Founders of the Italian fashion group Dolce & Gabbana, said that the group is likely to lose a lot this year, after the coronavirus emergency.

The unlisted group is one of Italy's 10 largest fashion groups by revenue, with sales of €1.38 billion in the year that ended in March 2019.

The COVID-19 crisis, which hit China late last year before spreading to Europe and the United States, has kept customers at home and forced retailers to shut stores, putting a crushing halt to a decade of spectacular growth for high-end brands.

Global sales of luxury goods are expected to decline by 50 per cent to 60 per cent in the second quarter of the year, consultancy Bain said recently.

Dolce & Gabbana said that after the pandemic the fashion industry would have to adapt to the new lifestyles of customers, with fewer fashion shows and more on-line shopping.