Fast Retailing, which is the parent company of casual clothing chain Uniqlo, cut down its annual profit outlook on Thursday.
The reason cited for such a move is the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on Uniqlo China sales which has become one of the important growth markets for the brand in recent years.
The virus-induced carnage momentarily disrupted Uniqlo’s supply chain throughout China, thereby forcing Fast Retailing to close down about half of its shops there.
Additionally, as the Japanese Government declared a state of emergency, Uniqlo had to shut around 170 stores in its home market this week.
Fast Retailing predicted an operating profit of 145 billion yen in the full year through end-August which was comparatively down from the previous forecast of 245 billion yen.
Its operating profit in the 6 months through end-February fell 21 per cent from the same period a year earlier to 136.7 billion yen.
