The Reject Shop (TRS) - almost hit $15

[tommy]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...637835679.html

Elderly driver crashes into shoppers
Jano Gibson
July 14, 2006 - 12:20PM


An elderly man whose car crashed through the glass doors of a shopping centre and smashed into several shoppers may have fallen ill at the wheel.

The car, driven by an 83-year-old man, went into the Stockland Forster shopping centre at about 4pm [AEST] yesterday, knocking over a number of shoppers, police said.

"It was crazy. The car was through the window [of] The Reject Shop," Baker's Delight employee, Scott Keegan, told smh.com.au.

"The car was pretty smashed up the front end. Both shop front windows were all smashed through. The driver and the female passenger were fairly injured [and] there was a few [shoppers] lying on the ground," the 19-year-old said.

The Reject Shop general manager of retail operations, Ron Jones, said about $50,000 damage had been caused by the accident.

"What appears to have happened is an unfortunate accident with an elderly gentleman being taken ill at the wheel of the car and lost control of the vehicle and drove into the store via the front doors," Mr Jones said.

"Before he came to a stop, he collided with four customers."

"They were hit and whether they fell or flew I think it happened too fast for anybody to give a good account of it. Obviously the people were bowled over."

Mr Jones said his staff were shocked by the accident.

"They obviously were shocked. Our first concern was for the people who were injured in our store and the well being of team members."

He praised the resourcefulness of some customers, including a nurse, who helped assist the injured.

A police spokesman said the cause of the accident was still being investigated but one area of inquiry would be that the man had indeed fallen ill at the wheel.

A 51-year-old woman was seriously injured and was in a stable condition at Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital. Her six-year-old son suffered a laceration to his face.

A 73-year-old woman suffered minor injuries and a 64-year-old man sustained lower leg injuries. They were treated in Manning Base Hospital and subsequently released.

The driver of the car was taken by ambulance to Manning Base Hospital suffering facial fractures.

His 81-year-old wife, who was travelling in the front passengers seat, was also treated in hospital for lacerations and possible fractures.

[patsy]

For those who follow this little gem... if you've been keeping daily track of sp over the past few weeks, it's been good to see that TRS has been completely oblivious of the manic-depressive nature of the ASX and global markets - steady she goes (up)...

[OneUp]

Any particular reason for the jump from $6 to $6.60ish? Just managed funds buying?

[tommy]

Sold out of TRS to collect profits, purely to reorganize my portfolio... still love the company but I think the recent rise is a bit too much for me, I wanted to see the gains in cash not in paper profits[}]

Read the following article because this is gonna shake the retail industry big time. Will it TRS be a potential target? Mmm, interesting times!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...nwalmart30.xml

Wal-Mart goes window shopping Down Under
By James Hall
(Filed: 30/07/2006)

Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, which last week pulled out of the German market, is believed to be close to making its first acquisition in Australia.

Executives from Wal-Mart, which is based in Bentonville, Arkansas, are known to have visited Australia recently to look at possible targets. Coles Myer, the supermarket retailer, and Woolworths, its larger rival, have been identified as likely candidates.

"Wal-Mart has been looking at Australia closely. After the German situation it will be looking to do a deal very quickly," said an executive close to Wal-Mart.

The Australian retail sector is going through radical change. Coles Myer, which sold its Myer department store business earlier this year, will tomorrow announce wide-ranging restructuring plans in a bid to catch up with Woolworths, which is growing sales and market share at a faster rate. Plans are likely to include new store formats and a name change.

Analysts believe that the upheaval could present Wal-Mart with the perfect opportunity to pounce. Australian consumers are attuned to American tastes and have similar shopping habits, something that Wal-Mart found not to be the case in Germany.

Last week Wal-Mart, led by Lee Scott, announced the sale of its 85 German outlets to Metro, a rival operator. The withdrawal will lead to Wal-Mart making a $1bn (£535m) pre-tax loss in the second quarter of its current financial year.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman declined to comment. Some executives close to Wal-Mart suggested that any deal was some time off.

[OneUp]

Hi Tommy, thanks for the article.

I'm guessing there's some speculation that TRS might be in play with Wal-Mart? Reject Shop would seem to be a bit small for them (in terms of store size). Can't say I like the idea of TRS, an imitator of Wal-Mart, facing off against the real thing.

Admittedly have sold down my stake a bit of late. Not an easy thing to do, after it has been so kind.

[tommy]

quote:Originally posted by OneUp

Hi Tommy, thanks for the article.

I'm guessing there's some speculation that TRS might be in play with Wal-Mart? Reject Shop would seem to be a bit small for them (in terms of store size). Can't say I like the idea of TRS, an imitator of Wal-Mart, facing off against the real thing.

Admittedly have sold down my stake a bit of late. Not an easy thing to do, after it has been so kind.

]

Hi Oneup,

Yes it has been a painfully difficult decision for me to sell off TRS too because it has been such an incredible ride, literally bullet-proof against market volatility[8D]

Consistent price increase of late seems to have already factored in the full-year results...

If Walmart entered Australia, TRS, Kmart, Target, BigW will face a tsunami wave... its sheer size is just way too much for any aussie retailer to compete against, considering its enormous buying power and its cost structure streamlined by economies of scale.

I also think TRS is a bit too small for Walmart to take over, but who knows... I think TRS is still a short term buy but in medium/long run I'm not so sure.

Good luck to holders, I still love TRS's business model but I decided to stay out of the retail industry for a while to wait and see how the Walmart invasion unfolds.

[OneUp]

Conference call coming up tomorrow. Will listen in and report anything of interest. (Which should include another bumper profit for the year just past and positive outlook for the Xmas season []).

[OneUp]

What a terrific result. $9.1m NPAT. Even better than I dared hope. This is all organic growth. No acquisitions. And a 17.5c special dividend - despite all the capital expenditure they've made in the new distribution centre.

$19.1m operating cashflows. Investing cashflows ($11.4m) were abnormally high because of investment in a new distribution centre.

Look forward to a bumper Xmas season and another record result.

Starting to regret selling 1/3 a few weeks ago.

[tommy]

Hi Oneup,

Yeah, stellar results by magnificent management, congrats to those who continued to hold... I sold out too early obviously, I wasn't expecting such growth!! Considering that the board will change next year, I hope the transition will be smooth because TRS has been such a disciplined business since the float.

Love the business model and management, will re-enter on any price weakness!

[OneUp]

Hi Tommy, one thing is for sure: I won't be the one selling to you . One might expect further insto buying over the next month as this result is digested, so it's difficult to see much weakness.

Historic PE 20 and no debt. Good to see management leveraging up the under-geared balance sheet to make special dividends/capital returns.

20% growth in FY07, which TRS should manage easily, will see a forward PE of 16. Are we looking at $10 within the year? It's not difficult to see TRS trading at a premium PE given it's strong track record, strong management and recession-proof business.