New Wave Group AB (publ) (NEWA-B.ST) fair value

ACCE thesis

New Wave Group sells branded eyewear and watches through its Gant, Nordic Eyewear and Kjell & Co-adjacent retail channels, with its own store network and wholesale accounts across Scandinavia and wider Europe. The structural edge is the combination of a recognised consumer brand with a 49.5% gross margin, which gives it room to absorb promotional swings that squeeze lower-margin apparel and accessories peers. Revenue growth of 13.5% is the number to test: the case rests on whether that expansion is sustainable across wholesale and retail rather than driven by one-off distribution wins. At 16.4 times trailing earnings and 11.2 times forward, the market is pricing in a meaningful step-down in earnings, which makes the forward multiple the first thing to check against consensus estimates. An 11.3% operating margin and 11.8% return on equity are solid rather than exceptional for specialty retail, so the thesis depends on operating leverage from the growth rather than on the margin already being there. The name is not in any index, which may keep coverage and liquidity thinner than the size of the company would suggest.