contentSlug

type

ContentSlug_ContentQuery

slug

ContentPageContentQuery

content

trendingContent

query ContentSlug_ContentQuery(
  $contentSlug: String!
  $type: [ContentType!]
) {
  ...ContentPageContentQuery_13QmVO
}

fragment CompanyDetails_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  companies {
    name
    description
    pageUrl
    id
  }
}

fragment ContentBasicInfo on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  id
  type
  title
  lang
  companies {
    viewerIsFollowing
    id
    name
    pageUrl
  }
  tags {
    viewerIsFollowing
    id
    name
    pageUrl
  }
  ...PublishingDetails
  ...Reactions
}

fragment ContentMetadata on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  type
  title
  lang
  pageUrl
  alternatePageUrls: translations {
    __typename
    pageUrl
    lang
  }
  imgUrl
  description
  ... on Video {
    liveTime
    videoUrl
  }
  ... on Webcast {
    liveTime
    videoUrl
  }
}

fragment ContentPageContentQuery_13QmVO on Query {
  content(slug: $contentSlug, type: $type) {
    __typename
    id
    type
    title
    isPremium
    lang
    htmlBody
    summary
    companies {
      forum {
        latestPosts {
          ...ForumPosts
        }
      }
      name
      id
      viewerIsFollowing
      pageUrl
      defaultInstrument {
        isin
        id
        marketOpen
        marketClose
        marketplace {
          region
        }
        returns {
          total
        }
      }
    }
    tags {
      viewerIsFollowing
      id
      name
      pageUrl
    }
    createdAt
    ... on Video {
      liveTime
    }
    ... on Webcast {
      liveTime
    }
    slug
    ... on CompanyReport {
      reportUrl
    }
    ... on ThirdPartyCompanyReport {
      reportUrl
    }
    ... on StockExchangeRelease {
      reportUrl
    }
    ...ContentBasicInfo
    ...ContentMetadata
    ...PriceAndRecommendation_Content
    ...CompanyDetails_Content
    ...ReportLink_Content
    ...KeyFigures_Content
  }
  ...TrendingContent_1jQ2Cn
}

fragment ForumPosts on ForumPost {
  text
  likesCount
  url
  author
  postedAt
  authorImgUrl
}

fragment KeyFigures_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  companies {
    defaultInstrument {
      estimateData {
        modelType
        reportingCurrency
      }
      snapshot {
        transaction {
          date
          actualized {
            year
            quarter
            revenue
            revenueGrowth
            ebitAdjusted
            ebitReported
            ebitda
            enterpriseValue
            epsAdjusted
            dividend
            dividendYield
            sharePrice
            nav
            navPerShare
            opexOfNav
            quarterlySharePrice
          }
          estimates {
            year
            quarter
            revenue
            revenueGrowth
            ebitAdjusted
            ebitReported
            ebitda
            enterpriseValue
            epsAdjusted
            dividend
            dividendYield
            sharePrice
            nav
            navPerShare
            opexOfNav
            quarterlySharePrice
          }
        }
      }
      id
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment PriceAndRecommendation_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdAt
  companies {
    name
    pageUrl
    defaultInstrument {
      priceData {
        tradeCurrency
      }
      snapshot {
        priceData {
          date
          lastPrice
          tradeCurrency
        }
        transaction {
          date
          recommendation
          targetPrice
        }
        prevTransaction {
          recommendation
        }
      }
      id
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment PublishingDetails on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdAt
  publishers {
    name
    imgUrl
  }
  authors {
    __typename
    id
    name
    slug
    imgUrl
    jobTitle
  }
  ... on Video {
    liveTime
  }
  ... on Webcast {
    liveTime
  }
}

fragment Reactions on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  id
  reactionGroups {
    reactionType
    reactionsCount
    viewerReacted
  }
}

fragment ReportLink_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  type
  isPremium
  ... on CompanyReport {
    reportUrl
  }
  ... on ThirdPartyCompanyReport {
    reportUrl
  }
  ... on StockExchangeRelease {
    reportUrl
  }
}

fragment TrendingContent_1jQ2Cn on Query {
  trendingContent(type: ARTICLE) {
    __typename
    id
    title
    lang
    pageUrl
    createdAt
    type
    imgUrl
    companies {
      squareLogoUrl
      name
      id
    }
    authors {
      __typename
      imgUrl
      id
    }
    publishers {
      imgUrl
    }
  }
}


stockmann-moderate-valuation-offers-cheap-option

__typename

title

isPremium

lang

htmlBody

summary

companies

createdAt

publishers

authors

reactionGroups

pageUrl

translations

imgUrl

description

Analyst

Rauli Juva

Lindex Group operates in the retail sector. The Group manages a number of stores in major shopping centres and large commercial premises located throughout the Nordic market. The Group is a retailer of several brands and the range consists of clothing, shoes and related accessories. The company has its headquarters in Helsinki.

