>>> Vivarte CEO calls off Chevignon sale, yet to decide about Besson; shareholde

Vivarte CEO calls off Chevignon sale, yet to decide about Besson; shareholders to exit within 24-36 months

French, privately owned fashion retailer Vivarte has called off the sale of its French unit Chevignon because of the lack of a “reliable” buyer, French daily Le Figaro reported citing Vivarte chairman and chief executive Patrick Puy. Puy added that the company had still to decide whether to dispose of its Besson shoe-retailing unit. Besson operates 150 stores and generated an EBITDA of EUR 40m on revenues of EUR 250m for the year ended August 2017.
Puy also denied that the company would divest its Caroll division.
Asked about the future of the company, he said that the main shareholders of the group could decide to exit their investment within two to three years. A sale or an IPO could then be considered.
Puy noted that Vivarte does not have any debt maturing before October 2019 and that the group would be able to refinance it. He said that the company, with debt of EUR 600m and shareholder equity of EUR 250m, does not burn cash anymore and is aiming for an EBITDA of EUR 108m in 2018.

>>> Amazon kicks off fashion attack on Aussie retailers

--> Asos, H&M, Zara, Zalando are names to watch....

Amazon kicks off fashion attack on Aussie retailers
Nov. 11 (The Age) -- The largest assault on Australia's retail sector in decades has begun, with key Amazon executives flying into Australia during Melbourne Cup week in preparation for a pre-Christmas launch of the global retail giant's fashion brands.
BusinessDay has been told that Amazon deliberately chose Melbourne Cup week, when key rival Myer is partying at the races, to begin its foray into the local market.
The move is being co-ordinated by Prateek Ranjan, Amazon's Seattle-based head of head of marketing and international expansion. Mr Ranjan was previously the head of Amazon Fashion, and is now responsible for "expanding Amazon's footprint in new countries across the globe".
Amazon's New-York-based global production manager Nickole Brown is leading the biggest series of fashion shoots Melbourne has ever seen. Amazon is scheduled to undertake three fashion shoots per day, five days per week, at secret locations across Melbourne over the next month.
Ms Brown's international production team arrived in the city on Melbourne Cup day. That team includes Amazon's India-based production shoot manager Anisha Bhardwaj, who put out a request on LinkedIn for "E-commerce Product and On-body Photographers, Stylists and make up artists based out of Melbourne" three weeks ago.
"I have never seen anything like this in Australia," said a member of Amazon's Australian operations.
"I have seen major shoots for the big department stores, but nothing to this scale. Three shoots per day is unheard of, let alone every day of the week."
The first Amazon fashion shoot is scheduled for Monday
morning. "With Amazon's quick turnaround, they will be operational in the online fashion market in Australia by early December at the latest," BusinessDay was told.
An Amazon spokeswoman said the company could not comment on its future plans.
Fashion attack
Amazon first confirmed its entry to Australia in April and industry watchers had been expecting a pre-Christmas launch, but the e-commerce giant has been tight-lipped about what its initial product offering will look like.
Citi analysts Bryan Raymond and Craig Woolford expect that Amazon will launch locally before the Black Friday shopping event on November 24.
They say electronics, clothing and footwear will be the key categories for Amazon when it starts trading, making Myer, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi the local retailers most likely to be negatively affected.
In other markets Amazon sells other brands' apparel as well as its own private label clothing, including men's and women's basics, business attire, children's wear, and a recently launched sportswear range.
Amazon has registered trademarks in Australia on brands including AmazonBasics, which sell mass market products covering everything from electronics to kitchenware.
It has also recently registered its vitamins and supplements brand Elements, the snack and pantry staples brands Happy Belly and Wickedly Prime, and the sweets and chocolate brand Surprise.
Mama Bear, Amazon's range of baby products including nappies and infant food, has also been registered.
While Amazon is not expected to steal significant market share initially, analysts say it will hurt incumbent retailers by forcing them to drop prices to remain competitive.
Amazon has taken over a 24,000-square-metre warehouse in Melbourne's outer east and is converting it into a distribution centre, where it will fulfil and ship orders.
Amazon will host a Marketplace Summit in Sydney on Monday for 500 Australian merchants that have signed up to Amazon's Australian platform.
It is understood merchants will be told by the company's Australian chief Rocco Braeuniger that Amazon will be operational in time for this Christmas season.
Amazon's head of seller services for Australia, Fabio Bertola, will detail how the local Amazon platform will operate.

