What happened with VRA today?
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Uses news and trading volume to explain the day’s move and how it relates to the market.
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Vera Bradley sells women’s handbags, luggage and travel items, alongside accessories, home goods and gifts. Bags and travel products account for most revenue. Consumers buy primarily through its U.S. full-line and outlet stores, websites such as verabradley.com, and online marketplaces. These direct sales make up the large majority of the business.
Its smaller VB Indirect business sells merchandise to retailers for resale and earns royalties from companies licensed to use the Vera Bradley brand. Most indirect revenue comes from a small group of retail accounts, although no single indirect retailer dominates company-wide sales. Pura Vida is no longer part of the company following its sale.
The business depends on designs that shoppers want and having the right inventory available without excessive discounting. Mall traffic matters because substantially all its direct stores are in regional malls. Contract manufacturers make its products, largely in Asia, so reliable production and imports are also essential. U.S. law generally bars imports made wholly or partly in Xinjiang or by designated entities unless the importer overcomes the law’s presumption of forced labor.
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Every company claims an edge. Each one is checked against hard numbers like margins and returns: which hold, and which line gives way first.
Tapestry’s Coach and Kate Spade compete with Vera Bradley for women’s spending on handbags, accessories and gifts through stores, online sales and wholesale retailers. Watch sales of those products at both brands for a read on competition in Vera Bradley’s core categories.
Capri Holdings’ Michael Kors competes with Vera Bradley for women’s handbag and accessory spending, though Michael Kors targets a more upscale market.
EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change (Oct/16)
Vera Bradley sells bags and travel goods made partly with petroleum-based materials, so this release tracks crude oil and fuel stocks that can affect the freight and material costs it pays.
Read the stock figures as a signal of oil and fuel supply: larger inventories can ease prices and Vera Bradley’s material and shipping costs, while smaller inventories can raise those costs and pressure margins.
Tapestry, Inc. earningsTPR
Tapestry's report will show how sales at Coach and Kate Spade are faring in handbags and accessories, where those brands compete with Vera Bradley for women's spending.
Look at sales at Coach and Kate Spade. Strong sales would show that customers are still buying handbags and accessories, but could also mean Tapestry is winning spending that Vera Bradley competes for. Weak sales could point to softer demand at those brands, but their higher price points mean that alone would not show that Vera Bradley's customers are also buying less.
Retail Sales MoM (Oct)
Vera Bradley sells discretionary bags and travel goods through its stores, websites and wholesale retailers, so retail sales track consumer spending that can change how much merchandise customers buy and the company earns.
Read retail sales as a signal of consumer spending: stronger sales may support purchases of Vera Bradley’s discretionary merchandise and revenue, while weaker sales may mean fewer purchases and less revenue.
Vera Bradley, Inc. earningsThis company
Vera Bradley earns most of its revenue through its direct business, and this report will show whether sales are stabilizing without its gross margin giving way.
Read direct revenue alongside gross margin, the share of sales left after product costs. Stabilizing direct sales with a steady or rising margin would show that buying is holding up without discounting or inventory costs wiping out the benefit. Falling direct sales and a lower margin would show that weak demand is still weighing on sales while promotions or inventory costs leave less from each sale.
