InvestIdeas

Musicwhiz wrote:The Company may be around for 20 years, but the prospectus only gives information on their revenues and profits for the last 3 financial years (2006 till 2008).

I believe u can dig out their Annual Returns (AR) from ACRA for years prior to 2006. Costs about $25 for each AR you retrieve.

But seriously, I'm not sure why anyone would dig further on this lao-chio... I looked at the prospectus briefly and the IPO was overpriced (IMO). Current vol looks more like a speculative play to me.

i think listing is more for marketing & sales purpose......

" auntie no need worry, our package is very competitive.....other place you sign package maybe after 12months disappera but we are LISTED Co. got audit one....cannot anyhow play play"

with a rather low barrier of entry to such service businesses... what is so compelling about Mary Chia's services? they give "specials" ? wahahahaha...

poland wrote:i think listing is more for marketing & sales purpose......

" auntie no need worry, our package is very competitive.....other place you sign package maybe after 12months disappera but we are LISTED Co. got audit one....cannot anyhow play play"

Listed company is not equal to SAFE.

And we can also learn from the case studies of Enron and other failed companies.... the auditors that there are various kinds of services that they provide. In other words, not all auditing are equal.

If there are any issues that may arise, what is stopping an auditing firm from saying that Client XYZ did not engage them for service ABC (which will have reveal the non-compliance of 123.)

i share with here my take on auditing... most auditing firms will work around the legal and standards framework but will not want to bite the hands that feeds it... so, a preferred auditing firm is one that is "creative" in her approach... by that it can mean, less than upfront and transparent in their reporting of irregularities..

the way, and of cos an idealistic manner, is for listed companies, to pay an annual auditing fee to a centralized authority, such as IRAS/ACRA/MAS, where auditors are appointed and paid from this pool of collected money.. that way, auditors can be objective and less biased.

in fact, if auditing firms are rewarded based on irregularities uncovered and reported during auditing, i betcha, our accounting standards will sure have standard....

Do you know what you are buying ?

Mary Chia, a recently listed IPO reported an 83% tumble in 1H09 net profit to S$119k (previous S$699k) as revenue fell 4.1%

The fall in net profit was due to higher director’s remuneration as well as higher operating expenses attributable to higher rental expenses and headcounts as new outlets
opened.

winston wrote:Do you know what you are buying ?

Mary Chia, a recently listed IPO reported an 83% tumble in 1H09 net profit to S$119k (previous S$699k) as revenue fell 4.1%

The fall in net profit was due to higher director’s remuneration as well as higher operating expenses attributable to higher rental expenses and headcounts as new outlets
opened.

i cannot see real competitive advantage of such beauty parlours. there are so mnay in spore. barriers to entry are also low.

i dunno which is better - jean yip, mary chia, body wellness, slimfit etc etc

maybe these beauty outlets should tie up with mlm companies and osim eg. best world (selling health-care products) Osim selling health massage chairs + GNC.

there will be some synergies that can be harness and harvest while sharing crossed customer bases.

Does not make sense for this Company to be publicy listed ?
Very domestic and low entry barrier (after 20 years in business and only near 100k half year earning ? - CEO or its chief beauty consultant are probably paid more than that).
Only lets IPO managers, auditors and lawyers make IPO fees (they make more fees than companies make a year).
And maybe allow the founders to cash out.
Experience tells me usually after IPO business will likely take a dip.

i couldnt agree more.

but retail are really cut-throat biz - esp. if you dun first mover advantage, or your products easily duplicated, or no economies of scale etc etc.

so far i have only seen Challenger (IT retail) generating great cashflows because of its niche positioning, economies of scale and savvy management. Courts also doing well - after the PE took over them, they closed down loss-making outlets, concentrate on major and mega outlets, centralised warehousing, closing down Thai operations. branding is good for both companies.

being a female patron of beauty salons, i can say i myself is not comfortable investing in Mary Chia....why?

like many, the barriers of entry is low for this industry...so many competitors. not a niche market.
more improtantly, i'm not comfortable about the transparency of the pricing (which in turn, the revenue number) of these salons..

hard selling is common in this industry and the way they cut the prices of their original offerings, is rather "scary" ...also, they way they throw in offering, how do they account for these freebies?

anw, maybe their IPO is mainly to target financial unsavy females who also happen to be patrons?