In October / November 2020, five retailers listed their shares on the ASX. The table below shows how they have panned out.
| Company name | Listing date | Listing price | Capital raised ($m) | Price 16/3/23 | Change since listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Universal Store Holdings (ASX:UNI) | 16/11/2020 | $3.80 | $147.8 | $5.06 | 33% |
Adore Beauty (ASX:ABY) | 23/10/2020 | $6.75 | $269.5 | $0.83 | -88% |
Dusk (ASX:DSK) | 2/11/2020 | $2.00 | $70.0 | $1.52 | -24% |
Mydeal.com.au | 22/10/2020 | $1.00 | $40.0 | $1.05 | 5% |
Zebit | 26/10/2020 | $1.58 | $35.0 | $0.05 | -97% |
UNI is the only one with a materially positive return. Mydeal.com.au was taken over by Woolworths in September 2022 at a 5% premium to the listing price, however prior to the takeover announcement they were trading at $0.65. Zebit had declined 97% before being delisted in April 2022, only 18 months after listing. DSK is down 24%. ABY’s listing was a private equity exit and raised the most capital at $270 million. It is down a massive 88% to date.
Universal Store Holdings (ASX:UNI) are an Australian based retailer that specialises in men and women’s casual fashion and accessories with a particular focus on the youth market. They currently have a network of 93 stores and are growing their footprint at a rapid pace. They added six stores in the most recent half year. 76 stores are branded Universal Store, seven are branded Perfect Stranger and ten are Thrills. They are targeting 100 - 103 stores by 30 June.
The Thrills group of stores were added via an acquisition that was completed in October 2022.
Source: Universal Store, H1 FY23 Results Presentation, 23/2/23
Sales for the group have grown very strongly over the past five years with a compound annual growth rate of 19%. This has consisted of in store sales growth, new store openings, growth in online sales, the launch of the Perfect Stranger concept brand and the acquisition of Thrills. They are targeting over 100 Universal stores across Australia and New Zealand.
Sales dipped in 2022 as a result of the extended lockdowns, but are forecast to rebound strongly in FY23. Indeed first half revenue growth was 35% but this is cycling against the period where a lot of stores were closed in the prior year.
Despite…
