$7.70/kg almond spot price- SHV needs to be re-rated higher it seems.., page-42

With all the euphoria of yesterday's premature celebrations having passed, can we get back to some meaningful discussion about the business strategy.

Sutantyo, you say that the competitors are also vertically integrated but just how far down the value chain?

What Select is trying to do is the equivalent of Mars owning cocoa plantations or Unilever owning palm oil plantations. In fact, they used to do those things back in the colonial days but realised it is a really bad idea about 20 years ago.

Select's situation is even worse. They are like a palm oil plantation trying to become a Unilever.

I just can't help thinking of other companies coming unstuck with similarly naive strategies - Woolworths move into hardware, Slater & Gordon's acquisition of a UK legal firm, Arrium's move into high cost ore, Dick Smith's over aggressive store and private label expansion, BHP's move into shale oil, RIO's move into aluminium ...

My skeptical nature has helped me avoid getting burned on all of the above and I have a similar feeling towards Select.