Daily Brief Consumer: LOTTE Corporation, Anjoy Foods Group, Academy Sports & Outdoors , Metcash Ltd, Ain Holdings Inc, Tegna Inc, Henkel & KGaA, Topps Tiles, Vince Holding, Viomi Technology Co Ltd and more

• After the market close on 26 June, LOTTE Corporation (004990 KS) announced that it sold 5% of its outstanding shares worth 145 billion won to its affiliate Lotte Moolsan. 
• This is poor corporate governance since the company should be cancelling the treasury shares instead.
• Major reason why Lotte Corp sold its 5% stake in the company to Lotte Moolsan is to have the Lotte Group Chairman’s Shin family maintain control over the Lotte Group. 

• Anjoy Foods Group (2648 HK) debuts on the HKEX on 4 July, at a market cap of ~$2.8bn, raising ~$340m.
• The security is expected to fail the minimum float cap threshold of Global-F and therefore be excluded even after the lock-up expiry.
• Anjoy Foods Group (2648 HK) can be added to Global-M at the November 2025 review if its market cap is assigned to the SmallCap segment.

• Academy Sports and Outdoors navigated through a challenging environment in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 marked by new complexities due to newly imposed tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainties.
• Their financial performance for the quarter reported sales of $1.35 billion, slightly down by 0.9% from the previous year, translating to a negative 3.7% in comparable sales.
• Despite unfavorable weather conditions early in the quarter impacting sales, momentum improved towards the end as milder temperatures arrived in March and April, yielding a positive comp in April thanks to strategic initiatives and partnerships.

• Metcash’s FY25 result was solid, showing resilience in Food & Liquor.
• Signs are positive for a recovery in Hardware, but rate cuts are key

• The merger of Tsuruha and Welcia got the green light in May and will further galvanise the sector to consolidate, especially in prescriptions due to the shortage of qualified staff.
• Which is why Ain has confirmed the acquisition of Kanto-based prescription drug chains operated by Kraft. 
• The move will help maintain Ain’s dominance in the dispensing pharmacy sector and encourage further M&A.

• TEGNA Inc. reported its Q1 2025 financial results, offering insights into its strategic focus and financial performance.
• The company remains focused on five key areas: team building, leveraging station strengths, deploying technology and automation, growing digital revenues, and cost cutting.
• These efforts are aimed at streamlining operations and enhancing revenue generation through audience growth.

• Henkel’s first quarter of 2025 results reflect a mixed but strategic period for the company.
• With a reported organic net sales decline of 1%, Henkel’s downturn aligns with its prior forecast, signaling management’s capability to anticipate market dynamics accurately.
• The consumer business experienced a 3.5% decline in sales, attributed to prior strong innovation-led comparables and current market softness.

At its H125 results, Topps Tiles’ (TPT’s) management excluded CTD Tiles’ results from its adjusted results, as it did not take full control of the business until after the period end due to the prolonged investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Management also indicated it would apply the same treatment to CTD’s results for the full year. We have adjusted our estimates to be consistent with management’s treatment of CTD’s results, removing the previous estimated operating profit from our adjusted numbers. We should stress there are no underlying changes to our estimates for TPT’s other operating divisions.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, $4 price target and projections for Vince Holding after visiting stores in Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey.
• After a somewhat confusing visit last month, when product flows were shifted due to the tariff situation, our June tours were more normalized, with Vince stores beginning to flow the Pre-Fall 1 collection; while slightly (one week) later than last year, we believe the depth and breadth of goods demonstrates the company is quickly responding to tariffs and providing the customer with the looks, quality and versatility they expect.
• Further, we believe the Summer and Pre-Fall 1 collections have remained fashion right, with great colors, solid knits and sweaters and warm weather items, from dress to short sleeve tops and shorts.

• Viomi recently launched a new filtration system that produces mineral water-like output, which could be a differentiated product in the market, enabling Viomi to gain a share in an increasingly crowded filtration market.
• The company’s inability to file a timely 20-F with the SEC, combined with a recent change in auditors, will likely raise concerns among investors.
• Viomi’s strong balance sheet could enable it to pursue multiple growth strategies (expansion, new products, M&A) over the next 3-5 years.