The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
LONDON, United Kingdom — UK luxury-goods maker Burberry Group Plc reported first-half profit that beat analysts' estimates as cost savings helped offset slowing revenue growth.
Adjusted pretax profit in the six months through September rose 3 percent to 152.9 million pounds ($233 million), London- based Burberry said Thursday. Analysts predicted 144.2 million pounds, according to the median estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey is cutting bonuses and consolidating products under one label as he grapples with slowing luxury demand in China. More Chinese people are shopping in Japan to take advantage of a weak yen and anti-extravagance measures at home, yet the maker of 1,995-pound trenchcoats only has six stores there.
“The external environment remains challenging and uncertain,” Burberry said in the statement. Comparable sales have improved in the third quarter compared with the second, and the company isn’t changing its outlook for mid single-digit percentage growth in comparable sales in the second half.
ADVERTISEMENT
Phasing out the Prorsum, London and Brit labels by the end of 2016 will make it simpler for customers and more efficient for the business, Bailey said last week. Unifying the runway, formal wear and casual lines under the Burberry brand won’t affect pricing or the product range, according to the company.
The global market for personal luxury goods is heading for its most sluggish year since 2009 as a combination of stock market turmoil, a strong dollar and a commodity-price rout curb demand, according to Bain & Co. Burberry shares have fallen 18 percent this year, compared with a 4.1 percent decline for Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 Index.
By Andrew Roberts; editors: Matthew Boyle, Paul Jarvis.
In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.
A blockbuster public listing should clear the way for other brands to try their luck. That, plus LVMH results and what else to watch for in the coming week.
L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.