Lululemon Athletica Inc. bucked the market trend today and shot up 13.9 percent to $43.73 — making it the strongest stock in the 100-issue WWD Global Stock Tracker.
The activewear company’s second-quarter profits fell 13.7 percent to $48.7 million, but were still better than Wall Street expected and its revenues rose 13.4 percent to $390.7 million.
Lululemon, is now under the leadership of chief executive officer Laurent Potdevin and
has been trying to get its groove after a series of missteps — including the high-profile recall of sheer yoga pants last year.
Among the hardest stocks in fashion was The Men’s Wearhouse Inc., which fell 3 percent to $52.25. The company reported late Wednesday that its newly acquired Jos. A. Bank business saw comparable-sales rise 1 percent during the second quarter, a performance that lagged the namesake Men’s Wearhouse’s 4.4 percent gain.
Elsewhere in the retail world, electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. warned that it was burning though cash and might face bankruptcy.
Overall, the tracker fell 0.2 percent to 101.09, as most major markets around the world saw declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 percent to 17,049 in New York, as the FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent to 6,799.62 in London, the CAC 40 declined 0.2 percent to 4,440.90 in Paris and the Hang Seng Index dipped 0.2 percent to 24,662.64 in Hong Kong.
Exceptions included the S&P 500 in the U.S., which inched up 0.1 percent to 1,997.45 and the Nikkei 225, which increased 0.8 percent to 15,909.20.