Italian luxury fashion house Prada Group warns that the coronavirus outbreak has “interrupted” its growth, much like many other fashion retailers. Net revenues for the group, including both Prada and Miu Miu, rose by 2.7% to £2.9 billion for 2019.
“2019 was a year of strong progress. The combination of investment and operational initiatives, implemented over the past few years, clearly translated into brand heat and sales,” Prada group chief executive Patrizio Bertelli said.
However, Bertelli said, despite the strong results of the previous year, the beginning of this year has already been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Coronavirus outbreak has interrupted our growth trajectory,” he said, “although it is difficult to forecast the evolution of the epidemic, we are expecting a negative impact on this year’s results and we are implementing a comprehensive contingency plan to mitigate it, relying on our flexible supply chain and lean organisation.”
The group reported that sales trends are beginning to improve in China, as the country begins to recover from the pandemic. However, its factories in Italy are currently operating at 50% of capacity in order to safeguard employee health.
Europe is one of the Prada’s largest markets alongside Asia, so as the lock down continues – especially in fashion capitals such as Paris and Milan – the company is expecting it to have an impact on its sales.
