Coronavirus outbreak: Sportswear giants Puma and Adidas warn on trading impact
German sportswear giants Puma and Adidas have warned that the outbreak of coronavirus in China has hurt trading due to the temporary closure of stores and a drop in footfall.
Puma said the outbreak will impact sales and profits in the first quarter of the year, after it was forced to shutter more than half its stores in the country.
The German firm said the decline of Chinese tourism in other markets would also hurt sales, particularly in Asia where Puma makes almost a third of its sales. However, the company said it still hopes to hit its 2020 targets despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Puma also announced that fourth quarter sales were up 18 per cent to €1.48 (£1.23bn), while earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) jumped 47 per cent to €55m.
Rival German sportswear firm Adidas also announced today that business in the greater China area had dropped about 85 per cent year-on-year due to coronavirus, while traffic fell in Japan and South Korea.
Puma chief executive Bjorn Gulden said: “The business in China is currently heavily impacted due to the restrictions and safety measures implemented by the authorities. Business in other markets, especially in Asia, is suffering from lower numbers of Chinese tourists.
“Given the current uncertainty around the virus it is of course impossible to forecast its impact on the business”.
Meanwhile, Shanghai has reportedly compiled a list of firms that will be eligible to receive subsidised loans to ease the financial effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Reuters reported that the local arm of Unilever and 3M Medical Devices were on a list sent to banks, as well as medical supply firms Shanghai Kindly Enterprise Development Group and Tellgen.