Edmund Shing explains why you should invest in British multinational retailer Debenhams.

1) Prestigious department store: Debenhams is a multi-channel department store with 240 stores operating in 27 countries. Founded in 1778, the Debenhams brand has been around a long time.

2) Strong performance: The retailer is doing very well in the present day. It is a FTSE 250 mid-cap company with a market value of £1.06bn (as of 13 November 2015).

3) Designer portfolio: Debenhams also has a strong portolio of brand designers such as Jasper Conran and John Rocha. This positions the company as a designer outlet, but with this it also provides relatively good value.

4) Online presence: Debenhams online presence is growing quickly at 11% a year. Online sales now represent 14% of group sales at Debenhams, driven largely by the click and collect system that they have in place where you can buy online and collect in the store.

5) Its cheap: And finally, Debenhams is also a cheap stock. It has a relatively cheap P/E Ratio (TTM) of 11.72 and a dividend yield of 3.82% (as of 13 November).


Edmund Shing is Global Head of Equity Derivative Strategy at BNP Paribas in London. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence.