The ASX retail share Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV) is under the spotlight today as uncertainty surrounds the intentions of one of its key shareholders after a director share sale. The Lovisa share price is currently down by more than 1%.
It was only last week that the market learned that Frasers Group had bought a 14.65% shareholding of Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) from BBRC International Pte Ltd, which is a Brett Blundy entity. Blundy has indicated he will be retiring from the Accent board in due course.
Brett Blundy is a co-founder and the current chair of Lovisa. A share sale by the Blundy family may be causing some uncertainty for investors.
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Lovisa share sale
According to an ASX announcement, Brett Blundy's sister Tracey Blundy made a significant share sale on 2 September 2024.
Tracey Blundy, a founding shareholder, sold 500,000 Lovisa shares at a price of $31.25 per share. That means her total sale's gross proceeds came to approximately $15.6 million.
After this sale, her indirect exposure to the ASX retail share is now 653,005 shares. So, it represented a significant portion of her Lovisa holding.
No reason was given for the sale, so investors can only speculate what this could mean for the ASX retail share.
Of course, Tracey Blundy selling shares doesn't necessarily mean anything is happening with Brett Blundy's shareholding or commitment to the business.
Ongoing growth at the ASX retail share
In my opinion, the company's FY24 first-half result was strong, so shareholders may not need to worry.
The 2024 financial year saw revenue rise 17.1% to $698.7 million, gross profit rise 18.7% to $565.8 million, and net profit after tax (NPAT) rise 20.9% to $82.4 million. Net cash flow from operating activities rose 32.8% to $187.5 million.
This result demonstrated solid double-digit revenue growth, pleasing operating leverage and a strong showing of the company's ability to generate cash.
During the FY24 period, the company opened another 99 net new stores, with strong growth in Europe and the US. Excitingly, it opened its first stores in highly-populated countries in China and Vietnam.
There have been promising signs of progress in FY25. In August 2024, the company opened a new company-operated 5,000m2 warehouse in Columbus, Ohio, to service its growing Americas region and provide capacity to support significant future growth across the region.
In terms of the trading update, in the first eight weeks of FY25, comparable store sales grew by 2% year over year, and total sales were up 12.7%. In my opinion, ongoing double-digit total sales growth is a promising sign for the year ahead.
