Owned Brands Driving Growth and Mix Improvement
Key owned brands (DKNY, Donna Karan, Karl Lagerfeld and Vilebrequin) collectively delivered mid-single-digit growth for fiscal 2026 and increased to ~60% of revenue (from ~50% prior year), improving full-price sell-through and contributing to margin expansion.
Donna Karan Rapid Rebound and Digital Momentum
Donna Karan grew ~40% in fiscal 2026; donnakaran.com sales grew ~170% with traffic up >120%; acquired ~100,000 new customers and repeat customers represented ~20% of sales, supporting strong wholesale and DTC momentum.
DKNY and Karl Lagerfeld Strong Brand Performance
DKNY reported ~ $650M in reported net sales with dkny.com sales up ~40% and social engagement up ~300%; Karl Lagerfeld grew high single digits (NA sales high-teens), karl.com +20%, and Karl Lagerfeld Jeans +30% driving youth engagement.
Solid Liquidity and Capital Returns
Ended fiscal year with $407M cash and >$900M total liquidity after returning >$50M to shareholders through share repurchases and initiating a cash dividend, supporting financial flexibility for investment and M&A/licensing opportunities.
Inventory Discipline and Efficiency Gains
Inventories down 4% year-over-year to $460M with unit declines in the high-single-digits; company reported improving warehouse efficiency in H2 and identified $25M of run-rate cost savings to be realized by fiscal 2028.
Margin Improvement Opportunity Articulated
Management expects up to ~300 basis points of gross margin expansion in fiscal 2027 (150 bps in Q1 expected), driven by tariff mitigation, a higher mix of owned brands and other margin efforts; FY26 margins also 'ahead of expectations' on better mix despite tariff headwinds.
Licensed Portfolio Growth and New Opportunities
Licensed brands (excluding exited PVH licenses) generated mid-single-digit growth; team sports and Converse contributed to a licensed portfolio that generated >$130M net sales in FY26 with a stated path to $500M over time.