I've been trying to get people to pay attention to what's been happening at Guess? (NYSE:GES) for about a year now. I've pointed out that sales were increasing at a solid pace, while profitability was improving even more steadily. The leverage inherent in any well-run retailer was really starting to come into play for Guess?, which is why the earnings "surprises" of the past few quarters didn't surprise me much. (OK, maybe in their magnitude, but not in their mere existence.)

Things are beginning to look even better. I was content with this investment so long as revenues were growing at 15% or so, but they've zoomed past that pace and are still accelerating. Yesterday, the firm reported January same-store sales growth of 31% and overall revenue growth of 41%.

People, that is very strong. Especially when it comes atop 17.7% comps growth and 27.4% total sales growth for December. Naturally, the stock went down the past couple of days.

That may be understandable, since Guess's shares have finally begun to price in the top- and bottom-line growth, but I still think the retailer has a lot of room left to run. On visits to my local store, chats with the staff about sales describe "good days" that are nowhere close to what happens at Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), or even American Eagle Outfitters (NASDAQ:AEOS) or Gap (NYSE:GPS).

I'm not saying Guess? is on the way to becoming as popular as some of the above-named peers, but it doesn't have to climb to such dizzying heights to continue to deliver for shareholders. And while we're on that subject, I find it interesting that Guess? has soundly outperformed new denim darling True Religion (NASDAQ:TRLG) -- but you'd never know it from the chatter out there.

That's because everyone believes that $400 jeans are the next grow-to-the-moon retail concept (and if they are, by the way, I'll eat a pair of those jeans). Meanwhile, everyone seems to think Guess? was dead and buried sometime around Back to the Future.

Fine by me. I'm tired of pointing out the obvious. From here on out, I'm content to sit back, zip my lip, and make money.

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Seth Jayson only wishes he were cool enough to sport the clothes from his favorite retail investment. At the time of publication, he had shares of American Eagle Outfitters and Guess?, but no position in any other firm mentioned. View his stock holdings and Fool profile here. Gap is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. Fool rules are here.