Canada Goose results thrive as luxury demand defies inflation

By Ananya Mariam Rajesh

(Reuters) -Canada Goose Holdings Inc on Thursday surpassed Wall Street targets for quarterly results after affluent consumers undeterred by decades-high inflation snapped up its luxury parkas and jackets.

Toronto-listed shares of the company rose about 11% in early trade as the midpoint of its second-quarter revenue forecast also came in above estimates on steady demand.

Higher-income customers are traveling and shopping in earnest after two years cooped up indoors, spending the savings they had built up during lockdowns on luxury companies from Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) to Louis Vuitton.

Canada Goose has not seen any sign of slowing demand due to inflation, Chief Executive Dani Reiss told Reuters in an interview.

COVID lockdowns and store closures in top luxury market China sent its Asia Pacific revenue down 6.3% to C$16.1 million, but its stores in the country reopened towards the end of June.

The company is experiencing pent-up demand in China and expects positive sales trends in the region going forward as consumers return to stores, Reiss said.

He added that it has not seen any impact to sales in European countries from heat waves that swept across the region in mid-July, forcing people to stay indoors.

The luxury consumer continues to shop and Canada Goose is still a brand that has momentum across segments with people taking advantage of getting to participate in events again, said senior research analyst Jessica Ramírez at Jane Hali and Associates.

The company's revenue rose 24% to C$69.9 million ($54.75 million) in the first quarter ended July 3, beating analysts expectations of C$62.6 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Excluding items, it posted a loss of 56 Canadian cents per share, lower than estimates of 61 Canadian cents.

($1 = 1.2768 Canadian dollars)