Axial Research: 1H 2012 Consumer Report

The 1H 2012 Consumer Report covers the Opportunities managed on Axial since the beginning of the year as well as looking at a real-time snapshot of investment interest and opportunities on July 31st, 2012.

To provide color and context for the trends, we interviewed sub-sector experts who are Members of the Axial network. Their interviews helped shine a light on growth in Internet Retail, trends in Agribusiness, and geographic changes in the Automotive Industry.  Here are a few highlights from the report:

• Agribusiness is heating up. Financial buyers seem to be targeting the industry as commodities prices are causing EBITDAs to grow in some places. Agricultural Products saw 80% growth in Q2 vs Q1. Members Roy Sutton of Briggs Capital, Dom Petito of Wisdom Capital Partners, and Arthur Bentley of HJ Baker & Bros explained how the changes are affecting different parts of the supply chain.
• Automotive Parts & Equipment seems to be coming back. We have seen more interest and deals in the space as well as commentary from Dura Auto talking about how manufacturing is moving from China to Mexico. Members Eric Rundall of Dura Auto and Brian Boorstein of Granite Creek Partners commented on changes they’re seeing in the space.
• Home Goods, especially Home Furnishings and Home Products, all items at lower relative price points, seem to be doing great while larger Home and Housing sectors, like Home Improvement and Household Appliances, seem to be suffering from tight-fisted consumers. Member Mark Deutsch of Hudson Ferry Capital helped explain some of the trends he’s seeing in the industry.
• Europe doesn’t seem to have had any impact on middle market companies. Most middle market companies are fairly local and don’t ship abroad in significant quantities. Multi-national middle market companies are finding the biggest impact of Europe to be in the way currency changes are affecting the company’s perceived profitability.