![How Luxury Brands Are Responding to Coronavirus [UPDATED]](https://i.headtopics.com/images/2020/3/13/fashionista-com/how-luxury-brands-are-responding-to-coronavirus-updated-1238310267760660481.webp)
Designers are making direct changes, bringing awareness to the virus and its impact around the globe:
Author:Dhani MauUpdated:Mar 4, 2020Original:Feb 19, 2020As coronavirus continues to devastate China and the lives of its citizens, luxury goods companies have begun speaking out about the health crisis — mainly in regards to how it's affecting the health of their business in the region. Kering, owner of Gucci, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, announced last week that it closed half of its luxury brands' stores in mainland China and reduced hours at those that remain open.
"If it dies out in two months or two months and a half, it's not terrible. If it takes two years, that's a different story," CEO Bernard Arnault said during a conference call. Coach owner Tapestry and Versace owner Capri Holdings both also noted in their latest earnings report that sales had begun taking a hit in China.
But it seems none have gone as far as Dolce & Gabbana, which announced Monday that it has partnered with Humanitas University to fund a coronavirus research project. Specifically, it's looking into the responses of the immune system to the virus and aims to lay the groundwork for "the development of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions" against the disease.
While shows are being postponed and streamed, fashion week brands and organizers are relying heavily on digital content to reach Asian consumers, especially given that the outbreak could be one of the biggest threats for the luxury industry since the 2008 financial crisis, according to Financial Times.
UPDATE, Monday, March 2: Tokyo is the latest city to feel the effects of the global coronavirus outbreak. Tokyo Fashion Week, scheduled to run from March 16-21, has been called off. A number of brands, including Hyke and Vivienne Tam, had already called off their shows in Tokyo. Now in addition to retailers and fashion-week organizations, coronavirus panic has also trickled down to consumers, the timing of which is, in part, due to the recent spate of media coverage. A recent survey by retail and technology insight group Coresight Research found that 47.2% of those surveyed are already avoiding crowded places like shopping centers and malls, and that percentage may increase to 74.6% if the outbreak worsens. According to WWD, e-commerce only accounts for 11.
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