American fashion house Ralph Lauren might be cautiously optimistic about its sales in North America, but foreign markets and especially the Chinese mainland are not disappointing, CGTN.com reports.
According to the company’s quarterly report, global revenues grew 3% to US$1.4 billion driven by positive results across regions.
“Our performance was driven by strong continued momentum in our international markets and expense discipline across the organization, while we continued to invest in elevating our brands and stabilize our North America business against a more volatile backdrop,” said Patrice Louvet, president and chief executive officer of Ralph Lauren, in the report.
The Chinese mainland was responsible for nearly 30% of revenue growth, said the financial document. In terms of constant currency revenue, the Asian and European markets registered an eight percent and a 7% growth respectively.
In Asia, digital sales rose 26% and store sales reached 4%, reflecting a 5% rise. Furthermore, the company expanded its store network with 25 new owned and partnered stores, CGTN reported.
Asia revenue in the first quarter increased 4% to US$259 million on a reported basis and 8%in constant currency, driven by solid growth in retail.
On a post-earnings call with analysts, Louvet said that the company has taken a slightly more cautious view of the retail environment for the year ahead, but continues to “clearly see challenges with brick-and-mortar traffic … including foreign tourist volatility.”
The wholesale business was the biggest driver of the company’s 3.1% growth in revenue in North America in the quarter, which was offset by weaker-than-expected retail same-store sales. Besides, the North American market is not keen on digital sales with this component presenting flat results.
Admitting that the North America retail environment has become “somewhat more volatile in recent months,” CFO Jane Nielsen told Reuters that the company expects “a more challenging outlook for North America.”
In the financial report, the company enumerates risks and uncertainties that can affect future results. Amongst them are Brexit and the U.S.-China trade dispute.
It states that the “imposition of additional duties, tariffs, taxes, and other charges or barriers to trade, including those resulting from current trade developments with China and the related impact to global stock markets” can affect earnings.