Impactos da pandemia da COVID-19 na situação econômico-financeira do segmento de vestuário, tecidos e acessórios

Abstract

In financial statement analysis and corporate performance evaluation, economic and financial indicators are crucial tools for understanding organizational sustainability, especially during economic crises and external shocks. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed consumption patterns, especially in cyclical sectors like Apparel, Textiles, and Accessories. While previous studies highlight the impacts of health crises across sectors, there is still a need for research that examines the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods together to systematically understand how the crisis affected the evolution of economic and financial indicators in this sector. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether significant changes occurred in liquidity, indebtedness, and profitability indicators of companies in the sector between 2017 and 2024, aiming to identify which aspects of corporate performance were most affected by the health crisis. Methodologically, secondary data were collected from the Economatica platform, comprising 25 companies listed on B3, belonging to the Consumer Cyclical sector, specifically the Textiles, Apparel and Footwear subsector, as well as the Commerce subsector, within the Textiles, Apparel and Footwear segment, database and analyzed using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. The results show that, although revenue decreased and profitability worsened in 2020, liquidity and indebtedness indicators did not exhibit statistically significant differences across the periods studied, indicating relative stability in payment ability and capital structure. It is concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic primarily affected the economic dimension of performance, with a significant impact on profitability. The study adds value to the literature by demonstrating that, in cyclical consumption sectors, external shocks tend to influence firms’ ability to produce results more strongly, and it provides managerial support for strategic decision-making during times of economic uncertainty.