A clear signal from apparel retailers reporting results lately is that customers are finally starting to dress like adults again. Sales of women’s suiting, dresses and skirts at Banana Republic grew 62%, while men’s suit sales nearly doubled. Macy’s M 2.27% saw sales at its luxury department-store chain Bloomingdale’s rise 27% last quarter compared with 10% at its namesake chain. Nordstrom, JWN 7.84% another luxury department-store chain, saw sales in its quarter ended April 30 surge nearly 19% or almost twice the gain analysts polled by FactSet had expected. Ralph Lauren’s shares, for example, fetch about 1.1 times forward-12-month sales, or 26% below its 10-year average.

Source: Wall Street Journal May 28, 2022 17:16 UTC