MW How TV's 'Love Story' helped Calvin Klein parent ease investor anxieties about consumer demand
By Bill Peters
'When something like 'Love Story' hits, it's just a really nice sync-up with where we are with the brand,' PVH CEO says
"Love Story" stars, from left, Sarah Pidgeon, Grace Gummer, Paul Anthony Kelly and Naomi Watts at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 3.
Shares of PVH Corp., the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, finished nearly 10% higher on Wednesday, as the TV miniseries "Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette" and 1990s nostalgia help buoy consumer demand and the company's outlook through this year.
The company offered that assessment as Wall Street looks for signs that consumers can still endure higher costs of living over this decade, made more complicated over the past month by the Iran war, which has driven up oil and gas prices.
During PVH's (PVH) earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Stefan Larsson said it was impossible to talk about Calvin Klein without talking about "Love Story," a miniseries set in the 1990s that follows the romantic relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, who ascended the ranks at Calvin Klein.
"When the show launched, we could see the search increase for Calvin Klein, e-commerce traffic, D2C, is positive," Larsson said, referring to "direct-to-consumer." "The consumer is looking for iconic Calvin, starting with iconic underwear and iconic denim. The most-sold denim style right now is the 1990s fit."
"Love Story" premiered in February. According to a Variety report last month, it became FX's most-viewed limited series ever on Hulu and Disney+.
Larsson, during Wednesday's call, added that Calvin Klein had tried to take what made the brand popular in the 1990s and make it current.
"So when something like 'Love Story' hits, it's just a really nice sync-up with where we are with the brand," he said.
More broadly, Larsson said that trends so far for the spring season were encouraging, and that the company had started off this year with solid momentum. He said retailers that stock their shelves with PVH's clothes remain cautious, but added that fall-season ordering trends for Europe were "positive."
Europe, the Middle East and Africa drew more sales for PVH than in other regions during the company's last fiscal year, which ended on Feb. 1.
Last month, discount clothing retailer Ross Stores $(ROST)$ also called out a "very strong start" for the spring shopping season. Nike $(NKE)$, despite its struggles, said it had not yet seen any impact on consumer demand in North America due to the Iran war. However, heftier tax refunds expected this year, which analysts believed could help consumer spending at retailers, will likely get eaten up by higher gas prices.
PVH on Wednesday said it expects sales for the year ahead to "increase slightly" from last year. The company expects to earn $11.80 to $12.10 a share during that period, with the midpoint a bit above FactSet estimates for $11.93.
For its fourth quarter, PVH reported sales of around $2.51 billion, up 6%. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.82. Both results topped Wall Street's estimates.
PVH's stock is still down around 1.6% over the past 12 months. But UBS analysts said in a note that they expect more strong results from the company.
"We think PVH has the brand strength and balance sheet to drive earnings growth over the long term," they said.
-Bill Peters
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April 01, 2026 17:40 ET (21:40 GMT)
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