The impact of coronavirus was brutally evident in H&M’s quarterly update last week. In February, H&M’s sales in China plummeted 84% as demand slumped in reaction to the rapid development of the virus and the government’s decision to place the country into lockdown.

From the start of December last year to January 23, 2020, H&M’s group sales in China actually increased 27% in local currency, but the impact of the infection meant that revenues in the country slid by 24% in the quarter as a whole.