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

  • BLFS +17.5%, OMER +14.6%, HTZ +12.9%, AYTU +12.7%, RGSE +12.2%, ZSAN +11.4%, ATEC +10.3%, VJET +10.1%, IMMU +9.9%, (also Board of Directors has voted to appoint Michael Pehl as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective December 7), WTT +9.9%, GROW +9.8%, TRXC +9%, CATB +8.5%, ESEA +7.8%, SGYP +7.1%, AVID +6.4%, ANY +6%, SNOA +5.5%, (also files for $75 mln mixed securities shelf offering), SNOA +5.5%, TRTC +5%, CTSO +4.8%, NVDA +4.6%, MT +4.6%, JYNT +4.4%, CDXC +4.3%, DDS +4.2%, AYX +4.2%, SPRT +4%, CLMT +3.6%, NAO +3.6%, XXII +2.9%, NH +2.9%, ENDP +2.5%, ZOES +2.4%, ARGS +2.4%, APVO +2%, (also enters into Equity Distribution Agreement under which it may issue and sell through Piper Jaffray shares of common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $17.5 mln ) APVO +2%, RIBT +1.9%, BDSI +1.8%, JAGX +1.7%, TRIL +1.7%, PULM +1.3%, UEPS +1.2%, LOMA +1.1%, KLDX +1%, VUZI +0.9%, NWSA +0.8%, DIS +0.8%

M&A news:

  • EA +0.8% (Electronic Arts to acquire Respawn Entertainment for $151 mln in cash and up to $164 mln in the form of restricted stock units; expected to be neutral to EA's net income in 2018 and 2019)

Other news:

  • DVAX +15.5% (announces the FDA has approved HEPLISAV-B for prevention of Hepatitis B in adults)
  • ATOS +5.3% (Iroquois Capital Management discloses 9.01% passive stake)
  • THS +4.4% (will webcast Investor Day presentation on Monday November 13 - will discuss the the strategy, operations and TreeHouse 2020 initiatives)
  • CAR +4.1% (following HTZ results)
  • MDR +1.8% ( announces a 'major' contract award from a Middle East customer)
  • AMD +1.5% (following NVDA results)
  • WDC +1.2% (announced an authorization to resume potential repurchases of its common stock under a previously approved $5 bln repurchase program by its board)
  • PANW +1% (rebounding after closing 9+ pts lower)

Analyst comments:

  • VKTX +2.3% (resumed with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright; tgt $7 (stock closed at 2.19 on Thur))
  • AAN +1.4% (upgraded to Strong Buy from Mkt Perform at Raymond James)
  • UBS +1.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill)
  • CVS +1.2% (upgraded to Buy at Needham)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up:

  • RGSE +19.5%, DVAX +17.7%, BLFS +17.5%, OMER +14.6%, AYTU +12.7%, ZSAN +11.4%, VJET +11.1%, ATEC +10.3%, WTT +9.9%, GROW +9.8%, TRXC +9.7%, HTZ +9.4%, AVID +6.4%, ANY +6%, SNOA +5.5%, SNOA +5.5%, ATOS +5.3%, NVDA +5.1%, TRTC +5%, CATB +4.8%, CTSO +4.8%, MT +4.8%, THS +4.4%, SGYP +4.4%, JYNT +4.4%, CDXC +4.3%, DDS +4.2%, AYX +4.2%, CAR +4.1%, SPRT +4%, CLMT +3.6%, IMMU +3.2%, XXII +2.9%, NH +2.9%, ARGS +2.7%, ZOES +2.4%, APVO +2%, APVO +2%, RIBT +1.9%, MDR +1.8%, VUZI +1.8%, BDSI +1.8%, AMD +1.7%, JAGX +1.7%, TRIL +1.7%, AAN +1.4%, PULM +1.3%, WDC +1.2%, UBS +1.2%, UEPS +1.2%, PANW +1%, KLDX +1%, EA +0.9%

