BioNTech, RYU Apparel, TUI: Breakthroughs and unicorns!

Unicorn in the fashion market

The fashion label, RYU Apparel, is a name to remember. The Canadians have ambitious plans. According to management, the goal is to build a billion-dollar Company by 2030. "Respect Your Universe", as the Company name means when spelt out, wants to create a perfect symbiosis of the three areas of life - fashion, sport and lifestyle - in its collections. This promises to result in significant leverage in sales compared to the industry average.

Sustainability in the foreground

RYU Apparel, based in Vancouver, Canada, focuses on sustainability and follows the blue path taken by Bluesign. "The Blue Way" stands for the vision and mission of responsible and sustainable textile manufacturing. Based on a holistic approach, the project follows the path of every single textile product along its production process. It makes improvements at every stage - from production to the final product.

Strong conditions created

Almost everything has changed at RYU Apparel this year. The troubled Company replaced nearly the entire management team. The new CEO, Cesare Fazari, has been in position since March. Fazari has an extremely successful history as a serial founder in the fields of real estate, biotechnology and fintech and has acted as a venture capital investor in several companies that achieved billion-dollar valuations. In addition to the new CEO, several players with capital markets experience also came on board.

Capital increase as the starting signal

After a capital cut of 10:1 in the summer, the new management at RYU took the next step at the end of October. Thus one could recruit in a private placement equity capital of CAD 4.8 million at CAD 0.05 each. With scarcely one fifth, the management itself is involved. In addition to marketing measures, the Canadians want to continue to invest liquidity in improving their online store, particularly in-house. In addition, the production "Made in Canada" will be resumed.

Strategy consultant brings the push

The commitment of Joel Primus, the co-founder of Naked Brands Inc., as a strategy consultant, is considered a sensation in the industry. Primus was the creative visionary behind numerous products in naked underwear, established retail sales at Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom, Hudson's Bay and Bloomingdales, brokered partnerships with celebrities and coordinated the listing of Naked Brands Inc. on Nasdaq. The Company currently has a market capitalization of EUR 12 million. The course for growth is set here, but whether it will reach the unicorn is questionable. However, management has demonstrated this.

On the last meters

BioNTech and Pfizer seem to rock it. The first data announced from the start of a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for its vaccine candidate BNT162b2. The potential vaccine achieved an efficacy rate of more than 90 percent seven days after the second dose, the Companies announced. Meaning that protection is achieved 28 days after the start of the vaccination, the Companies added. BioNTech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin called it a "significant step" in the fight against the coronavirus, while his partner, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, called it a momentous day for science and humanity. As expected, BioNTech's shares went through the roof and, at an all-time high of almost USD 115 and closed at USD 104.80, an increase of 14%.

Nightmare over?

The announcement of a possible soon-to-be-approved vaccine has benefited the badly hit tourism and aviation stocks. Both TUI and Lufthansa are rising in intervals by more than 25%, but just how sustainable these gains are will become apparent in the next few days. The next step on the charts is the battle for the crucial 200-day line.