In a trading update released yesterday, Ralph Lauren Corp, which owns Ralph Lauren, Polo and Club Monaco, revealed that although profits fell by 19% in the fourth quarter, overall performance beat expectations.
The company’s net income totalled $124m in the three months ending March 28, compared to $153m in that same period the year prior.
Unlike several other global fashion brands, Ralph Lauren‘s wholesale division is performing well. While department stores and boutiques have struggled, brands including Prada and Burberry have moved their businesses towards their own retail channels but Ralph Lauren saw an 8% increase in wholesale sales on a constant currency basis in the fourth quarter.
The company’s retail sales aren’t bad either: For both the fourth quarter and fiscal 2015, they were flat on a reported basis and up 6 percent on a constant currency basis, driven by double-digit growth in e-commerce.
Ralph Lauren Corp does not divest results for its individual brands but in a statement issued by the US retail business, Chairman and CEO Ralph Lauren said that Ralph Lauren Corp “opened several stores in key markets around the world” and “fueled the momentum of our luxury accessories business with the launch of the Drawstring Ricky bag, and continued to innovate with the introduction of Polo for women as well as the development of Polo Sport which will be launching this Fall.” The company is also reorganizing its management structure in such a way that Lauren feels will “more fully leverage the power of our brands to drive future growth for the company.”
“While foreign exchange and global consumer spending remain unpredictable, we are taking decisive actions to offset some of these ongoing external pressures,” added COO Jacki Nemerov.