Gapping down:

  • DXTR -23.4%, KONA -20.9%, BIOC -19.4%, RELY -17.6%, SSKN -14.9%, RHE -12.5%, LPTH -11.8%, CLRB -11.6%, NVCN -11%, WAC -10.8%, PBYI -10.5%, TTD -9.8%, ATTO -9%, QTM -8.2%, TPC -7.3%, RDFN -6.8%, INFI -6.4%, AIRG -6.1%, CLIR -5.7%, ARLZ -5.2%, AVGR -4.8%, HRTX -4%, XIN -3.6%, ICHR -3.3%, FH -3.3%, XON -3%, XELA -3%, ENDP -2.8%, ACRX -2.6%, BPTH -2.1%, ESNC -2%, CRMD -1.9%, JWN -1.4%, ONVO -1.3%, FSIC -1.3%, SOI -1.1%, KDMN -1.1%, IPWR -1%, EFX -1%, PGH -0.9%, ROX -0.9%, CALL -0.9%, ALT -0.9%, PLYM -0.9%

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

  • DXTR -23.4%, KONA -20.9%, RELY -17.6%, BIOC -16.1%, SSKN -14.9%, RHE -12.5%, LPTH -11.8%, CLRB -11.6%, PBYI -11.2%, WAC -10.8%, TTD -10.2%, ESL -9.4%, RDFN -8.6%, QTM -8.2%, TPC -7.3%, AIRG -6.1%, CLIR -5.7%, AVGR -4.8%, XIN -3.6%, FH -3.3%, XON -3%, XELA -3%, ACRX -2.6%, BPTH -2.1%, ESNC -2%, CRMD -1.9%, JWN -1.6%, ONVO -1.3%, FSIC -1.3%, KDMN -1.1%, IPWR -1%, EFX -1%

Other news:

  • NVCN -14.4% (prices offering of 6,609,588 Series A units of Neovasc and 19,066,780 Series B units of the Co, at a price of $1.46 per Unit)
  • INFI -13.6% (reports clinical and translational data for IPI-549; well tolerated and demonstrated clinical activity)
  • ATTO -7% (prices secondary offering by selling shareholder of 12,295,082 ordinary shares at $9.00 per share)
  • HRTX -3.7% (announces FDA approval of CINVANTI injectable emulsion, for intravenous infusion)
  • ARLZ -1% (files for $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering)

Analyst comments:

  • MRO -0.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup)

(BofA-ML) The Flow Show - record week of Tech inflows, big IG inflows, but HY &

Key takeaways
* record week of Tech inflows, big IG inflows, but HY & EM debt flows weakening
* We think EMD...HYG...SX7E...BKX...SOX...recent pullback is "dress rehearsal" not the Big One
* Icarus meltdown more likely after SPX 2863 but before 22nd Aug 2018

