As companies around the world react to the Coronavirus outbreak, most have followed a similar gameplan: close shop and find other ways to generate revenue.
Philips-Van Heusen ($PVH) is one of these corporations playing it safe and has its own COVID-19 response. The owner of Speedo, IZOD, Calvin Klein, Arrow, and Tommy Hilfiger (among many, many others) has shifted from the in-store experience to online shopping in a big way, and in a statement, it is optimistic for the future following re-openings in China and South Korea.
"We’re confident that together we will show our resilience and bounce back. We urge everyone to be safe and engage in the health protections urged by health authorities,” said Manny Chirico, Chairman and CEO in a statement
PVH will report its earnings on April 2, and Zacks have the consensus estimate at $1.80 a share, which is slightly worse year-over-year. Here's what we're seeing as this retailer gets set to report.
Hiring has fallen 16% since November, and while the global pandemic wasn't a problem back then, it's unlikely we'll see an uptick in job openings soon. As a result, the total staff count has slowed to a crawl.
Hopefully, as people adjust to doing their shopping online for the foreseeable future, PVH will be able to get their brands on the same page and start offering discounts to go along with our new normal, aka being stuck at home and trying to remember what size we all are without a tape measure.
The shut down comes at a particularly inopportune time for PVH brand Tommy Hilfiger, which has seen a resurgence in popularity of late, as shown in the above chart: foot traffic as measured by Facebook 'Were Here' has been on the rise, as has its Facebook following count. It's understandable, then, that PVH is optimistic about its post-pandemic future.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Lululemon's positive growth could offset Coronavirus' impact
- Quarantine couture: Sweatpants and stretch clothing rise among Amazon's best-sellers
- Coronavirus might accelerate the retail apocalypse, but DTC brands like Warby Parker are in the clear
