On the shelves now: Consumer Weekly #48

In this Consumer Weekly newsletter, we provide a brief overview of the key factors affecting our Consumer coverage, from Luxury & Consumer goods to Retail & E-commerce and Food & Ingredients. This week we look at the annual Bain-Altagamma Luxury Goods study which expects a period of tur

Well on track to meet FY24 targets and savings in FY25-26

Whereas Q3 was clearly a transitional quarter following the launch of the group's restructuring transformation programme SpexFocus, MRX posted in-line Q3 revenue and a lower aEBITDA loss thanks to a strong GM improvement. Also, as part of SpexFocus aimed at strengthening its "Vision-as-a-service" i

Mister Spex: first take on Q3 results

This morning Mister Spex posted in-line Q3 revenue marked by a sharp decline in International (-17%) following future store closures, while Germany posted resilient 2% growth. The aEBITDA loss of EUR1.4m was lower than CSSe (-EUR2.7m) thanks to a solid GM expansion of 300bps. FY24 sales and margin

On the shelves now: Consumer weekly #43

In this Consumer Weekly newsletter, we provide a brief overview of the key factors affecting our Consumer coverage, from Luxury & Consumer goods to Retail & E-commerce and Food & Ingredients. As we are now entering the crucial holiday shopping season, this week we look at external facto

OTC hearing aid market: no worms in the Apple

Among all the innovative products presented at Monday's Apple Keynote, the AirPods Pro 2 stood out for the new OTC hearing aid capability to be included for users with mild to moderate hearing loss, representing EUR1.4bn people globally. While most hearing aid stocks and, to a lesser extent, Essilo

FIE & MRX: distinct H1 trajectories

Yesterday, Fielmann (FIE) and Mister Spex (MRX) both reported their final H1 2024 results which were in line with their respective pre-announced figures. Arguably, Germany remains their largest market with a revenue share of 73% and 75% respectively but the market's focus has differed in recent mon

Mister Spex: short-term pain, long-term gain

As part of a new restructuring programme announced yesterday, MRX will close its nine International stores which have struggled to reach the same profitability levels as its store network in Germany. Beyond a negative EUR9m impact on top of initial FCF guidance for -EUR12 to -EUR16m, MRX is also re

Mister Spex: Governance crisis intensifies

Yesterday evening, MRX announced that founder and CEO Dirk Graber would step down on 31st July and hand over to CFO Stephan Schulz-Gohritz. This major announcement comes after a hectic AGM last month and the surprise resignations of two members of the Supervisory Board earlier this month (see our W

On the shelves now: Consumer weekly #36

In this Consumer Weekly newsletter, we provide a brief overview of the key factors affecting our Consumer coverage, from Luxury & Consumer goods to Retail & E-commerce and Food & Ingredients. This week, we look at the US job market that is gradually cooling, prompting investors to bet o

On the shelves now: Consumer weekly #28

In this Consumer Weekly newsletter, we provide a brief overview of the key factors affecting our Consumer coverage, from Luxury & Consumer goods to Retail & E-commerce and Food & Ingredients. This week, we comment about the positive stock market trend in spite of constant delays in Fed

Mister Spex: Q1 numbers less negative than feared; trends improved in ...

Yesterday, Mister Spex posted reassuring Q1 numbers considering the negative calendar effect for prescription (i.e. Earlier Easter) and demanding comparison base in Germany. Against signs of an acceleration in April, management reiterated the FY24 sales and margin outlook, as well as a sequential i

On the shelves now: Consumer Weekly #23

In this Consumer Weekly newsletter, we provide a brief overview of the key factors affecting our Consumer coverage, from Luxury & Consumer goods to Retail & E-commerce and Food & Ingredients. This week, we look at the recovery in global passenger air traffic. Happy reading!

Mister Spex: slow but steady margin improvement

Cautious FY24 sales guidance is explained by a persistently tough retail environment in Germany and key marketing initiatives set to drive sales growth in H2 2024. On a positive note, the FY24 aEBITDA outlook implies another sequential improvement in margins, again mainly driven by GM-expansion. Po

Mister Spex: FY23 results in line and focus on sustainable growth for ...

Final FY23 results released this morning are broadly in line with pre-announced numbers on 31st January: with FY23 sales up 6% to EUR223 driven by market share gains in Germany (+10% vs. market at +3%) and FY23 aEBITDA close to EUR1m, marking a EUR9m improvement vs. PY. Pending positive results fro

US eyewear market: looking at a half-full glass for 2024

The 2023 holiday season proved to be a good vintage, as evidenced by stronger-than-expected Q4 revenue performances from our entire Optical sample. Yet, macro uncertainty and a lingering impact from wait-and-see customer behaviour in prescription prevented companies from delivering a more upbeat ou

US eyewear market: chilly summer

The summer proved to be particularly chilly for the eyewear sector given a negative sunglass category and persisting weak consumer demand for prescription. However, recent weeks have seen some reassuring signs such as more predictable customer behaviour returning to pre-Covid patterns and normalisi

Q3 numbers and current trading showed resiliency in a challenging envi...

Mister Spex was able to post resilient Q3 numbers against a series of unfavourable headwinds (low consumer sentiment, bad weather, tough comps) thanks to good progress in its L4L efficiency programme. Ahead of a crucial month of November, Mister Spex had a strong month in October both in prescripti

Headed in the right direction

Better-than-expected Q2 2023 results confirm that Mister Spex continued to gain market share and made good progress in its L4L efficiency programme in a market environment that has just started to stabilise in Germany. While Q3 sales and profit trends might be less dynamic than in Q2 due to softer

US eyewear market: Resilient H1 and good vibes for H2

Initial fears of a soft first half for the US eyewear market proved to be wrong as the half-year period ended with a fairly solid performance in Q2, helped by a stronger-than-expected US economy. Whereas there are clear signs of consumers holding back spending due to inflation, eyecare providers ar

Bryan, Garnier & Co Consumer Daily | Richemont, Mister Spex, Eyeswear