PVH’s Pop Culture Push with Travis Kelce and ‘Love Story’

Updated at 4:30 pm ET on April 1

I’m Travis to Tommy and Carolyn to Calvin at PVH Corp.

The company released its fourth-quarter results late Tuesday, revealing better-than-expected sales and performance opportunities that had CEO Stefan Larsson extolling the virtues of his strategic plan for PVH+.

But in his quarterly interview with analysts, it was the company’s ability to inject its products into pop culture and keep them there that drove the conversation.

Larsson has been increasing marketing spending and pushing for PVH to have more successful seasons with its products. And he had results to show for it.

Three-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce became the global ambassador and creative employee of Tommy Hilfiger. And Calvin Klein was thrust into the center of the cultural conversation with the Hulu show “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” a target the brand has worked to capitalize on.

As always, fashion is about making a moment or using it when it comes.

“It’s almost hard to talk about Calvin now without ‘Love Story,'” Larsson said by phone, when asked what the company learned from the show’s success.

“I can’t believe that anyone could have expected the magnitude of the song that has spread across the world and across generations,” said the CEO. “We just got the news yesterday that over 40 million people have watched ‘Love Story,’ Hulu’s most-streamed show.

“When the program started, we saw an increase in search for Calvin Klein, e-commerce traffic, good DTC,” he said. The customer is looking for a Calvinist, starting with high-end underwear and vintage denim, the best-selling denim style is the ’90s fit.

All of this plays into the company’s efforts to return Calvin Klein to its roots, he said.

“When something like ‘Love Story’ hits, it’s a really good connection to where we are and the brand,” he said. “So it also shows the strength of the brand. So we talk about, since we launched PVH + [strategic] on the tour, that there is something special about Calvin and Tommy because it is one of the few brands that…has become known worldwide. This is a good example of this because the interest we see is intergenerational. ”

Tom Nikic, an analyst at Needham, argued in a research report that the value of PVH is still very low, even with the rate of stock that sent the shares 9.8 percent to $ 76.56 in trading on Wednesday, leaving the company with a capital of 3.68 billion.

Nikic described the fourth quarter results as “generally good” and said PVH could benefit if the show sparks interest in the brand.

“If Calvin Klein continues because of the attention it’s getting on the ‘Love Story’ TV show, it may turn attention to direction,” the analyst said.

Excluding the 170 basis point decline from fees, the company’s operating margin stood at a healthy 11.7 percent in the quarter. And the three months earnings ended on Feb. 1 rose 6 percent to $2.5 billion a year earlier, a performance that was flat in constant currency.

And Tommy Hilfiger has his own love story.

“There’s a lot of love for Travis Kelce out there, a lot of love for Tommy and then putting those together really creates energy and interest,” Larsson said. “The way we’re building the partnership, too, is going back to Tommy’s classic American Cool DNA.”

That means pumping more “innovation and innovation” into key pieces such as outerwear, sweaters, shirts and button-downs, bringing sales closer to the product.