I have been in and out of these a few times :-)) ..... bumping around their bottom but starting to bounce a little ..... closed @ 87/90p on Friday.

They have fallen from grace because of poor distribution probelens caused by poor management and an out of House warehousing system. THis is being sorted and new guys have replaced the old .....

Great brand name and selling could be overdone ..... anyway I am in for a few @ 90p and will let them ride for a while - not a t trade. Recent director buying around this price


ains


bought @ 90p - currently moving up at 141/145p 13/05 = plus 56.66% net

still moving northwards with big vols - currently plus 10.61% on the day and 11th in all shares risers board



ains

Its time the goverment took a few more positive steps to stop this ... taxing them 99.99% if nec.


1m for ousted Mothercare trio
Jonathan Prynn, Evening Standard
22 May 2003

A FRESH 'rewards for failure' scandal emerged today when Mothercare said it paid almost 1m to three directors ousted in the year of the company's biggest-ever loss.



The specialist High Street retailer revealed the pay-offs as it announced a 25m slump into the red in the year to 29 March. The company was hit by protracted problems at a disastrous new central warehouse in Daventry, Northants, and poor trading that led to five profit warnings and a slump in its shares.



Former chief executive Chris Martin, who quit last July, has been paid compensation of 500,000, new boss Ben Gordon revealed today. One-time finance director Mark McMenemy, who also spent six months as acting chief executive after Martin's departure, left in March with 350,000. Ex-chairman Alan Smith left last August with 50,000.







The pay-offs will pour further fuel on City concerns that companies are not doing enough to limit pay-offs to directors who leave after poor performance.



Earlier this week, institutions voted down pay-off arrangements for GlaxoSmithKline chief executive JP Garnier that could have seen him walk away from the drugs giant with up to 22m.



Mothercare chief Gordon said the new team had sought to mitigate the compensation packages but insisted their hands were tied by their predecessors' contracts.



The company paid out 1.9m in redundancies last year, of which 900,000 went to the three directors and 1m - or about 33,000 each - to 30 other head office staff. One-off costs dragged the pre-tax loss to 24.8m. The previous year's 2.5p dividend has been axed

still ticking up @ 138/142 plus 14.29% on vols of 97OK

Worth mentioning that Baugur (icelandic group) has increased their stake to 3.54% saying it was attracted by the strong brand ...... hmmmmmmmmmmm ..... interesting

NOw up 14.69% on the day and more than 50% since we started



ains

might also be worth mentioning that Stuart Rose is looking for a high profile job :-)

(AFX-Focus) 2003-05-22 15:10 GMT: ROUNDUP Mothercare shares rise 14 pct despite near 25 mln stg FY loss
LONDON (AFX) - Mothercare PLC, the maternity and baby goods retailer, slumped to a 24.8 mln stg full year pretax loss, passed on a dividend payment, and warned its turnaround programme will take three years to complete.
But its shares soared over 14 pct as the group detailed its recovery strategy, reported encouraging current trading, and ruled out a rumoured cash call.

Ben Gordon, the former Walt Disney executive who became Mothercare's chief executive last December, said a year to March 29 2003 pretax loss of 24.8 mln stg versus a profit of 0.1 mln stg last time was "unacceptable", reflecting historic problems within the retailer particularly in distribution.

Mothercare's adjusted operating loss for the year to March 29 -- excluding exceptional charges and one-off items of 14.5 mln stg -- was 10.4 mln stg, better than analysts' expectations of an operating loss of around 12 mln stg, but way off last year's operating profit of 3 mln stg.

Group sales were up 1.1 pct to 431.7 mln stg.

Basic loss per share totalled 22.0 pence versus earnings per share of 0.2 pence. No dividend was proposed versus a 2.5 pence payout last time.

In his five months at the helm Gordon has tackled the distribution problems, re-negotiating Mothercare's contract with Tibbett & Britten Group PLC. Product availability has improved 10 pct and distribution costs have been cut from 8 pct of sales in the last year to a current running rate of 7 pct, with a target of 6.5 pct by March 2004.

He said that when he took up his post the retailer had a 10 mln stg overdraft. By changing supplier terms and tightening up cash management the overdraft had reversed to a net cash balance of 7.7 mln stg by the March year-end.

