For the clothing empire The Varner group, everything went from bad to worse when the corona crisis hit Norway in mid-March. Earlier this summer, DN was able to report that the group has lost NOK 350 million in four months.
In the stock market, on the other hand, things have gone better for the three brothers Joakim, Petter and Marius Varner. VJ Invest is the name of the Varner family’s investment company, which in 2019 had revenues of NOK 151 million, and thus bounced back from the loss of just over NOK 20 million in 2018.
Management sum to the family-owned fund is close to one billion. Most of the money is invested in the stock market. VJ Invest is also involved in bonds, derivatives and some short positions.
Operating profit was 138 million, while profit after tax was 144 million in 2019.
Served at Kid
In 2018, the investment company’s manager, Jan Henning Johannessen, said that they would reduce their exposure in equities. Johannessen is also the general manager of VJ Invest.
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– The problem with selling all the shares now is just that there is often a damn strong development shortly before the big downturns. Precise timing I think is impossible without much luck. For us, therefore, a gradual reduction of risk over time is the chosen approach, the manager said two years ago.
The recent annual accounts for 2019 state that VJ Invest has made a gradual reduction in the stock market, but that they still have the most money in shares.
VJ Invest also states that they had a good return on the following shares: TGS, the AF Group, Kid Interiør, Bank Norwegian, Kitron and Bakkafrost.
The return in the company was 30 percent, and thus the brothers beat the Oslo Stock Exchange, which rose 19 percent last year.
– The cash share in 2019 was relatively high. The use of hedging instruments dampened the result in 2019 sharply, but also provided further downside protection into 2020. The company will take a relatively cautious approach to the market also in the future, but will be looking for buying opportunities in the next downturn, the company writes in the annual report.
Lost 350 million
The clothing industry suffered a major blow in the first half of 2020 due to the historic pandemic. Varner’s stores noticed this.
– A 25 per cent decline in turnover in the period March-June is somewhat better than the forecast we set at the end of March. Nevertheless, the situation is very demanding for us and we are working aggressively to increase sales and continue with cost cuts, said communications manager Julie Eckhardt in Varner, which is owned by the Varner family in July.
The big losses have meant that Divided Days Like This and Wow as separate chains.
– We make continuous assessments of all our stores, and there are several factors that come into play, including the negotiations with the landlords, Eckhardt said. (Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases using a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other form of use of all or part of the content, can only take place with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional terms look here.
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