Dressing up for the bourse

If all goes according to plan, before Christmas Monnari Trade will enter into the Warsaw stock exchange. Last week the firm's board presented its plans for the company's first public offer. Some 2.5 million shares are up for grabs, 1.9 million of which will be available for institutional investors and 600,000 for individual investors. The shares' issue price has been set at zł.21.

The brand Monnari originated in 1998 and two years later the public company Monnari Trade was founded. The firm has been on a winning streak ever since - from its origins as an unknown firm, Monnari became a leader of luxurious clothing for women over 30. It now has a well-recognized brand, three brands in its portfolio (Monnari, Pabia and Hensel & Mortensen) and its net profit has been rising steadily. Currently, the company owns about 90 own-brand boutiques and factory outlets.

The company intends to earmark zł.45.84 million from the issue for new investments, such as the enlargement of its retail chain and building a logistics center.

Taking into consideration the strong position of Monnari and the good economic situation, analysts recommend its shares. However, a recent press publication has tarnished the company's image. Puls Biznesu published an article accusing Marek Banasiak, the president of the board, of not revealing the whole truth about the bankruptcy of his previous firm, As-Line, and of concealing the fact that he pays maintenance to his two children, who are also shareholders, in Monnari's issue prospectus.

Furthermore, Puls Biznesu says it has documents that indicate Monnari's accounting department is in a state of disarray with no internal auditing. In the issue prospectus, there is also no mention of the fact that Grzegorz Winigradzki and Mirosław Misztal, two members of Monnari's board, own another firm, Inwinest. However, demand for Monnari's shares is still expected to be strong.