Parkson Retail

Parkson Retail: Grp planning to open an outlet in Myanmar by March next yr, in expectation of strong consumer spending and economic reforms in the once-reclusive Asean. Parkson, which has 54 stores across Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, said that while it believes Myanmar may not be ready for a full-fledged department store, it plans to open a small one at 40,000 sq ft in Yangon to test consumer behaviour and train local staff. Grp has guidance that Parkson could see double-digit sales growth in Myanmar in the first four to five years, potentially in the 20-30% range. Recall that last mth, co. also marked its entry into Sri Lanka with the acquisition of a 41.8% stake in Colombo-listed fashion brand and retailer Odel for $13.6m, the grp’s first Foray beyond the borders of Asean. Grp’s strategy is to tackle the whole of Asean, Indochina and eventually Indian sub continent. Recall tat The Parkson grp was the first department store operator in Vietnam, and manage to came through the first yr with a negligible loss and were profitable by the second yr. Next yr, Park will likely be the first department store operator in Cambodia when it opens in Phnom Penh. Note that grp will take at least a yr to understand the Myanmar mkt . For FY12, grp saw rev +20.4% yoy to $442m, with plans to open 6 more stores in FY13. Analysts are mostly positive on the stock, noting that co. offers investors exposure into a multitude of high-growth countries over Msia, Vietnam, Indo and soon Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.