Investopedia: Aspirational Shoppers Trip Up Tiffany

When you're a public company, investors' appetite for growth has to be taken into account when it comes to business strategy. I suspect this is part of the reason so many publicly-traded luxury brands have spent the last two decades targeting that "mass affluent" market. While that approach has generally earned these companies quite a lot of money on balance, it may have been part of what tripped up Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) this quarter. Even with the disappointment, though, this is still not what you'd call a cheap stock.

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http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Aspirational-Shoppers-Trip-Up-Tiffany-TIF-COH-LVMUY-KORS1130.aspx

Investopedia: Is It Time To Hitch Up The Coach?

As a seller of something that many people want, but nobody really needs, Coach (NYSE:COH) is an interesting economic barometer in its own right. Like so many other semi-luxury or luxury brands, Coach knows how much of its future growth rests in China, but the company must also find that sustainable niche of "affordable luxury" that is so hard to maintain in the North American market. While economic weakness is going to have a disproportionate impact on Coach, this stock is a name to watch as a rebound play for when conditions and sentiment turn more positive.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Is-It-Time-To-Hitch-Up-The-Coach-COH-KORS-LVMUY-TIF0803.aspx

Investopedia: Wooly And T-Dawg Go Gucci

Somehow it just does not seem too likely that Gucci's core customer base overlaps much with folks who call themselves "Wooly" and "T-Dawg", but France's PPR, which owns the esteemed Gucci label, is going to give it a go anyway. On Monday morning, the French holding company  announced that it would be acquiring U.S. boardwear apparel maker Volcom (Nasdaq:VLCM), which was founded by the aforementioned Wooly and T-Dawg in 1991. (For background reading, see Using Consumer Spending As A Market Indicator.)

The Terms of the Deal 
PPR is paying almost $608 million for the smaller clothing company, giving Volcom shareholders $24.50 a share in cash, or a 24% premium to Friday's close. That puts a valuation on Volcom shares of about 1.5x trailing sales and about 10.5x trailing EBITDA - not exactly premium pricing for a once-hot stock.

Still, it is difficult to value a company like Volcom on a relative basis. Billabong is publicly listed in Australia and trades at an even lower valuation, Quicksilver (NYSE:ZQK) is struggling, and other once-popular boardwear companies like Vans and Ocean Pacific faded years ago and were acquired by the likes of VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) and Iconix (Nasdaq:ICON).

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Wooly-And-T-Dawg-Go-Gucci-VLCM-ZQK-ICON-VFC-NKE-LULU-UA0502.aspx