Frasers Group, the retail empire founded by billionaire entrepreneur Mike Ashley, has snapped up an 8.9% stake in Currys, with the news coming a little over a week after the group acquired a substantial portion of online electricals retailer, AO World.
Frasers’ shareholding in Currys is worth around £53.5m given the firm’s market capitalisation of £601.9m.
Category Archives: Financial
Whirlpool settles trade secrets case against exec who joined rival Haier
Whirlpool on Thursday agreed to drop a U.S. lawsuit against its former Italian executive Davide Cabri that accused him of stealing trade secrets for a move to its competitor Haier. Whirlpool and Cabri told a Delaware federal court they would dismiss the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. Whirpool said in a statement on Friday that the dispute had been resolved and that it was satisfied with the settlement.
Currys reviews Greek business
Currys has launched a strategic review of its Greek business Kotsovolos, which it said could lead to the sale of its operations.
The electricals retailer said it believes the strength of its Greek brand and long-term track record of profitability “are not currently reflected in the group’s valuation”.
Kotsovolos, which also has an emerging presence in Cyprus, has a unified commerce platform and an expansive range of products and servicesChief executive Alex Baldock said: “Currys’ performance is robust in UK&I, where our transformation is working, and we’ve taken action to drive a profitable recovery in the Nordics.
“Kotsovolos is an excellent business with a bright future, and now is the right time to assess how best to take Kotsovolos forward to maximise value for our shareholders.”
Last month, Currys revealed its Nordic operations were being investigated by the European Economic Area regulator over a possible violation of competition rules in Norway
Marks Electrical sales soar in record year
Marks Electrical has enjoyed a record year as savvy shoppers researched online for better prices on large appliances.
The performance represents a record year for the group despite a strong prior year comparative of 44%, and low consumer confidence for high-value purchases during the cost-of-living crisis.
Frasers Group takes 19% stake in AO World
Frasers Group has taken an 18.9% stake in the online electricals retailer AO World in a £75m deal involving buying out shares held by Odey Asset Management
Electrolux update
After 2 very favorable years for its business, as for all home furnishings, Electrolux has been in difficulty since the end of the health crisis. The Swedish group had launched a cost reduction plan in September 2022, which mainly concerned Europe and North America, with the aim of improving the profit of 2023, recalls Reuters . The Swedish manufacturer would have separated from 4,000 employees in October (8% of its workforce) to “reduce costs, cushion the fall to come and leave serenely” , and specify LSA. Electrolux even closed 2 factories in Hungary (refrigerators) and in Memphis in the USA (ovens). The group recorded some €12 billion in sales in 2022, but a net loss of €116 million. Its turnover was up by 9% in the 1st quarter of 2023, but with a further loss of €52 million.
According to the Bloomberg agency , the Chinese household appliance giant Midea (€45.4 billion in sales in 2022, +0.8% vs 2021) would be interested in acquiring Electrolux. Following this announcement on May 2, Electrolux shares gained around 4% on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, and were at the top of the Stoxx 600. Note that Midea had helped the manufacturer to introduce the AEG brand on the Chinese market . in 2016. According to Reuters and Bloomberg , analysts at JPMorgan questioned whether such a takeover would gain regulatory approval after geopolitical concerns escalated over the Ukraine crisis, given that the United States is the largest market from Electrolux.
According to Bloomberg , Samsung is another potential buyer of Electrolux. “Here we see a bit lower regulatory risk, but Samsung has already built its ecosystem in the West and we believe Electrolux would add little value to that,” JPMorgan said through Reuters , picked up by Boursier.com . Paul Palmstedt, spokesman for Electrolux, has not commented on these elements since May 2. No comment either from Midea, to date…
According to the Bloomberg agency , the Chinese household appliance giant Midea (€45.4 billion in sales in 2022, +0.8% vs 2021) would be interested in acquiring Electrolux. Following this announcement on May 2, Electrolux shares gained around 4% on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, and were at the top of the Stoxx 600. Note that Midea had helped the manufacturer to introduce the AEG brand on the Chinese market . in 2016. According to Reuters and Bloomberg , analysts at JPMorgan questioned whether such a takeover would gain regulatory approval after geopolitical concerns escalated over the Ukraine crisis, given that the United States is the largest market from Electrolux.
