Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Dick Smith collapse: Kogan buys struggling online business

Online-only retailer Kogan has purchased Dick Smith's online retail business for an undisclosed sum, three weeks after Dick Smith announced the closure of its stores.
Dick Smith store

Key points

  • Kogan is paying an undisclosed sum for Dick Smith's online store
  • The new owner will take over the business on June 1, 2016
  • Dick Smith customers have until March 22 to stop their details being passed on to Kogan
Kogan will operate the online business from June 1 after a transition period.
In February, Dick Smith said it would shut 363 stores across Australia and New Zealand after its receivers Ferrier Hodgson were unable to find a suitable buyer for the company.
"I remember as a kid always visiting Dick Smith to look for parts to upgrade my computer," said founder and chief executive Ruslan Kogan in a statement.
"There is a strong history of passion in the Dick Smith community for how technology can improve our lives."
James Stewart, one of Dick Smith's receivers, said multiple bidders were involved in a thorough process.
"We are particularly pleased that the Dick Smith brand will continue under [Kogan's] stewardship," he said.
Existing Dick Smith customers will have their personal details disclosed to Kogan unless they request that information be removed by March 22.
Customers with two or more email addresses signed up have been advised that they must opt out for each separate email address.
Dick Smith's receivers said the company's customers would still be able to opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time in the future.

Dick Smith: What went wrong?

Private equity group Anchorage Capital bought Dick Smith from Woolworths in 2012 for an initial payment of just $20m.

Anchorage then "dressed the company up to look good for just one thing - to persuade people to buy shares," according to analysts from Forager Funds Management.

Anchorage "wrote down the value of the inventory, took provisions for future onerous lease payments, wrote down the value of the plant and equipment and liquidated a lot of the inventory as quickly as they possibly could to throw off cash," according to Forager's Steve Johnson.

The cash was then used by Anchorage to effectively make Dick Smith 'buy itself'.

The writedowns inflated profits, a key factor in enticing investors into the company.

For example: a stock item that may have been bought for $100 may have been in the books at $60 after the writedowns, which meant an extra $40 profit on every sale.

The writedown of plant and equipment lowered depreciation charges, also boosting the bottom line.

"But when they liquidated all that inventory to pay for the purchase price, they didn't replace it," according to Forager's Steve Johnson.

"And the new owners

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

British Airways returned to Heathrow Airport

England flag carrier airline British Airways London-Chicago flight that carried out yesterday B747'S for technical reasons, returned to Heathrow Airport.

After approximately 2 hours after takeoff decided to return the aircraft was a while before fuel discharge stroke from Heathrow Airport.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

