I bought a camel-coloured trench coat and scarf from fashion retailer ( ) in 1985 that are still in perfect order. So, it is fitting perhaps that longstanding core items like these are to be the mainstay of its turnaround strategy. The market also appears to think so.
This idea and a £40m annual cost-savings programme announced in the 14 November interim results helped push the shares higher. In its own words, what went wrong for the British luxury brand is that it focused on being modern at the expense of celebrating its heritage. It also raised prices.
This switch failed to entice enough potential customers and alienated too many existing ones. In this sense, the advent of Covid exacerbated this failure rather than caused it. There was a spike in UK sales once lockdowns were lifted, but this did not last long.
By the time of the Q1 2025 results on 15 July, comparable store sales were down 21% year on year (these are sales figures with the impact of openings, closures and refurbishments removed). China — a key target growth market for Burberry — also struggled to rebound from the pandemic’s effects. Mainland sales there fell 21% in Q1 alone.
Overall, the firm’s retail revenue in the quarter dropped 22% to £458m and it suspended its dividend for this year. The new ‘Burberry Forward’ plan refocuses on what made the firm successful. This was being a highly differentiated brand with a unique heritage, particularly noted for its outerwear and scarves.
In practical t.
