A new poster, but (very) long-term ARB holder.
Making money overseas for ARB must be harder than in Aust - but ARB have done well in NZ, and in my travels in Asia I've always got a kick out of seeing ARB branded components on 4wds there too. So, they are not starting from scratch. Presumably the appeal of the ARB brand to Aust etc consumers is based on something which stablished and underpinned the brand - eg, well designed/engineered products, good product range, which perform well, at a sufficiently competitive price point - and that underlying something might have broad appeal globally even if the (accompanying) ARB brand is lesser known. To me, it'll just take longer, be harder, to get established, and ultimately it will be less than the Australian business.
I feel too that ARB have never really made the US business work - they seem to have been there for years and it has never really amounted to much, which does suggest they might not succeed in getting make the international business really deliver. That said, I agree, their domestic track record ensures they should get more benefit of the doubt than most other companies. Also, the imperative for them to succeed internationally is growing stronger and they remain proven and significantly committed executives/shareholders.
Given the international opportunity, and the greater difficulty and risk from realising it, and the high valuation on ARB shares now, ARB's future performance to shareholders can't be as good as its historical performance, IMHO. That said, I still feel ARB is a good place to be invested in a world where all future returns will be lower than historical returns. And there would still seem to be opportunities domestically for ARB - an improvement in Aust domestic conditions, and the high level of new OEM products probably impacted 2016 profits, and maybe we will benefit in 2017 and beyond from that cost/investment.
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