Canada Goose bucks luxury slowdown in China, tops quarterly estimates

By Ananya Mariam Rajesh

(Reuters) -Canada Goose beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, benefiting from steady consumer demand in China for its puffer jackets and sweats, bucking an industry-wide slowdown seen by luxury players in the region.

The company's efforts to expand into the non-winter category by offering products that include rain and warm weather clothing such as fleece, t-shirts and shorts helped bump sales in the Asia-Pacific region and resulted in a third consecutive quarter of growth in China.

"(In China) we continue to open popup stores where and when we have opportunities to do that in the right time, and really our seasonally relevant spring and summer products have helped drive strong consumer demand," CEO Dani Reiss told Reuters.

Canada Goose's sales in Greater China rose 2.4% during the first quarter, while the United States saw a 0.4% rise where wholesale demand remains under pressure due to a cautious consumer spending environment.

Both U.S. and Toronto-listed shares of Canada Goose fell 4%. The company also reaffirmed its annual profit and sales forecasts.

Its first-quarter wholesale revenue was down 41%, while sales through its own stores and online rose 13% in the same period.

However, Canada Goose's growth in China is in contrast with results from top luxury names like LVMH, Burberry and Hugo Boss which still pointed to reduced spending on their products by shoppers in the region.

"The other luxury segments reached peak Chinese demand at some point or are just seeing that sustain ... in Canada Goose's case they are still a fresh product to people and in consumers' minds and so what they can do in a market like that comes down to that freshness," said Cole Smead, chief executive of Smead Capital Management which has a stake in Canada Goose.

Canada Goose's first-quarter revenue rose 3.3% to C$88.1 million ($63.7 million), beating LSEG estimates of C$86.1 million.

It also posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of 79 Canadian cents, compared to analysts' expectations for a loss of 80 Canadian cents.

($1 = 1.3824 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; editing by Milla Nissi and Krishna Chandra Eluri)