Retail News CRM

Category: Fashion

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Fashion news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Rise in sales for Ralph Lauren Asia

    Rise in sales for Ralph Lauren Asia

    Ralph Lauren Asia sales rose marginally in the second quarter as the company continued with its turnaround strategy.

    Group-wide global sales, however, fell 9 per cent to US$1.7 billion, as the troubled brand pursued initiatives aimed at increasing the quality of sales, reduced promotional activity and improved distribution. North American revenue fell 16 per cent to $877 million.

    However, on the positive side, the average unit sale across Ralph Lauren’s direct-to-consumer network was up 5 per cent year-on-year.

    Ralph Lauren Asia sales reached $217 million, up 4 per cent on a constant-currency basis, driven by strength in both retail and wholesale channels. Same-store sales rose 3 per cent driven by improved store footfall and conversion of browsers into shoppers.

    “I am pleased with the progress we are making as we continue to strengthen the foundations of our business and elevate the expression of our iconic brand,” said Ralph Lauren, executive chairman and chief creative officer. He said incoming CEO Patrice Louvet has “already proven to be an invaluable partner who is embracing our core values, bringing unique expertise and uniting and empowering our capable teams”.

    Louvet said that while there remains a lot of work to be done to restore the company to its previous level of success, he is encouraged by the early progress being made in strengthening the brand and better connecting with consumers.

    “Faint light at end of long tunnel”

    Neil Saunders, MD of GlobalData Retail, said that while the results again showed declining sales, there is “finally a faint light at the end of Ralph Lauren’s long tunnel of reinvention”. Net profit rose 215 per cent, largely due to the streamlining of the business reducing costs, favourable exchange rates and reduced product discounting, improving gross margin.

    “While the turnaround plan is delivering a bottom line improvement, the impact on the top line is less obvious,” observed Saunders.

    He also believes there is more work to do in consolidating the company’s ranges and choice.

    “The company still has too many sub-brands, capsule collections and labels. In theory, these are supposed to cater to different constituents of the market. In practice, there is no real delineation between many of the elements, and the result is a confused mass of product that is vaguely referred to as ‘Ralph Lauren.’ Trimming back here is necessary if the brand is to have any chance of cutting through in a very crowded and competitive marketplace,” he said.

    “One of the positives we take from both this and the previous set of results is that Ralph Lauren and his new CEO, Patrice Louvet, seem to be working well together. The dynamic between the two gentlemen is crucial as it will ultimately determine whether the turnaround plan succeeds or fails. As the founder and iconic head of the brand, Ralph Lauren’s input and vision are vital, but it remains important that he allows a CEO to steer the business towards more fruitful waters. After some false starts, this now seems to be happening,” Saunders concluded.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Muji expansion in Thailand at Siam Discovery in Bangkok

    Muji expansion in Thailand at Siam Discovery in Bangkok

    Muji Thailand has opened another store in Bangkok, its second in little more than a month.

    On Wednesday, Muji opened its doors in the Siam Discovery shopping centre.

    MUJI at Siam Discovery_3

    Yuki Yamamoto, director and GM of Muji’s parent Ryohin Keikaku Co and Naratipe Ruttapradid, senior executive VP operations division with Siam Discovery’s parent Siam Piwat (pictured) performed the opening honours.

    Mr. Yuki Yamamoto, Director and General Manager, Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.  along with Miss Naratipe Ruttapradid, Senior Executive Vice President Operations Division at Siam Piwat Co., Ltd. opened the new ‘MUJI’ store at 2 nd Floor, Siam Discovery. Customers will get special offer and can buy the special exclusive tote bags at Bath of 99 only at MUJI, Siam Discovery branch.

    Muji Thailand reopened its store inside the Zen department store at Bangkok’s CentralWorld shopping centre in September. That store, which originally opened on the fifth floor of Zen in 2012, has been relocated to the fourth floor.

