Conventional wisdom says that the strong dollar is making it harder to sell luxury fashion goods abroad. Or is it? Ralph Lauren reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings, but while U.S. sales flattened out, total growth in international sales revenues topped double-digits (in current currency), thanks to robust performances in both Europe and China.
RL is taking measures to insulate itself from currency-related losses going forward, including reorganizing its licensing business model to centralize local and regional operations into a fully integrated global brand-based organizational structure.