Unpop the collar... Ralph Lauren's latest quarterly earnings would impress Anna Wintour: Revenues beat analysts' expectations and profits hit $32M. It's even gift-bagging that all for Ralph Lauren shareholders by increasing the dividend they receive by 10%. Then shares fell 4% off the catwalk.
Malloting a croquet ball while riding a purebred steed... Doesn't really work for post-Millennial Gen Z. Ralph knows it needs to replace aging customers with young blood. Here's its approach, which its CEO calls the "Next Great Chapter Plan":
- Extra influencer marketing: It just signed 23-year-old model Taylor Hill and her boyfriend to flaunt the polo horses on Insta. #powercouple
- The "Drop": It markets limited edition streetwear stuff that can only be bought on the app. The kids these days love exclusivity and mobile shopping.
- "Family is who you love": That's the name of the new ad campaign — TV spots nudging perceptions of the brand to a new direction. Less country club prep, more modern families.
Not all sales are created equal... Although investors were impressed by two of the big items (sales and profits), they were bummed to see sales drop in Ralph's home closet. That's a sign that the fundamental changes the company's working on might not be working.
- 📉 Sales in North America (which is 50% of total company sales) fell 7%.
- 📈 Sales in Europe (31% of total) rose 4%.
- 📈 Sales in Asia (19% of total) popped up 6%.