The fashion brand gave an update to the City this morning saying it had seen a decline in store footfall and revenue since the outbreak began and which had “significantly accelerated over recent days”.

The retailer noted that its ecommerce sales had been affected by the spread of the virus “albeit to a lesser extent” due to consumers being increasingly cautious with disposable income.

As a result, Joules said it would not be drawn on giving financial guidance but it would be “removing cost and non-critical capex from the business” immediately and had cancelled its dividend.