Now, now… That was a tooth pulled out with its roots. Soon everything will be fine again.  You are right that the department store business as such is no longer sensible in the way Stockmann operated it around the turn of the millennium. However, the property was successfully sold, and the city plan specifies that the city wants department store operations to be conducted there. Unless the city plan changes, that requirement won’t change. We both surely remember that back when Helsinki was being built, there was a hardware store there. The property owner, Keva, needs someone to conduct department store operations there. Someone will eventually provide that service once Stockmann gets rid of its lease liabilities. At that point, one can negotiate a different form of business than being a tenant. Unless the department store operations in Helsinki have been shut down before then. It’s a bit like the discussion about AI, saying that coders are no longer needed. Technology has been making its way for decades. More and more people work in engineering roles, even though drafters and couriers are no longer needed in companies in the same form. You don’t have to buy Lindex shares if you don’t want to. You don’t have to be an owner if owning feels bad. The stock market is full of great companies. Personally, I am a proud owner of Lindex and see a lot of good development in the company.

Here are Markus’s good highlights on Lindex’s performance - though there is certainly plenty of familiar information in that tweet as well.  Stockmann’s turnaround continues to be hampered by the persistent difficult market conditions. Lindex’s growth continues, but the process of exiting Stockmann and the “heavy liabilities” are indeed a major cause for reflection. https://x.com/ValueByMarkus/status/2020070669556363518

Funny coincidence. This year marks 16 years since I first divested my Stockmann holdings, as I didn’t believe in Hartwall Capital’s ability to patch up the sinking ship and stayed waiting for the department store business to be turned around:  Stockmann was a leading quality company (laatuyhtiö) on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, and over even a slightly longer period, it is difficult to perceive the business as having developed in a positive direction. While waiting for a turnaround, Seppälä, Hobby Hall, Akateeminen Kirjakauppa, Hobby Hall, Russian real estate, Baltic real estate, and Finnish real estate have been sold to save the miserable department store business. They even tried to sell Lindex, but fortunately, they didn’t succeed. Over the years, they have tried youth fashion, luxury clothing, e-commerce, and countless organizational structures, but nothing helps because the era of department stores is permanently over, much like horse-drawn transport solutions. The solution for the department store business is the same as for horses: a bullet to the head. Now, when you casually babble that we should endure another 16 years of this “Chinese water torture” of department stores and even criticize me for being impatient, I don’t believe you have genuine firsthand experience of the mental grit that waiting for a turnaround company to turn can require from an investor at its worst.

Exactly, and winding them down isn’t any cheaper. The Stockmann Group changed its name to Lindex precisely because of this problem—that investor focus was solely on the department store business, even though it had been decided long ago that Lindex would be the company’s main driver.  We’ve had many discussions about how, for example, you and many other investors have a very optimistic view of how long things actually take. It’s not some Wolt delivery where you order pizza for a volunteer crew. Large ships turn slowly. UPM also started its gradual shift away from the slowly declining paper business at the beginning of the millennium, but the joint venture with Sappi was only realized last year. Graphic paper was at least a cash cow, despite everything. The change is so minor and happens so gradually over time that someone who loves details might not even notice it. When looking at the big picture, the company has, in my opinion, clearly changed its operations for the better in the long run. I trust that the department store business will become more shareholder-friendly over the years, as it has been changing every year. The sand in the hourglass of the Helsinki department store’s long 20-year lease is constantly running out. The wait feels long, but only 16 years are left. As far as I understand, Inderes stopped covering Lindex. I wonder if it’s an old analysis?

The department stores are heavily loss-making and their value is purely negative, meaning no one would agree to take them for free; instead, a dowry would have to be paid to get rid of them. From the latest report:  For the past few years, Lindex/Stockmann has seemed to be drifting in limbo, as a final solution to the department store problem hasn’t been arranged, and the Finland-Swedish foundations holding a large stake feel that the department store hobby is so much fun that they can well afford to pay tens of millions in “participation fees” for it  Separating Lindex and Stockmann into their own companies still seems like the most sensible solution to this mess, as long as Stockmann is given a sufficient cash cushion in the spin-off to avoid immediately ending up in court.

It certainly doesn’t. Operating profit is, of course, just a number resulting from many events. At least Itis was wound down. By all means, please elaborate if you have more to share.

The department stores generated about 20m in losses last year and about the same amount of negative cash flow. Operating profit doesn’t tell nearly everything.

Lindex Group

We feel that Stockmann's share price drop has pushed the valuation to moderate (price adjusted P/E 8x). Although we do not consider structural arrangements likely in the near future, their potential...

<p>We feel that Stockmann's share price drop has pushed the valuation to moderate (price adjusted P/E 8x). Although we do not consider structural arrangements likely in the near future, their potential in the medium term is significant. We believe the current share price level offers a cheap option for the value increase from potential structural arrangements. However, this is only possible in practice after the restructuring is over. </p> 

Stockmann: Moderate valuation offers a cheap option

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