Luxury brand Chanel is likely to record a significant decline in its sales and profits in 2020 due to the pandemic. The next 12 to 18 months would be particularly challenging for the brand as even a strong recovery could not compensate for the lack of international travel in countries where the group’s shops have reopened.

Like rivals, Chanel had to shut down all its stores across the globe and idle production sites as the virus first emerged in China’s key market for the sector and then spread to the rest of the world.

Since then, the group has reopened 85 percent of its stores and its sales in China have also bounced back by over 100 percent. However, the brand, which aims to make a profit this year, is reducing ads and promotions by more than a quarter, cutting out production and canceling or changing certain activities such as this year’s fashion shows, including streaming them online.