Shop Talk

Check Out Line: A denim blast from the past

Check out who is still selling jeans.

It’s Gloria Vanderbilt! Not bad for an 80-something heiress.

Oh, wait, it’s the brand that’s selling, not the heiress herself.

Gloria Vanderbilt was one of the top performing brands at Jones Apparel Group as the company posted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

“Gloria Vanderbilt was one of the drivers along with l.e.i. doing better than we expected,” CEO Wes Card told Reuters’ Phil Wahba in an interview. “The strength in Gloria Vanderbilt really showed up in the margins because that’s the highest margin brand.”

Overall margins for jeans were the highest in six years, Card said.

But the company is also looking to a newer name to help sell stuff, too.

Check Out Line: Jonesing for another earnings beat

Check out which company Wall Street keeps underestimating.

It’s Jones Apparel. The retailer and apparel maker once again “reported a much higher-than-expected” quarterly profit. Last quarter, Reuters said the company “beat estimates handsomely.” The quarter before that it was “easily beat estimates.”

Heck, even in the fourth quarter, when almost all retailers and apparel makers were hammered by the recession and credit meltdown, the company reported a “smaller-than-expected” quarterly loss.

Aside from demonstrating that Reuters has several different ways of saying “big earnings beat,” the reports also raise this question: “Why does Wall Street keep missing the mark on Jones?”

One reason could be that the company itself still cannot quite figure out if business is up or down.

For the current quarter — which includes the all-important holiday season — it expects same-store sales to range anywhere from a drop of 2.5 percent to a rise of 2.5 percent.

So come February, you might see the words “eclipsed Wall Street Estimates” connected with Jones earnings.

Check Out Line: Lazard looks at fashion

Check out what’s hot in fall fashion.    Lazard Capital Markets looked at 10 September fashion magazines and identified these trends:   Boots, with Jones Apparel getting seven call-outs in the magazines.   Skinny denim and leggings, both getting play with looser, less form-fitting tops.   Motorcycle jackets, military jackets, trench coats, sheath dresses and one-shoulder tops.   Also, “studs appear everywhere in clothing and accessories, including handbags, belts, shoes, dresses.”   Companies best capitalizing on the various trends include Jones, Gap, American Eagle and Guess, among others, Lazard said in a research note.   We were going to toss in a kicker of some fashion trend that is never coming back.  But face it, they all seem to come back at some point.  We expect to pull out our Members Only jackets any day now.   Also in the basket:   Tween Brands Q2 loss narrower than expected

BJ’s Wholsesale profit beats Street, raises FY view 

Popcorn, a hidden source of antioxidants, study says (ABC News)

(Reuters photo from 2004, because leggings always come back)

Check Out Line: Jones Apparel tries on strong profits for size

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.

Also in the basket:

Check Out Line: Taxes up, cigarette shipments down

Check out the falling shipments of cigarettes with expectations of further declines in 2009.

Reynolds American posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as its Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes increased market share. But the company said it shipped 21.6 billion cigarettes in the fourth quarter — down 6.3 percent from a year earlier.

Reynolds, like other cigarette manufacturers, could face a difficult 2009. Not only has the recession crimped consumers’ ability to spend, but smokers will feel even more price pressure now that a 61-cent increase in the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes has been passed.

Reynolds CEO Susan Ivey told analysts that the increase in the federal tax will hurt industry volume and she also said some state tax increases will likely be passed, even though Reynolds will fight them.

Also in the basket:

Jones Apparel posts smaller-than-expected loss

Dean Foods profit rises

Check Out Line: It’s the Reuters Retail Summit

Check out a bunch of retail executives talking about the state of the industry, economy and the outlook for holiday shopping.   It’s the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit, being held this week in New York, featuring top executives from Borders, Best Buy, Toys “R” Us, Jones Apparel, Perry Ellis and others.   The executives meet with Reuters reporters as most retailers are struggling to attract consumers that have been clobbered by $4-a-gallon gasoline, falling home prices, a credit crunch and rising food costs.   Sales got a bit of a boost in May as consumers started to spend their tax rebates. But analysts say that bump could be fleeting, with consumers still under pressure after the rebates have been spent.   To find out what retailers think, check out the Retail Summit page all week.   Also in the basket:   InBev cautions Bid about striking Modelo deal   Trust chairman sees change, but no sale, at Hershey   CostPlus rejects Pier 1 acquisition offer   Starbucks says international growth to cushion U.S. weakness (Photo: Reuters)