Fashion
To recover from the Covid crisis, fashion chain Esprit has to cut costs. Half of its 100 stores in Germany will be closed, 1100 people will lose their jobs. A further 100 jobs will also be lost in the headquarters in Hong Kong.
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Primark has lost almost 900 million euros to the coronavirus crisis: the Irish fashion discounter now expects its full-year profit will drop by almost 70 %.
Swedish fashion group H&M plans to close 170 stores this year, following the coronavirus crisis and the losses incurred as a result. The focus will be more on e-commerce.
Swedish fashion chain H&M recorded a net quarterly loss for the first time in decades: sales halved as a result of the lockdowns and price cuts put pressure on margins.
The coronavirus crisis hit Nike hard, with the sportswear brand suffering an unexpected net loss and a 38 % drop in sales in the last quarter. The reason for the net loss is the expensiveness of e-commerce, apparently.
The coronavirus crisis has already cost the Belgian fashion chains some 1.2 billion euros in turnover, trade federation Comeos calculated.
Founder Pierre Mestre regains control of Orchestra Prémaman after a judicial reorganisation. This is good news for the Belgian branch of the baby chain, whose activities will be retained.
The coronavirus crisis has hit Celio hard: the French fashion chain has requested protection from creditors. For the time being, the Belgian stores are not affected by the measure.
Belgian shoe store chain Torfs achieved a turnover increase in 2019, but higher costs meant that profit dropped to almost zero - and that was before the Covid-lockdown that cost the chain 22 million euros in sales.
Food
The corona crisis did Colruyt Group no good: the supermarkets lost market share in the second half of the year and during the lockdown. Sales growth over the financial year 2019/20 remained below expectations.
Furniture
Ikea has said it wants to reimburse the state aid the company received in nine countries, including Belgium, during the coronavirus crisis.
General
Dutch non-food discounter Action is to trial click & collect in two of its French stores. The pilot is a direct consequence of the coronavirus crisis, which forced the chain to close all of its stores in several countries.
Non-food discounter Action is facing problems restocking its stores. Due to delays in China and reduced activity in distribution centres, the discounter was not prepared for the rush after lockdown ended in several countries. As a result, shelves still sit empty in some stores.
Stop & Shop, Ahold Delhaize's biggest chain in the United States, has cancelled the acquisition of King Kullen, often named America's oldest supermarket chain. This is largely due to the coronavirus crisis.
The coronavirus crisis will have an impact for a long time to come in the retail sector. This may be a threat, but it also offers new perspectives: many companies see opportunities to adjust their business model. Resilience is high, 'back to normal' is no option.
The coronavirus crisis has hit Inditex hard: the Spanish fashion group's quarterly turnover was halved, while profits ended below zero for the first time ever. To make matters worse, recovery is going slower than expected: only in China and Korea has the situation returned to normal.
