Clothing brands have again taken to blaming the weather for their misfortunes in recent months. It was too hot, or too cold, or too wet, or too windy for shoppers to buy their products. Whether investors believe these excuses is another story, but they reflect a common way of thinking about the fashion industry: short-termist, mercurial and inclined to focus heavily on external events.
Weather aside, we pore over consumer confidence levels, footfall figures, inflation minutiae and brand perception in order to assess the sector's runners and riders. Apparel retailers are unusually exposed to customer taste and spending power, so this approach makes sense. Sometimes, however, it pays to take a longer-term view and seek out lesser-known but potentially more lucrative opportunities in the bright but knotty world of textiles.