Ralph Lauren has seen online sales in Asia surge by fifteen percent during the peak of Covid-19 lockdown. The company’s early decision to close stores around the world saw overall sales drop by 15.4 per cent, resulting in an operating loss of $284 million and a net loss of $249 million for the March quarter.
“Unfortunately, digital channels did not completely pick up the slack from stores as Ralph Lauren temporarily suspended online operations in late March to enhance health and safety protocols. On a comparable basis this pushed down sales by 7 per cent in North America and 2 per cent in Europe.” – Neil Saunders, MD of GlobalData Retail.
“Sadly, the severe downtick in trade has undone this advancement and for the full fiscal year the company will end up with a comparable sales decrease of two per cent. The first issue in the US is that, even before the pandemic hit, the improvement in Ralph Lauren’s business was only partial. The company was moving in the right direction, but enhancements in marketing and assortments had not fully taken root and brand perception was only inching up by small increments.” – Saunders concluded.
