MILAN (Reuters Breakingviews) - M&A DANCE. Dolce & Gabbana can’t shrug off its weak luxury image. Boss Alfonso Dolce denied on Tuesday the Italian brand was in sale talks with Gucci-owner Kering. Yet, the brand remains fragile. Its sales in the year to end March 2020 fell some 14% to just over 1.1 billion euros and it posted an EBITDA loss, company filings show. This is only partly to do with the pandemic. A 2018 social media blunder alienated Chinese customers. Hong Kong anti-government protests in 2019 didn’t help. The brand is unlikely to have fared much better in the most recent fiscal year. Assuming it’s valued at 3 times its sales in the 12 months to March 2020, as Versace was when it sold in 2018, Dolce & Gabbana’s enterprise value would be around 3.3 billion euros. Yet Versace had a 7% EBITDA margin when it was sold. With a revamp needed, prospective suitors may consider Dolce a little less sweet. (By Lisa Jucca)