Michael Kors wasn’t the disaster Wall Street feared

Michael Kors Holdings reported its stron🐈gest quarterly sales gro♏wth in a year as demand surged for its handbags and accessories in the Americas, and the company said it would buy back up to $1 billion in shares.

Michꦬael Kors has been refreshing its product lines faster, ti💃ghtening its distribution to retain the exclusivity of its handbags and pushing into online retail to boost its sales growth.

The company, whose $300 handbags are a big draw for fashion-conscious women loꦍoking for affordable𒈔 luxury products, had seen double-digit sales growth until mid-2015.

However, as more and more department stores and outlets started stocking its handbags, the brand lost some of its exclusivity, turning away shoppers and slowing the c🉐ompany’s sales growth.

Although Michael Kors posted robust sales growth in the fourth quওarter, the company forecast a decline for the current quarter, citing “planned” reduction in wholesale shipments.

If its first-quarter revenue comes within the forecast range of $940 million to $950 million, it wo꧋uld be Michael Kors’ first sales drop since it went public at the end of 2011.

In the quarter ended April 2, sales in the Americas rose 4.6 percent. The region accounted for nearly three-quarters of Michael Kors’ tota❀l 🍷revenue.

The company said it bought Michael Kors Ltd, its exclusive licensee in China and some regions in Asia, for $🍎500 million in cash.

“We believe that our brand is𝓀 gaining strong momentum in Greater China, making it the ideal time for us to integrate this territory into our business,” Chief Executive John Idol said in a statement.

Sales at stores open for at least 13 months rose 0.3 percent. A🍌nalyst🌜s on average had expected a 0.1 percent rise, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.

The net income attributable to Michael Kors fell 3 percent to $177 million, or 98 cents per share, hurt by a stronger dollar.
Revenue rose 10.9 percent to $1.2 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 96 cents ♏per share and revenue of $1.15 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of Mℱichael Kors were up 3.7 perce𒁃nt to $44.31 in morning trading on Wednesday.