As a past SH in VTG, I keep an eye on it.Maxine is a good...

As a past SH in VTG, I keep an eye on it.
Maxine is a good operator - no doubt about it - but her buying and selling in recent years suggest it’s all about her. I don’t see any capital spill coming the way of retail SH unless it suits her. If she is looking to exit, maybe, otherwise she will keep the cash honeypot within the company and under her control.
The extra value in VTG is tied up with what TLS May or may not do. In my experience, the logic of retail investors (as solid as it seems) as to when corporate strategies are played out is always wrong.
i do think those who are backing Artisan need to rethink the business model used. SLA has a franchise model which is why they scooped up 56 outlets recently (54 of which are franchised). Maxine is totally focused on a corporate model, so the franchises are of no use to her.
The founders of Laser Australia sold to KKR at an extreme price are adamant - their success happened when they went franchise. As it stands VTG are way off reaching scale and their shop outlet program is way off track. Greenfield sites are nice, but they are slow to roll out. Frankly I see whatever cash comes from TLS will get ploughed into Artisan...but right now they are a very distant third. Is the Australian marketplace big enough to have three gorillas, I doubt it.