Burberry eyes profitability as shoppers warm to back-to-basics shake-up
Burberry eyes profitability as shoppers warm to back-to-basics shake-up
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Burberry is expecting to offset losses suffered in the first half of its financial year after the group's renewed focus on 'timeless British luxury' helped drive bumper festive trade. Boss Joshua Schulman launched a strategy shake-up in the second half of last year in efforts to lift performance and fend off the potential for an opportunistic takeover swoop.
Burberry, whose shares have lost almost half their value over the last five years, has been emphasising its signature outerwear offering via the firm's 'it's always Burberry weather' marketing campaign, featuring British stars such as Oscar-winner Olivia Colman.
It has also run an advertising campaign for its duffle coat featuring Chelsea footballer Cole Palmer. Schulman told shareholders on Friday he was 'encouraged' by customers response to the campaign, as well as its festive 'Wrapped in Burberry' promotion.
He added: 'These activations resonated with a broad range of luxury customers leading to an improvement in brand desirability and strength in outerwear and scarves.'. 'Cold Palmer': Chelsea star Cole Palmer has featured in Burberry's recent campaigns. Burberry posted a 4 per cent dip in quarterly comparable store sales for its third quarter to 28 December, beating market forecasts of a 12 per cent slump.
Americas sales outperformed with a 4 per cent rise, while Asia Pacific revenues sank 9 per cent and mainland China was down 7 per cent. It comes amid a return to cautious optimism in the global luxury industry following a post-pandemic slowdown driven by rampant inflation, as well as economic woes in China – a crucial market for the sector.