Aussie Day Opening and Closing time 2016

Australia Day Parade: 11:00am to noon, Swanston Street into St Kilda Road, Melbourne A parade of colour and movement, the annual parade starts at Swanston Street and works its way towards St Kilda Road. The parade will start after a flag ceremony, which gets under way at 10:30am. More information here. Australia Day at Docklands: 4:00pm to 11:00pm, NewQuay Piazza, Docklands. Celebrate the holiday with fine food, drink, live music and fireworks. More information here. Government House Open Day: All day, Government House The Honourable Linda Dessau, AM, Governor of Victoria, and Judge Anthony Howard open their doors to the public. The Royal Australian Airforce Roulettes will be doing a flyover from 12:30pm. More information here. Supermarkets Coles: Operating as normal. Woolworths: Operating as normal. ​Aldi: Open 8.30am to 8pm. Shopping centres Melbourne Central: Open 10am-6pm Melbourne Emporium: Open 10am-6pm Chadstone: Open 10am-6pm Highpoint: Open 10am-5pm Northland: Open 10am-5pm Eastland: Open 10am-5pm Westfield Doncaster: Open 10am-5pm Westfield Southland: Open 10am-5pm Westfield Fountain Gate: Open 10am-5pm The Glen, Glen Waverley: Open 10am-5pm Myer Bourke Street Mall: Open 10am-7pm David Jones Bourke Street Mall: Open 9:30am-7pm Photo: Penny Stephens Public transport Most services will operate to a Saturday timetable. More information is available on the Public Transport Victoria website. GPs Home Doctor Service: 137 425 or 9429 5677 Medical at Home: 8341 1888 Mill Park Super Clinic: Open 24/7, 250 Childs Road, Mill Park, 9436 4155 Medical One, Elwood: 9am-6pm (61 Brighton Road, Elwood, 9531 9811) Medical One, Frankston: 9am-2pm (47 Davey Street, Frankston, 9781 3966) Medical One, Sunshine: 9am-2pm (324 Hampshire Road, Sunshine, 9310 2947) Medical One, Moonee Ponds: 8am-1pm (14 Pascoe Vale Road, Moonee Ponds, 8325 1111) Medical One, QV Melbourne: 9am-1pm (Level 3, 23 QV Terrace, 292 Swanston Street, Melbourne, 8663 7000) Geelong GP Super Clinic (Kardinia Health): 9am-1pm (2-18 Colac Road, Belmont, 5202 9333) Chelsea Heights Medical Centre: 8am-midnight (205 Thames Promenade, Chelsea Heights. 8785 9900) Hastings Family Medical Centre: 8am-midnight (9 Queen St, Hastings, 5972 8000) Pharmacies Casey Super Clinic Pharmacy: Open 24/7, 50 Kangan Drive, Berwick, 9769 9824. Mill Park Super Clinic Pharmacy: Open 24/7, 250 Childs Road, Mill Park, 9436 4155. ​Mulqueeny Midnight Pharmacy: 9am-midnight, corner Williams Road and High Street, Prahran, 9510 3977. ​Tambassis Pharmacy: 8am-midnight, corner Sydney and Brunswick roads, Brunswick, 9387 8830. Chapel Gate Pharmacy: 9am-9pm, corner Carlisle and Chapel streets, Balaclava, 9531 8004. Slade Pharmacy: 8am-10pm, 89 Bridge Road, Richmond South, 8420 0700. Chemist Warehouse St Albans: 9am-9pm, 327 Main Road East, St Albans, 9366 3545. Footscray Pharmacy: 10am-5pm, 2/76 Nicholson Street, Footscray 9396 1223 Pet services 24-hour Vet: Centre for Animal Referral and Emergency (CARE) Collingwood, 9417 6417 Lort Smith Animal Hospital North Melbourne: 8.30am-5pm, 9328 3021 Lost Dogs Home North Melbourne: 9am to 12.30pm, 9329 2755 Eureka Skydeck Melbourne attractions Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium: 9.30am-8pm. Last admission 7pm. 9923 5925 Crown Entertainment Complex: Open 24 hours, 9292 8888 Eureka Skydeck 88: 10am-10pm. 9693 8888 ​O'Brien Group Arena (formerly Medibank Icehouse): 9am-10pm. 1300 756 699 Melbourne Zoo: 9am-5pm. 9285 9300 Royal Botanic Gardens: Open 7.30am-sunset, visitor centre open 9.30am-5pm, 9252 2300 Wonderland Fun Park Docklands: 11am-6pm. 9602 1311 IMAX Melbourne Museum: Session times run every three hours. 9663 5454 Fitzroy Gardens Visitor Centre and Cook's Cottage: 9am-5pm. 9658 7204 Melbourne Museum: 10am-5pm. 8341 7777 National Gallery of Victoria: 10am-5pm. 8620 2222 Cinema Nova: Open 10am. 9347 5331 Puffing Bill Railway: Open, trains leave Belgrave at 10.30am, 11.10am, 12.30pm, 1.15pm and 2.30pm. Markets Queen Victoria Market: Closed South Melbourne Market: Closed Preston Market: Closed Prahran Market: Closed Footscray Market: Closed Libraries Melbourne Library Service: City Library open from noon-5pm. All other branches (Library at The Dock, East Melbourne, North Melbourne, Kathleen Syme and Southbank) will be closed. Stonnington City Libraries: (Including Malvern, Phoenix Park, Prahran and Toorak/South Yarra) All branches closed. Port Phillip Library: (Including Albert Park, Emerald Hill, Middle Park, Port Melbourne and St Kilda) All branches closed. Darebin Libraries: (Including Preston, Northcote, Reservoir and Fairfield) All branches closed. Bayside Library Service: (Including Beaumaris, Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham) All branches closed. Kingston Libraries: (Including Chelsea, Cheltenham, Clarinda, Dingley, Highett, Moorabbin, Parkdale and Patterson Lakes) All branches closed. Yarra Plenty Regional Library: (Including Diamond Valley, Eltham, Ivanhoe, Lalor, Mill Park, Rosanna, Thomastown, Watsonia, Whittlesea and YPRL mobile) All branches closed. Murrindindi Library Service: (Including Alexandria, Kinglake and Yea) All branches closed. Greater Dandenong Libraries: (Including Dandenong and Springvale) All branches closed . Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation: (Including Cranbourne, Doveton, Emerald, Endeavour Hills, Hampton Park, Narre Warren, Pakenham and Cardinia Mobile Library) All branches closed. Brimbank Libraries: (Including Deer Park, Keilor Village, St Albans, Sunshine and Sydenham) All branches closed. Photo: Craig Abraham Airport transfers Melbourne Airport: Skybus operates to normal schedule (24 hours), 9335 2811; Starbus operates to normal schedule (5am-7pm), 8378 8700 Avalon Airport: Avalon Airport Shuttle operates to normal schedule, 5278 8788 Visitor information services Melbourne Visitor Centre: 9am-6pm, 9658 9658 Melbourne Visitor Shuttle: 9.30am-4.30pm. Melbourne Visitor Booth: 9am-5pm. City Ambassadors: 10am-4pm. Melbourne Greeter Service: 9.30am. Town Hall tours: Operating hourly from noon to 3pm

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