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Burberry & M&S benefits from loyal shoppers

By FashionUnited

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The FashionUnited Top 100 Index followed down the

international markets’ trail, closing at down at 1343.24, 5.37 points below its previous day mark. Showing an almost stubborn resilience to the Eurozone´s down, British retailers crowned the Top 5, with shiny Burberry at top.

The quintessentially British luxury group has beaten market´s expectations with total sales rise by 34 per cent to £367million over the first three months of the year, against the 24% consensus forecast. Impulsed by such a summer boost, Burberry´s shares were up almost five per cent yesterday as the group smashed its sales forecasts. Shares rose 78.5p on the news to 1,492.5p - a new all-time high. As per insiders explanations, demand for man bags and children's trenchcoats helped shares soar to a record high as retail sales rose 49 per cent in the three months to June 30, with half of the growth coming from leather bags and raincoats as new lines flew off the shelves. The 155-year-old firm said the new ranges in men's accessories, men's tailoring, shoes and children's wear had also boosted its wholesale division.

Without leaving the UK, Marc Bolland, chief executive of Marks and Spencers said on Wednesday British consumer confidence, although low, had not deteriorated over the past two months. "What we are seeing is that people are keen to protect their summer holidays and therefore are reducing their spend in some areas, they are cutting back on dining out," he said in a company´s statement.

M&S said in a trading update ahead of its annual shareholder meeting that sales at British stores open over a year, excluding VAT sales tax, rose 1.7 percent in the 13 weeks to July 2. That compared with forecasts for a rise of 1-2 percent, according to a company poll and a fourth-quarter rise of 0.1 percent. Like-for-like general merchandise sales, spanning clothing, footwear and homewares, were flat, while food sales were up 3.3 percent, reported Reuters. "M&S has delivered a good performance in challenging conditions," said Bolland, whose strategy is focused on product innovation, as well as expanding online and abroad. He is also working to improve stores, marketing, logistics and technology.

On the other shore of the Atlantic, Aeropostale’s stock has fallen from highs of around $30 during the middle of 2010 to about $18 in July 2011, as Trefis analysts highlighted for Forbes. The stocks of many of Aerospostale’s competitors, like American Eagle, Abercrombie&Fitch, Gap or Urban Outfitters, have also declined in large part due to rapid increases in cotton prices that have compressed margins.

However, Trefis´ price estimate of $36.55 for Aeropostale is about double the market price. “We believe that two key drivers of Aeropostale’s stock and our views on those drivers explain why our price estimate is so much higher than the market price. Below we highlight these drivers in detail.”
FashionUnited