    It is the largest of all Muji outlets in Thailand with a floor area of 878sqm.

    Lees ook:

  • Estee Lauder Companies sales rises

    Estee Lauder Companies sales rises

    Led by double-digit growth in China and Hong Kong, Asia/Pacific sales increased sharply for Estee Lauder Companies for its first quarter to the end of September.

    It says the higher sales in China reflected strong gains for every brand except designer fragrances. Estee Lauder, Mac, La Mer, Tom Ford and Jo Malone led the sales growth.

    Sales benefitted, in part, from continued demand for makeup products, an acceleration in skincare sales and targeted expansion of consumer reach.

    Hong Kong’s increased sales reflected solid domestic growth and a rise in tourism. Growth was primarily driven by Estée Lauder, La Mer and Mac.

    Operating performance was lower in Japan.

    Overall, the company achieved net sales of $3.27 billion, up 14 per cent on the same period last year.

    Incremental sales from the company’s acquisitions of Becca and Too Faced contributed about four points of reported sales growth. Net earnings rose 45 per cent to $427 million.

    “Building on the global momentum of the past fiscal year, we benefitted from continued acceleration in China, Hong Kong, travel retail and global online, strength in several developed and emerging markets in Europe, and incremental sales from Becca and Too Faced,” says president/CEO Fabrizio Freda.

    “Our online and travel-retail channels and most luxury and mid-sized brands posted double-digit sales gains.”

    Lees ook:

  • ShopBack unveils close to USD40M in funding

    ShopBack unveils close to USD40M in funding

    ShopBack the one-stop lifestyle portal that powers smarter purchase decisions, raised USD25M in its latest funding round, bringing the company’s total funding raised to date close to USD40M. The round was led by Credit Saison, the largest credit card and retail finance company in Japan. More than 10 institutional investors participated in the round, including new investors Blue Sky and Intouch Holdings PLC, as well as existing investors SoftBank Ventures Korea, Singtel Innov8, Qualgro and East Ventures.

    “Cashback served as the cornerstone for ShopBack’s establishment in Malaysia and laid the foundation for us to build smarter shopping solutions,” said Alvin Gill, ShopBack Malaysia’s Country General Manager, “Living up to our value proposition as ‘The Smarter Way’, we have recently added service aggregation features for the rides to simplify purchase decisions for our users. We strive to become the one-stop shopping and lifestyle portal for every Malaysian.”

    Today, ShopBack powers close to 1,000 orders per hour, with an annualised sales figure of over USD300M for more than 1,300 partner merchants across the online retail, travel and lifestyle verticals. Over three and half million consumers across six countries in the Asia Pacific have signed up with ShopBack since the company’s inception in 2014.

    “ShopBack’s business model builds on the explosive growth of ecommerce in the Asia Pacific to drive tangible value for its users and cost-efficient sales generation for its partner merchants,” said Sean Lee, Partner of SoftBank Ventures Korea, “The model enables ShopBack to leverage user insights across shopping categories and develop smarter shopping solutions such as cross-category recommendations.”

    “The ShopBack team has demonstrated the ability to build a pool of loyal users in a sustainable and scalable manner, which is the backbone of all successful businesses. We have high confidence that the team is able to deliver on their vision in the region, hence the follow-on 18 months after our initial investment,” said Sean

    The three-year-old start-up previously disclosed two seed funding rounds totaling to over USD1M. This latest round of funding will be used to drive three key areas of development – acquiring world-class talent, launching new product features and establishing market leadership.

    Talent is key to long term success

     According to Heang Chhor, Managing Partner of Qualgro, “ShopBack consistently meets our high bar for delivering very strong growth. It has demonstrated exceptional ability to adapt and execute fast in very different markets across Southeast Asia. This rests on an innovative and fast-moving talent pool, that ShopBack has been able to attract, grow and motivate.”

