Global retailers are still facing strong impact of COVID-19, as their 15 to 20 per cent stores still remain closed.
A spokesman of the H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, said that the company’s 1,050 stores are temporarily closed – That’s 20 per cent of its total stores.
H&M is set to report sales for the December-February period, its fiscal first quarter, on 15 March. The analysts have, on average, forecast a 28 per cent drop in net sales from a year ago, according to Refinitiv SmartEstimate.
H&M is bracing for a loss in the period after the pandemic slashed 2020 profits by 88 per cent.
Similarly, around 15 per cent stores of Inditex are also temporarily closed. Inditex, the owner of Zara brand and biggest rival of this Swedish group (H&M), forecast a return to healthy sales once lockdowns are lifted, as it reported a 70 per cent fall in profit for its fiscal year through January.
Inditex hopes all its shops would be open by mid-April.
Due to closure of the stores, production hubs like India and Bangladesh have also been suffering due to limited orders.
Source : https://in.apparelresources.com/