F.I.L.A.: Investment in DOMS, the rest is free
Update Q3 2024
Short description
F.I.L.A., which stands for Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini, literally translates to the Italian factory of pencils and related items. They describe themselves as active in creativity tools, such as pencils, markers, crayons, highlighters, modeling clay (or plasticine), chalk, paint, and paper for fine arts, school, and leisure.
The over-a-hundred-year-old company operates in 150 countries with 33 subsidiaries and 25 factories producing 25 brands, ranging from preschool items to professional materials.
With two focus areas, namely School & Office and Fine Arts, they also cover seasonal volatility. While School & Office mainly generates its revenue between June and September, Fine Arts does so more in the last quarter and just after the holidays.
Why we selected F.I.L.A.
If you can purchase a company that you're convinced falls under the motto of "heads I win, tails I don't lose," as described by Monish Pabrai, then it doesn't need to be top quality for me.
F.I.L.A. is simply a solid business that achieves higher returns and margins than its competitors but operates in a fiercely competitive sector. The differentiation it has been striving for in recent years is not yet reflected in the numbers.
The company has just taken a subsidiary public. The remaining stake it holds is worth more than the entire market cap of F.I.L.A.