MIRA INFORM REPORT

 

 

Report No. :

345735

Report Date :

26.10.2015

 

IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

 

Name :

ANDRE HK BUYING OFFICE LTD.

 

 

Registered Office :

Room 602-608, 6/F. & 707-709, 7/F., Wharf T&T Centre, Harbour City, 7 Canton Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon

 

 

Country :

Hongkong

 

 

Date of Incorporation :

08.09.1989

 

 

Com. Reg. No.:

13322356

 

 

Legal Form :

Private Limited Company.

 

 

Line of Business :

Exporter and Buying of all kinds of footwear, handbags, ladies’ underwear and garments.

 

 

No. of Employees :

55.  (Office staff)

 

 

RATING & COMMENTS

 

MIRA’s Rating :

Ba

 

RATING

STATUS

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

Satisfactory

 

 

Status :

Satisfactory

 

 

Payment Behaviour :

No Complaints

 

 

Litigation :

Clear

 

 

NOTES:

Any query related to this report can be made on e-mail: infodept@mirainform.com while quoting report number, name and date.

 

 

ECGC Country Risk Classification List – March 31, 2015

 

Country Name

Previous Rating

(31.12.2014)

Current Rating

(31.03.2015)

Hongkong

A1

A1

 

Risk Category

ECGC Classification

Insignificant

 

A1

Low

 

A2

Moderate

 

B1

High

 

B2

Very High

 

C1

Restricted

 

C2

Off-credit

 

D

 

 

HONGKONG - ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

 

Hong Kong has a free market economy, highly dependent on international trade and finance - the value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of re-exports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong has no tariffs on imported goods, and it levies excise duties on only four commodities, whether imported or produced locally: hard alcohol, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil, and methyl alcohol. There are no quotas or dumping laws. Hong Kong's open economy left it exposed to the global economic slowdown that began in 2008. Although increasing integration with China, through trade, tourism, and financial links, helped it to make an initial recovery more quickly than many observers anticipated, its continued reliance on foreign trade and investment leaves it vulnerable to renewed global financial market volatility or a slowdown in the global economy. The Hong Kong government is promoting the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as the site for Chinese renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Hong Kong residents are allowed to establish RMB-denominated savings accounts; RMB-denominated corporate and Chinese government bonds have been issued in Hong Kong; and RMB trade settlement is allowed. The territory far exceeded the RMB conversion quota set by Beijing for trade settlements in 2010 due to the growth of earnings from exports to the mainland. RMB deposits grew to roughly 12.5% of total system deposits in Hong Kong by the end of 2014. The government is pursuing efforts to introduce additional use of RMB in Hong Kong financial markets and is seeking to expand the RMB quota. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's total trade by value. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 47.3 million in 2014, outnumbering visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. In 2014 mainland Chinese companies constituted about 50% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and accounted for about 60.1% of the Exchange's market capitalization. During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown rapidly. Credit expansion and tight housing supply conditions have caused Hong Kong property prices to rise rapidly; consumer prices increased by more than 4.4% in 2014. Lower and middle income segments of the population are increasingly unable to afford adequate housing. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983. In 2014, Hong Kong and China signed a new agreement on achieving basic liberalization of trade in services in Guangdong Province under the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement, adopted in 2003 to forge closer ties between Hong Kong and the mainland. The new measures, effective from March 2015, cover a negative list and a most-favored treatment provision, and will improve access to the mainland's service sector for Hong Kong-based companies.

 

Source : CIA

 

 

Company Name and address

 

ANDRE HK BUYING OFFICE LTD.

 

ADDRESS:                   Room 602-608, 6/F. & 707-709, 7/F., Wharf T&T Centre, Harbour City, 7 Canton  Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

 

PHONE:                        852-2735 8656,  2730 6998

 

FAX:                             852-2735 8672,  2375 9643,  2730 9870

 

EMAIL:                         lucille@ahkbo.com.hk

cguillot@ahkbo.com

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Managing Director:        Mr. Arnaud Joel Charles Levron

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Incorporated on:            8th September, 1989.

 

Organization:                 Private Limited Company.

 

Issued Share Capital:     HK$500,000.00

 

Business Category:       Exporter and Buying Office.

 

Employees:                  55.  (Office staff)

 

Main Dealing Banker:     Natixis, Hong Kong Branch.

 

Banking Relation:          Very Good.

