Burberry revives under Riccardo Tisci

Bringing in Italian designer Riccardo Tisci was a fruitful move for British luxury brand Burberry, which performed very well in its latest quarter.

China

Turnover increased faster than expected, mostly owing to the huge demand for Tisci’s designs. During the first quarter of the split financial year, total revenue was 498 million pounds (620 million euros), a 4 % increase compared to the same period last year. Analysts had expected growth in the vicinity of 2 %.

Tisci’s designs, which currently make up about half of the full Burberry collection, were enormously popular and grew by more than 10 % compared to similar collections last year. Sales went particularly well in China. Europe also saw growth, while America stagnated.

Quicker new designs

Besides Tisci’s new style, which features the logo more prominently, the luxury brand is also pursuing social media more actively. For example, Burberry is experimenting with monthly product launches on platforms such as Instagram. By delivering new designs quicker, the label mostly wants to try to win over and retain younger shoppers. “One of these ‘drops’ in April (…), sold out in 20 minutes globally,” CFO Julie Brown said.

Burberry is sticking with its forecasts for the rest of the financial year: a stable turnover and operational margin. Despite these positive developments, the company remains careful: Brown points to Brexit among other factors which may influence Europe.