Europe’s retail crisis is spreading from bricks-and-mortar stores to e-commerce as Asos Plc plunged the most in 4 1/2 years after warning that Christmas shopping got off to a disastrous start.
EU Retail Crisis
“This goes against the script,” said Stephen Lienert, a credit analyst at Jefferies. “It was supposed to be bricks and mortar that’s dying and online is the future, but that headline gets ripped up today.”
Last week, Sports Direct International Plc Chief Executive Officer Mike Ashley said sales were “unbelievably bad” in November, sending the shares off a cliff. The latest news shows that retailers can’t rely on online operations to make up for a decline in stores this year. If December doesn’t improve, the New Year may bring more profit warnings, or worse, to the sector.
Retailers such as Debenhams Plc and Marks & Spencer, which are in the midst of turnaround plans, may be particularly vulnerable. The U.K.’s shopping districts have already been decimated by a series of collapses, including the insolvency of department-store chain House of Fraser, which Ashley rescued earlier this year.
Investors in retail debt are also feeling the pain. Debenhams’ 200 million pounds of bonds due July 2021 have plummeted 35 pence on the pound since the start of the year to 64 pence, the lowest since the notes were sold in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Asos cut its outlook for full-year growth to about 15percent, from a previous range of 20percentto 25percent. It’s a sharp turnabout for a company that had grown rapidly, its market value at one pointrivalingMarks & Spencer before plunging to 2.1 billion pounds on Monday.
The warning dragged down Hennes & Mauritz AB, whose shares dropped as much as 7 percent. The struggling Swedish clothing retailer reported its fastest quarterly sales growth in three years Monday, though analysts said the performance stemmed too much from discounting,favorable currency shifts and an easy base for comparison.
Last week Inditex SA of Spain, which runs the Zara chain, pointed out the high level of discounting in the clothing retail industry and said it’s trying to resist lowering prices. That led to sales growth below its target at the start of the second half.
Zalando, Boohoo
Zalando plunged as much as 18percentwhile Boohoo fell as much as 20percentbefore paring losses. After the warning from Asos, Boohoo issued a statement confirming its performance remains strong and within market expectations. Zalando regained some ground after a spokesman said fourth-quarter sales are “good” and the German online retailer remains optimistic it can meet the outlook targets that it reaffirmed last month.
The disappointing sales at Asos reflect a broader trend among consumers, without a single clear driving force, CEO Nick Beighton said on a call with reporters. France -- where a trade group says the Yellow Vest protests have cost retailers close to 2 billion euros ($2.26 billion) in lost sales -- and Germany were particularly weak, he said.
“It’s more than just the Brexit-related factors,” Beighton said.
In a survey of 350 German retailers, about half reported being disappointed with business so far this holiday season, the German Retail Federation said in a statement Sunday. Almost a third of retailers reported being satisfied. Businesses located in city centres were particularly gloomy in their assessments.