    “Speed and results-orientation are key in the region, and ShopBack’s mantra of “Fail fast, learn fast and iterate faster”, has seen them rapidly become a regional platform for ‘The Smarter Way’ to shop online.”

    ShopBack’s presence in six countries is driven by a team of more than 130 people. The management team hails from ecommerce and technology background with experience in scaling companies across the region, including Alvin Gill who was previously the Chief of Staff to the CEO at ZEAL Network, a publicly-listed online lottery company with revenues in excess of EUR100M per annum.

    Prior to ZEAL Network, Alvin was in the investment banking industry before joining ZALORA Malaysia. He led the Buying Division and contributed, for the categories he controlled, a significant revenue growth towards the business. His experience and knowledge in Business Intelligence helped the company solve and streamline multiple operational challenges during his tenure.

    Proven product-market fit laid foundation for ShopBack’s regional growth

    ShopBack’s core business model is built on a strong foundation of multiple experimentations and iterations. It transformed from a one-day flash sale site to a perennial Cashback platform which enables it to deliver value to customers and partner merchants all year round.

    “We have witnessed ShopBack’s growth journey and the founders’ dedication to the business from the early days,” said Edgar Hardless, Chief Executive Officer of Singtel Innov8. “With the flourishing e-commerce market in the region, we believe ShopBack is strongly positioned to realise their regional growth aspirations.”

    ShopBack believes rapid and effective localisation is critical for players operating in a fragmented region like the Asia Pacific. While its core service offering remains the same across geographies, different marketing and product strategies are adopted to better address the needs of customers in each market.

     “This new round of funding leads to the start of the year-end shopping festival, with the nearest being Alibaba’s 11.11 Singles’ Day. Our customised marketing approach has efficiently lifted the awareness level for Taobao, Tmall, and AliExpress in Malaysia, which resulted in a 400% increase in orders during 2016’s 11.11 Singles Day compared to 2015. We look forward to upscale the performance this year with an impactful campaign including up to 50% cash rewards and special rebates for our users,” added Alvin.

    Lees ook:

  • Michael Kors Asia sales down with 30 per cent

    Michael Kors Asia sales down with 30 per cent

    Michael Kors Asia sales soared 30.4 per cent in the second quarter as the US luxury fashion company continued to progress its Runway 2020 strategic growth plan.

    Sales in Asia – the group’s fastest-growing market, totalled US$124 million, up 33.5 per cent when measured on a constant currency basis.

    Globally, sales rose a more modest 5.4 per cent to $1.15 billion and earnings rose 37 per cent in the quarter to September 30.

    “This is a transformative time for Michael Kors Holdings Limited as we established our global fashion luxury group with the recently completed acquisition of Jimmy Choo,” observed John D Idol, the company’s chairman and CEO, said.

    “We believe that bringing together these two iconic brands further strengthens our growth opportunities, increases our product and geographic diversification, and importantly, creates a platform for future acquisitions. We look forward to capitalising on the great opportunities that lay ahead for our brands and believe that we are well positioned to drive long term growth as we expand our global fashion luxury group.”

    Idol said the results were better than expected, crediting the Runway 2020 strategy aimed at being more innovative in product, brand engagement and customer experience.

    Analysts seemed to agree: “Michael Kors has been on a long journey of reinvention, but these latest numbers suggest the brand is starting to reach its destination of re-establishing itself as a well-regarded premium player,” said Neil Saunders, MD of GlobalData Retail.

    “The sales line bears witness to this, with revenue in most regions and divisions up over the prior year. Perhaps this isn’t surprising given the very soft comparatives from 2016, but this is the first time in over a year that sales in the Americas, for example, have grown – proof the company is clawing back some of the ground it has lost.”

    Michael Kors’ turnaround has been in part spurred by an expanded product offer, with the new autumn season offer up by 40 per cent. The company says it delivered higher average unit retail sales across multiple categories through innovative fashion and reduced discounting and promotional activity.

