Nevertheless, Burberry is the obvious beneficiary of higher demand in Britain. Its shares are up about 5 percent since the U.K. voted to leave the E.U., outperforming the Bloomberg Intelligence Global Luxury Peer group, which has fallen by a similar amount.Elsewhere, LVMH and Kering look resilient, thanks to LVMH's diverse set of businesses -- including makeup and wines and spirits -- and a turnaround at Kering's Gucci. Both are trading at a discount to the Bloomberg Intelligence luxury peer group.

Many of the affordable luxury brands in the U.S. could benefit from shoppers trading down from Prada purses to Kate Spade clutches, as well as consumers who forgo apparel for jewelry and accessories that go for lower price points -- think $400 Stuart Weitzman pumps instead of a $10,000 Gucci dress. Price-to-earnings ratios remain near record lows for this group, with companies such as Michael Kors and PVH trading below the Bloomberg Intelligence luxury peer group.

Still, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, and PVH all get more than a fifth of their sales from Europe. 

Self-help will become even more important if  brands can't depend on macro forces for growth. Turnaround stories at Coach and Ralph Lauren could fuel further share gains at these companies as they pull back goods from discount-frenzied department stores and focus on brand-building through retail locations and online commerce -- that is, if executives are able to deliver on their promises.

For now, it mostly looks like buoyant trading in global luxury groups won't be back in style anytime soon.

First « 1 2 » Next