Burberry posts smaller than expected decline in sales
Burberry has posted a smaller than expected decline in third quarter sales after a stronger performance in the US.
In the 13 weeks to 28 December, comparable store sales fell by 4% compared to analysts’ expectations of a 12% drop.
While retail sales in the luxury brand’s EMEIA and Asia Pacific regions decreased by 2% and 9% respectively, sales in the Americas grew by 4% as trade was boosted by local spend.
Burberry said it was particularly pleased with its performance in the New York area where it focused local marketing efforts after reopening its refurbished 57th Street store.
Never Miss a Retail Update!During the period, the brand launched its “It’s Always Burberry Weather” and “Wrapped in Burberry” campaigns.
It also reunited its creative and commercial teams in its newly refurbished headquarters in London in a move designed to improve collaboration and productivity.
Joshua Schulman, chief executive of Burberry, said: “Since launching Burberry Forward in November, we have moved at pace to advance our strategy to reignite brand desire, improve our performance and drive long-term value creation.
“We are encouraged by the response to our “It’s Always Burberry Weather” outerwear campaign and “Wrapped in Burberry” festive campaign.
“These activations resonated with a broad range of luxury customers leading to an improvement in brand desirability and strength in outerwear and scarves.”
Looking ahead, Burberry said that it was now more likely that its second-half results will broadly offset its first-half adjusted operating loss.
Schulman added: “The acceleration of our core categories reinforces our belief that Burberry has the most opportunity where we have the most authenticity and that our strategic plan will deliver sustainable, profitable growth over time.
“However, we recognise that it is still very early in our transformation and there remains much to do.”
