Cope With The Epidemic: Retailers In Europe And The United States Have Discounted, Reduced Orders, And Reduced Inventory Pressure.

Influenced by the global spread of the new crown virus epidemic, European and American fashion retailers have recently taken measures to deal with sales shocks and inventory pressures. Some of them have chosen to cut orders for garment factories, and some have begun to offer discounts to reduce inventory pressure.

In Europe, Inditex group, Spain's fast fashion giant, said on Friday it would temporarily close stores in Spain's most affected areas, including the capital of Madrid.

French luxury goods company LVMH group's French beauty chain retailer Sephora (Ulta) and American cosmetics retailers Ulta Beauty and MAC Cosmetics (M.A.C) all require employees to cancel the customer to shop test makeup service, in order to avoid the potential communication threat caused by contact.

Italy luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo (Ferragamo) said that the group has begun to transfer goods among different markets across the globe. This week, the group released data for fiscal year 2019 and expects sales in the first quarter of this fiscal year to decline by 25% to 33% over the same period last year. (see "ornate ambition" related report: Ferragamo's latest annual report: sales for the first time resumed growth in four years, but the epidemic led to a 1/3 decline in the first quarter of this year) Ferragamo chief financial officer Alessandro Corsi stressed that in order to maintain the tone of the brand, any discount adjustment made by the group against the epidemic is a prudent strategic adjustment.

In New York, the world landmark shopping street such as Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue is still open, but on Friday it is already a place.

Retailers such as Macy s (Messi department store), Saks Fifth Avenue, Gap group's fashion brands, Banana Republic and other retailers issued a notice to customers on Thursday night, in order to minimize the loss caused by serious passenger flow, their stores will normally open. In the announcement, Messi general store stressed that the company has formulated a special employee leave policy during the epidemic period, and the employees who are required to segregate themselves by the government or Messi department store will receive two weeks' compensation.

Gap group released its financial data for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 (up to January 31, 2020) on Friday, with sales of $4 billion 700 million, an increase of 1% compared with the same period last year, and a 1% decline in sales. Mainly due to the spread of the epidemic in the global lead to delays in delivery, the company expects the epidemic or the first quarter of 2020 fiscal year (2~4 months) sales loss of $100 million.

According to a recent report by customer research firm Customer Growth Partners, from February 5th to March 9th, the retail trading speed of American fashion retailers (retail transaction velocity, an important sales target) dropped by nearly 10% compared with the beginning of this year.

As the largest clothing consumer market in the world, its demand is affecting the global fashion industry.

Kasper Rorsted, chief executive of Adidas, a German sporting goods group, recently said that for the company, the supply chain under the epidemic is not a problem, but a weak demand for consumers. "Kasper"

On Wednesday, Adidas released the key financial data for the 2019 and fourth quarter of fiscal year, and said that business activities in Greater China have begun to appear "initial improvement", but consumer flows in Japan and South Korea are deteriorating, and the impact on other countries is uncertain.

Adidas Asia contributed nearly 1/3 of the group's sales. In response to the epidemic, the company said it would clean up the remaining stock at discount stores in the form of promotion.

Sweden's fast fashion giant H&M said on Friday that the company is closely related to suppliers to assess the impact of the epidemic on its sales. H&M has 518 stores in mainland China, which has temporarily closed about 1/3 of its stores. With the resumption of work, H&M's stores in mainland China have been gradually resumed.

A clothing exporter in Dhaka (Bangladesh capital), a fashion retailer specializing in H&M, C&A, Gap, Walmart and Mango, said the demand for clothing and accessories in Chinese market has declined, and now this trend is spreading all over the world. Siddiqur Rahman, head of the company, said: "many countries and regions have adopted a blockade policy. Who needs to buy clothes now?"

According to Rubana Huq, head of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh is the world's second largest garment producer after China. At present, fashion brands cut orders in the country up to 30%, while others expect to get some order discounts.