China Lockdowns Hammer Sales for Global Consumer Giants

(Bloomberg) — China sales by global consumer giants selling everything from jewelry to t-shirts tumbled in the most recent quarter as Covid lockdowns hammered consumer demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

Starbucks Corp. was particularly hard hit, reporting a more than 40% plunge in sales in the quarter ended July 3. The company began the period with about a quarter of its Chinese stores shut due to Covid policies, and its 940 locations in Shanghai were locked down for about two-thirds of the financial quarter.