Mark Kleinman is S ky News ’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City A.M. column.
Today, he looks at Burberry’s threads wearing thin, Hammerson’s big Bicester sale and Love Island Not only a chequered recent past, but on current evidence every prospect of a chequered future, too. Burberry , once a pioneering global luxury brand, has been in the doldrums for years – but its latest leadership transition, ousting Jonathan Akeroyd last week after less than three years in the chief executive’s seat, shows that this is a company now in full-blown crisis mode. Its denials in recent months that it was interviewing potential successors to Akeroyd illustrate the sheer level of panic in the Burberry boardroom.
The recruitment of Joshua Schulman, the former Coach and Jimmy Choo chief, does at least illustrate the point that Burberry retains serious executive pulling power. It must, however, raise questions about the tenure of Gerry Murphy, its chairman since 2018. Murphy, who also chairs Tesco, was responsible for Akeroyd’s appointment, and must therefore carry the can for his failure.
A short-term search for the next chair is inevitable: indeed, as I reported on Sky News yesterday, I am told that headhunters (understood to be either Egon Zehnder or Russell Reynolds) are already engaged in seeking non-executive directors capable of making the transition to the top board role. Burberry faces two immediate risks: an opportunistic bid approach.