Lovisa posted on LinkedIn 3 weeks ago, that they have opened their 200th store in the US.

"Congratulations to our team in the Americas for successfully opening our 200th store in the United States - The Cordova Mall in Pensacola, Florida ???? This is a remarkable milestone and a testament to the hard work, dedication and outstanding efforts of everyone involved. Our journey is far from over and we look forward to further growing the Lovisa brand in the region. #LeadWithLovisa"

Whilst this is a great achievement, it may indicate that the roll out in the US is going slower than the market may be expecting. Last FY they opened 78 stores in the USA and ended the period with 190 stores. So this points to them adding 10 stores in 3 months or if you extrapolate that out then 40 for the year, assuming they rollout stores at the same pace for this FY. This may not mean much as they could open 20 in the next 3 months and there might be a faster rollout in other regions, but it could be a risk in the short term potentially.

I like the LOV thesis over the long term, so if it was sold off on less stores being opened than the market is expecting, then I think it would be a buying opportunity.

A couple of Lovisa hi-lights

Lovisa have reported their results for the year. Good numbers showing 30% revenue growth and 16% NPAT growth but it has slowed from when compared to the first half year when we had 44% revenue growth and 22% NPAT growth. Still they achieved almost $600m in sales and $68m in NPAT. Cashflow was a whopping $188m.

The market will be focused on the outlook. The first 7 weeks shows a decline on 5.8% in like for like sales but total sales are up 13%. It proves that LOV can continue to grow even in depressed spending environments.

Certainly not a disaster as a couple of analysts were alluding to, so it will be interesting to see how the market reacts.

Investor call at 10.30 for those that are interested.