    Footwear sales rose in double-digit figures. Social media engagement grew to more than 38 million followers and e-commerce sales improved, especially in Asia, North America and Europe. During the quarter, the brand opened a net 56 new stores, driving its direct retail sales up by 8 per cent.

    In China, Michael Kors’ image was boosted by the appointment of actress Yang Mi as its first brand ambassador. She is considered one of the most influential trendsetters in China.

    Not catching Coach just yet

    While impressed with the improvement, Saunders believes the process of rebuilding is gradual, and Michael Kors is not yet achieving the kind of momentum from which Coach is benefitting.

    “The same-store sales numbers hint at this, as while the -1.8 per cent decline is better than in previous quarters, it underlines the fact that Michael Kors still fails to pull in custom.

    “One of the reasons for this is that Michael Kors is much more directional than a brand like Coach and, as such, its appeal is not as wide. The latest fall and winter collections are a case in point. While these contain some staple items like the Mercer handbag with its classic silhouette, they also feature edgy products like floral lace dresses and studded bomber jackets aimed at a more particular type of customer,” said Saunders.

    “This targeting is not wrong. Indeed, it is what a good brand needs to do. However, it limits growth and means that Michael Kors likely has more difficulty in connecting with customers across the US in a way that more middle-of-the-road Coach does not. That said, as Michael Kors widens its product range and becomes more of a lifestyle brand, we expect it to pick up more custom from consumers who will shop around the edges of the offer. This will help trade as the firm moves into 2018.”

    Saunders said the addition of Jimmy Choo to the Michael Kors empire should add around $105 million of incremental revenue to the next quarter’s sales line.

    “As useful as this near-term benefit is, it is the longer-term objectives for the iconic shoe brand that are most interesting. Michael Kors has a difficult balancing act between trying to expand its new addition and retain the exclusivity that is at the heart of its success. The aim of moving to $1 billion of revenue suggests an aggressive push to open new stores and expand e-commerce.”

    He said that strategically, the decision to buy Jimmy Choo and its latest Michael Kors collections suggest the company is looking to move into a more exclusive and distinct part of the luxury market.

    “As much as we support this tactic, we caution that it means progress will remain slower than at other brands and that it will ultimately limit the size of the business.”

  • Hugo Boss sales improve on its brand divergence

    Hugo Boss sales improve on its brand divergence

    Hugo Boss has achieved solid sales growth thanks to its policy of focusing on its own retail store network.

    Retail same-store Hugo Boss sales rose 5 per cent in the third quarter, to September 30, and currency-adjusted sales were up 3 per cent.

    “We are well on track to achieving our goals for 2017 or even exceeding some of them,” said Mark Langer, Hugo Boss CEO. “In particular, the performance of our own retail business is highly satisfying. We are making good progress in repositioning Boss and Hugo.”

    In its own retail business, the momentum of comp-store sales growth accelerated.

    “This performance was again underpinned by Great Britain, China and, for the first time in two years, by the own-retail business in the US,” said Langer.

    “The group’s own online business also grew in the quarter. On the other hand, sales in the wholesale channel declined slightly as expected. Operating profit fell slightly short of the prior year’s figure due to intensive marketing activities for the Boss and Hugo brands, spending on the digital transformation of the business model as well as negative currency effects.”

    The group now expects Asia-Pacific and Europe to drive “low single-digit percentage rate” sales growth for the remainder of this year.

    From the end of the year, first parts of the Spring/Summer 2018 collection, which reflects the focus on splitting Boss and Hugo for the first time, will be available in stores.

    “The repositioning of the two brands has been accompanied by numerous online and offline events and campaigns over the past few months. Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and Hollywood actor James Marsden presented their personal favorites from the Boss Menswear collection in the global “Own Your Journey” social media campaign. Consumer response to the advertised styles has been extremely positive.”

