Author Archive
Miles said:
Interference Discount:
Last year I read Redefining Health Care by Michael Porter and Elizabeth Teisberg. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I felt there was a lot of substance to the work.
An idea they expanded upon in the book was that health care providers should maintain and publish detailed results of the services they provide and the outcomes of these services. The idea is this disclosure will drive true development of sub specialties, it will also disincentivise providers from offering services they don’t have the expertise or man power to provide. An example highlighted in the book is the detail provided by The Cleveland Clinic. From this site you can download Outcome Booklets containing a vast amount of detail regarding their results.
I received an email this morning with a link to the MyHosptials site. The information contained on the site looks to be a summary of the procedures performed at many of the hospitals nationally and detail around admission numbers and waiting times. I thought this was an initial step in the right direction and something that has the potential to be expanded upon in a manner that could drive meaningful change.
Monday, December 20th, 2010
Miles said:
USD / Debt / Gatekeepers
In May we wrote a note titled Sovereign Risk; our take. The note referred to how we are positioning the fund in the current environment, the first point highlighted was “Tax minimisation and aggressive structuring is out and likely a liability going forward. Companies need to be paying their fair share”. In this context, I thought the following article was worth highlighting.
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
Miles said:
Leveraging Technology – Aldi
We spent a few days this week travelling through industrial sites in Germany, looking at stores of various DIY operators. The quality of the offering as a whole was outstanding, it was at a minimum as a good as anything we have seen in this sector globally.
What struck me most from this process though had nothing to do with the DIY sector. Site after site there would be a small sign (no large bill board required) directing you to the Aldi store. Invariably the store would be tucked away at the back end of the estate or on a small block adjacent to it.
The Aldi format was absolutely consistent. The stores appeared identical; a small grey building with a dark roof, inside was a single open structure with virtually an identical offering and layout. The first Aldi I walked through I found quite unnerving, it was like I had walked into one of the stores in Australia.
What really stood out as we looked at the DIY sector was the newer stores were much bigger in size and offering. Their standard was good, but there were a number of operators offering a good product. To expand, they seemed to be spending more on their new stores, this increased capital commitment in our minds increases risk, and it also dates their incumbent store base. This contrasted with Aldi who seemed to have an offering that was unique and appeared to enable them to avoid the capex race of having to offer an increasingly large and more expensive format. From an investment perspective this was appealing as it appears to be a format that has a relatively low capital cost and is effective as is; they can just keep doing more of the same.
My initial direct exposure to Aldi was as an Australian walking through their stores as they were being rolled out in Sydney, and trying to dimension what impact this would have on the local retailers. The process of looking at their stores in Germany has given me an appreciation for the consistency and uniqueness of their offering and the power they have from the low capital cost of the format. At a minimum they are outstanding disciplined retailers with an extensive knowledge base of what works in their offering, what they appear to be doing in Australia is leveraging this knowledge base and building out more of what they know so well.
Sunday, October 17th, 2010
Miles said:
USD / Debt / Gatekeepers
Below are two links, the first is to the FOMC statement released today. The second link is to a speech given by Mr. Thomas Hoenig, the President of the Reserve bank of Kansas City in June 2010. Mr Hoenig is the Voting Member of the FOMC that has consistently voted against the current policy. The speech gives some context around his position.
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Miles said:
The Weekly Habit
What do you do once a week? Maybe …. put the bins out? Go to church? Watch a TV show? Do you have a weekly scheduled meeting where you actively review what is going on? I suspect most people don’t, and those that do are generally meeting with their closest professional associates. I had a look through the Greens’ web-site this morning and read the agreement between them and the Labor Party. Section 5 working relationships, struck me as an extraordinary level of access to the Prime Minister. The agreement the Independents signed appears to have similar working relationships.
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Miles said:
Outliers … #2
If you live in NSW undoubtedly you will have noticed the impressive roller doors and shutters that have been erected through retail outlets statewide covering the display of cigarettes. These structures are evident in service stations, convenience stores, supermarkets and paper stands. I wasn’t conscious of what a privileged place cigarettes held in a retail shop layout, I presumed there were kept behind the counter to stop theft and reduce the risk of sales to minors, but now they are obscured I am finding myself increasingly aware of what a terrific position they held – well organised, central to view, located in a consistent position… oh yes and someone there to serve them to you.
The initiative to cover cigarettes is disarmingly simple but I suspect it may prove highly effective. I am not sure if there is a direct investment angle from this change – all that has come to mind so far is you would love the display space (and server) if you could somehow replace where cigarettes are currently located with your product and someone has also made good money from making and fitting the doors and shutters.
The post was prompted by this article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald. More detail on the restrictions and time frame placed on retailers can be found here link and a picture of what we are referring to is here. NSW Counter
We thought this initiative was something that is interesting and unique occurring locally … essentially all that prompted the post.
Miles said:
Leveraging Technology: The Daily
News Corporation’s “The Daily” was launched today. To access a replay of the launch click here. I thought the demonstration was interesting but have primarily put the link up for questions raised in the Q & A . Unfortunately, being based in Australia I couldn’t download The Daily to give it a proper test run.
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011