Zara shuts 3,785 stores worldwide as fashion chain suffers ‘very significant’ impact from coronavirus pandemic
- Owner Inditex said sales had tumbled by a quarter in first two weeks of March
- ‘Too early’ to quantify future impact of outbreak but chain ‘confident of strength’
- No stores have yet been affected by bosses are ‘closely watching’ official advice
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
The owner of Zara has closed 3,785 stores globally following the outbreak of coronavirus.
Inditex, the Spanish owner of the high street retailer, warned the pandemic has had a ‘very significant impact’ on its operations.
The group, which also runs retailers including Pull & Bear and Bershka, said it has been forced to temporarily close stores in 39 markets across the globe.
No UK stores have currently been affected but the chain is ‘closely watching’ the government’s advice, a spokesman told MailOnline.
Inditex, the Spanish owner of the high street retailer, warned the pandemic has had a ‘very significant impact’ on its operations
It said it is currently ‘too early’ to quantify the future impact of the outbreak on its operations for the rest of the year, but it is ‘fully confident’ in the strength and flexibility of its business model.
Group sales tumbled by 24.1 per cent in the first two weeks of March as it was impacted by the raft of store closures.
It said it would therefore book a provision of 287 million euros (£262.9million) as the outbreak reduces the value of its inventory for the spring/summer period.
Inditex also postponed its decision over whether to pay out a dividend until later in the year.
Group sales tumbled by 24.1% in the first two weeks of March as it was impacted by the raft of store closures
It has temporarily shut all its stores in Spain, where it has its largest network of sites, after the country’s government launched a nation-wide lockdown on Saturday.
But most of its stores in China remain open, following guidelines by local health authorities.
The update came as the retail giant reported a jump in sales and earnings for the year to January 31.
It said net sales increased by 8 per cent to 28.3 billion euros (£25.9billion) as it was boosted by a 23 per cent surge in online sales.
Meanwhile, the company’s earnings before tax and interest increased to 7.6 billion euros (£7billion) from 5.5 billion euros (£5billion) in the previous year.
Dozens of retailers are currently struggling to cope with a sharp drop-off in sales as the public are being urged to stay home and self-isolate to stop the virus spreading.
Earlier this week, the UK Government announced a £350billion package of loans and grants to help the sectors most affected by the social distancing measures.
But business groups have since said that more help is needed.