H&M Hennes and Mauritz has recorded its fourth consecutive month of comparable store sales declines, down 4% during January.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Richard Chamberlain attributed the results to very cold weather in many of the retailer’s European markets in the second half of the month, which would have impacted traffic and demand for spring fashions.
Overall sales increased 5% during January.
“To us the apparel industry often seems too optimistic in relying on mild w
PARIS—Strong luxury sales outside Europe raised French retail and luxury group PPR's 2012 revenue and profits, after the company behind Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent jettisoned two of its weaker brands and pressed hard into emerging markets.
PPR reported that net income rose 6.3 percent to 1.4 billion euros as sales rose 20 percent to 9.7 billion euros.
Sales in Asia, excluding Japan, accounted for a quarter of PPR's total—a slight increase over 2011.
The company's bottom line was str