Best & Less Group (ASX:BST) held their AGM meeting yesterday and it’s interesting to read the reports for the little nuggets they contain, which, when you think about it, might relate specifically to the retail sector the company is within (consumer discretionary), and retail generally.

 A few worthy comments (well, to me they are worthy, but you decide and please add additional ‘information zingers’ of which you are aware, because then we can build up a good knowledge bank.)

 I am reminded of a home truth uttered by a professional recently (can’t remember who) where his thesis was that retail investors never extrapolate the future and look purely at the past; this, he postulates, is a massive free kick to those who take the time and effort to ‘look ahead’.

 Anyhow a few thoughts from the BST AGM reports:

 ‘Migration to value’ – given an uncertain macroeconomic environment, with rising interest rates and inflation, an acceleration of the migration to value will occur, as Australian families face mounting cost-of-living pressures. A recessionary future will aid BST at the expense of the more expensoive choices

 Know your market segment and look to dominate – their unique selling proposition (USP) says it all and explained so simply as ‘twice the quality at half the price’ where 90% of items sold are under $20 and the average sale price is $8.33. Good clear indicators and evidence of a focused business.

 Babies and Kids constitute 50% of BST sales by volume with kids the guide to the future (or the ‘halo’ as they call it) and there are 300,000 births pa. Their goal is to be #1 in this segment at a value price point – They are ranked #1 Aussie retailer for low price and #2 for value for money.

 The Sheer Importance of Christmas & Black Friday – I’ve never seen it reported the way BST has (and presumably this trend loosely applies to many, if not most, retailers) – BST state that 60% of first half profits are typically recorded in the last 6 weeks of the year.