FashionUnited Top 100 Index adds 33 percent since 2010

Two years and a half after its first trading session (July 2010), the FashionUnited Top 100 Index has mirrored the sweet moment that the apparel sector is enjoying, even despite the financial turbulences. The international fashion industry

benchmark index has gained over a 30 percent since it launched at the trading floor.

The FashionUnited Top 100 Index hence gained 475.12 basic points in 30 months, accounting Supergroup (+85.9 percent), Quicksilver (+79.2 percent) and Warnaco Group (68.15 percent) among its main growth engines. It is worthy of mention the fact that all of them have been subject to corporate moves, potential takeovers and merges, what has nothing but spurred the interest for this niche market between analysts and investors alike.

Also luxury stocks have proved to be especially resilient, with Burberry, LVMH, PPR or PVH (added over 42 percent)on the front foot of the index on a regular basis.

At the opposite end of the ranking, Zumiez, BEBE Stores and Express Inc., which have led the losses in 2012. Case point was Express, which has reflected the ups and downs registered in the broader market.

The international apparel industry benchmark index conquered the 1,400 mark earlier this year, in March. Despite the index kept this position with slight changes since then, after a parenthesis in summer, the FashionUnited Top 100 Index seems to have regained this landmark and, as oppose to what happened in 2010, it is likely to keep it until the end of the year.

As per the data compiled by FashionUnited, 2011 has been the toughest year for the index so far. However, it has kept on growing from its initial 967 points to the current 1,442. In other words, in 2.5 years of trade, the FashionUnited Top 100 Index has added a third of its initial value.

For the past 2.5 years, the international apparel benchmark index holds an all-times yearly high of 1451.80 points (4, May)which compares to the 1375.99 52-week high gained a year earlier, on 8, Jul.

If compared against 2010, the breach turns quite noticeable, as the FashionUnited Top 100 Index 52 weeks high was 1,278.68.The variation borders the 100 points.

Despite the adverse financial situation, the fashion industry is proving to be resilient, with the luxury companies on front foot, as recently showed by Burberry, Hermès or Louis Vuitton.

Although the estimates for the third quarter were not very positive and in fact reviewed to the low, it is true that apparel quoted companies are trading at an steady rise.

The FashionUnited Top 100 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index gathering some of the world largest stock listed apparel companies. All listed companies specialise in the sale of clothing, whether in physical retail stores, wholesale or by e-commerce. They do not necessarily have to be the world largest ones, but the main stock listed firms located in those countries represented in the index with their own weighting based on market capitalisation, which is calculated June 30th of each year.