Luxury fashion house Burberry launched an “urgent” turnaround plan today as it revealed another slump in sales and a fall into the red in the first half of the year. Britain’s only global luxury fashion brand made an operating loss of £53 million and a pre-tax loss of £80 million in the six months to 28 September. Sales tumbled by 22% £1.
09 billion, down from just under £1.4 billion last year. The interim dividend has been axed.
The 168 year old company, best known for its trademark check and its distinctive raincoats said it was “acting with urgency” to return the business to profitable growth but warned a loss for the year as a whole is possible. Burberry shares have almost halved this year and the company was at the centre of a swirl of bid speculation this week involving Italian rival Moncler. CEO Joshua Schulman said: “Our recent underperformance has stemmed from several factors, including inconsistent brand execution and a lack of focus on our core outerwear category and our core customer segments.
Today, we are acting with urgency to course correct, stabilise the business and position Burberry for a return to sustainable, profitable growth.” “We have a powerful brand with broad appeal among luxury customers, authority in the outerwear and scarf categories which have remained resilient through this period, and a strong presence in all key luxury markets. Now, we have a clear framework to reignite brand desire, improve our performance and drive long-t.
