Ralph Lauren dives into the red

Ralph Lauren suffered a troublesome Covid year: sales fell by almost a third, and there was a net loss of the equivalent of 99 million euros.

Store closures

In the broken financial year of the American luxury brand, which ended on 27 March, Ralph Lauren recorded a total turnover of 4.4 billion dollars (3.6 billion euros). That is a drop of no less than 29 per cent. According to the company, this is due to temporary store closures caused by Covid and “other disruptions during the year”.

Except for Asia, where there was 1 per cent growth, revenues decreased strongly everywhere else. In North America, sales fell by 37 per cent to 2 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros), while in Europe, there was a decline of 29 per cent to 1.2 billion dollars (just under a billion euros), writes FashionUnited.

Ralph Lauren posted an operating loss of 44 million dollars (35 million euros). The net loss amounted to the equivalent of 99 million euros.

Club Monaco divested

As part of the evaluation of its brand portfolio, the company reached a final agreement concerning the sale of Club Monaco to Regent L.P. This sale contributed around one hundred million dollars (eighty million euros) to the American group’s total turnover last year. In the year prior to the pandemic, turnover was 210 million dollars (170 million euros).