Coronavirus Ticker – Page 2
-
News briefs
Delay in Covid vaccinations may cost EU €123bn
The delay that the European Union is experiencing in its Covid-19 vaccination campaign may cost the bloc €123 billion in lost economic activity in 2021, according to credit insurance company Euler Hermes. The EU is currently seven weeks behind its vaccination program, compared with a five-week delay in February, according ...
-
News briefs
EU plans to introduce a cross-border Covid pass by the summer
On March 17, the European Commission unveiled plans to create the so-called “Digital Green Certificate” to facilitate free movement inside the European Union during the Covid-19 pandemic. The certificate will be a proof that a person has been vaccinated against the virus, received a negative test result or recovered ...
-
Article
Rizzo suspends purchases due to business slowdown
Rizzo Group , the Swedish retailer which offers suitcases, bags, shoes and accessories, is suspending purchases “to get through the spring” because of a sharp slowdown in activity stemming from the restrictions imposed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement, the company, which is present in Sweden and ...
-
News briefs
Cologne orthopedic shoes fair postponed to 2022
The latest footwear trade fair to be postponed due to the coronavirus is Germany’s Orthopädie Schuh Technik , which - along with the congress of the International Association of Orthopedic Shoe Technicians (IVO) - will be held in Cologne on Oct. 14 and 15, 2022, one year after the ...
-
Article
ANWR and Sabu offer liquidity support to retailers
The German retail cooperatives ANWR and Sabu are continuing to support their members by engaging in initiatives to underpin their liquidity as the coronavirus crisis drags on. ANWR Group is offering its affiliated national and international footwear, sporting goods and leathergoods retailers a €150 million financing ...
-
Article
Italian fashion industry still expects sharp declines in H1
The Italian fashion industry still expects sharp declines in sales during the first two quarters of 2021, after falling by 26 percent in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a survey released by Confindustria Moda , the umbrella association which comprises Sistema Moda Italia (SMI), which groups ...
-
Article
England plans to reopen non-essential stores April 12
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that non-essential retailing may reopen in England on April 12 after having been closed to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. England introduced a third national lockdown on Jan. 4. Johnson said that the vaccination campaign underway in the U.K. ...
-
News briefs
Germans’ willingness to buy is in “freefall”
The propensity to buy of German consumers is “in freefall,” according to the think tank GfK . Hit by strict Covid-19 related lockdowns, consumer confidence in Germany is seen falling to -15.6 in February from -7.5 in January, which was revised from an original reading of -7.3. “The ...
-
Article
EU Commission calls to ‘strongly discourage’ intra-EU travel
The European Commission has proposed the European Council to discourage non-essential travel between European Union member states amid high Covid-19 infection rates and concerns about new virus variants, while avoiding border closures or blanket prohibitions that would impede the functioning of the internal market and supply chains. ...
-
Article
Brazilian footwear output forecast to rise by 14.1% this year
Brazilian footwear production is expected to rise by 14.1 percent this year after having fallen by an estimated 21.8 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and reaching a 16-year low, according to Abicalçados , which represents the local footwear industry. It estimates 2020 production ...
-
Article
Unichel restructures its retail network
Russia’s biggest shoe manufacturer, Unichel , is restructuring its retail network to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the beginning of 2020, Unichel ran 600 stores in 250 cities in Russia and Kazakhstan, but last year it shut down 40 stores and opened 30 new ones, in ...
-
Article
Primark loses £540m in sales in 4 months due to Covid
The Irish clothing retailer Primark suffered a loss of sales of £540 million (€608m-$739m) in the 16 weeks to Jan. 2 due to store closures deriving from lockdowns in various European countries to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Primark posted sales of £2,031 million (€2,288m-$2,778m) in ...
-
Article
Copenhagen International Fashion Fair cancels February edition
Copenhagen International Fashion Fair ( CIFF) will not hold its regular February edition after the Danish government prolonged restrictions to combat the propagation of the Covid-19 pandemic. It noted that following the government’s decision, no trade show activity is possible until Feb. 28. But, CIFF plans to return ...
-
Article
How Covid-19 has impacted companies’ trade show budgets
It has become commonplace to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated trends that were already underway with the digitalization of the economy and society in general. Trade shows have been one the sectors most affected by the phenomenon as restrictions on travel and mass events worldwide prompted them ...
-
News briefs
H&M sales resume decline from end Oct due to Covid resurgence
In the fourth quarter running from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, Hennes Mauritz ( H M ) saw net sales decrease by 10 percent year-on-year in local currencies. For the whole financial year, net sales declined by 18 percent in local currencies due to the impact of ...
-
Article
Designer Brands expects to struggle well into 2021
The American shoe retailer Designer Brands , formerly known as DSW , believes that the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to have a significant impact on its business next year and does not expect significant improvement until late spring 2021 or even the next back-to-school season. While releasing results for ...
-
Article
Primark faces £430m sales loss in the autumn due to Covid resurgence
The Irish clothing retailer Primark is expected to suffer a loss of sales of some £430 million (€476.1m-$579.1m) this autumn due to the second round of local Covid-19 lockdowns, according to its parent company, Associated British Foods (ABF). The operating costs of the stores which were ...
-
Article
Coronavirus plunges Leder & Schuh into the red
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a heavy toll on Leder Schuh Group . The Austrian shoe retailer, with its Humanic and Shoe4You brands, expects losses for the full year. Results will be “clearly negative,” according to a recently filed financial statement. Earlier this year, the ...
-
Article
Geox suffers accelerated sales decline amid new lockdowns
Geox has suffered a 30.0 percent decline in like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter to date - bringing the like-for-like sales decline in the year so far to 32.0 percent - amid new temporary store closures due to a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in its main markets. ...
-
Article
Primark faces £375 mn loss of sales due to Covid restrictions
The Irish fast fashion retailer Primark , which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), could lose £375 million pounds (€415.9m-$484.0m) in sales due to the closure of stores following restrictions imposed by local authorities throughout Europe to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. The estimate includes a planned lockdown in ...