Article Excerpt:
TWST: Susan, can we start with an overview of the sector you cover?Ms. Ng: I cover mostly apparel suppliers. I do cover two pure retailers, The Buckle (BKE) and Deb Shops (DEBS), which are teen retailers. My coverage universe includes apparel suppliers such as Ashworth (ASHW), Fossil (FOSL), which is more fine watches and jewelry, Haggar (HGGR), Kenneth Cole (KCP), Kellwood (KWD), Movado (MOV), Perry Ellis (PERY), Russell Corp. (RML), and Tandy Brands (TBAC). I cover 11 in total.
TWST: As you look at that group, how have the stocks done this year? Has
there been interest?
Ms. Ng: There's been a significant amount of interest. If we look at
suppliers as a whole, performance has been fairly mixed. Each company
has its own story as far as what the catalysts, key drivers and
challenges are. But overall, there's still been a significant amount of
interest from the standpoint that there's been ongoing consolidation
within the industry. Many of the suppliers are looking to move their
portfolio of new business toward the higher end, so they're not only
acquiring higher-end brands but also they're building sub-brands within
their businesses geared toward a more luxury, higher-end market.
Tickers included in this excerpt: AEOS, ARO, ASHW, BEBE, BKE, CAND, COH, CTR, DEBS, FOSL, GIL, HGGR, HOTT, KCP, KWD, MOV, PERY, PSUN, RML, TBAC, TOM
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