CTT – Cettire Limited | Aussie Stock Forums

It is usually a good idea to understand the business, if investing in it. As @galumay states, its a rag shop, if a modern iteration, all algorithms and light on capital. But is it even that? Mainly, it appears to have built an online customer database and uses organic search and Google ad-words to rank highly when shoppers searched for luxury fashion.

As an online fashion emporium, it sells about 1300 designer brands such as Prada, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Burberry and Valentino and Australian designer brands such as Zimmermann. But now questions are asked about the supply chain and use of third parties (with the implied question mark hanging over provenance/ authenticity).

Those who have ‘lifted the bonnet’ have found that Cettire has no direct relationship with brand owners. Rather, fund managers said it bought stock from third-party suppliers and wholesalers, “some of whom operated in the grey market or parallel import market”. Being integrated into these wholesalers around the world, especially China, means pricing can be significantly cheaper than for the same branded goods. But these relationships can crumble if/ when the designers and owners assert control of their brands.

Additionally, part of the attraction of discounting comes from transnational pricing; most of its customers (64 per cent) are in the US, according to its prospectus. Cettire can sell European designer fashion without 20 per cent value added tax (VAT) and, if US orders are below $US800, free of import duties.

Cettire’s claim a “unique proprietary platform” has enabled it to largely automate product management, pricing, customer acquisition and order fulfilment, but others say the company used a widely available Shopify platform.