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Gap, American Eagle Fall as Weak Apparel Demand Signals Constrained Consumer Spending

A man walks past a Gap store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. (Reuters)
A man walks past a Gap store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. (Reuters)
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Gap, American Eagle Fall as Weak Apparel Demand Signals Constrained Consumer Spending

A man walks past a Gap store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. (Reuters)
A man walks past a Gap store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Shares of apparel makers Gap and American Eagle Outfitters dropped 15% and 10%, respectively, in premarket trade on Friday after weak annual forecasts, as consumers curb discretionary spending amid a tough macroeconomic climate.

Gap cut its annual sales forecast, while American Eagle maintained its full-year comparable sales and operating profit outlook but flagged a contraction in current-quarter gross margin, stoking worries about near-term demand.

US inflation posted its biggest increase ‌in three ‌years, while consumer sentiment hit a record low ‌in ⁠May, forcing households to ⁠tap savings and cut back on discretionary purchases such as clothes and accessories.

Both companies flagged weakness in certain women's seasonal categories, weighing on current-quarter results.

At Gap, which is undergoing a turnaround under CEO Richard Dickson, pressure centered on Old Navy, its largest banner, where seasonal women's apparel failed to connect ⁠with shoppers.

"Old Navy was the key swing ‌factor," BTIG analysts said in ‌a note.

"Weakness was concentrated in seasonal categories like dresses, where the assortment missed ‌on fashion and value, weighing on conversion despite solid traffic."

American ‌Eagle also came under pressure as strong demand at Aerie failed to offset weakness at its namesake brand, with women's bottoms hurt by changing fashion trends and a colder spring.

In a bid to ‌attract Gen Z shoppers and boost sales, the denim retailer, last month, unveiled a second ⁠campaign with "Euphoria" ⁠star Sydney Sweeney for its summer season denim shorts collection, a year after a viral and controversial ad featuring the actress fueled a stock rally.

Barclays noted heavy marketing spending is expected to recur in Q2 2026, but "bottoms including denim have since returned to underperformance".

It added American Eagle brand may struggle to lap its high-profile Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce campaigns and drive earnings growth in H2 2026.

Gap currently trades at 10.30 times its estimated earnings for the next 12 months, compared with 9.70 times for American Eagle and 7.43 times for Abercrombie & Fitch, according to LSEG data.

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Fashion

Hugo Boss Shares Jump after Frasers' $2.3 Billion Takeover Bid

FILE PHOTO: Men's shoes are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Men's shoes are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
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Hugo Boss Shares Jump after Frasers' $2.3 Billion Takeover Bid

FILE PHOTO: Men's shoes are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Men's shoes are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo

Shares in Hugo Boss rose about 7% on Thursday after Britain’s Frasers Group launched a $2.3 billion takeover offer for the German fashion brand.

Frasers, already the largest shareholder of Hugo Boss with a stake of just over 26%, is offering €38 per share in cash for the remaining shares, a 4.3% premium to Wednesday’s close, Reuters reported.

Hugo Boss said late on Wednesday the approach was not coordinated ⁠with the company ⁠and that its board would review the offer, which values the stake not yet owned by Frasers at about €1.98 billion ($2.3 billion).

The deal would bring Hugo Boss into the retail empire controlled ⁠by British billionaire Mike Ashley, whose Frasers Group owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser and holds stakes in Asos, Debenhams and Currys.

J.P. Morgan said the bid likely sets a near-term floor for the shares but flagged limited scope for further upside, adding it did not expect a rival bidder to emerge.

Hugo Boss, ⁠whose ⁠shares are about half their level of three years ago, has been struggling with weaker sales and is pursuing a turnaround strategy focused on store revamps, a streamlined product range and expanding women's wear.

By 0713 GMT, Hugo Boss shares were up 6.2% at €38.7, above Frasers' offer price, taking their year-to-date gains to 7.2%. Frasers shares fell 2.5%.

