Top fashion brands reporting billion-dollar losses

The pandemic has caused record losses for fashion brands due to store closures around the world.

The 2020 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the business of the world’s foremost fashion manufacturers. For many brands with decades of history, this year was their last. Others are beginning to calculate record losses amid store closures and restrictions around the world. 

As WWD reports, American brand Abercrombie & Fitch lost more than $244 million in the first six months of the year, with fourth-quarter profits falling by more than a third. 

British luxury fashion house Burberry earned 257 million pounds for the year, with online sales down nearly 50%. The company had to lay off about 5% of its UK office staff. 

Revenue at Guess dropped from $536 million to $260 million in the first half of 2020. One of the largest casual clothing brands, H&M, reported a 57% drop in sales this spring, leading to the closure of more than 170 stores. Nike’s losses amid the pandemic were $790 million. 

French fashion giant Kering, the owner of luxury brands Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta, lost more than 16% of its revenue, estimated at 3.2 billion euros for the first quarter of 2020. Its main competitor, LVMH, reported an 84% drop in net profit.