Holiday Shopping Boosts Lululemon, Abercrombie Sales Outlook

Ever wonder what happens when two big retailers, Lululemon and Abercrombie & Fitch, have a strong holiday season? They adjust their sales outlooks! Lululemon has upped its predictions for this holiday quarter, with expected sales growth of 11% to 12%, landing between $3. 56 billion and $3. 58 billion. Even without an extra week in their quarter, they're looking at 6% to 7% growth. Lululemon's finance chief, Meghan Frank, credited their popular products for the boost. Abercrombie also saw a slight increase, predicting 7% to 8% growth. Their full-year prediction is close to last year's growth of 16%. Investors have mixed feelings. Lululemon's shares rose 3%, while Abercrombie’s dropped 8%. This could be due to Abercrombie's slower growth compared to last year's impressive 21% jump. Abercrombie's CEO, Fran Horowitz, mentioned focusing on profits in the future. Meanwhile, Urban Outfitters' holiday sales grew 10%, with its rental service Nuuly seeing a whopping 55% increase. Macy’s had less to celebrate, with expected sales flat or slightly below range. Retail experts anticipated a modest holiday season, but signs point to better-than-expected sales. Retail sales in the U. S. jumped 3. 8% year over year, excluding autos. This holiday season might just be better than we thought.