Fashion

Primark Names Lucy Slinger as Finance Chief Ahead of AB Foods Split

A Primark store is pictured in the Bullring shopping center in Birmingham, Britain, November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
A Primark store is pictured in the Bullring shopping center in Birmingham, Britain, November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
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Primark Names Lucy Slinger as Finance Chief Ahead of AB Foods Split

A Primark store is pictured in the Bullring shopping center in Birmingham, Britain, November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
A Primark store is pictured in the Bullring shopping center in Birmingham, Britain, November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

Fashion retailer Primark named Lucy Slinger as its chief financial officer on Thursday, strengthening its leadership team ahead of its split from Associated British Foods.

Slinger joins Primark from IKEA franchisee ⁠Ingka Group, where she ⁠has served as deputy CFO.

Prior to Ingka Group, she spent over two ⁠decades at Shell in a range of senior finance leadership roles.

Slinger's appointment follows that of Eoin Tonge as Primark chief executive and Filip Ekvall as chief commercial officer in March, Reuters reported.

⁠AB ⁠Foods said in April it would spin off Primark from its food businesses, telling investors that it will be better positioned to grow on its own.

Fashion

NASA to Wear Prada as Luxury Group Pushes Into Space Industry

The inner-layer liquid cooling and ventilation garment designed by Prada and Axiom Space is unveiled at a press event in New York City, US, June 7, 2026. REUTERS/Heather Khalifa
The inner-layer liquid cooling and ventilation garment designed by Prada and Axiom Space is unveiled at a press event in New York City, US, June 7, 2026. REUTERS/Heather Khalifa
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NASA to Wear Prada as Luxury Group Pushes Into Space Industry

The inner-layer liquid cooling and ventilation garment designed by Prada and Axiom Space is unveiled at a press event in New York City, US, June 7, 2026. REUTERS/Heather Khalifa
The inner-layer liquid cooling and ventilation garment designed by Prada and Axiom Space is unveiled at a press event in New York City, US, June 7, 2026. REUTERS/Heather Khalifa

Italian fashion house Prada unveiled on Sunday the inner-layer garment set to be worn by NASA astronauts heading into space, underscoring the brand's push to be the first major luxury player to make inroads in the space industry.

The body-hugging suit, created in collaboration with Houston-based space infrastructure developer Axiom Space, features ventilation tubes knitted into the garment.

"We have really a broad spectrum of capability and know-how," Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada's chief marketing officer, said at an event at Prada's Manhattan store, sitting beside a mannequin donning the new Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment.

Expertise for developing space exploration products "can come from lots of seemingly unrelated industries," Reuters quoted Jonathan Cirtain, CEO of Axiom Space, as saying.

The new product follows Prada's splashy foray into space fashion in 2024 with the ⁠unveiling of a ⁠spacesuit that is expected to be used for NASA's Artemis 3 Earth orbit, set to launch in 2027, and the anticipated Artemis 4 moon landing in 2028. Luxury brands have long drawn inspiration from space travel.

But Prada has gone "beyond inspiration into an actual partnership" as the space exploration and tourism industries develop, said Thomai Serdari, a luxury brand strategist and marketing professor at New York University's Stern ⁠School of Business. Serdari pointed to two factors motivating Prada's interest in the space industry: to gain access to affluent consumers who are contemplating space travel, and to align the brand with avant-garde thought.

Companies from Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to Elon Musk's SpaceX have leaned into space tourism for the wealthy.

The resumption of space exploration and human travel to the moon is "bound to attract a lot of eyeballs," said Luca Solca, global head of luxury goods at Bernstein. Luxury brands need to stay relevant and visible, he said. Prada's push comes against a backdrop of a struggling luxury goods sector.

After two years of contraction, the ⁠industry was showing signs ⁠of stabilization until the Iran war began at the end of February, disrupting travel and denting luxury spending far beyond the Middle East.

WILL LUXURY PEERS FOLLOW? Other fashion and apparel companies have jumped on the space bandwagon. Under Armour has partnered with spaceflight company Virgin Galactic to create space apparel, while Columbia Sportswear has worked with space exploration company Intuitive Machines on space fabric technology.

But it remains unclear whether other luxury players might follow Prada's lead. "In luxury, it is important to be the first to do something, to be a trend-setter," Serdari said, noting that LVMH's Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Chanel are all interested in space travel but that they would likely find new ways to make inroads.

"You will never see the upper crust of the luxury sector copying each other," she added.