Shop Talk

Check out the strong profits Jones Apparel Group tried on in its latest quarter.

The owner of the Jones New York, Nine West and Anne Klein brands easily outperformed analysts’ expectations in the first quarter thanks to cost cutting and rising demand in its wholesale jeans business.

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Todd Slater called it a “high-quality beat.”

Jones’ shares jumped more than 10 percent in pre-market trade.

Nevertheless, revenue fell almost 9 percent as Jones Apparel, like all clothing and accessories vendors, has seen orders shrink from retailers trying to keep inventories slim in the recession.  Jones Apparel also plans to close about 225 stores this year and next, and cut more jobs in the first quarter.

Another maker of jeans, VF Corp, posted a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit and lowered its full-year profit outlook due to weak international demand.

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Same Cow, No Matter How You Slice It? (New York Times)

Creating Luxury in Days of Denial (New York Times)

(Reuters photo)