As per a survey by the research office of Italian investment bank Mediobanca, the aggregate revenue of leading fashion multinationals plummeted by 21.8 per cent in the first nine months of 2020 owing to the impact of the pandemic. Fashion Network estimates this revenue slump to be five-times worse than the 4.3 per cent shortfall suffered in the same period by major international industrial groups.

In the first nine months of 2020, revenues of European fashion market declined 23.7 per cent while those of Asia, Japan excluded, declined 10.1 per cent. Online sales in these markets rose by 60 per cent though they could compensate for the fall in total revenue. The study states, the fourth quarter offers a glimmer of hope as revenues of fashion companies have risen by approximately 17 per cent, compared to the year’s first three quarters. Italy’s fashion sector will start recovering in 2021. It will reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023.