British group Mulberry has become the latest luxury fashion brand to warn on profit.
It said today that sales of its leather goods and accessories were hit by a slowdown in Asia.
Mulberry shares lost a quarter of their value after it said today that full-year profit would be below the £36m sterling made in 2011-12.
This compared with a forecast for about £43m.
Larger British peer Burberry sent shockwaves through the industry last month when it said there was a broad-based slowdown in spending - particularly in China, the driving force behind a three-year boom in demand for luxury goods.
Mulberry, which sells Bayswater hand bags for £1,400, said it had seen lower than expected wholesale revenue and disappointing international retail sales.
Wholesale shipments fell 4% to £30m in the six months to September 30, reflecting weaker demand in Asia and a decision to limit the amount of stock going into lower quality wholesale accounts overseas with the aim of growing the Mulberry brand's value in the longer term.
Retail revenue rose 13% to £46.5m and was up 7% on a like-for-like basis.
Mulberry said while British retail sales were up 10%, with full-price sales performing in line with expectations, its decision to sell fewer discounted goods had seen so-called off-price sales fall.
International retail sales rose 41%, below expectations.
"The steps we have taken to improve the quality of Mulberry's distribution network in both the retail and wholesale channels will result in the short-term slowing of sales growth," said chief executive Bruno Guillon who joined Mulberry in March.
Luxury goods investors will now eagerly await what big French player PPR, which owns Gucci, has to say about the outlook when it publishes a quarterly update on Thursday.