Mothercare has also secured its long-term financing with a 20 mln stg three-year loan facility from HSBC, making a rights issue unnecessary.

"We now feel we have the capital and the cash to turn the business around over the next three years," said Gordon.

He has also moved to re-invigorate trading by introducing new ranges, buying best selling lines in greater depth and focusing on full price trade.

Although comparatives are weak Gordon said he was encouraged by current trading -- UK like-for-like sales up 2.8 pct in the seven weeks to May 16 and an increase in gross margin (estimated by analysts to be up over 200 basis points).

"The business is now on a stable platform and we have developed a plan to turn Mothercare around," he said.

The retailer is now focusing on five key areas to deliver the recovery -- the store proposition, product and sourcing, supply chain, customer service and infrastructure.

Mothercare currently trades from 173 high street outlets and 68 out-of-town stores.

Gordon said the retailer's key focus on the store side will be the in-town outlets which have been neglected in recent years. Two new high street formats -- Mother and Baby and Mothercare Lite -- are being tested, with encouraging results so far.

However, 15 underperforming high street outlets will close over the next 12 months.

Numis is forecasting a year to end-March 2004 pretax loss of 2 mln stg, despite comments from Mothercare that they would be disappointed not to return to the black.

Meanwhile, Baugur Group hf, the Icelandic retail group, announced it has raised its holding in Mothercare to 3.54 pct.

At 2.42 pm Mothercare shares were up 17-1/2 pence at 140, capitalising the company at 99 mln stg.

james.davey@afxnews.com

jdd/sk

22 May 2003, This Is Money



On the High street, Mothercare, the childresnwear retailer, rallied 19 1/2p to 142p. Investors shrugged off full-year losses of nearly 25m, concentrating instead on its recovery strategy, encouraging trading news and its decision to rule out a rumoured cash call.




2003 Associated Newspapers Ltd

[ idiot wrong thread edit - while we're here though...sing a song ]

Ticking up again @ 147/149


May 23, 2003

Mothercare losses fail to dim recovery hopes
By Sarah Butler TIMES



SHARES in Mothercare, the specialist retailer, surged 16 per cent yesterday as Ben Gordon, the new-broom chief executive, laid out his strategy for recovery.
Optimism for the future overshadowed the revelation that the struggling mother-and- baby chain had suffered a 25 million pre-tax loss for the year to March 29 and cancelled the dividend. Sales edged up 1.1 per cent to 431.7 million Exceptional costs included almost 1 million in compensation paid to three directors who quit last year. Redundancy payments to other staff cost a further 2 million, while store closures cost 3 million.

City analysts took heart from the 2.4 per cent rise in underlying sales in the past quarter and a 2.8 per cent increase in the first seven weeks of the new financial year.

Matthew McEachran, at Investec Securities, said: Only time will tell whether the market will get fully behind Mr Gordon, but today was an important first step. He made quite a compelling presentation, but we will require more evidence of an improving performance. He added that it was difficult to attribute strong sales in January to the influence of Mr Gordon, who would have been in the company for only a few weeks at that time.

Mr Gordon, who joined in December, said it would take three years to turn the business round.

He said: There have been lots of promises from Mothercare in the past that have never been delivered. I am asked all the time, Why is that? and one thing is that there has been little investment. A key part of the recovery is investment in systems and stores and putting the basic retailing disciplines back.

Mr Gordon plans to close 15 unprofitable stores, refresh high street outlets and invest in new IT systems to help to improve efficiency. A three-year 20 million debt facility with HSBC has been negotiated to fund the turnround.

However, Mothercares distribution centre in Daventry run by Tibbett & Britten, the source of many of the retailers problems, is to remain in place for the time being.

Mr Gordon said the distribution set-up would be reviewed over the next three years to devise the most cost-effective way of creating a more efficient system. He said that distribution costs had come down to 7 per cent of sales from above 8 per cent, but admitted: Its still expensive.

One analyst said that store refurbishments had been tried before to no avail and that a string of failed recovery plans from several previous management teams made it difficult to believe in the latest recovery plan. My worry is that they are under-cooking the likely costs of the turnaround programme, the analyst said.

