General Motors Company (GM), Ralph Lauren Corp (RL), Diageo plc (ADR) (DEO): The Gatsby Portfolio

Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL) is similar to Jay Gatsby in that the company broke a few laws and recently had to pay fines to the U.S. Department of Justice ($882,000) and the Securities and Exchange Commission ($735,000). The reason was that the company turned itself in and admitted to paying bribes to customs officials in Argentine from 2005 through 2009. On a more positive note, Ralph Lauren has outstanding upcoming collections according to fashion directors including:

• Colleen Sherin (Saks Fifth Avenue),
• Tomoko Ogura (Barneys New York), and
• Nicole Fischelis (Macy’s).

Also, it recently launched handbags retailing for $22,500 apiece, which should be perfect for today’s Daisy.

Finally, Diageo plc (ADR) (NYSE:DEO) recently launched a retail channel of its own for its luxury brands in the U.K. (www.alexanderandjames.com), and to market and sell directly to consumers its luxury brands (Tanqueray gin and Ciroc Ultra Premium vodka). This marks a new strategy where for the first time Diageo is selling to consumers directly on-line in the U.K. Diageo is also targeting women directly with its advertising and new bottle style for the Baileys brand. The company announced a $10 million initiative aimed at empowering 2 million women in 17 countries in the Asia Pacific region by 2017. “Plan W: Empowering Women through Learning” helps women of different social standings in job training and skills development. Countries in the list include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and China.

Conclusion

It seems like a modern Jay Gatsby would be a fan of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL), and Diageo plc (ADR) (NYSE:DEO). Investors looking to invest in leading automobile, fashion, and alcohol companies that have been around for decades are certain to find good investments in the three companies discussed above. Even though Jay Gatsby and his time are long gone, fancy cars, clothes, and liquor are here to stay.

The article The Gatsby Portfolio originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Delian Naydenov.

Delian Naydenov has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Diageo plc (ADR) and General Motors. Delian is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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