Italian luxe stocks slow down

Wednesday trading in main European exchanges was weighted by the latest reports on dire consumer outlook,

higher inflation rates and unstable labour data.

In Milano, stocks within the luxury goods subsector felt the pain as the whole industry is deflating. Tod's shredded 1 percent and Ferragamo 1, 1 percent. It wasn´t a good session either for Yoox (-1.8 percent), which reported quarterly figures at the market close.

Ralph Lauren fell 3.5 percent to 148.71 dollars at the close in New York. The shares have dropped 16 percent this year, compared with a 5.2 percent decline for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

The preppy brand posted fiscal third-quarter profit that surpassed analysts' estimates as demand from North American department stores boosted sales. Net income in the three months ended Dec. upped by 9.7 percent to circa 237 million dollars, or 2.57 dollars a share, from 216 million dollars (2.31 a share), a year earlier, Ralph Lauren reported Wednesday. This compares to the average of 18 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg of 2.51 dollars.

"In difficult times, people go back and trust brands that have quality and heritage and you feel safe making the purchase," Marie Driscoll, founder of Driscoll Advisors, a New York-based retail consulting firm, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. "They are great brand strategists and they have great product across the spectrum. There is something for everyone."

Revenue increased 9.2 percent to 2.02 billion dollars in the quarter, boosted by a 14 percent increase in sales to other retailers such as Macy's Inc and compared to analysts´ consensus estimate of 2.01 billion dollars.

Across the Atlantic, in London, price of clothing kept falling in January, dropping by 5.3 percent month-on-month, as per the figures recently released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) figures. "January is always a key month for sales and promotions but discounts have been deeper and more widespread than last year and we are seeing this trend continuing. Our figures show that there have been particularly good deals to be had in clothing, furniture and electrical items this month as retailers prepare for their new collections," summed up Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC.

Year-on-year, the average price of clothing and footwear has fallen by 9.9 percent over both months. Despite prices were reduced across all clothing categories, womenwear and babywear noted the greatest dip.

On British fashion industry corporate news, French Connection says its losses over the last year will be lower than expected "after a productive Christmas". The stock climbed Wednesday 10 percent ahead of the trading statement yesterday indicating that full-year losses would be lower than anticipated, as per data gathered by 'City A.M.'