Piper Jaffray: Ralph Lauren More Promotional, Coach Less Promotional

Erinn Murphy of Piper Jaffray commented that initial traffic into stores was “more muted” with many retailers opening even earlier this year than they did a year ago.

Murphy and a team of analysts observed first-hand traffic trends in Minnesota and Texas outlet formats, B+ malls, big box retailers and even A+ centers.

“It appeared that initial traffic into stores was more muted,” Murphy wrote in a note. “From the brand perspective, we saw a more noticeable effort to segment promotions versus using percent off everything.”

Murphy notes that electronics, toys, footwear and handbags were strong while Coach Inc COH, Steve Madden, Ltd. SHOO and Calvin Klein were notable brands that were less promotional.

On the other hand, Ralph Lauren Corp RL, Guess?, Inc. GES and The Wet Seal, Inc. WTSL were more promotional.