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.

No offence to no one but asos is all about robertson, he is sort of s jobs in apple. Others just contibute.

the chart tells you all ..... modesty forbids to me to comment further

perhaps Greyhound has something to add :-)

I sold out fortunately before incurring further losses. Still holding BOO though. The lesson is to be stricter with stop loss.

so your "long term" didn't last very long then :-)
and of course no need to look further "in a year or two" either

I still like the location/demographic and story but when funding is required for start-ups, this market is unforgiving. I don't believe it's a poor business but sometimes have to preserve capital and cut losses. I shall still follow and look in a year or two - and either be grateful or curse the decision. So a stinging loss on this one but my riskier investments funded from Asos gains fortunately. Win some, lose some - this one clearly the latter!

but it was fun to tease you :-)

============

by the way, and to some extent similar though a totally different field, you may want to take a look at RM2

I shall remember that ;)

cynic, generally I'm reducing individual stocks and diversifying further into property EFTs, private equity and starting to think about more funds into commodities - metals (precious and base) and wood/forestry but still too early I reckon. Taking an approach following Harvard/Yale on asset allocation...

absolute bricks/mortar have been my best investment by a million miles .... mind you, i was ridiculously lucky when i bought a small freehold in portobello market in 1978 (and still hold)

Internet, smoke/mirrors/fashion!/Overseas and a falling sp...16p. Whoops-a-daisy!
EDIT (19Feb2016)_re tomorrow's post:-
BTW: Cynic wasn't this yr view way-back of ASOS....?
EDIT ( 29Feb2016) - Cynic - the sp does say it all - as many Dot-Coms did before - but just a few have stood out as being likely to succeed - and ASOS was one I wouldn't touch ( Huh, so I was wrong )- although recently the PE was v.high and ASOS sp has come down as folks get to see "trading figures"

I bought a few KOOV simply because the Dirs bought-in recently £1m DYOR - and paid 25p ish. whereas I paid 16p - Whilst Dir do "get it wrong" - look at MONI = dire - ( and MTV recently lost, I think ) . . . . but I don't think those Dirs ever bought huge chunks - and IMHO their abilities / Track-record was questionable . . .

Whereas KOOV is a Stock that challenges my "Rules" by being "Foreign" - so I can't see what they are up to on the Street, as it were. But it "Complies" - in that the Dirs are well-versed in the specific Market and probably have "Something to prove" - why else did they leave ASOS?

So there we have it . . . . and the sp is flat-lining at present . . . . very difficult to call the bottom - but those DIRs must surely think it's time to buy-in . . . . Of course I could lose it all - and History suggests I should put the Cash into a Betting-machine for improved ODDs . . . . But I did look at their Website ( Since that is World-wide ) and it looks OK to a very NON-fashionester like me . . . . so I'm guessing if it taps into the Indian wants, it should improve . . . . and that's why I risked my money.

Cynic - you were right from the start.....to now - KOOV has only been a disaster for investors - but is there never a hope of a "Turnaround" - ?

as i have said several times and indeed from the very off, this is a share for mugs only

("Private") Fund Raising at 25p/share appears to be finding favour..... so the recent dip ( Low=16p) would seem to be history; but perhaps that also meant there was a funding issue, but we weren't told.... (Oops!). Following earlier disclosure, my few shares at 16p appear to have gained in value . . . ( currently 25p).

Seems they have indications for £20m but may try for a further £10m to buy more of their Indian Marketing Co ( don't Understand why that wasn't already within the Co??? ). NOT keen on these private placings but that's been the way with many Businesses.
EDIT-(11May2016)- sp 25p . . . the recent Placing appears to have settled-in.
EDIT-(13May2016)-IC notes Dir purchases (& Fundraising), remains Neutral until spending is curtailed . . . . I'm reading these together as "Maybe Good" = sp=25p
EDIT -(27May2016)- Wow ! Now 40p on investment rumour....
EDIT - (6Jn2016)- dropped 6% today, now 48p - - - by 10Jn26 - 58p when does a sensible person retrieve Orig. Investment? - ie remainder is £free....
(EDIT 29Jn) - 1-wk after BrExit. sp =54p and after funding-round closed.
- the following are spot-prices for my own interest -
(EDIT 12Jy)-sp=55p. . . .. ( 25 July . . . . 71p ) . . . ( 18 Aug . . . 61p ).

Think I'll stay with boo much better looking chart.

StockMarketWire.com
Koovs reports strong sales growth of 115% year on year in the four months to the end of July and a significant increase in brand awareness from <1% to 18%.

An update says sales rose to £5m/INR473m and website traffic increased to 1.4 million visits per week, an increase of 142%.

The group has 1.2 million registered users and 1.7 million social media registered - both more than doubled.

Koovs says its strategy and business plan continue to deliver significant growth in sales and brand awareness. It says India offers a huge opportunity for ecommerce and online fashion in a rapidly expanding market which is expected to increase five-fold by 2020, to £2.5 billion.

Koovs says its 115% sales growth over this period is notably ahead of India's market benchmarks of 50% annual growth in ecommerce, and 75% in online fashion.

Chief executive Mary Turner said: "The market for online fashion in India is growing rapidly and Koovs continues to outperform market growth. Our investment in brand marketing is delivering excellent results, significantly increasing brand awareness and establishing a strong platform from which to build brand affinity and customer loyalty."

- HARRYCAT - your Post didn't say if you like this Stock . . . .?
+ I see there is an AGM soon, but it's in London, 9AM (DYOR), which says "Stay away" to my mind....
SP currently 65p.

I tend to not invest in sectors which I don't understand, so retail clothing is generally off my list. I have dabbled in BOO, but only small amounts. My understanding is that KOOV is very much India facing, so that means you have to understand what indian teenagers are wearing presumably??? Well out of my comfort zone!!!

You got to get with it Harry. :-)) Indian teens love Taylor Swift dresses.

stick with BOO harry, been in since 33p now 89p get in there.

Thanks all for the info+ Looking at India doesn't mean it's inherently wrong - just more-risky that we ( in UK ) don't know what's going on ((But then who knows what teenagers will want in 1year anyway?)) - You have to believe that Koovs has their market correctly . . . .as their RNS appear to support and another aspect is the PE Ratio . . .
For BOO that's well near triple figures ! Yikes.
For KOOV it small and slightly negative . . . .
I don not know . . . . but it strikes me that KOOV should have further to go before it becomes as dizzy as BOO.
One might argue that BOO is nearer to home, easier to check, etc. but the PE ratio like ASOS is a worry ( to me. only it seems. ), that it can only go up if more fools join in. ( This being a generic Term, I hasten to add )...

Will KOOV prove a disaster? _ It's a possibility, but so far my small-investment has tripled: so I'm considering pushing more-cash into it. =Average-Up my purchase price.... but I hate to do this....esp. for a foreign investment . . .
It makes sense ONLY if there is a smell of Dividends, or a surge in SP ( Unlikely, for the next year, I hear? ).... and some UK link guarantee, would be nice.

The KOOV AGM is late September at 9am [ DYOR ] . . . . which says stay-away - unless anyone has other ideas . . . like it's still early evening in India..... dunno.
EDIT(7Oct2016) - a week after AGM and sp is 71p - looking OK still....