat, Swatch appears to be reconsidering.

The company said it is introducing fitness functions, a key feature of smartwatches, to its Touch line of digital watches. Swatch hasn't detailed the fitness functions it will launch, but said they would be the "usual features." Smartwatches often have pulse measurement, training calculators and speed monitors.

The new features will launch in 2015, a Swatch spokeswoman said.

This represents the first time the company has made watches with "smart" features since an ill-fated venture 10 years ago.

Swatch is seen as more vulnerable to the wave of smartwatches hitting the market than more luxury-focused competitors because it generates 30% of revenue from low- and midrange brands.

Smartwatches generally sell for between $150 and $300, roughly the same range as the company's priciest plastic watches and its least expensive quartz timepieces.

Competition will build later this year when Apple is expected to launch a smartwatch.

Smartwatches could eat as much as 10% of sales of Swatch's entry-level plastic brand and 5% of its midrange brands, which include Tissot and Mido, in 2015 and 2016, said Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas.

"Nick Hayek is very concerned for sure," said Mario Ortelli, an analyst at Bernstein. "But he can't say that publicly."

Swatch didn't make Mr. Hayek available for comment.

Nervousness over Swatch's vulnerability has contributed to a selloff in the company's stock. Over the past 12 months, Swatch shares have fallen nearly 11%, more than rivals Compagnie Financière Richemont SA and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, which have dropped 5% and 6%, respectively.

Competition from Apple will likely be particularly tough.

Apple could sell as many as 4 million units this year and up to 50 million smartwatches in its first full year, according to the Smartwatch Group, a consultancy.

"[Apple] is a technological behemoth with a clear history of destroying categories," said Gary Paulin, an analyst at brokerage Aviate Global, who recommends selling Swatch shares in part because of the smartwatch threat. He said the pending launch of Apple's smartwatch is the biggest challenge Swatch has faced since digital watches upended the market.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Investors are betting Swatch shares will continue to sag. Since August 2013, short interest in Swatch shares has risen to 6.5% from 1.2%, according to Markit, a data provider. Short interest is the percentage of a company's shares that have been borrowed and then sold in hopes they can be bought back more cheaply.

Of course, the success of smartwatches is far from assured. Internet-linked watches made by Sony Corp. and Samsung have had disappointing sales thus far.

Swatch itself offered an early smartwatch in partnership with Microsoft Corp. MSFT +0.04% in 2004 that delivered personalized news, sports, and weather forecasts, but sales were disappointing and the company still has unsold inventory in stock.

Earlier this year, Swatch opposed Apple's attempts to trademark the "iWatch" name in several countries, claiming it was too close to the company's own "iSwatch."

>>> ThyssenKrupp considering Components unit sale - Rheinische Post

ThyssenKrupp considering Components unit sale - report 

ThyssenKrupp, the German industrial group, is considering the sale of its Components unit, Rheinische Post reported. The German daily cited unnamed sources with knowledge of the company who said the ThyssenKrupp management is considering the sale of further units including the Components unit. A full or partial sale is possible, the report stated. ThyssenKrupp stated it does not comment on market speculation.

The Components unit has 27,000 employees and manufactures parts for the auto industry among others.


Source Rheinische Post

WSJ : Warren Buffett’s Inversion Play Looks Awkward for White House

The White House might need a new poster child for its “tax fairness” campaign.

Famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who President Barack Obama has lauded and named a signature proposal after, is helping finance a deal that would allow Burger King Worldwide Inc.BKW +19.51% to reincorporate in Canada and potentially reduce its U.S. tax bill through a so-called inversion, the Journal reported late Monday.

One of the White House’s top economic priorities this fall is to deter companies from pursuing inversions, and Treasury Department officials are designing plans that would remove some of the incentives for these deals.

Mr. Obama and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew have spoken disparagingly about companies that use inversions. Mr. Obama in July called inversions an “unpatriotic tax loophole” and said “my attitude is I don’t care if it’s legal, it’s wrong.”

It even published a blog post titled “what are inversions and why should you care.”

Now that Mr. Buffett’s involvement in a possible inversion has been made public, will Mr. Obama and other Democrats take him to task? That might be awkward, given how the Obama administration has named one of their top tax proposals after the “Oracle of Omaha” himself.

The White House in 2011 proposed the “Buffett Rule,” which White House officials described as a new policy that would essentially prohibit wealthy Americans from claiming so many tax breaks and deductions that they were able claim sharp reductions in their effective tax rate. Mr. Buffett’s point, in helping pitch the rule, is that he shouldn’t be able to claim a lower tax rate than his secretary, who presumably isn’t a billionaire.

The Buffett Rule would essentially require millionaires to pay at least a 30% effective tax rate.

The White House has invoked the Buffett Rule often, even on the 2012 campaign trail, but it was never adopted by Congress. It lives on, however, in Obama administration budget proposals and on the White House’s website, which describes the the Buffett Rule as “a simple principle of tax fairness that asks everyone to pay their fair share.”

That offers a stark contrast with the language the White House has used to describe inversions in recent weeks.

