On 2007-06-19 08:21:16 +0100, ":Jerry:" said:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-06-19 00:05:53 +0100, EricP said:

snip

Focus lacks what their name suggests.

Perhaps there is at least scope for a good old fashioned asset
strip.


Indeed, skip the stock, auction off the transport fleet and sit on the
property / land. The only thing is, will that give Cerberus a return
on their £225m 'investment'?...

It might and would depend on whether they have the freehold on any/
enough the store sites.

Nowadays, people are pretty aware of asset stripping in this context.
Less so in the era of the acquisition of Gamages department store,
which also had an unlikely purchaser. Nobody could figure out the
connection until they closed the operation down.

I am quite sure that Cerfberus wouldn't have purchased Focus without
seeing a good route for return on investment, although it's clear that
major surgery will be needed to make it a going concern.

Not impossible - consider what Stuart Rose has achieved at Marks and
Spencer - 82% rise in share price over the past couple of years is not
at all bad.

However, Focus does not have anything like the brand value so whoever
takes that on is going to struggle.

There probably is space in the market for three major chains of DIY
retailers. The other two have carved out their approaches. Focus
would need to do something radically different to them, and certainly
something radically different to what they are doing today.