Ralph Lauren's Asia revenue rises 28% as it launches a Japan-specific app and raises its outlook

Ralph Lauren Corporation said on November 5 that revenue for its fiscal 2027 second quarter -- the three months to September 26, 2026 -- rose 9% on a reported basis to $2,193.3 million, or 10% at constant currency. Asia was again the standout region: revenue there rose 28.2% (28.1% at constant currency) to $571.3 million, with comparable store sales up 24%, while North America grew 6.4% to $885.6 million and Europe grew 1.1% (2.5% at constant currency) to $696.0 million.

China alone drove much of the Asia gain, with revenue up more than 35% on both a reported and constant-currency basis, the company said.

Group-wide, reported gross margin reached 74.2% (70.5% adjusted), lifted in part by $82.3 million of tariff-refund recoveries that the company said it largely offset with $33.2 million of related charitable donations. Operating income rose to $363.7 million reported (a 16.6% margin) or $344.6 million adjusted (15.7%), and reported diluted earnings per share rose to $4.87 from $3.32 a year earlier. Global direct-to-consumer comparable sales rose 10%, fairly evenly split between stores and digital, with digital commerce comparable sales up 31% in Asia against 5% in North America and 9% in Europe.

Among the quarter's "key cities" consumer-ecosystem initiatives, Ralph Lauren said it opened 22 new owned and partnered stores and launched the Ralph Lauren mobile app in Japan -- its first market-specific app, giving Japanese shoppers a dedicated digital storefront distinct from its global site. The release gives no Japan-specific revenue figure; the country sits inside the broader Asia segment, which the company reports together with Australia and New Zealand.

President and chief executive Patrice Louvet said "we delivered strong second quarter performance, enabling us to raise our Fiscal 2027 outlook once again." The company raised its full-year constant-currency revenue growth guidance to 6-7%, from 5-6%, and its operating-margin expansion guidance to 80-100 basis points, while flagging a 40-60 basis point drag from foreign currency over the full year. It also said it had completed its fiscal 2027 buyback plan, repurchasing $250 million of shares in the quarter and $500 million year to date.

floortok's read: the Asia gain looks like real demand, not currency. The yen slid against the dollar over the same stretch -- from a monthly average of ¥147.86 in September 2025 to ¥156.42 in September 2026, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve, a roughly 6% depreciation (floortok's calculation). Yet Ralph Lauren's reported Asia growth of 28.2% landed almost exactly where its own constant-currency figure did (28.1%). When a weakening regional currency barely moves the reported number, the gap between the two usually signals that growth is coming from selling more, not from translation; Asia's 24% rise in comparable store sales points the same way.

Ralph Lauren still does not break Japan out of its Asia bloc, so the market-specific app is the closest thing to a standalone Japan signal in this release. Choosing Japan, rather than a larger single market inside the region, for its first dedicated app suggests the house treats the country as distinct enough to warrant its own digital shopfront even while folding its sales into a region whose growth is overwhelmingly a China story. The next thing to watch is whether the app can move Japan's own sales enough that the company eventually starts naming the country on its own.