Ann: Appendix 4E, Annual Accounts & Performance Guidance, page-15

Initially I didn't think much of the spend on inventory, writing it off at 'growth' spend, however there are a few indicators that GaryLynchett has led me to that don't look right...

Taking a a look at the inventory, you'll also notice that Provisions for Inventory Obsolescence were at 1.3% in FY14 as opposed to 0.9% in FY13 and 0.2% in FY12... Given the rate at which they're increasing their inventory relative to sales (Garylynchett's post above) it seems like they're expecting to have more obsolete stock as a proportion of the whole... (shouldn't this be reducing, even if they are expanding)

And this doesn't include the economies of scale (through Sales to Inventory, and other metrics) they should achieve as their store footprint expands.