LONDON — Burberry is hoping “scarf bars” in its stores, new ranges of puffer jackets, and a sharper focus on its classic products rather than new fashions will help to turn its brand around. The British luxury retailer is shifting away from leather goods, which had been a focus for the two years since Daniel Lee joined as creative director, and back to outerwear, including the trench coats it is best known for. Burberry’s turnaround plan sent its shares up as much as 20% on Thursday as investors welcomed new CEO Joshua Schulman’s return to core strengths and acknowledgement that price rises had gone too far.
“There is a pent-up demand for the Burberry that people know and love, and we’re seeing this sentiment shift happen globally now with some of the new campaign imagery and the messaging,” Schulman told investors and analysts. Burberry plans to change its store layout to emphasize scarves and trench coats over bags and shoes, with “scarf bars” to drive sales of its cashmere scarves priced from $450 to $1,050. Schulman said he wants a “candy store” approach to scarves, which he said are currently mostly hidden in drawers.
Quilted coats, down and puffer jackets, and wool and cashmere coats are also areas where Burberry could gain legitimacy, Schulman said. “They can actually do a lot more in outerwear than they have done, just by branching out into other parts of outerwear rather than just trenches,” said Anna Farmbrough, portfolio manager at Ninet.