Italy's Tod's first quarter sales drop almost 30% due to virus crisis

Sales at Tod’s dropped almost 30% in the first quarter of the year as the coronavirus pandemic forced store closures across the globe, the Italian luxury group said on Wednesday.

Chairman and Chief Executive Diego Della Valle said sales were very strong in all regions at the beginning of the year but the group remained “very prudent” for the rest of the year, controlling costs and limiting inventories.

First quarter sales fell 29.4% to 152.8 million euros ($165.60 million) at current exchange rates year-on-year, compared with an analyst estimate of around 162 million euros, according to a Reuters survey.

Revenue fell slightly in 2019, marking a fourth straight annual decline, but picked up in the last quarter of the year, in a sign that the strategy to re-launch the group’s brands was starting to bear fruit.

The coronavirus emergency has, however, complicated efforts by the management to push sales.