Run! True Religion Apparel
Last Friday, the company hired a new CFO, a top name with a recent high-level history at respectable and large-scale operations like Nordstrom
It's just another data point that shows how short-term concerns often mask the long-term best interests of any given company, and particularly smaller ones like True Religion. Forget the future -- trade in the here and now!
That is, of course, baloney. The rich margins on display in last night's earnings report showed that True Religion can afford to pay for top talent, while total inventories are actually shrinking, so there's no huge stockpile of unsold Lone Star skirts or Medium Thunder Kiss stretch jeans, gathering dust in a warehouse outside Los Angeles.
It's a very good idea to distance True Religion from its somewhat shady past, and to bring in the kind of executive team that can take this company to the next level. Today, it's not much more than a day trader's plaything, jumping and jerking at the slightest provocation -- good or bad.
This week, the transformation continued, with CEO Jeffrey Lubell's wife Kimberly leaving the top design post, a move that was announced on the same day as the rather stable earnings report. These guys are trying hard to look like a contender, and stubbornly moving forward with its recasting despite Wall Street's skepticism. Good on you, mates.
You don't have to earn analyst respect to succeed. In fact, keep doing what you're doing; ignore Wall Street as best you can and focus on setting up for future success. I, for one, welcome our new denim overlords. Set up right over there, right next to one of your competitors, Guess?
Onward, Fool:
Fool contributor Anders Bylund is a True Religion shareholder, but holds no other position in any of the companies discussed here. He will admit to looking good in a pair of stonewashed Levi's 506. You can check out Anders' holdings if you like, and Foolish disclosure is always in fashion.