FT : Italy loses enthusiasm for privatisations

Matteo Renzi, Italy’s media-savvy prime minister, sent out a Twitter message on Monday that he was back at his desk after his summer break. One unresolved item on his post-holiday to-do list is the stalled €12bn privatisation programme.
Plans for state sales and spending cuts were two elements that Mr Renzi took on wholesale from his predecessor Enrico Letta, whom the 39-year old former mayor of Florence ousted in a party coup in February.

Mr Letta, with the backing of Brussels, had considered early state sales a priority as a means of reducing Italy’s public debt mountain which has climbed above €2.1tn.
The main event of the programme described as Italy’s largest privatisation push since the late 1990s was the government selling 40 per cent of the national postal services operator Poste Italiane to raise at least €4bn.
But Mr Renzi has backpedalled on the listing of the postal service after a poor market debut by state-run shipbuilder Fincantieri in June. Fincantieri’s offer priced at the bottom of its range and the company had to slash its offering by a third after weak demand from international investors.

Plans to sell 49 per cent of air traffic controller Enav, and state-controlled export agency SACE have also slowed as investors have become warier of investing in Italy since data this month showed the eurozone’s third-largest economy fell back into recession in the second quarter.
In an interview with the Financial Times this month, Mr Renzi said that after the experience with Fincantieri he was taking his time with the privatisation process to make sure it “is done well and seriously”.
“We will do [privatisations] when they are in a condition to make us money. I am not in a position to be able to sell cheap, I want to sell our assets at their proper value,” Mr Renzi said.
Bankers say that Mr Renzi’s move to hold back from listing Poste Italiane until next year or even 2016 makes business sense. They argue that giving Francesco Caio, the recently appointed chief executive, more time to restructure the postal service may allow him to emulate the success of the listings of state-owned Deutsche Post and the UK’s Royal Mail.
Economists point out Italy’s third dip into recession since 2008 also means that Mr Renzi may be better off undertaking structural reforms first.
“If you do privatisations without doing reform first, the valuation at which you sell is going to be lower as investors have less confidence in the long-term growth of the economy,” says Alberto Gallo, head of macro credit research at RBS.
In the short-run, however, the delays in the privatisation process pose problems for the Treasury, which is wrestling to fulfil the government’s pledge to cut spending by as much as €34bn by 2016.
In lieu of a listing of Poste, Mr Renzi is considering a sale of 5 per cent each of Eni, the energy group, and Enel, the utilities company, people close to the government say. At today’s prices, those stakes sales would raise in excess of €5bn providing Treasury coffers with a boost. Still, analysts point out it would be only a temporary stopgap.
“Even if a genius makes everything work smoothly, how much is the state going to make from this? It is a drop in the ocean. It is not an antidote to Italy’s debt,” says Francesco Galietti, founder of Policy Sonar, a Rome-based consultancy.
Mr Galietti say the richer pickings for the Italian state may be the privatisation of the municipal infrastructure such as the local water companies but the Renzi government has not yet tackled that issue for fear it may prove unpopular with voters.

(BFW) WPP 1H Sales Beat, Dividend Misses; Reiterates Long-Term Targets

WPP 1H Sales Beat, Dividend Misses; Reiterates Long-Term Targets
2014-08-26 06:02:27.419 GMT


By Blanche Gatt and Sam Chambers
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- WPP 1H rev. up 2.7% to GBP5.47b vs
est. GBP5.13b (6 ests); LFL rev. up 8.7%.
* In July, net sales rose 2.8% on LFL basis
* Reaffirms L/T target of delivering above industry avg. rev.
growth
* 1H pretax profit rises 1.5% to GBP532m
* Div/shr up 10% to 11.62p vs BDVD forecast 12.5p; expects to
achieve payout ratio of 45% this year
* Reported billings down 3% to GBP22.06b due to sterling
strength, +5.7% at constant FX
* Avg. net debt falls by GBP348m to GBP2.77b
* NOTE: co. said April 25 1Q reported rev. rose 1.5%, LFL rev.
rose 7%; expects stronger-than-peers rev., gross margin
growth in 2014


For Related News and Information:
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First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Blanche Gatt in London at +44-20-7392-0351 or
bgatt@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Ludden at +44-20-7673-2645 or
jludden@bloomberg.net

>>> Carlo Tassara looks to sell 12.8% stake in Eramet and 7.03% stake in Comilog

Carlo Tassara looks to sell 12.8% stake in Eramet and 7.03% stake in Comilog 

Carlo Tassara, the holding of entrepreneur Romain Zaleski, is looking to sell its 12.8% stake in listed French mining company Eramet, reported Italian language daily Milano Finanza. The report cited sources with knowledge of the matter who said that the stake was up for sale following consultations with creditor banks.

The report said that based on Eramet's present market cap, Carlo Tassara could receive EUR 285m for the stake. The item added that Carlo Tassara has given the stake a book value of EUR 234m.

The report said that Carlo Tassara is also looking to sell its 7.03% stake in Gabon-based manganese miner Comilog, another mining company. The report said that this stake has a book value of EUR 14.8m.

The report said that Goldman Sachs has had its mandate renewed in order to carry out the sale.


Source Milano Finanza daily edition