H&M closes hundreds of stores as Europe battles coronavirus spread
H&M’s share price dropped this morning after it announced it has shuttered hundreds stores across Europe as coronavirus continues to spread across the continent.
The Swedish retailer’s share price fell more than 11 per cent this morning as it warned that sales had been affected this month due to the outbreak.
The group has temporarily shut all its stores in Italy, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic. Bulgaria, Belgium, France and partly in Greece.
From today the retailer will shutter branches in Austria, Luxembourg, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Kazakhstan.
“The situation in every country is changing rapidly,” H&M said.
In a statement this morning the retailer said: “The H&M group is working extensively to manage the COVID-19 situation, the highest priority being the safety of employees and customers.
“While the H&M group’s transformation work continues at full speed, all activities in the company are now being carefully evaluated – including from a cost and risk perspective – so as to be able to mitigate the negative effects associated with the virus as far as possible.”
During the first quarter of 2020 H&M group’s net sales increased eight per cent, but were dragged down towards the end of the quarter by the outbreak of Covid-19 in China.
Sales in China between 1 December 2019 to 23 January were up 27 per cent. However, sales in the country plummeted 24 per cent from 1 December to 29 February.
The retailer was forced to close 334 of its 518 stores in China in February.