    In July, Boss Womenswear unveiled its “Gallery Collection” in a presentation at the Berlin Fashion Week. Future capsule collections of both brands will be used to generate heightened attention.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Victoria’s Secret unveils its Champagne Nights Fantasy Bra

    Victoria’s Secret unveils its Champagne Nights Fantasy Bra

    US lingerie company Victoria’s Secret has unveiled its 2017 Champagne Nights Fantasy Bra, designed by luxury jeweller Mouawad.

    Brazilian model Lais Ribeiro will wearing the US$2 million bra at this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai in three weeks’ time.

    It is the first time the Victoria’s Secret Angel will showcase the brand’s annual fantasy bra. Other supermodels who have worn Mouawad’s showpieces over the years include Lily Aldridge, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Selita Ebanks, Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum and Karolina Kurkova.

    Mouawad’s latest creation features a suite of contrasting gemstones. The bra and matching belt took more than 350 hours of labour to be handset with nearly 6000 white diamonds, yellow sapphires and blue topazes, totalling more than 640 carats and all set in 18-karat yellow gold.

    Mouawad Jewelry first teamed with Victoria’s Secret in 2001, since designing 10 fantasy bras. His 2003 masterpiece, the Very Sexy Fantasy Bra, was awarded a Guinness World Record as the most expensive bra ever made.

    Founded in 1890, the Mouawad brand is led by fourth-generation co-guardians Fred, Alain and Pascal Mouawad. The family firm designs, makes and sells exclusive jewellery and timepieces.

    Victoria’s Secret is known for its fashion-inspired collections, fragrances and bodycare products as well as its lingerie, but perhaps is more famous for its runway shows and supermodels, not to mention its fantasy bras. It is owned by Limited Brands and has more than 1000 stores internationally.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Longchamp Japan opens largest store in Asia

    Longchamp Japan opens largest store in Asia

    Longchamp Japan has launched its largest store for Asia with a flagship in Tokyo’s fashion mecca Shibuya.

    French actress Audrey Tautou attended the inauguration of La Maison Omotesando, which has a 35m-high facade and offers 500sqm of retail space.

    It features all the French brand’s collections – leather goods, footwear, women’s ready-to-wear and, occupying the basement, men’s lines.

  • Adairs continues with international expansion plans

    Adairs continues with international expansion plans

    Bedding retailer, Adairs, announced it will continue its international expansion next year and will roll out new stores in New Zealand and launch an international website.

    Mark Ronan, managing director and CEO, stated after the successful opening of their store in New Zealand, the company is looking into opening up to two additional stores in the country.

    Ronan said the company is also looking to deliver an international website in 2018.

    “Adairs has considerable opportunity to grow inside and outside of Australia and we will continue to assess these opportunities over the coming year,” he said.

    Ronan said Adairs will also continue to invest in their product team by adding resources to ensure that they “can deliver great product to customers.”

    “As I reflect on the lessons of the last 12 months, it has served to enhance my confidence that our strategy is sound, and our results will be most influenced by our successful execution of this strategy, rather than matters beyond our control,” he said. “‘Product, product and product’ refers to our product differentiation, range optimisation and merchandise planning strategy. Adairs is a product and design led business. Great product is critical to our success.”

    The company has posted a seven per cent increase in total sales for FY17, like-for-like sales, however, finished down 1.4 per cent.

    The company’s online sales continued to grow with investments in this area seeing second half sales up 41 per cent on the prior year. Despite growing total sales, Adairs’ NPAT result was well down on the prior year, with the large majority of this decline coming in the first half.

    Michael Butler, chairman of Adairs also addressed the ASIC infringement notice, denying the allegation asserting the retailer “has complied with its continuous disclosure obligations at all times.”

    “Nevertheless, your Bboard considered that it was in the best interests of Adairs to pay the penalty of $66,000 to enable the management team to focus on the operations of the business and avoid the anticipated cost and management diversion of defending this allegation,” he said.

    “Adairs is committed to keeping our shareholders fully informed.”

