Apparel, Footwear & Luxury covers clothing, footwear, accessories and luxury brands. MoatScope covers 46 companies here. One has a wide moat, 18 a narrow moat and 27 none.
How the industry makes money
Brand owners design products, outsource most manufacturing, and earn a premium when customers will pay more for the name. They reach customers through wholesale partners and increasingly through their own stores and websites, which earn higher margins.
Where the moats are
Brands, counted as intangible assets, appear in 17 of the 19 moat-rated companies. Few other moat sources show up.
- Nike: a global brand that commands consumer loyalty, backed by marketing and athlete relationships at a scale competitors cannot match.
The narrow-moat group includes Tapestry, Ralph Lauren, Lululemon, Deckers, On, Amer Sports and Gildan. Companies without a moat include Kontoor Brands, Steve Madden and FIGS. Deckers, rated narrow, scores 75 on MoatScope's quality scale, higher than Nike's 65.
What wears moats down
Fashion shifts, and fast-growing brands such as On and Hoka have shown how quickly running shoppers change allegiance. Discounting erodes brand value, and tariffs and sourcing costs squeeze margins.
What to watch
- Full-price sales versus discounting.
- Growth of the brands' own stores and websites.
- Tariffs and sourcing costs.
Moat ratings and quality scores on this page update as companies report. Price versus fair value for every company in the industry is in the screener.