LONDON (ShareCast) - The former Chairman of online fashion sensation Asos (Other OTC: ASOMY - news) has set out plans to float an Indian copycat online retailer on London's AIM.

Koovs has set out plans to raise £22m with its initial public offer (IPO), according to the Financial Times.

Lord Waheed Alli, the media baron who chaired Asos between 2003 and 2012, is chair of Koovs and has brought in former Asos director Robert Bready as Creative & Retail Director, who will be backed by a design and buying team based in London.

Bangalore-based Koovs was founded in 2010 as a daily deals website, but switched course to 'lifestyle e-tailing' in 2012 when a large stake was taken by Anant Nahata, scion of the family that runs India's HFCL telecoms group.

Koovs, which even has adopted a very similar website design to Asos, now focuses on affordable western fashion rather than Indian ethnic clothing, aping celebrity fashions to appeal to middle-class working men and women aged 18-30 years, exactly like the London-based company.

The owners plan to float about 35% of the company with 44% owned by the Nahata family, 11% by Lord Alli and the remainder with management.

The Subscription
Further to the Company's announcements on 4 July 2018 and 19 July 2018, Koovs plc (AIM: KOOV) is pleased to announce that it has signed a subscription agreement with strategic partner Future Lifestyle Fashions Limited ("FLFL"), part of Future Group - India's largest retail group, for FLFL to take its current shareholding in Koovs from 16.25% up to a maximum of 29.99%.

Under existing shareholder authority and subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the approval of Reserve Bank of India ("RBI"), FLFL have signed a subscription agreement to subscribe for between 63,300,000 and 69,850,000 new ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 15p per share, raising between £9.5m and £10.5m of cash (the "Subscription"). Once completed FLFL will own between 28.89% and 29.99% of the Company's enlarged issued share capital.

The strategic partnership with FLFL represents a transformational deal for the Company and is expected to deliver synergies across the value chain from manufacturing and distribution to market reach, marketing and customer engagement.

Lord Alli, Chairman of Koovs, said: "This additional investment and commitment from FLFL underlines the tremendous opportunity to leverage our strategic partnership and ensure that Koovs is the aspirational first choice online western fashion destination for India's twenty-somethings. The partnership will significantly benefit our customers, partners and all shareholders."

Any views on these Harry?

I hold a small amount just as a speculative punt. They are only focused on the Indian Market as far as I can see, which itself has huge potential, but also puts all the risk in one place. Most of the items on the website wouldn't appeal to the European market as far as I can tell, though I am well past the target age group anyway, so what do I know?!!!
If they can be as successful as BOO, then I should be quids in, but there seems to be a fair amount of competition within India, so anything could happen. I wonder if FFL might take a majority holding eventually, which would see me exit with a nice profit.
High risk, imo, but only a small stake and am prepared to wait a few years to see what happens.

Thanks Harry.

On the up.

like a trout looking for mayflies

StockMarketWire.com
Fashion-forward business Koovs said Thursday first-half losses narrowed as costs cuts help offset weaker revenues.

For the six months ended 30 September, the loss before tax narrowed to £6.4m from £7.8m and revenue fell to £2.1m from £3.9m a year earlier.

Operating expenses were reduced by 28% to £5.0m.

Gross order value, representing sales generated on the KOOVS.COM website during the six months to 30 September 2018, fell 32% to £4.8m.

The fall in sales was blamed on a reduction in marketing spend and stock purchases, as the company sought to preserve cash until funding was received.

The company has raised £22m, nearly half of planned £50m raise so far.

'The funding secured in H1 allows us to get back to business and in H2 to date we have restarted marketing activities and expanded the product range, increasing the current trading margin. Longer-term, the successful fundraising represents a transformational opportunity for Koovs to drive sustainable growth, enhance margins and build a path to profitability, with partners that will help us to consistently build our brand, enhance our supply chain, and grow our product range,' said Mary Turner, Chief Executive Officer, Koovs