Refurbishing the stores and redesigning the supply chain from scratch could end up costing quite a lot of money.

namnews


UK: MOTHERCARE TO CLOSE 15 TOWN CENTRE STORES
Mothercare will close 15 town-centre stores within the next year as it announced the beginning of a 3- year recovery process yesterday. The closures represent 8% of the retailer's 173-strong town-center store portfolio. CEO Ben Gordon said the stores that will close have consistently underperformed and are unlikely to see their performance improve with the measures currently being put in place. The group's 68 out-of-town stores will remain unaffected. Gordon yesterday outlined a three-year recovery program for Mothercare, which has failed to capitalize on the 600,000 births that occur in the U.K. annually.

Although the chains pre-tax loss was higher than had been expected, the share price rose almost 16 per cent to 142p, partly on news that Baugur, the Icelandic group with an eye for undervalued UK retailers, had taken a 3.67% stake. A spokesman for Baugur said it had wanted to raise its stake because it was attracted by the group's strong brand: "There is an underlying strength in the company and it represents good value. There was also some faint encouragement as underlying UK sales rose

This is looking very good again. It has broken out into a new level. It is expected that there will be a very good trading statement and results in a few days.

http://www.citywire.co.uk/partners/default.asp?vid=59451

Gartmore's Williams shops at Mothercare
Published: 12:33 Fri 3 Oct 2003

Gartmore fund manager Gervais Williams argues Mothercare shares could double while motor retailers are still attractive investments.

Williams, an active trader, manages the 222.5 million Gartmore UK & Irish Smaller Companies unit trust as well as the 105 million Gartmore Growth Opportunities (GGO) and 70 million Gartmore Fledgling (GMF) investment trusts. He told Citywire he has recently been 'very, very active', and, despite the large rally among small-caps, can still find plenty of opportunities in the market.


For instance, last month he bought shares in Internet services group Easynet (ESY) during Marconi's sale of 44.7 million shares at 127p each, and has very recently picked up more. The shares are up 2p at 122.5p today.


He said: 'The share price has been weak recently, but the group has a lot of cashflow and it will be cashflow positive soon.'


He has also bought into troubled baby goods retailer Mothercare (MTC), which is also a significant investment for GAM's AAA-rated manager Andrew Green.


'It's had a good run but I still think there could be upside of 50%-100%,' Williams said. 'It has a lot of sceptics, but the group has lots of assets and has had a change of management.'


Mothercare shares have soared from just 85p in February to 221.5p, and are up 7.5p today ahead of a trading statement on Wednesday. In July the retailer, which has disappointed investors on numerous occasions, said like-for-like sales in the UK over the 15 weeks to 11 July rose 3.4%.

Who said retail's dead? -):

"Bartley Green pram gang mum refuses to name her accomplices
Sep 18 2010 by Steve Bradley, Birmingham Mail

A BIRMINGHAM single mum has admitted being part of a gang which brazenly stole expensive prams by removing security tags and simply pushing them out of Mothercare.

Emma Aldred has been warned she faces a stiff community sentence after she stole pushchairs worth 760 from the Merry Hill Centre.

But the three accomplices of mother-of-four Aldred, 35, remain at large after she refused to name them to police for fear of repercussions.

Aldred, of Romsley Road, Bartley Green was caught on CCTV acting as lookout during the theft of the two chairs worth 400 and 360 from Mothercare World on May 22.

Prosecutor Kulbir Paul told Dudley Magistrates Court: This lady along with three others have entered Mothercare World and were picked up on CCTV.

They took the pushchairs into a cubicle, into the disabled toilets, where they were de-tagged. This ladys role is the lookout.

He said Aldred, who pleaded guilty to theft, made a full and frank admission when police visited her at home."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that some of the profits have stopped flying out of the door the SP may resume it's upward trend again -):

A year later and retail profit is 90% down..wow.



Could they fall to sub 100p again.

Yes seems a bit harsh - I've had a small dabble @207.1 - look at the volume.

Its getting worse out there in retail land so be careful.

I got stopped earlier @220.1 +13 and I'm contemplating another stab if it goes much lower - incredible volume (see post 60).

Well done skinny.

Thanks mitzy - a bit rash in hindsight! Over 6 million shares traded now and back to 2003 levels.