What Bad Bunny, F1, and Katseye reveal about the Trumptariffed US consumer Brian SozziAugust 31, 2025 at 8:30 PM This is The Takeaway from today's Morning Brief, which you can sign up to receive in your inbox every morning along with: The chart of the day What we're watching What we're reading Econo...
- - What Bad Bunny, F1, and Katseye reveal about the Trump-tariffed US consumer
Brian SozziAugust 31, 2025 at 8:30 PM
This is The Takeaway from today's Morning Brief, which you can sign up to receive in your inbox every morning along with:
The chart of the day
What we're watching
What we're reading
Economic data releases and earnings
Earnings season has kicked off for apparel companies, and full stop I've been expecting the worst.
I still enjoy going to the mall, but the prices for apparel feel like they have gone through the roof!
You don't really see this captured in government data releases and you are probably not keeping track of the price of socks year by year in a spreadsheet. It's just a feel when you're picking through the racks and checking price tags.
Expensive apparel could be blamed on new tariffs. I can't tell you how many apparel executives told me three months ago they were raising prices for summer, fall, and winter clothes due to the new duties. I didn't get percentages, but the increases are a real thing. The execs would rather charge more than take quality out of a product and upset loyal consumers.
Yet here we are, amid those tariff-driven price increases, and the consumer doesn't appear to be buckling. Oddly enough, many people don't even look like they are checking price tags to begin with, simply buying because they are doing better financially than data would suggest, or a new celebrity partnership piqued their interest on TikTok.
Curious about the evidence I have for this?
PVH Corp. (PVH) saw sales of Calvin Klein cotton stretch men's underwear grow 14% in the second quarter, following 25% growth in the first quarter.
When I caught up with PVH CEO Stefan Larsson, he told me the strength in underwear was due to a new tie-up with popular artist Bad Bunny. Who knew Bad Bunny could make men forget about underwear costs!
A three-pack of these Bad Bunny undies is $49.50! Sure, they feature "a smooth, stitch-free Infinity Bond waistband," but it seems expensive.
Artist Bad Bunny in a Calvin Klein campaign. (Photo: PVH Corp.) (PVH Corp.)
Meanwhile, Calvin Klein's fashion denim sales in the second quarter popped 19% after a 14% gain in the first quarter. That's a huge increase for a consumer staple like jeans.
PVH also owns Tommy Hilfiger, and its sales got a jolt in the quarter due to a tie-up with the Brad Pitt F1 movie on Apple (AAPL).
"We have two of the most beloved brands in the market where we, for a number of years now, have leaned into the PVH platform, where we drive product strength, consumer engagement strength, and strength in the marketplace, execution to drive growth with pricing power," Larsson told me.
What's next for PVH: a new women's underwear tie-up with a "huge" female music artist due to drop soon, per Larsson. Also, a new line of F1 gear is inspired by Cadillac's entry into the sport.
The key words there by Larsson are "pricing power."
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) has apparently been watching PVH. Its recent celebrity denim deals with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce will likely power third and fourth quarter earnings.
Then there is Gap (GAP).
Gap has taken a less splashy celebrity endorsement route than its rivals, but it has been very aggressive on marketing the past two years under CEO Richard Dickson.
What does it have to show for it? The division has logged seven straight quarters of comparable sales gains.
Girl Group Katseye in a Gap campaign. (Photo: Gap). (Katseye)
That streak looks poised to continue in the third quarter due to a new marketing campaign with musical group Katseye.
"We've had 400 million total views of this campaign. We have 8 billion total impressions, and today, I'm incredibly excited to share with you, we are the No. 1 search on TikTok. It is proving that Gap is a powerful pop culture brand," Dickson told me (video above).
If I were a betting man — and I am not —I would say reads on the economy come in stronger than the naysayers expect into year-end. And perhaps we don't get a series of interest rate cuts.
The US consumer is telling us, by what they are buying, that they are doing more than hanging in there ... they are apt to stay supportive of economic growth.
Call it the Bad Bunny Bull Market.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email [email protected].
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Source: "AOL AOL Money"
Source: ANIO MAG
Full Article on Source: ANIO MAG
#LALifestyle #USCelebrities