Following today’s news (Wednesday 18 March) that Superdry has issued a profit warning;

Kate Ormrod, Lead Retail Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“Given Superdry’s profit warning in early January following poor festive trading, today’s announcement that it will miss its revised FY2019/20 profit target was inevitable given the severe challenges posed by the unforgiving coronavirus outbreak, especially given the brand’s exposure across Europe. Central to its transformation plan is a focus on full price, though with fashion retailers already discounting on new season stock to entice spending, Superdry will be under greater pressure to change its approach.

“As clothing & footwear retailers with compelling propositions are struggling, the pandemic will cause untold damage to Superdry’s recovery. Indeed, it states that it cannot make up the store sales shortfall via the online channel; however, we expect many of its contemporaries in the clothing sector to find themselves in the same position.”