Lord Wolfson, head of Next clothing company, warned that working at home would buy fewer clothes, and while online sales would perform well, retail stores would suffer serious damage, the BBC writes.
Wolfson said when the coronavirus came out, there were still fears that the company’s supplier division was facing difficulties. At the same time, it has become clear that declining demand will be the biggest challenge for the company and the fashion industry.
“People don’t buy new clothes if they stay home,” Wolfson added.
The company posted its results last year: the company’s sales rose 3.3 percent to £ 4.36 billion and profits rose 0.8 percent to £ 728.5 million. Online sales jumped 11.9 percent to £ 2.14 billion, while retail sales fell 5.3 percent to £ 1.85 billion.
The head of the company said they calculated annual turnover would fall between 10 and 25 percent and the loss could range from £ 445 million to £ 1 billion. For example, sales fell 8.8 percent in the first week of March, and there was a 30 percent decline in the company’s more than 700 stores by mid-month.
The British luxury company Burberry said that its sales in March fell by 70-80 percent compared to the previous year, as the coronavirus did not have to close their stores, and demand for luxury goods also subsided among customers.
The company said Wednesday it expects its quarterly revenue to fall 30 percent. Burberry, however, trusts its sales strategy as they have £ 600 million in cash and £ 300 million in revolving credit so it can change its sales to suit customer habits.