 

 

ADDRESS

 

Registered Head Office:-

Room 602-608, 6/F. & 707-709, 7/F., Wharf T&T Centre, Harbour City, 7 Canton Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

 

Holding Company:-

Vivarte

28 Rue, De Flandre 75019 Paris, France.

[Tel: 33-1-44-72-30-01;  Fax: 33-1-40-05-09-37]

 

Subsidiary/Associated Companies:-

André Ceska SRO, Czech Republic.

Andre International B.V., The Netherlands.

André International BV, Belgium.

André Polska Sp.z.o.o., Poland.

Europeenne de Negoce Andre S.A.S., France.

La Halle Hungaria, Hungary.

etc.

 

 

BUSINESS REGISTRATION NUMBER

 

13322356

 

 

COMPANY FILE NUMBER

 

0262712

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Managing Director:        Mr. Arnaud Joel Charles Levron

Contact Person:            Mr. Christophe Guillot

 

 

ISSUED SHARE CAPITAL

 

HK$500,000.00

 

 

SHAREHOLDER  

(As per registry dated 08-09-2015)

 

Name

 

No. of shares

Vivarte

28 Rue, De Flandre 75019 Paris, France.

 

500,000

======

 

 


DIRECTORS

(As per registry dated 08-09-2015)

 

Name

(Nationality)

 

Address

Nicola TETI

22 Rue Des Envierges, 75020 Paris, France.

 

Massimiliano MESSINA

20 Rue Datu, 75008 Paris, France.

 

Arnaud Joel Charles LEVRON

Flat B, 21/F., Carmen Garden, 9 Cox’s Road, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

 

 

SECRETARY

(As per registry dated 08-09-2015)

 

Name

Address

Co. No.

Wiseman Secretarial & Management Services Ltd.

22/F., Tai Yau Building, 181 Johnson Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

0040224

 

 

HISTORY

 

The subject was incorporated on 8th September, 1989 as a private limited liability company under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance.

 

Originally the subject was registered under the name of Kaninford Ltd., name changed to the present style on 25th May, 1990.

 

Formerly the subject was located at Room 1129-1130, 11/F., Star House, 3 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, moved to the present address in October 1995.

 

Apart from these, neither material change nor amendment has been ever traced and noted.

 

 

OPERATIONS

 

 

Activities:                      Exporter and Buying Office.

 

Lines:                           All kinds of footwear, handbags, ladies’ underwear and garments.

 

Employees:                  55.  (Office staff)

 

Commodities Handled:  Bought in Hong Kong and also imported from China and other Asian countries.

 

Markets:                        France and other European countries.

 

Terms/Sales:                 L/C, T/T and D/P.

 

Terms/Buying:               L/C, T/T, O/A, etc.

 

 

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Issued Share Capital:     HK$500,000.00

 

Mortgage or Charge:-

Date of A Charge Over Cash Deposit:  22-04-1997

Amount:            To secure all moneys, obligations and liabilities

Property:          All cash in the deposit dated 22-04-1997 in the amount US$2.5 million and interests

Mortgagee:       Crédit Lyonnais, Hong Kong Branch.  [Merged into Calyon but now known as Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank]

 

Profit or Loss:               Group suffered from losses in past two years.

 

Condition:                     Keeping in a normal condition.

 

Facilities:                      Making active use of general banking facilities.

 

Payment:                      Met trade commitments as contracted.

 

Commercial Morality:     Good.

 

Bankers:-

Natixis, Hong Kong Branch.

Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Hong Kong Branch.

The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., Hong Kong.

 

Standing:                      Normal.

 

 

GENERAL

 

Andre HK Buying Office Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivarte (formerly known as Groupe André S.A. [Groupe André]) which is a France‑based firm.  Groupe André was a French group founded in 1860 in Paris.

 

The subject has changed its directors since July 2014.  The Managing Director Arnaud Joel Charles Levron was appointed on 29th September, 2014.  He is a Hong Kong ID holder and has got the right to reside in Hong Kong permanently.  He is also managing director of the subject.

 

The subject is a buying office for Vivarte Group.  It is trading in the following three categories of products:-

·         Apparel;

·         Footwear;

·         Accessories.

 

The subject is engaged in purchasing footwear, handbags, lingerie and underwear, garments and the other textile products in the Great China region and the other Asian countries.  Business has been active and good.  Commodities are chiefly exported to France and the other European countries.

 

Currently the subject has developed close business ties with a number of overseas buyers, suppliers, fabric manufacturers, etc.  The subject has about 45 persons in Hong Kong.  It is the headquarters of Vivarte for the Asia Pacific region.  The contact person is Mr. Christophe Guillot.