According to Bloomberg , Samsung is another potential buyer of Electrolux. “Here we see a bit lower regulatory risk, but Samsung has already built its ecosystem in the West and we believe Electrolux would add little value to that,” JPMorgan said through Reuters , picked up by Boursier.com . Paul Palmstedt, spokesman for Electrolux, has not commented on these elements since May 2. No comment either from Midea, to date…
Electrolux Group sets provision mainly relating to French antitrust case
Electrolux Group will set a provision of approximately SEK 650m in connection to the previously reported investigation of alleged breaches of antitrust rules in France between 2009 and 2014. A minor part of the provision relates to settlement of another legal matter in Europe. The provision will be reported as a non-recurring item affecting operating income for Business Area Europe in the second quarter of 2023.
As previously disclosed in press releases and annual reports, Electrolux Group became in 2013 the subject of an investigation by the French Competition Authority regarding possible violations of antitrust rules. The Competition Authority thereafter decided to conduct two separate investigations of which the first, relating to the period 2006-2009, was completed in December 2018.
The provision communicated today relates to the second investigation. In February 2023, the Competition Authority issued a Statement of Objections involving various parties within the home appliance sector and where Electrolux France was alleged to have acted in breach of antitrust rules in France between 2009 and 2014.
A settlement has now been agreed with the Competition Authority and Electrolux Group is therefore in accordance with accounting principles setting this provision. The final amount will be decided at the end of the procedure.
Dreame Technology fast growing company
Dreame Technology ( also known as “Dreametech”), a fast-growing company leading in smart home cleaning appliances, announced its achievements in overseas markets in 2022. The overall e-commerce revenue has increased by more than 200%.
In 2022, Dreame Technology mainly developed vigorously in Europe, Russia, and Southeast Asia, meanwhile achieving gratifying growth. Among the areas mentioned above,the Nordic region increased by more than 700% compared with 2021, while the Western European region increased by more than 150%. Due to Dreame Technology achieving a significant breakthrough in the European region, the flagship robot vacuum DreameBot L10s Ultra, which represented the highest technological strength of Dreame Technology at that time, ranked 1st in the category of robot vacuums on Amazon and Mediamarkt in Germany, 2nd in the vacuum category, and 4th in the entire home cleaner category during 2022 Black Friday.
As a technology company focusing on smart home appliances with the world’s NO.1 motor technology, that offers the highest RPM, Dreame Technology has reached a high-speed digital motor technology of 160,000 RPM revolutions, 180,000 RPM revolutions, and reserves of 200,000 RPM revolutions. Dreame Technology has also launched four categories of cordless stick vacuums, robot vacuums and mops, wet and dry vacuums, and high-speed hair dryers, making them comprehensive options for the household.
In 2022, Dreame Technology achieved rapid growth in many overseas regions. The company’s overseas revenue growth exceeded 60%, of which the Russian region increased by more than 350%, Southeast Asia increased by more than 450%, Northern Europe by more than 700%, and Western Europe by more than 150%.
Germany Top Sellings: during the 2022 Black Friday event, Dreame L10s Ultra ranked 1st in the category of vacuums on Amazon and Mediamarkt in Germany, 2nd in the vacuum cleaner category, and 4th in the entire vacuum category;
France, Italy and Spain Top Sellings: Dreame In 2022, T30 cordless vacuum cleaner occupies France’s Amazon EUR400 range as top-selling for two consecutive months; Dreame D9 vacuum cleaner became the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the EUR 200-300 range in France, Italy and Spain;
Russia Top Sellings: The total sales of Russian market in AliExpress with a growth by 400% year-on-year.
founder of Midea, creates US$428 million science fund
Chinese billionaire entrepreneur He Xiangjian, founder and largest shareholder of home appliances giant Midea Group, on Sunday unveiled an eponymous 3 billion yuan (US$428 million) science fund to boost artificial intelligence (AI) and climate research in the country.
BSH plans further investment in China
BSH Home Appliances Corp., the German home appliances manufacturer, is upbeat about the Chinese market and plans to add more investment in digitalization-themed innovation in this massive market in the coming years. Alexander Dony, BSH’s chief sales and marketing officer, said the Munich-headquartered group will increase its investment in multiple fields, including research and development and artificial intelligence, in the country in the next stage.
“Our new research and development center in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has more than 800 engineers, making it the largest comprehensive R&D center for our group in the world. Currently, about 90 percent of our products are developed and produced locally,” he said.
Entering China in 1994, BSH to date has established two production bases in Chuzhou, Anhui province and Nanjing, and runs a China R&D center and an Asia-Pacific data exchange center across China. It supplies products ranging from cooking appliances and dishwashers to laundry products and cooling products .
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