By Doug Busch
Luxury retail stocks have been firm, with shares of Ralph Lauren, Tapestry, and Williams-Sonoma leading the space as investors leaned into companies benefiting from resilient demand among higher-income consumers.
The gains come amid a mixed backdrop for broader retail, reinforcing a widening divide between premium brands with pricing power and more value-oriented peers facing continued pressure.
When we look at international names we see domestic names outperforming them. In Europe we see some bifurcation with Ermenegildo Zegna acting very well recently by breaking above a cup base pivot of $12.03 as it looks for a five week win streak. If that occurs, it would be its first since last summer. But others have lagged behind badly; Ferrari and LVMH ADR are both more than 20% below their 52-week highs.
Ferrari has been making lower weekly highs since a strong rebuttal at the round $500 mark following a 21% weekly decline last October. LVMH has been trading between the round numbers of $100 and $200 since April 2023.
Let's take a more in-depth look at Ralph Lauren, Tapestry, and Williams-Sonoma.
Ralph Lauren, a global designer of premium brands, is up 86% over the last year and higher by 10% year to date. The stock is trading at record highs and is on a three-week winning streak, its first in five months.
Looking at its daily chart one can see how it has clearly outperformed peers on the ratio chart versus the State Street S&P Retail ETF. One can see the clear uptrend, with the price doubling from the last April lows into December. From there it started a base-on-base pattern, just as it sounds, beginning with a short-lived double bottom breakout above a $377.17 pivot.
On Monday, it broke above a $387.36 cup-with-handle trigger. The base found support at its upward sloping 200 day simple moving average in March and started with a couple of doji candles on Feb. 19 and Feb. 26. Look for the stock to reach $455 by the third quarter, representing a 17% gain from current prices. Remain bullish above $365.
Ralph Lauren was trading around $392 Tuesday.
Tapestry, a luxury fashion stock, is a best-in-breed name up 137% over the last one year and 20% year to date. The stock is trading just above a huge 20% weekly advance from the first week of February, which was inspired by earnings.
Looking at the stock's daily chart one can see clear and consistent leading action against consumer rivals dating back to last year's Liberation Day lows. It trades just 5% below its most recent 52-week high and broke above a bull flag in early February that started at the very round $100 number last November.
A cup with a handle base began with a bearish abandoned baby pattern (the same as a bearish island reversal but occurring in just three sessions) with the 3% gap down on Feb. 27. It broke above the $154.58 trigger last Friday and now trades less than 1% below it. Look for the stock to travel toward $188 by the third quarter, a 22% gain from current prices. Remain bullish above $148.
Tapestry was trading around $151 Tuesday.
Williams-Sonoma, an upscale home-goods retailer, has gained 45% over the last year and 15% year to date. The stock trades 7% off its most recent 52-week high and has enjoyed a firm uptrend for the last three years.
Looking at the daily chart, it has held an uptrend against the XRT on the ratio chart over the last year. This week the stock reclaimed both its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages and it is well above its 21-day exponential moving average. It has a nice history of breaking above bases with a cup-with-handle pivot at $178.27 on July 22, 2025.
Similarly, Ralph Lauren has carved out a base on base pattern first breaking above a $203.88 double bottom pivot. It is currently building the right side of a cup base and broke above the very round $200 number on Monday, following through nicely on Tuesday. Look for the stock to travel toward $260 by year-end which would be a 25% gain from current prices. Remain bullish above $193.
Williams-Sonoma was trading around $206 Tuesday.
Doug Busch is the senior technical analyst at Barron's Investor Circle . His technical view is added to stock picks, including those published exclusively for Investor Circle readers. A glossary of technical terms is updated regularly with new entries.
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 21, 2026 11:29 ET (15:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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