Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Chewy CEOs & more: C-Suite Insights

It was a big week for earnings with companies like Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), Chewy (CHWY), Gap Inc. (GPS), and HP Inc. (HPQ), all reporting quarterly results and giving further insight into the state of the consumer. Yahoo Finance sat down with top executives in retail, tech, and fintech to discuss what they're seeing from consumers. Here are some of the key moments:

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski (00:00:05)

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski discusses the state of consumer spending in the buy now, pay later space. Siemiatkowski notes that “zero interest” is “one of the key elements” of the buy now, pay later products that the company offers. “To some degree we’re seeing… a continuous acceleration of our growth and preference among US consumers.”

Chewy CEO Sumit Singh (00:00:38)

Chewy CEO Sumit Singh explains three “good inputs” that Chewy (CHWY) is seeing that lends “some encouraging signs towards the normalization.” “One, we’re seeing green shoots in the industry… second, inflation was an important point carrying through last year, and you’re starting... to see that sort of wean off. Third, we saw healthy balances between net adoption rates and relinquishment rates that came through from shelter and rescue community every month this year to date.”

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Fran Horowitz (00:01:14)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Fran Horowitz notes the “broad-based” success the company is seeing. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) reported first quarter earnings beating estimates on both the top and bottoms lines. “Both brands… were double-digit up,” Horowitz says, “we saw double-digit across the regions… and most exciting is we saw it across all genders.”

HP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores (00:01:44)

HP Inc. (HPQ) reported fiscal second-quarter earnings results that slightly beat expectations on the top and bottom line. HP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores discusses that “this is the first quarter in eight where our PC business grew… So we are pleased with the progress that we have seen in PCs and we think that this is going to continue now for the second half of the year.”

Gap Inc. CEO & President Richard Dickson (00:02:00)

Gap Inc. CEO and President Richard Dickson notes that “customers are responding well to our brand reinvigoration efforts,” as Gap Inc.’s (GPS) first quarter earnings results exceeded expectations. “There’s a lot to be excited about. We’re on stronger financial footing, our brands are resonating, and really we’re just getting started.”

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This post was written by Mariela Rosales.

Video Transcript

One of the key elements of the buy operated products that we offer is zero interest.

And so, to some degree, we're seeing you know, a continuous acceleration of our growth and and preference among US consumers due to the fact that actually, from that stretch, a lot of that stretch comes from the higher interest rates on the credit cards and other lending products, right?

And actually, to some degree, binocular becomes a more attractive offer.

So it's slightly difficult to distinguish like what is, you know, are we maybe seeing a stronger growth and a stronger sentiment among our consumers than what you see in general in society due to that fact one.

You know, we're seeing green shoots in the industry.

So we've called this the year of normalisation, and we believe that we've got a fairly good sense of demand and fairly good sense of how this normalisation is occurring.

You know, second, inflation was an important point carrying through last year, and you're starting to see that sort of win off, you know.

Third, we saw healthy sort of balances between net adoption rates and relinquishment rates that came through from shelter and rescue community every month this year, this year to date.

So all of these are good inputs that essentially land some encouraging signs towards the normalisation of pet that we've been talking about.

The success is broad based.

I mean, both brands are we're double digit up, which is exciting to see, you know, even with Hollister accelerating from the plus nine for Q four into a plus 12 for for Q one also, we saw double digit across the region.

So, Maya, a Pac and North America and most exciting is we saw it across all genders.

We couldn't say that last quarter, right?

The guys Hollister business hadn't gone positive yet and now it did so broad.

Based a lot of balance across the business today.

This is the first quarter in eight where our PC business grew and special, driven by the commercial side, both enterprise and S and B.

So we are pleased with the progress that we have seen in P CS.

And we think that this is going to continue now for the second half of the year, customers responding well to our brand reinvigoration efforts.

You know, we talked about it before reinvigorating this legacy portfolio of awesome brands has been an incredible opportunity, and the culture that we have now that's really driven to unlock that potential is really gaining momentum.

It's also the first time that all four of our brands have reflected positive comps.

Um, and that's in many, many years.

So look there.

There's a lot to be excited about.

We're on stronger financial footing, Our brands are resonating and really we're just getting started.