Mike Ashley as the head of Frasers is getting a bit of a reputation among some corners of The City as a stock picker as well as a retail guru.
Most recently, the FTSE 100 firm has increased its stake to above 10% in Asos, as well as snapping up a 9% stake in Currys today and a 5% interest in Boohoo.
But how have his picks so far been successful? Or should Ashley stick to running the business as opposed to playing hedge fund manager?
Here is a list of some of his most notable stake-building activities, and how the share price has fared from when it was first reported he had built an interest.
Asos
Ashley’s interest in Asos was first confirmed last October when a 5% stake was purchased when Asos was valued at 517.5p per share.
Asos hasn’t performed too strongly since, even though Ashely has shown faith, increasing his stake to above 10% two weeks ago.
The share price is languishing at 384.6p, down 25% from when Frasers’ stake was first made public.
However, there is renewed optimism among The City that Asos may be on the road to recovery.
Last week, the beleaguered online retailer said sales continued to fall, but that it returned to profitability in the third quarter.
If the renewed optimism transpires into a turnaround of the company, one could argue Ashley was the first to spot green shoots and got in while the price was low.
Hugo Boss
Frasers first snapped up a 0.2% stake in the German fashion brand nearly three years for around €25 mark.
In the three subsequent years, Frasers built its stake to as high as 4.9% last year, although it reduced its holding to 3.9% in January this year, exiting when the share price was more than double at €60.
Shares in Hugo Boss are currently trading at €70.08.
N Brown
FTSE 100 Frasers first bought into the clothing and footwear retailer last October, after it issued a warning in light-of-living crisis.
Shares were trading at around 21p before Frasers increased its stake to just about 5% a month later.
Currently, Frasers owns around 17.6% of N Brown.
While shares peaked in February at 42.7p, they have now retreated back to around the price Ashley and Frasers initially paid less than 10 months ago, 23.7p.
As mentioned above, Ashley has recently bought 9% in Currys, 5% in Boohoo and paid £75mln for an 18.9% stake in AO World from Odey Asset Management.
Boohoo’s shares are down 2.46% to 24p, while Currys have gained 4.2% to 55.2p
AO World’s shares are up 12% since the acquisition of shares was announced on 12 June.
For the three recent stake builds, it is too soon to tell whether Ashley has hit the jackpot like he did with Hugo Boss, or if he missed the target altogether like with N Brown, at least for now.