  • Asia drives significant L’Oreal growth

    Asia drives significant L’Oreal growth

    Asia-Pacific led global growth for beauty giant L’Oreal in the latest quarter, with sales rising 14.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

    The region capped off a solid quarter of L’Oreal growth, with the company reporting global sales of euro 19.5 billion, up 5.1 per cent, like-for-like on the same quarter last year.

    “In Northern Asia, China is achieving sustained growth, driven by L’Oreal Luxe, and by the strong vitality of e-commerce sales,” the company said in a statement. “Hong Kong is also growing strongly, with Chinese tourists continuing to return.”

    In Southern Asia, growth was spurred by Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, “thanks to the strength of our make-up brand portfolio in the consumer products division”.

    “Overall, the group outperformed the market and strengthened its position,” said chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Ago of the results for the three months to September 30.

    L’Oreal Luxe delivered a strong performance with double-digit growth, driven by the robust health of its four key brands: Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani and Kiehl’s, and the momentum of its recent acquisition, IT Cosmetics.

    “The active cosmetics division is growing significantly, reflecting the quality of its launches and the good performance of CeraVe,” he said. “The consumer products division is reinforcing its positions in several major zones, but is still being slowed down by continuing difficulties in the American and French markets.”

    Ago described the acceleration of sales in its so-called “New Markets” as the highlight of the quarter. He referred to “strong performances” in Asia-Pacific, particularly in China, but also in Latin America and Eastern Europe.

  • Vetements remains secret about Hong Kong debut

    Vetements remains secret about Hong Kong debut

    High-fashion parody brand Vetements has announced on its Instagram account that it is coming to a secret location in Hong Kong on November 18.

    While the Swiss venture is known for its collaborations and product drops, it remains shrouded in an air of mystery, adding to the overall intrigue of Demna Gvasalia as a designer.

    Its Hong Kong announcement is equally enigmatic, being placed over a Google maps graphic featuring a line joining the brand’s hometown of Zurich to Hong Kong. There is no indication of whether its presence will be a pop-up, permanent store or an event.

    Vetements, founded in 2014 by Gvasalia and his brother Guram, sells limited numbers of expensively priced clothing. Demna is also creative director for Kering-owned Balenciaga.

  • GXG joins an Australian sportswear brand

    GXG joins an Australian sportswear brand

    Australian compression and high-performance sportswear brand 2XU has formed a JV with Chinese fashion retailer GXG as part of an Asia expansion plan.

    This will give it access to more than 1 billion Chinese consumers, and 2XU plans to add special apparel lines for the market. China’s gym and fitness industry has been growing at an annualised rate of 11.8 per cent since 2011 and generated nearly US$4.6 billion in revenue last year.

    Under the JV, 2XU plans to open up to 50 retail stores throughout mainland China in the next three years as well as its online and wholesale business.

    CEO Paul Higgins says the move is significant for the business, which launched in Melbourne 12 years ago. It first entered Asia in 2008 with a wholesale presence in Hong Kong and Singapore, and is now in 13 markets across Asia Pacific. It plans to increase its stores from 22 to 50 in the next 12 months, and to 100 in the next three years.

    Growth in the sportswear market in China has been driven by an upswing in sports participation rates. About 2.8 million runners last year took part in events, according to the Chinese Athletic Association – double the number in 2015. However, the number of gym attendees across 70 major cities has grown by up to 5 million every year since 2011.

    Already 2XU has been generating 51 per cent year-on-year growth in Asia Pacific in the past 12 months. The brand is available in Mainland China via concept stores in seven major cities, and has retail and wholesale channels in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

    Under the new JV, 2XU Performance Centres will start opening in major Chinese cities from early next year.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Lacoste Philippines boutique upgraded

    Lacoste Philippines boutique upgraded

    A Lacoste boutique store in TriNoma mall, Quezon City, has been transformed to become the brand’s first “standard premium” concept store in the Philippines.

