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.

- 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....

I have been to India and from what I saw, the 'market stall/boutique shop' was still the preferred place to buy fashion wear for most of the city population. However, India is fast embracing the mobile phone and internet shopping, though, imo, the latter is still only the territory of the well off class (as India still has a Caste System, I am avoiding getting into specifics). Most men who wear European dress still only seem to wear cotton trousers and an open neck collared shirt. The women definitely make much more effort. As for the teenagers........I think they are the target market for KOOV, but if you have a look at the website, which bears a very great resemblance to ASOS's, much of the fashion wear I think is targeted at the young ex-pat Indian. Much of the range would not be acceptable in some parts of India.
Maybe like BOO and ASOS, this will continue to rise on momentum, but it's not without it's risks.....as are all fashion stocks. This one has the added risk of reporting in pounds but trading in Indian Rupees presumably?

Thanks for that insight HARRYCAT, you didn't say when you visited - but no matter, as KOOV dir has put lots of his own money ( £900k@25p DYOR), into shares - He may be deluded, but so far the Market is willing to believe India will grow.
Other than expensive gadgets, what else is there for rich females? - handbags, shoes, clothing..... can't see them wanting to drive cars in the cities - other than - to escape to the hills.
Currency effects agreed . . . but then this Stock breaks all my Rules:- Foreign and over 50p ( bt a few more, so my Av ~37 ( under 40p with charges)....I suspect it's much the same "risk-wise" as BOO/ASOS ....except they are now high-PE. I didn't buy ASOS when it was pence because I didn't like the notion they were copying (do they?), yet that's "Fashion" the World over? ... Good Luck....
EDIT ( 20Sept2016 )- Fell 10% today...on no News.. 59p & Buys exc. Sells...?
EDIT(30Sept2016)-missed London-AGM at 9am ( Zzzz ), but sp is 61p, so I guess no Shocks were present . . . . pity as I'd have liked to see who their target market is . . . but I doubt it's the Rich, more-likely the young upwardly mobile ( like London 60's? ), that want to be seen as Modern - and shop On-Line because they can do it quickly. It's something that M&S just couldn't do with their Customers.
EDIT (24Nov2016) - sp 52p & slipping recently.
EDIT (22Feb2017)- sp 45p - despite clever Valentine's Day advertising

now answer the other side of the equation and ask how much the directors have taken out already, including when they floated the company

the domestic indian economy is certainly doing pretty well, even though their exporting is very weak

wealthy indians probably don't buy luxury goods on line anyway as they assuredly lack cachet

I went in 2012, hangon. Mumbai, Chandrapour, Chennai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Ratnagiri.

I agree that wealthy Indians like to be seen making their purchases, so they are not KOOV target market. Looking at the KOOV website, I don't think the range offered would appeal to them either.

ouch!!
you've got a lot to make up if you really insist on hanging on

Very droll, Mr C!

StockMarketWire.com
Koovs saw group revenue double to £4.0m (INR366.7m), (H1 FY15: £2.0m (INR199.2m)) in the six months to the end of September.

The loss before tax was £9.1m (INR835m), (H1 FY15: loss of £5.7m (INR571m), in line with expectations as the business continues increase its investment in marketing and technology, to build presence in the market and grow revenues, and expand operational capabilities.

Chief executive Mary Turner said: "It has been another amazing six months of growth for both sales and new customers. We have delivered on both our strategic and financial objectives and are in line with expectations. The increases in our customer base, registered base and social followers will provide an excellent opportunity for future growth. Whilst demonetisation had a short-term impact on the market and ecommerce we have seen good growth in November and had some of our best days for sales in December.

"The Indian online fashion market is projected to grow to £2.5bn by 2020 and the combination of a strengthened management team, our exclusive London based designs and operational expertise in India, mean Koovs is well positioned to capture a significant market share in this rapidly growing market."

if you ever thought that BOO was a flakey company with questionable management, then this lot puts BOO in the shade

Agreed. Think I made the right choice with four times my investment now.

