Tapestry Tops Profit Estimates Due to Coach's Success Overseas

NEW YORK, United States — Tapestry Inc. beat quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday, as demand for its high-margin Coach handbags and apparel in China and Europe helped it overcome stagnating sales in North America, sending its shares up 4.7 percent in premarket trading.

The New York-based fashion house is spending more to expand globally, especially in China where the Coach brand has been holding fashion shows, partnering with celebrities and using local social media to woo high-spending consumers.

The high-end fashion industry has been focusing on China, with companies from New York, Paris and Milan sending their priciest products to the world's second largest economy as consumers increasingly choose to splurge at home rather than on overseas trips.

Global same-store sales at Coach rose 1 percent in the first quarter, while the company's Kate Spade brand fell 16 percent.

The company said net income fell to $20 million, or 7 cents per share, in the first quarter ended September 28, from $122.3 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company, which replaced Chief Executive Victor Luis with Chairman Jide Zeitlin in September, incurred about $76 million in charges related to a change in how it accounts for leases.

Excluding items, it earned 40 cents per share, beating analysts' estimates of 37 cents. Net sales fell to $1.36 billion and missed expectations of $1.37 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

By Uday Sampath; editor: Arun Koyyur.