There's a successful Kiwi retailer on the ASX but no one's noticing

Would you believe we have a retailer on the ASX that has now reported eight consecutive years of record profits and it has reiterated its intent to acquire a rival retailer that is a household name.

That is where the exciting news ends for Rod Duke, the Aussie owner of Kiwi retailer Briscoe Group.

Not even the Kiwi press could get that excited about its latest earnings result this week which showed that, despite the record result, margins are shrinking in a tough retail environment.

"It was a tough year but we still managed to do record sales and record profitability," said Duke.

But if he thought it was tough selling goods from Briscoe's New Zealand business franchises like Rebel Sports, it was nothing compared to the torture he has faced getting ASX investors interested in Briscoe stock.

The fact that Duke owns 78 per cent of Briscoe might explain why its dual listing on the ASX last year has not set the local bourse on fire.

You can count on one hand how many days this year that shares have changed hands on the ASX.

From what CBD could see, it has traded once this month with 138 shares changing hands on the ASX.

No wonder the company has been talking up the prospect of rekindling its 2015 bid for the 80 per cent of Kathmandu that it does not own.

"Briscoe's board remained an interested observer of Kathmandu's performance and of potential opportunities in the industry more broadly," said the Kiwi raider this week.

“We continue to watch as an interested spectator,” says Duke, but CBD suspects Kathmandu chairman - former All Black captain, David Kirk - is not losing any sleep over Briscoe’s posturing.

If Duke could not bring himself to lift his low ball bid of $NZ1.80 back in 2015, is he really going to pay more than twice that price now?

Duke might have to settle for annoying his Herne Bay neighbours with the James Bond-style helipad he started building on top of his boat shed this week.

At least the local council managed to restrict Duke to three helicopter flights a week.

Pot luck

Shareholders of The Hydroponics Company did not have to wait for Thursday’s meeting to know that regime change was under way at the pot stock.

The abrupt resignation of THC’s chief executive David Radford late Wednesday evening was a pretty clear signal that the company’s former chairman Alan Beasley had managed to purge the rest of its board, save for major shareholder Steven Wu.

The Hydroponics Company's chairman Alan Beasley.
Photo: Kirk Gilmour

Wu was among the backers that gave Beasley, the former BNP Paribas country head, ex Goldman Sachs executive - and Liberal Party operator, 68 per cent of the vote to completely change the board.

“We don’t do these things lightly,” said Beasley after the vote.

He was not concerned by the prospect of finding a new CEO in a few months when Radford steps down.

“It’s business as usual as far as we’re concerned.”

The THC board members who are now surplus to requirements include former chairman Ian Mutton, Peter Wallace founder of corporate adviser Endeavour Capital, and businessman Hamish McDonald. The latter was once in business with Peter Bond’s Linc Energy, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

McDonald's BioCleanCoal formed a JV with Linc to develop a technology that converts carbon dioxide into oxygen and solid biomass. The theory sounds great, but given Linc is now in liquidation it might not have worked so well in practice.

Beasley and Wu have been joined on the THC board by pharmacy industry executive, Lou Cattelan, and Gold Coast barrister Gary Radcliff.

Solo performance

And it is time to grab the pop corn and settle down to watch the Solomon Lew show on Friday as he fronts Premier Investments interim results alongside his side kick Mark McInnes.

While Premier's results will take centre stage CBD will be timing Sol on how long it takes for him to take a swing at the embattled Myer emporium and its newly installed executive chairman Gary Hounsell.

Premier's $101 million investment in Myer is now worth less than $40 million.

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