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A Enquiry For Tile Shop's Institutional Shareholders

The administration of Tile Shop Holdings (last post on Tile Shop.

I am sitting inwards an purpose inwards out-of-the-way Sydney Australia. I teach glorious sunshine in addition to harbour views in addition to a rather skillful surf beach down the route but alas I don't teach to New York for my privileged access to management.

I lead hold to create my ain thinking.

And the thing that I am thinking is that I don't empathize tile shop's margins. You come across this is - at to the lowest degree on the margins - a real wonderful business.

I compared Tile Shop Holdings to the fattest margin fast-growth retail job organisation I could mean value of. As a comparing I used arguably the greatest retailer of our age: Louis Vuitton.

Louis Vuitton sells leather handbags in addition to purses in addition to similar luxury goods for absurd grade ups. There is soundless a lot of selling expense - they involve to hold expensive stores in addition to hold the image. So you lot would await an ultra-fat gross margin in addition to a lot of selling in addition to administrative expense (SG&A) relative to sales.

Also Louis Vuitton has been inwards the hottest constituent of retail - selling super-luxury goods to the world's burgeoning elites - particularly the Asian nouveau wealthy.

Here (courtesy of the e'er useful CapitalIQ) are the final 3 amount years of LVMH's net turn a profit in addition to loss statement. The numbers are inwards millions of Euro.




Income Statement


For the Fiscal Period Ending12 months
Dec-31-2012
12 months
Dec-31-2011
Reclassified
12 months
Dec-31-2010
CurrencyEUREUREUR



Revenue28,103.023,659.020,320.0
Other Revenue---
Total Revenue28,103.023,659.020,320.0




Cost Of Goods Sold9,917.08,092.07,184.0
Gross Profit18,186.015,567.013,136.0




Selling General & Admin Exp.12,265.010,304.08,815.0
R & D Exp.---
Depreciation & Amort.---
Other Operating Expense/(Income)---




Other Operating Exp., Total12,265.010,304.08,815.0




Operating Income5,921.05,263.04,321.0




Gross margin65%66%65%
Sales growth19%16%



Louis Vuitton has 65 percentage gross margins (give or accept well-nigh a percent) in addition to a xvi to nineteen percentage increment rate. (These calculations are mine...)

These are astounding numbers for a retailer but they are what you lot mightiness await from LVMH given the mega-trend it is riding (along amongst seriously competent management).

And hither are the same numbers - also from CapitalIQ - for Tile Shop Holdings. The numbers inwards this illustration are inwards millions of dollars.


Income Statement


For the Fiscal Period Ending12 months
Dec-31-2012
Restated
12 months
Dec-31-2011
Restated
12 months
Dec-31-2010
CurrencyUSDUSDUSD



Revenue182.7152.7135.3
Other Revenue---
Total Revenue182.7152.7135.3




Cost Of Goods Sold49.640.336.1
Gross Profit133.0112.499.2




Selling General & Admin Exp.94.778.468.1
Stock-Based Compensation--0.5
R & D Exp.---
Depreciation & Amort.---
Other Operating Expense/(Income)---




Other Operating Exp., Total94.778.468.6




Operating Income38.334.030.7




Gross margin73%74%73%
Growth – twelvemonth on year20%13%


The gross margin hither is 73 percentage addition or minus a percentage or so.

Who could lead hold known that selling tiles inwards big-box stores inwards places like Tulsa Oklahoma could lead hold a fatter gross margin than LVMH selling bags that toll pittance to industry for thousands of dollars? Note I am talking margin earlier SG&A.

Tile Shop grows simply equally fast equally LVMH too.

---

I am puzzled well-nigh this. And dissimilar the overstep institutional shareholders I don't lead hold access to Tile Shop's administration then I lead hold to sweat in addition to move it out for myself.

And frankly this fourth dimension I can't.

So I am going to pitch this inquiry at the overstep shareholders - the ones who warrant a administration stopover inwards New York. Dear shareholders (or readers for that matter) complete this sentence:

I believe that Tile Shop's gross margins are stable in addition to sustainably higher than Louis Vuitton's gross margins because...

I lead hold a farther judgement too:

Last calendar week Tile Shop admitted that its largest supplier was an undisclosed related party. This soundless does non alter my belief well-nigh the margins because...

Thanks inwards advance for your answers.





John

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