Younger customers help accelerate growth at Burberry

Fashion brand Burberry, which operates three bases in Yorkshire, says it has made an excellent start to the new financial year.

Publishing a first quarter trading update today, the business says that despite a continuing tough environment, it has delivered further acceleration in its full-price sales, achieving 26% comparable full-price sales growth in the quarter versus vs the first quarter of FY20.

In the Americas full-price comparable store sales more than doubled, while in Mainland China they increased more than 55% and in Korea they rose more than 90%.

Burberry explains: “This was driven by new, local, young customers buying across our core categories.

“Our overall comparable store sales were +1% vs quarter one FY20, despite the reduction of markdown and outlet sales, and continued disruptions in several markets which resulted in an average 11% of stores being closed in the period.

“By the end of June, the situation had improved to only 3% of stores closed, but 35% are still operating on reduced hours and business in Europe and much of Asia is still heavily impacted by the significant decline of international tourist traffic.”

Marco Gobbetti, chief executive officer, added: “Full-price sales accelerated as our collections and campaigns attracted new, younger luxury customers to the brand.

“We saw strong growth across our strategic categories, in particular leather goods and outerwear, and exited markdowns in digital and mainline stores.

“We continued to roll out our new store concept that will transform how customers experience our brand and product in a uniquely British luxury setting.

“Despite the continuing challenging external environment, we are very pleased with the progress against our strategy.

“With the company firmly set on a path of growth and acceleration, we are confident of achieving our medium-term goals.”

The update is positive for Burberry, which saw its share price drop 10% in June when Gobbetti announced that he was leaving to “take up another opportunity”.

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