(Bloomberg)—Canada Goose Holdings Inc. fell after the company said the coronavirus is “having a material negative impact” and cut its full-year forecast for sales and profit.
Revenue at the luxury parka maker will rise as much as 15% for the fiscal year that ends in March, down from a previous outlook of at least 20%, the company said Friday. Canada Goose is No. 206 in the 2019 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000.
Hong Kong protests and virus outbreak have hurt Canada Goose shares
The company joined Burberry Group Plc Friday, and other high-end clothing companies this week, in slashing or scrapping forecasts because of the virus. Canada Goose chief financial officer Jonathan Sinclair said on an earnings call Friday that revenue in China is currently at “negligible levels.”
The virus is affecting both brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce across the country. Canada Goose has three stores in mainland China and two in Hong Kong. Travel restrictions related to the coronavirus have cut tourist shopping in North America and Europe as well, and the impact could extend depending on the duration of the outbreak.
“Canada Goose is effectively entering its low season a few months early,” said Maxime Boucher, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Delayed sales of parkas may not be recouped until next winter even if the virus is quickly contained.”
Ecommerce Boost
The picture isn’t uniformly grim for consumer-facing companies. As millions of Chinese cocoon, ecommerce companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.—owns and operates Taobao and Tmall, which hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the ranking for Digital Commerce 360 Online Marketplaces—and JD.com Inc., stand to benefit, according to AllianceBernstein. Courier services are also likely to see an increase in demand. JD is No. 1 in the Digital Commerce 360 Asia 450.
“The current situation is perfect for ecommerce growth,” AllianceBernstein analysts said in a report.
Retailers and other companies suffering from lost New Year sales may also bounce back quickly from pent-up demand once the outbreak eases. During the worst of the SARS epidemic in 2003, sales fell but rebounded within a few months, according to a report by DBS Group economist Ma Tieying.
For now, though, Fuzhou hotel operator Zhang is having difficulty seeing a recovery. Travelers aren’t likely to forget their fears so quickly, he said. “Even if the government says the virus is clear,” he said, “recovery will take time.”
Asia Revenue
The virus adds to earlier business disruptions caused by political protests in Hong Kong that drove away tourists and shoppers in recent months. To be sure, revenue in Asia had doubled last quarter to CA$94.7 million ($71.1 million), before the outbreak, showing the region has been a strong growth driver.
“We believe we are poised to resume our strong growth trajectory in greater China when this is over,” Sinclair said.
In other results for the company’s fiscal third-quarter, which ended Dec. 29, profit and revenue topped analysts’ estimates. And direct-to-consumer sales climbed 28% to CA$301.8 million ($226.9 million) from CA$235.3 million ($176.9). That includes online sales but exact ecommerce figures aren’t broken out.