Of the 29 apparel retail stocks (as defined by finviz.com) that are $10 billion or less, just three are positive YTD. The mean decline is 43%; the median 45%.
J. Jill JILL -0.27%↓ has been far and away the winner of the group, posting a 17% return. Shares in fact touched a three-year high this month before retreating with the rest of the group in recent sessions.
Fundamentally, the rally makes perfect sense. If anything, it appears understated. Like so many of its peers, J. Jill was a pandemic winner in fiscal 2021 (ending January 2022). Same-store sales jumped a sizzling 23%, and Adjusted EBITDA rose 40% on a two-year basis.
Unlike peers, however, the women’s retailer has kept the momentum going here in 2022. YTD, J. Jill has grown comps 6.8% and Adjusted EBITDA is up another 23%.
Back in September, we highlighted Destination XL DXLG 4.38%↑, a big-and-tall retailer that has posted similarly strong performance in lapping difficult comparisons. At least in the equity market, JILL has done even better. DXLG has returned ‘only’ 13.6%. And despite JILL’s gains and performance, the market remains skeptical. Shares trade at barely 3x EV/EBITDA. While some investors are trying to time a recovery in independent apparel retail, it might be worth instead owning the companies that don’t seem to need a recovery at all.
Update 20 May 2024. Chart is wildly volatile, but perfomance seems quite decent. P/E about 10, margin 5%.
Last updated: 2026-03-07 by automated standardization process