LVMH canceled a cocktail reception to celebrate its 2020 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers during Paris Fashion Week this week, according to a WWD report.

The event was canceled on the same day that France recorded its first death from the coronavirus outbreak.

A spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on whether its decision to cancel the event was linked to the news of the coronavirus death.

LVMH's executive team kept a cool exterior when probed about the threat of the coronavirus outbreak in a recent call with analysts.

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LVMH canceled a cocktail reception to celebrate its 2020 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers during Paris Fashion Week this week.

The event, which was scheduled for 6 p.m. local time on Thursday, was canceled on Wednesday, according to WWD – the same day that France recorded its first death from the coronavirus outbreak.

A spokesperson for LVMH did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on why it canceled the event and if it was linked to news of this person's death. In a statement to WWD, the luxury giant also gave no reason for its cancellation.

LVMH's response to the coronavirus outbreak

While LVMH has taken action to close some of its stores in mainland China, its executive team has somewhat played down the threat of the coronavirus outbreak when probed by analysts in a recent earnings call.

"Firstly, it would appear that this virus is not as aggressive as that was detected back when there was the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong. Secondly, the Chinese government has reacted very strongly...and given the strength of the reaction, we can assume that their reaction will have consequences," group CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony said during the call.

He continued: "Do you know how many people die from the flu every year in France? About 10,000..I'm not saying that this virus can be compared to the flu virus. I don't know. I'm not a doctor... It all depends on the impact.

"If it lasts a couple of months, or if it's resolved over the next two, two and a half months, then it won't be that bad. I mean, if it were to last two years, it would be a totally different matter. That's what I can say," he added.

Some of its competitors have been more concerned, however.

The CEO of Gucci's parent company, Kering, said the company had seen a "strong drop in traffic and in sales" in its February earnings call, for example. And earlier in the month, Burberry scrapped its guidance for the year on account of uncertainty around the coronavirus outbreak.

A recent report from Bernstein and Boston Consulting Group estimated that the outbreak could wipe out as much as €30 to €40 billion ($32 to $43 billion) in luxury sales in 2020. These estimates were taken from a survey of 28 senior executives across the luxury market.

The report also looked at which brands are most exposed to the Chinese market and Chinese shopper – LVMH was at the lower end of this scale, it said. However, the largest portion of its sales is done in Asia overall, which still puts it at risk.

LVMH described its cocktail reception for the LVMH Prize as a "prime event on the Women's Fall-Winter Fashion Week calendar."

The event is hosted by Delphine Arnault, the director and executive vice president of LVMH-owned by Louis Vuitton, and has previously been attended by fashion industry players such as Karl Lagerfeld, Bella Hadid, and Rihanna.

Source: Business Insider

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