US retailers' shares suffered the fallout from investors after Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) and Kohl (NYSE:KSS) warned of a tough 2016 when delivering their downbeat holiday-quarter results on Thursday.
Ralph Lauren shares lost 21% to stand at US$91.61 after reporting subdued sales and warning that it expects revenues to decline in 2016. The luxury brand also said it planned to push hard to clear inventories in the first quarter of this year. At one point during the session, the shares dropped to US$90.85 - their lowest since September 2010.
Meanwhile, Kohl's, the US department store chain, said it had discounted heavily in the past three months of 2015, also attempting to clear inventories. Its shares were down 19.2% at US$41.31. But at one stage Kohl's shares hit US$41.05 - their lowest since mid-2009.
However, those warning about trading conditions were not the only ones feeling the brunt of investors' unease.
Several other retailers also saw their shares suffer the sell-off.
Among them was mid-range department store chain J.C. Penney Co (NYSE:JCP) down 6.4% at US$7.23, department store Macy's (NYSE:M), down 2.9% at US$40.43, and discount retailer Target (NYSE:TGT) down 3.7% at US$69.88.