    The new concept displays items against a backdrop of dark wood, steel furniture, stone-finished walls and clean architectural lines, reports the Manila Standard.

    Occupying more than 200sqm of retail space, the store opened in 2007. It offers apparel, leather goods, fragrances, footwear, eyewear, watches and underwear.

    The brand has more than 20 stores in the Philippines, including Lacoste Accessories at Gateway Mall and Glorietta 4.

    Lees ook:

  • Coach parent to delist in Hong Kong Exchange

    Coach parent to delist in Hong Kong Exchange

    Coach parent Tapestry says it will delist from the Hong Kong stock exchange. Tapestry this week replaced the Coach name on the exchange’s ticker. It said it was withdrawing from local listing because of low volumes in trading of its shares and that it would now focus on its primary listing in New York.

    Bloomberg reports that a lack of interest from investors in the former British colony is common to most of the companies that have a so-called secondary listing in Hong Kong, including Fast Retailing, the Japanese parent of Uniqlo and GU.

    “It is difficult to see what benefits the secondary listings in Hong Kong have brought these companies,” Robert Cleaver, a corporate lawyer at Linklaters LLP, told Bloomberg. “Trading tends to gravitate to the market where the most liquidity is, which is typically where the primary listing is.”

  • Ralph Lauren Asia sales rise extremely

    Ralph Lauren Asia sales rise extremely

    Ralph Lauren Asia sales rose marginally in the second quarter as the company continued with its turnaround strategy.

    Group-wide global sales, however, fell 9 per cent to US$1.7 billion, as the troubled brand pursued initiatives aimed at increasing the quality of sales, reduced promotional activity and improved distribution. North American revenue fell 16 per cent to $877 million.

    However, on the positive side, the average unit sale across Ralph Lauren’s direct-to-consumer network was up 5 per cent year-on-year.

    Ralph Lauren Asia sales reached $217 million, up 4 per cent on a constant-currency basis, driven by strength in both retail and wholesale channels. Same-store sales rose 3 per cent driven by improved store footfall and conversion of browsers into shoppers.

    “I am pleased with the progress we are making as we continue to strengthen the foundations of our business and elevate the expression of our iconic brand,” said Ralph Lauren, executive chairman and chief creative officer. He said incoming CEO Patrice Louvet has “already proven to be an invaluable partner who is embracing our core values, bringing unique expertise and uniting and empowering our capable teams”.

    Louvet said that while there remains a lot of work to be done to restore the company to its previous level of success, he is encouraged by the early progress being made in strengthening the brand and better connecting with consumers.

    “Faint light at end of long tunnel”

    Neil Saunders, MD of GlobalData Retail, said that while the results again showed declining sales, there is “finally a faint light at the end of Ralph Lauren’s long tunnel of reinvention”. Net profit rose 215 per cent, largely due to the streamlining of the business reducing costs, favourable exchange rates and reduced product discounting, improving gross margin.

    “While the turnaround plan is delivering a bottom line improvement, the impact on the top line is less obvious,” observed Saunders.

    He also believes there is more work to do in consolidating the company’s ranges and choice.

    “The company still has too many sub-brands, capsule collections and labels. In theory, these are supposed to cater to different constituents of the market. In practice, there is no real delineation between many of the elements, and the result is a confused mass of product that is vaguely referred to as ‘Ralph Lauren.’ Trimming back here is necessary if the brand is to have any chance of cutting through in a very crowded and competitive marketplace,” he said.

    “One of the positives we take from both this and the previous set of results is that Ralph Lauren and his new CEO, Patrice Louvet, seem to be working well together. The dynamic between the two gentlemen is crucial as it will ultimately determine whether the turnaround plan succeeds or fails. As the founder and iconic head of the brand, Ralph Lauren’s input and vision are vital, but it remains important that he allows a CEO to steer the business towards more fruitful waters. After some false starts, this now seems to be happening,” Saunders concluded.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: