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January 2019 US Monthly Retail Traffic and In-Store Metrics Report: Post-Holiday Fatigue and Inclement Weather Drive Underwhelming January Traffic

All regions posted sales and traffic declines in January compared to the same period last year. The Midwest registered the largest year-over-year decline in traffic of all regions at 17.5%, owing to severe weather conditions. With warmer and wetter conditions, the South experienced the lowest decline, at 5.8%.

The Midwest also recorded the largest year-over-year in-store sales decline among all regions, down 16.8%, whereas the West, which enjoyed warmer and drier conditions, reported the smallest decline, down 1.4%.

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December 2018 US Retail Sales: Year-Over-Year Growth Slows to Just 1.0% as Most Sectors Experience a Sluggish December

Our measure of core retail sales is non-seasonally-adjusted sales excluding gasoline and automobiles. This metric increased by just 1.0% year over year in December, slowing dramatically from the growth in preceding months, including a 5.2% uplift in November. This resulted in total holiday-period sales coming in at $693 billion, up by just 2.9% year over year.

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Tapestry (NYSE: TPR) 2Q19 Results: Improved Margin Performance at Coach but Revenues Miss Consensus

At Coach, global comparable store sales rose 1%, led by outperformance in international and e-commerce channels. Business in Greater China accelerated and Coach’s business with the Chinese consumer increased. Comps were positive in Europe and Japan as well, offset by negative comps in North America and Korea. Comps declined 11% at Kate Spade as the business transitions to a new design team. Marketing to support the launch of Nicola Glass’s new collection was moved to the current quarter (3Q19), and the initial read is positive.

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LVMH (ENXTPA: MC) FY18 Results: Fashion and Leather Goods Set the Pace

LVMH full-year sales rose 9.8% to €46.8 billion. Currency exchange rates adversely impacted full year sales results by (400) bps. Online sales rose approximately 27-28%, to €3.7 billion and now represent 8% of consolidated 2018 revenues.

Fashion and leather goods set the sales pace, achieving 15% organic growth in 2018. The Louis Vuitton brand has surpassed €10 billion annually and the fashion and leather goods segment now represents 39% of consolidated 2018 revenues, up from 36% in 2017.

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Luxury FirstLook 2019—Digital Acceleration: Key Takeaways

Coresight Research attended Luxury Daily’s Luxury FirstLook 2019: Digital Acceleration conference in New York. The event was packed with senior executives from luxury brands, retailers, agencies, publishers and service providers. We were there to discuss digital acceleration, but most in the room agreed luxury companies are still in the early stages of adopting cutting-edge technology tools – not keeping up with their more digitally savvy clientele.

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US Holiday Comparable Sales Growth Results: A Mixed Picture So Far

As US retailers report comparable sales for the 2018 holiday season, we’re seeing a mixed bag of results. Some retailers such as Costco and Boot Barn did well, reporting strong comparable sales growth and beating consensus estimates. Retailers such as Target, Barnes & Noble and Buckle showed sequential comparable sales growth improvement, but not as strong. Comparable sales at Macy’s and L Brands weakened sequentially.

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New Retail Briefing #1: JD.com and Alibaba Restructure

On December 21, 2018, JD.com announced it would restructure its operations with JD Mall, the company’s main revenue-generating unit. JD Mall will be divided into three business departments, including serving customers; business support services; and, infrastructure control and risk management. 

JD.com said in its announcement that the new structure will enable it to better focus on customers. JD Mall’s restructuring also aims to diversify its management team and assuage investors that Liu Qiangdong, JD’s founder and CEO, is not the only person driving decision-making at the company. 

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