A&F, H&M, American Eagle: trendy values captain markets

Despite the impulse taken by the trendiest values within

the quoted apparel companies, the FashionUnited Top 100 Index was down Wednesday by 6.89, draught to a final 1258.3 position by Koutons India, Ted Baker and Esprit Holding.

In a greyish day for most of European stocks – captained by Ted Baker (-2.07), Esprit (-1.92) or Triumph (-8.92), Abercrombie & Fitch stood on its own Wednesday after reporting unaudited results which reflected net income of $50.0 million and net income per diluted share of $0.56 for the thirteen weeks ended October 30, 2010, compared to a net income of $38.8 million and net income per diluted share of $0.44 for the thirteen weeks ended October 31, 2009. Net income for the thirteen weeks ended October 31, 2009 included a benefit of $0.21 per basic and diluted share associated with the true up of the year-to-date tax rate and a net loss per basic and diluted share of $0.12 from discontinued operations.

Earlier this month American Eagle said that its comparable-store sales in January slipped 6 percent. For the company’s fiscal 2010, comparable store sales fell one percent versus a decline of four percent in the prior year. Total sales for the year increased to $2.97 billion from $2.94 billion in fiscal 2010. American Eagle has upgraded its real estate portfolio with store renovations, relocations, and expansions in the past few years. Still in the US and despite poor retail sales being reported yesterday by the Commerce Department, shares of The Gap surged more than six percent yesterday after Edward Lampert said in a regulatory filing that he and his hedge fund had purchased a 5.8% stake in the apparel chain.

At the other side of the Pacific, China's textile and apparel exports picked up growth in January thanks to a warming global economy. According to the latest statistics released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Monday, the country's total exports of textile and apparel in January surged 38.58 percent from a year earlier to 21.618 billion US dollars, with the growth rate 14.99 points higher than the average growth of 23.59 percent for 2010.

Textile exports alone gained 47.48 percent on year to 8.243 billion US dollars, while apparel (accessories included) exports rose 33.61 percent to 13.376 billion US dollars. Comment: industry insiders say that the increase of exports underlines stable rigid demand for Chinese textile products as well as a warming global market. Textile stocks are likely to be boosted by the sound export data.

Finally, Koutons Retail India Ltd, just said it has appointed SBI Capital Markets to draft a debt recast scheme as it was unable to repay short-term debt. "The continuous downfall in the stock price has led to an inordinate delay in raising equity for the company. Because of this, we are being unable to meet the repayment obligations of short term loans," the company said in a statement.  The New Delhi-based retailer, valued at Rs 866 million, has lost about 91 per cent in market capitalization in the past six months as concerns mounted about the company's dipping sales and fears of default.