After A Two-Year Slump, Big U.S. Clothing And Footwear Brands Look Set To Rebound

The past two years have been rough for a number of big U.S. clothing and footwear brands. Many have regularly struggled to sell the inventory they’ve made, and have fallen back on heavy and endless discounts—sinking their profits. They’ve had to contend with a string of bankruptcies among some of their largest retail partners, along with high-profile store shutterings. Shoppers, meanwhile, are spending less of their money on clothes, and seem to only want to buy on sale. But there are indications that better times lie ahead, according to a new report from Moody’s, an investor service and research firm. The analysis is based on 26 US brands that together comprise a significant share of the US clothing and footwear industry, including Nike, Levi’s, Hanes, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, Wolverine, and PVH Corp., the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. Some of these brands have fared better than others in the last couple years, but Moody’s estimates that their profits collectively declined -3.2% and -2.4% in 2016 and 2017, respectively. In 2018, however, it projects that profits to grow 3%-5%, and over the next year to 18 months, to rise 4%-6%. Read more at Quartz.