Luxury fashion brand Mulberry (LSE:MUL) is trading near penny-stock territory after a torrid year for its sector. The shares are currently worth around 110p each, down from 245p a year ago, and £24 a decade ago. Investing in penny stocks, or almost penny stocks, is inherently riskier than investing in more mature companies. These are stocks that can experience considerable volatility given their lower levels of capitalisation. Moreover, there tends to be a wider spread between buying and selling prices. It’s also worth highlighting that only a fraction of the stock is publicly held, and this can heighten volatility. Mike Ashley-backed, FTSE 100-listed Frasers Group controls a 37% stake and Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng owns a 56% stake. Mulberry isn’t quite at penny stock levels, but it’s almost there. The company’s market-cap has also fallen dramatically in recent years — currently just £63m. Over the past year we’ve seen weakness in the luxury goods market. In the year ended March, Mulberry said group revenue declined 4% from the prior year. This was expected to some extent following a disappointing Christmas period. Moreover, we’ve also seen luxury goods groups, including LVMH and Gucci owner Kering, sounding the alarm bells. Internationally, Mulberry noted that...