Burberry
While Burberry’s (LSE: BRBY) brand is often cited as a key reason for buying shares in the company, its adoption of the internet, technology and social media is also important when assessing its strengths. In fact, Burberry has been something of a pioneer regarding its focus on the online aspect of sales with, for example, it having Burberry World in place for around 2.5 years. It acts as a shopping and entertainment hub for customers and allows Burberry to demonstrate its potential as a lifestyle brand much more easily.
Of course, Burberry’s financial numbers also make sense, too. For example, it is expected to increase its bottom line by 11% in each of the next two years and this is being aided in no small part by its early adoption of the potential of the online space. Looking ahead, it has favourable regional exposure and, as mentioned, a strong brand to enable its shares to perform well over the medium to long term.
easyJet
One of the big beneficiaries of the financial crisis has been easyJet (LSE: EZJ), with holidaymakers being drawn to its great value flights and no-frills service. Of course, this has been aided via easyJet’s focus on having an online presence that has allowed customers seeking bargain flights to find and book them easily. And, looking ahead, its new strategy of attempting to lure business customers also seems to be working, as corporate efficiency-drives continue to be a feature of the business world despite the financial crisis now apparently being over.
Furthermore, easyJet continues to offer excellent value for money. For example, it has a price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.8 and, with a low oil price likely to stick around over the medium term, it could see its profit (and share price) rise at a brisk pace.
AO World
Shares in AO World (LSE: AO) have experienced a tumultuous time of late, with the online seller of white goods seeing its share price collapse by 40% in the last month after a profit warning severely hurt investor sentiment. Clearly, there could be more volatility ahead but, with the outlook for the UK consumer being positive over the medium term, AO World could prove to be a sound recovery play.
For example, it trades on a PEG ratio of just 0.3 and, while its forecasts have the potential to be downgraded, it seems to have a sufficient margin of safety built in to its share price to allow for upbeat performance over the medium to long term. As such, and while competition in the sale of online white goods is likely to increase, AO World could be a surprisingly strong performer.