Talking Points
- Inflows ebb: $3.9bn into equities, $6.5bn into bonds, modest slowdown in recent weeks
- Flow leadership intact: record week of tech inflows $1.3bn (Chart 1); big IG debt inflows past 4 weeks ($25.1bn); but weakest EM debt inflows in 12 weeks & biggest HY outflow in 8 weeks; still, fund inflows to IG/HY/EM bonds YTD massive $296bn (Chart 2); and big 5 BofAML GWIM ETF positions of
US large cap, IG bonds, EAFE stocks, high dividend stocks, Tech stocks (Chart 3) confirm "growth" & "yield" leadership
- Price leadership stung: Oct 26 /27 ECB announced "tapering", Brent broke $60/b…concerns of "peak policy" stimulus & "peak profits" caused toppling
of credit, bank, tech "leadership"; sell-off sequence past few weeks = 1 EMD, 2 HYG, 3 SX7E, 4 BKX, and #5 SOX (Chart 4); watch EMD & HYG in
particular…needs to stabilize…note junk bonds v correlated with tech stocks (Chart 5)
- Icarus: recent pullback also follows insane gains…FAANG+BAT market cap up $1.5tn YTD, a sum larger than entire market cap of DAX ($1.4tn); and Aug saw all-time low yields in US HY tech bonds (4.3% H0TY) & EU HY corp bond yields hit low in Oct (2.1% HE00, i.e. lower than yield on US Treasuries)
- Dress rehearsal: flattening yield curve big +ve for risk assets YTD but past 8 sessions of lower bond yields has more concerningly coincided with weaker credit performance; but credit hit by special factors (IG hit by big supply, HY by telco issues (10% of HYG)); & all-time low in MOVE index suggests pullback a "dress rehearsal" for potential meltdown…requires recession risk or higher wage inflation/ bond yields/ bond vol (i.e. MOVE)/ credit spreads
- BB was a warning sign: BofAML Bull & Bear Indicator was 7.6 on Oct 26 …once again useful warning signal; now BB @ 7.1 on weaker equity breadth, slower risk asset inflows; next Tuesday's BofAML's Nov Fund Manager Survey needs to show big drop in FMS to 4.2% to trigger "sell signal" of 8.0 (ceteris paribus)
- Big Bad Bull: 1. on Aug 22 2018 S&P 500 bull market becomes longest ever; 2. @2863 S&P 500 bull market becomes 2 largest of all-time; Icarus could end badly after 2863 SPX and before Aug 22 2018




Asset Class Flows
- Equities: inflows 20 of past 22 weeks ($3.9bn; $4.8bn into ETFs, $1.0bn outflows from mutual funds)
- Bonds: 34 straight weeks of inflows ($6.5bn)
- Precious metals: small week of inflows ($0.3bn)
- Fixed Income Flows :
- 46 straight weeks of IG bond fund inflows ($7.0bn)
- Largest HY bond fund outflows in 8 weeks ($0.6bn)
- Inflows to EM debt funds 41 of past 42 weeks ($0.5bn)
- Small muni funds inflows ($0.3bn)
- 8 straight week of govt/Tsy fund outflows ($0.8bn)
- Small inflows into TIPS ($0.3bn)
- Largest bank loan fund outflows in 11 weeks ($0.4bn)
- Equity Flows
- US: large outflows reverse recent inflows ($5.6bn)
- Japan: inflows continue after recent redemptions ($1.1bn)
- Europe: inflows in 9 of past 10 weeks ($2.9bn)
- EM: inflows for 32 of past 34 weeks ($0.3bn)

By style: moderate US value fund outflows ($0.9bn), moderate US small caps outflows ($1.0bn), US growth outflows in 14 of past 16 weeks ($0.3bn)

By sector: record inflows to tech ($1.3bn), consumer ($0.2bn), energy ($0.1bn), materials ($0.01bn, 11 straight week); outflows from health care ($0.01bn), financials ($0.04bn), utilities ($0.3bn), real estate ($0.2bn)




>>> J Crew chairman reached out to Amazon regarding potential sale

J Crew chairman reached out to Amazon regarding potential sale

J Crew chairman Mickey Drexler says his company contacted Amazon [NASDAQ: AMZN] regarding a potential sale of the New York Coty-based clothing retailer, Re/Code reported Thursday.
At a conference Thursday, Drexler said during an interview that TPG-owned J Crew, of which Drexler said he retains 10% ownership, visited some team members of Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos regarding a possible sale, which he said would have been a very intelligent move. He said Walmart and Target also should have made such a move, the article reported.
A sale to Amazon, of Seattle, Washington, would have given the online retail giant some clout in style, Drexler contended, Re/Code reported.
J.Crew recorded revenues of USD 2.42bn for the year ended 28 January 2017.