Levi's saw its profits drop during the final quarter of the year, blaming the decline in sales on Black Friday.

The company, which has a store at Gloucester Quays, said it had suffered 'the lack of a Black Friday benefit', as reported by Retail Gazette.

For the quarter ending 24th November, it reported sales of £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion), down two per cent. Full year sales of £4.4 billion ($5.8 billion) were up three per cent. Sales in Europe did better than elsewhere - up by five per cent.

The company is confident that it will continue to drive profitable growth for the long-term future. But the corona virus has already had an impact on the company, which opened its largest store in China in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, a few months ago. The company has been forced to close half of its stores in China as a result of the epidemic, which could hit profits hard.

Punchline said: "Retail continues to be a tough market, with store closures at Debenhams, Jack Wills and HMV already reported for 2020. It remains to be seen whether the corona virus will hit stores closer to home at an already challenging time."