Nov 7 (Reuters) - Ralph Lauren ( RL ) raised its annual

sales forecast after topping quarterly revenue estimates on

Thursday, on steady demand for its cable-knit sweaters and

Oxford shirts in North America, Europe and China, sending shares

of the company 6% up in premarket trading.

Wealthy customers continue to splurge on high-end leather

handbags and Polo sweat-shirts, boosting demand across Ralph's

direct-to-customer channels and helping it counter a muted

wholesale business and soft e-commerce sales in North America.

The results are in contrast to a pullback in the broader

luxury sector, primarily in the key China market, which has hurt

larger European fashion houses such as Hugo Boss,

Kering and luxury bellwether LVMH.

The Club Monaco owner now expects fiscal year 2025 revenue

to increase about 3% to 4% compared with a prior forecast of a

2% to 3% rise.

The luxury retailer's net revenue rose 6% to $1.73 billion

in the second quarter ended Sept. 28 from a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected revenue of $1.68 billion,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)