Craig, PROG and MALL seem to be very similar. Both are
computer re-sellers (MALL has 3 catalogs, a few stores,
net sites, and an internet auction site), selling for
about $10, with FY 98 EPS estimates of around 0.90.
I've been looking into MALL, but haven't done more than
a cursory glance at PROG. MALL has a left over stigma
of being dependent on their Mac business, which is down
to about 20% of revs last quarter (I do note that Apple had a
good 4th Q in sales, so this quarter Mac is not bad).
They have been expanding by buying up others, notably
ComputAbility last summer and Elek-Tek this fall. The
expense savings involved was quoted as substantial in
their 10-Q's.
MALL also has a deal with Ingram Micro
to let their customers order from Ingram's larger range
of products through MALL. Thus MALL can offer a wider
range of products, does not have to stock slow moving
merchandise, and Ingram drop ships it as if it came
from MALL.
The company has been very good since losing money in
1996 about controlling costs. I wouldn't mind seeing
days sales outstanding drop a bit from 45, but this isn't
the build to order model here.
I like the u-Bid internet auction site - not particularly
for the auctions, but as a way of clearing excess inventory.
If they can make money via the auctions, so much the better.
See cc-inc.com for more info. Especially go
to investor relations, then company facts, and get a report
on their stock.
I do note that MALL was down 6% today, while PROG was up
almost 10%.
jg |
