Gap recovers while Lululemon gets market talking

Corporate releases continued on Wednesday,

with Oxford Industries (NYSE: OXM) reporting 0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of 0.21 by 0.02 dollars. The company had revenue of 181.40 million dollars for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of 182.78 million. Oxford Industries updated its Q4 guidance to 0.64-0.74 dollars EPS and its FY13 guidance to 2.60-2.70 dollars EPS.

Meanwhile, shares of Gap (NYSE:GPS) recovered slightly in the pre-market after falling over 10 percent Tuesday. The retailer said that it will not issue a special dividend for year-end. Keeping on the corporate releases, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) is announced to report Q3 results before the market opens on Thursday.

The Canadian yoga and athletic apparel maker is seen posting a 37 percent rise in earnings to 37 cents per share. Sales are seen climbing 32 percent to 305 million dollars. “Lulu has reported at least double-digit earnings growth since December 2009. But its growth has slowed in recent quarters as new athletic apparel makers hit the market like Gap's (GPS) Athleta line. Nike (NKE) and Under Armour (UA)are tailoring their lines to appeal to women.” The ‘Investors Business Daily’ reported.

In October a Credit Suisse analyst said he was "somewhat concerned" about demand for new products at Lulu, sending shares down, published IBD.

Across The Pond, Phil Dorrell, director of the retail consultants Retail Remedy, commented the figures of UK’s Tesco: “The Tesco supertanker ploughs on – and the captain’s six point plan has succeeded only in rearranging the deckchairs. Like-for-like UK sales continue to fall. Such sustained underperformance in Tesco’s home market will make Philip Clarke’s position even shakier. Accounting for 60 percent of sales, and with seasoned competitors, the UK market was where Tesco had to improve,” Dorrel pointed put, ina clear reference to Tesco´s frustrated American plans. “Tesco’s overseas operations are no longer a get out jail card. Sales slumped badly in Europe, and its struggling US operation is clearly living on borrowed time.As a result, the brand simply had to deliver a turnaround in its UK market – and it has failed to do so. The City is unlikely to give Philip Clarke the benefit of the doubt for much longer.”

Finally, a recent YouGov Sixth Sense report on Christmas spending has unveiled that UK households are projected to spend £792 million (3.46 percent) less on Christmas this year than they did in 2011, but are still expected to spend approximately £22 billion on gifts, cards and decorations, and food and drink this holiday season. The survey found that the average UK household will spend £835 celebrating Christmas this year. This is down slightly from last year, when the average per-household spend was £865.