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“Leaving aside the fraud, the figures that are available suggest that Luckin Coffee never had a viable business model,” Zolidis said, forecasting that the store closures will come as a result of losing access to capital. “The company grew too fast and acquired customers via promotional offers, without ever proving the economics.” In an April note, Zolidis said Luckin’s stores were “generating significant losses” and “do not appear to produce positive same-store sales.” He raised questions about whether the company could ever produce a profit.

Quo Vadis rates Luckin stock sell.

Quo Vadis called the expectations for Luckin’s performance “unrealistic.” Analysts there rate Luckin stock sell.

“The company has indicated that it ultimately expects to achieve unit level margins of 30% and to break-even at the corporate level by 3Q20,” wrote Quo Vadis in a note. “A $9 billion market capitalization for this unproven concept with an uncertain path to profitability is unjustified in our opinion.”

Target’s muted statement on potential supply-chain delays “suggests that the ripples of disruption across all of retail are probably lower than some are expecting at the moment,” said John Zolidis, an analyst at Quo Vadis Capital.

In 2015, the prevailing sentiment on Wall Street was that Target was behind the curve in responding to the e-commerce threat and there was little it could do to fend off its loss of market share to Amazon, said John Zolidis, president and founder of investment advisory firm Quo Vadis Capital Inc.

While both Walmart and Target declined to provide details of their Miami operations, equity analyst and e-commerce expert John Zolidis said those two companies have found a way around building new distribution centers; instead, they rely on existing area stores where customers can quickly pick up their own packages at curbside.

“Our view is that if the company continues to innovate and create fantastic products it will maintain its dominance or grow share in existing or adjacent global categories” he says. “It will continue to produce excess free cash flows and these will either be returned to shareholders or reinvested in technology or growth. If all these things can happen, then $2 trillion is possible. Some day. So far it has been a smart to bet on AAPL’s continued success. “

“The investment case for Walmart shares is aided by the favorable consumer environment,” wrote John Zolidis, president of Quo Vadis Capital. “However, the core reason to be involved, in our opinion, is based on the company’s ability to create separation versus competitors via the combination of enhancements to physical stores and aggressive investment in digital assets and order fulfillment.”

Street wear, for its part, has stepped up the pace, its drops occurring weekly, not annually or seasonally, and focused on goods with a shelf life of no more than a day, and prices that could strain the most lavish budget. To compare Target’s program with contemporary drops may seem a stretch.

“But the fact that we are talking about it in the context of Supreme shows that Target is doing something right,” Mr. Zolidis said. “If you’re a big box store selling groceries and diapers, and you can bring people in for designer goods at low prices in a limited-edition environment, that’s a coup.”

Investors are waiting for more details to emerge as the Columbus, Ohio-based company plans to host a meeting on September 10. L Brands stock has lost 80% of its value since peaking in 2016.

“Victoria’s Secret is at a very critical juncture in its existence,” John Zolidis, president of independent investor advisor Quo Vadis Capital, said in a note, adding that he plans to travel to the meeting. “[I] want to see first-hand if the company has the wherewithal and courage to transform its brand image from an elitist-aspirational positioning to the body-positive approach working with women today.”

He won’t be the only one watching for that.

John Zolidis, president of Quo Vadis, says his perspective on Walmart hasn’t changed in two years.

“Walmart is well into the process of transforming a traditional, terrestrial retail model into a transactional-model optimized for a digitally-equipped consumer,” he wrote. “This new model leverages Walmart’s historical advantages including scale, supply-chain, low-price positioning, and store locations with digital capabilities highlighted by grocery pickup, a vast selection, a portfolio of new owned brands, and delivery.”