News Item ( not specifically KOOV )..Bangladesh clothing factories closed - Workers strike for $200/month ( DYOR )- so Bosses closed several factories . . . I wonder if this is the start of "robotised" factories? . . . given that Robots can work 24/7 and need little space. . . . a relatively small factory can produce many designs and can stitch little fancies (far better than humans, I'm suggesting ).... so once it's designed it will be possible for on-line Orders to be individually produced, with a little nip/tuck to exactly fit the customer . . . If this extends to men's suiting, we might see the dramatic end to Saville Row . . . the only dev. needed is a laser-measuring device that fits a lift; as Mr Average takes his Misses to the restaurant floor, using a special lift. ( US=elevator).
Still, my Job ( Grumpy ol' man), is safe-enough; until the grim reaper arrives by drone. . . . Is that a buzzing I hear?
EDIT (12Jan2017)..I read TO doubled; but so did losses...Oh well.
EDIT (28Feb2017)-Good Ns from Co .. stocks selling well, but no sp rises...~46p . . . ( 20March...45p)

StockMarketWire.com
Koovs - the fashion business focused on the young Indian e-commerce market - saw sales rise by 101% to £13.45m in the nine months to the end of December.

Koovs said web traffic, registered users and social media were all up over 100% and it had its most successful designer collaboration to date with red-carpet favourites Gauri & Nainika.

A trading update said that sales growth would be affected by demonetisation but with no overall effect on profitability targets for FY2017.

It continued : "Web traffic, registered users and social media followers have all increased by over 100%.

"In addition, the company's strategy to offer unique and exclusive designs, has resulted in the most successful designer collaboration to date.

"Launched in November, the premium party dress collection from red carpet favourites Gauri & Nainika sold out in record time, shipping over 1000 units in three days, 50% of the total collaboration collection."

Chief executive Mary Turner said: "Koovs continues to deliver excellent year on year growth and is now established socially as the favourite western fashion-forward brand in India.

"Despite the impact of demonetisation, we have doubled sales, which is testament to the team's proactive actions, the strength of our brand and the uniqueness of Koovs' fashion-forward product offer."

StockMarketWire.com
Koovs - the London listed fashion-forward online business for the twenty-something Indian consumer - has been named Most Popular Fashion Portal Preferred by Youth at the annual Global Youth Marketing Forum in Mumbai.

The Global Youth Marketing Forum and Awards, organised by CMO Asia (cmoasia.org), provide a platform for youth-obsessed brands from across the globe.

Focusing particularly on fashion, music, technology, sports and lifestyle categories, the event showcases and celebrates the latest expertise and innovation in marketing, customer engagement and social, specifically for the youth market.

Koovs said: "The youth market in India is probably the most attractive globally with the number of affluent young urbanites expected to reach 60m this year, while the market for lifestyle fashion in India is expected to reach $30bn by 2020.

"The Koovs.com portal focuses totally on western fashion for this rapidly expanding demographic."

Chief executive Mary Turner said: "The Koovs customer is twenty-something, urban, aspirational, highly connected to global culture, extremely tech-savvy and avid for western style.

"Our aim is to provide a 360 young fashion lifestyle experience across mobile and desktop, engaging customers through all the marketing channels relevant to today's youth culture.

"We are extremely excited to win this award - recognising our work in building the Koovs brand and Koovs.com as a destination site for the youth market in India."

Koovs plc, (AIM: KOOV).Bollywood sweetheart and style guru Sonakshi Sinha used her considerable social media clout to help fans dream up their ideal Valentine's Day date looks from the KOOVS.COM collection.

Leading up to Valentine's Day across all social media, and inspired by her own personal style and passion for fashion, Sonakshi and #VDAYwithKOOVS engaged with over 3.1 Million users.

Sonakshi, a very young 'veteran' of 19 Bollywood films, has a huge social media following of over 30 million internationally and a background in fashion design, studying at the Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University (SNDT).

"Sonakshi was the ideal person to inspire VDAY looks - she is massively followed by young people in India not only for her award-winning film work but she is also seriously invested in fashion having studied fashion and worked the catwalks of Fashion Week." Says Koovs.

StockMarketWire.com
Koovs has announced its strategy to expand into additional high potential markets in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

It said the first international distribution agreement, signed today, would launch the Koovs Private Label Collection on SOUQ.com, the leading e-commerce player in the Middle East, this summer.

The company said the Private Label Collection was currently Koovs.com's best-selling single brand, accounting for 40% of sales.

It said that working with international distribution and fulfilment partners would enable the company to leverage in-country expertise in logistics and marketing and ensure Koovs remained focused on India, which was its core territory and the fastest growing e-commerce market in the world today.

Chief executive Mary Turner said: "This is a great opportunity and I am excited to extend the Koovs brand into new territories with our first distribution deal for the Middle East.

"India remains our core market and the Private Label Collection will only be available in India on Koovs.com."

market is about as impressed as i am
i wouldn't touch this company with a bargepole ..... and yes i am well aware that i used to say the same of BOO