Nov 19 (Reuters) - Mulberry Group (MUL.L) , opens new tab on Tuesday said it will streamline operations after the British luxury brand's revenue fell 19% in the first half of the year, partly hurt by low consumer confidence in the UK, its biggest market. Sales of luxury brands have been faltering globally, as price hikes and economic uncertainty shrink customer numbers.
An absence of recovery in China after the pandemic has also pressured retailers' margins. "There is no question that our industry is facing a period of significant uncertainty, driven by a challenging and volatile macroeconomic environment that is impacting consumer confidence in several markets, particularly in our home country," said CEO Andrea Baldo, who has been in the role for less than 3 months. Mulberry recently rejected takeover approaches from second-biggest shareholder Frasers (FRAS.
L) , opens new tab due to lack of support from its top investor, and in past few months appointed a new CEO and raised fresh capital as it tries to turn around its business. The London-listed company reported global revenues of 56.1 million pounds ($71.
08 million) for the six weeks ended Sept. 28 compared to 69.7 million pounds year ago.
($1 = 0.7892 pounds) Sign up here. Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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