13 Best and Worst Fashion, Retail and Beauty Stocks of 2017
Fashion and retail had something of a fraught year, but all’s well that ends well — and a lot of companies ended well as far as Wall Street is concerned.
Despite thousands of store closings, a slew of executive changes and the continued migration of shoppers online, 40 of the biggest or most influential public companies in the fashion, retail and beauty industries worldwide ended 2017 with stock prices higher than when the year began.
Another 20 weren’t so lucky, though, despite a historically bull market in the U.S., particularly in the second half of the year. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached all-time highs last year and remained at or near their peaks as 2017 came to a close. The back half of the year also saw several retailers and brands regain footing with customers, products and inventory levels, while seeing cost-cutting measures pay off.
All of this led to some strong growth in stock prices. WWD looked at dozens of companies of varying sizes and industry focus and calculated the percentage change from stock prices on the first day of trading in their respective markets to the close of trading on Dec. 29, the last business day of the year. The calculations are not ranked by company size, financial performance or market capitalization — simply the percentage change in stock price which, as any market follower knows, doesn’t always reflect the profits and sales yardstick.
Here are the 13 stocks that grew the most over the year and the 13 that fared the worst — there are a few surprises.
BEST:
1: Alibaba Group
Final stock price: $172.41 ⬆94.6%
2: Kering
Final stock price: 393 euros ⬆81.39%
3: Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.
Final stock price: $127.23 ⬆64.52%
4: Moncler SpA
Final stock price: 26.08 euros ⬆55.23%
5: Amazon Inc.
Final stock price: $1,169.74 ⬆55.2%
6: PVH Corp.
Final stock price: $137.20 ⬆50.8%
7: Michael Kors
Final stock price: $63.02 ⬆46.28%
8: Puma SE
Final stock price: 363 euros ⬆45.71%
9: Gap Inc.
Final stock price: $34.08 ⬆45.14%
10: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Final stock price: $98.91⬆44.05%
11: Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Final stock price: $17.44 ⬆44.01%
12: VF Corp.
Final stock price: $74.06 ⬆38.68%
13: Guess Inc.
Final stock price: $16.87 ⬆37.15%
WORST:
1: Ascena Retail Group Inc.
Final stock price: $2.36 ⬇62.17%
2: J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
Final stock price: $3.16 ⬇60.74%
3: Avon Products Inc.
Final stock price: $2.24 ⬇57.65%
4: Under Armour Inc.
Final stock price: $14.56 ⬇51.25%
5: Chico’s Inc.
Final stock price: $8.86 ⬇38.98%
6: H&M
Final stock price: 169.30 Swedish kronor ⬇30.98%
7: Revlon Inc.
Final stock price: $21.90 ⬇27.71%
8: Macy’s Inc.
Final stock price: $25.18 ⬇28.52%
9: Hudson’s Bay Corp.
Final stock price: 11.19 Canadian dollars ⬇15.16%
10: Target Corp.
Final stock price: $65.34 ⬇10.18%
11: Inditex
Final stock price: 29.04 euros ⬇10%
12: L Brands Inc.
Final stock price: $60.60 ⬇8.98%
13: Marks & Spencer plc
Final stock price: 3.14 pounds ⬇8.72%
For More, See:
Which Fashion, Beauty and Retail Players Saw Sales Grow the Most?
13 Lawsuits That Had the Industry Talking in 2017
Changing of the Guard at Magazines
The Biggest Breakouts in Music of 2017
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