Dive Brief:

• Ralph Lauren reported before the bell on Wednesday a fiscal first quarter 2017 loss of $22 million, or 27 cents per share, down from a profit of $64 million, or 73 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

• Adjusted earnings were $1.06 per share on revenue of $1.6 billion, topping expectations from analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research of $0.89 per share and revenue of $1.53 billion. 

• Ralph Lauren said it expects fiscal Q2 2017 sales down in the mid-to-high single digit range, with operating margins 200 to 250 basis points below the prior year period. The fashion house held its 2017 fiscal year outlook steady, expecting sales down in the low-double digit range and operating margins of about 10%, with cost savings likely offset by rising new store expenses, unfavorable foreign currency impacts and infrastructure investments.

Dive Insight:

In June, Ralph Lauren CEO Stefan Larsson, who arrived last fall from Old Navy, announced the company’s “Way Forward” plan, which will see the closure of 50 underperforming stores (about 10% of its fleet), corporate job cuts of some 1,000 positions and a new focus on its best-selling brands. The blueprint is underpinned by common sense moves, including an effort to speed up its fashion-to-manufacture timeline from 15 months to nine, that experts have told Retail Dive are “no brainers” and a long time coming.

But it’s not clear whether some ideas—like a drastic pullback on wholesale—are smart, or if others, like speeding up the supply chain, are enough. For that matter, no one knows whether Larsson is the man for the job, ​or whether he or even Ralph Lauren himself understand the dimensions of today's consumer demands.

Still, the company’s fiscal Q1 2017 report cheered investors, who sent shares up 4.2% in Wednesday premarket trading. Both Larsson and Lauren weighed in, characterizing the results as evidence that the company is already showing signs of a turnaround.

“I am encouraged by the steps we are taking to refocus on and evolve our core, and bring back the entrepreneurial spirit that made this company great,” Ralph Lauren, who is executive chairman and chief creative officer, said in statement, adding that the turnaround plan has his full support.

Larsson said Ralph Lauren has already made “good initial progress," adding “We will continue to balance driving near-term performance with the pursuit of our long-term vision. We have already completed the planned right-sizing of the organization and are well underway in building the leadership team that will have the strength to successfully execute the plan.”