Hi Graham. I discovered Catan recently too and it's completely addictive. £GAW is now my largest holding and it's difficult to find a bear case. I suppose from my own point of view, I don't use the product and I have no interest in it so it's difficult for me to have a finger on the pulse of the hobby or the changing fashions of this sort of gaming. I guess a secular shift in the popularity of the hobby would be a concern but the geographic diversification may offer protection from this to some extent. The price is indeed punchy and has been for a long time but I can only see this business growing for years ahead. Execution risk might be another concern as the latest results did highlight some customer service issues and perhaps the scale of the business is making it harder to manage whilst maintaining high levels of service. IT/ERP issues seem to be a recurring theme in results narratives too
Actually my single biggest concern is the lack of management skin in the game. Directors appear to have been consistent sellers and none are major shareholders. This is at odds with Kevin Roundtree's commentaries which always sound like the words of a passionate founder / owner (I do realise he is neither).
Hi Graham. I discovered Catan recently too and it's completely addictive. £GAW is now my largest holding and it's difficult to find a bear case. I suppose from my own point of view, I don't use the product and I have no interest in it so it's difficult for me to have a finger on the pulse of the hobby or the changing fashions of this sort of gaming. I guess a secular shift in the popularity of the hobby would be a concern but the geographic diversification may offer protection from this to some extent. The price is indeed punchy and has been for a long time but I can only see this business growing for years ahead. Execution risk might be another concern as the latest results did highlight some customer service issues and perhaps the scale of the business is making it harder to manage whilst maintaining high levels of service. IT/ERP issues seem to be a recurring theme in results narratives too
Actually my single biggest concern is the lack of management skin in the game. Directors appear to have been consistent sellers and none are major shareholders. This is at odds with Kevin Roundtree's commentaries which always sound like the words of a passionate founder / owner (I do realise he is neither).