 

The principal activity of Vivarte is to manufacture and retail footwear, ready‑to-wear clothing and accessories.  It also produces sports, work and safety footwear and clothing and household products.  Vivarte is France’s leading footwear and apparel specialty retailer and ranks sixth in Europe, with more than 60 million pairs of shoes and 50 million articles of clothing sold every year.

 

French footwear brands carried include “La Halle aux Chaussures”, “Chaussland”, “Andre”, “Orcade”, “Minelli” and “Besson”.  Clothing brands include “Caroll”, “Kookai”, “Creeks” and “Liberto”.  Retail outlets include “La Halle aux Vetements”, “Megal 1”, “Vetland” and “Spot”.

 

Vivarte was a listed firm in Paris, France.  It is a giant in the business of European shoes and garments.  Being one of the Europe’s leading manufacturers and sellers of footwear and apparel, it operates some 4,400 stores in France and about 10 in other countries in Europe, including Germany, Italy, and Spain, under about 20 different banners.  Its discount footwear and apparel stores are operated under the La Halle aux Chaussures, Chaussland, and Besson Chaussures names.  Other stores are operated under the Caroll, Kookai, La Halle, Naf, Super Sport, Andre, Minelli, San Marina, Pataugas, Chevignon, Cosmoparis, Avec and Fosco names.

 

Vivarte is owned by the UK-based private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners, which acquired the company from PAI Partners in 2007.

 

Vivarte set to complete its financial restructuring in on 29th October, 2014 with a debt-for-equity swap.

 

It wants to cut 1,600 jobs, mainly at its clothing chain La Halle aux Vêtements.

 

Vivarte - which owns chains like Naf, Chevignon and Kookaï - will cut 1,600 jobs out of the 17,000 it currently has.  One of its most important chains, La Halle aux Vêtements, will carry the brunt of the cuts: 174 of its 620 stores will shut down and another 23 will be sold off. Its staff will be brought down from 4,000 to 2,480 employees, which means that nearly a third of the staff will be shown the door.

 

Shoe chain André will also have to make some changes: 37 out of 247 stores will close and 200 out of 500 employees might lose their job, while Kookaï may be forced to let 32 people go.

 

The French fashion concern has had worrying results, which have prompted it to act now: Vivarte’s turnover slumped 10.3 % in its 2013-2014 fiscal year, down to EUR 2.68 billion, while its debt grew to EUR 2.8 billion.  La Halle aux Vêtements’ sales dropped for the third year in a row, with a EUR 60 million loss on a EUR 560 million turnover last year.  Its major competitors, Kiabi and mainly Primark, are stealing away customers and turnover.

 

The subject is fully supported by Vivarte.  History in Hong Kong is over twenty-six years and a month.  Making a small profit every year.

 

On the whole, in view of the subject’s background and parentage, consider it good for normal business engagements.

 

 


 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

 

Currency

Unit

Indian Rupees

US Dollar

1

Rs.64.88

UK Pound

1

Rs.99.89

Euro

1

Rs.72.06

 

INFORMATION DETAILS

 

Analysis Done by :

HEE

 

 

Report Prepared by :

NIT

 

               

RATING EXPLANATIONS

 

RATING

STATUS

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

 

>86

Aaa

Possesses an extremely sound financial base with the strongest capability for timely payment of interest and principal sums

 

Unlimited

 

71-85

Aa

Possesses adequate working capital. No caution needed for credit transaction. It has above average (strong) capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Large

 

56-70

A

Financial & operational base are regarded healthy. General unfavourable factors will not cause fatal effect. Satisfactory capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Fairly Large

 

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

 

Satisfactory

 

26-40

B

Capability to overcome financial difficulties seems comparatively below average.

 

Small

 

11-25

Ca

Adverse factors are apparent. Repayment of interest and principal sums in default or expected to be in default upon maturity

 

Limited with full security

 

<10

C

Absolute credit risk exists. Caution needed to be exercised

 

Credit not recommended

 

--

NB

New Business

--

 

This score serves as a reference to assess SC’s credit risk and to set the amount of credit to be extended. It is calculated from a composite of weighted scores obtained from each of the major sections of this report. The assessed factors and their relative weights (as indicated through %) are as follows:

 

Financial condition (40%)            Ownership background (20%)                  Payment record (10%)

Credit history (10%)                   Market trend (10%)                                Operational size (10%)

 

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This report is issued at your request without any risk and responsibility on the part of MIRA INFORM PRIVATE LIMITED (MIPL) or its officials.