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Burberry lays out Coronavirus impact

The outbreak has severely impacted trading in China
February 10, 2020

The luxury sector is expected to be one of the worst hit by the spread of the coronavirus, and for good reason. The virus’s spread has – thus far – happened overwhelmingly in China, a key market for the sector. Now, Burberry (BRBY) has outlined how its operations in the region have been affected.

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The group has temporarily closed 24 of its 64 stores in mainland China. The remaining stores are operating with reduced hours. As would be expected, footfall at the open stores has declined. Chinese tourists in Europe and elsewhere are traditionally a big driver of sales, and while tourist spending has not been as impacted, the group expects this to worsen as travel restrictions widen in the coming weeks.