UK retail, Pearson, Chinese buys. Catch up with the latest pandemic-related financial insights from Breakingviews here:
June sales rose to within 0.6% of February’s level, beating analysts’ expectations, as shoppers appeared to return in force after a three-month lockdown period. Stripping out fuel, sales were actually higher than before the pandemic hit.
Below the surface, however, weakened sectors are suffering. Bricks-and-mortar clothing and footwear sales were down nearly 35% in June compared to pre-lockdown activity. The Covid-19 crisis has in fact pushed high street brands Laura Ashley, Oasis and Warehouse into administration, while department stores like John Lewis have announced closures. Meanwhile, music and video recording sales continued a decline that began before lockdown.
Pearson did point to some bright spots. Sales in its online learning business rose 5% as students embraced virtual schooling. And its testing centres in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere have reopened after being closed due widespread lockdowns. Fallon was able to reassure investors, which, that operating profit will be “broadly consistent with market expectations”. He’s unlikely to be around to present those figures, though.
For years, the idea of expanding Western companies in the Middle Kingdom has lured Chinese buyers abroad, adding to a frenzy of outbound deals. The track record doesn’t look promising: state-owned conglomerate Bright Food sold off British cereal maker Weetabix in 2017 after failing to grow the business in China; Hony Capital’s acquisition of PizzaExpress is turning out to be a disaster.
with its investment in Canadian acrobatics troupe Cirque du Soleil. With Covid-19 affecting Western and Chinese consumers, expect more causalities. People wear protective masks as they walk along Oxford Street, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in London, Britain, June 29, 2020.
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