Acclaimed Yorkshire fashion designer Daniel Lee to drive revenue growth at Burberry

Burberry, which has published its interim results for the 26 weeks ended October 1, aims to strengthen its connections with British design, craft and culture. As part of this strategy, it hopes to broadly double sales of leather goods, shoes and women’s ready-to-wear.

In September, it was revealed that Burberry had appointed Bradford-born Daniel Lee as its new creative director. Mr Lee, who was previously creative director for Bottega Veneta, took over the role in October following the departure of Burberry’s former creative director Riccardo Tisci.

Burberry, which makes its iconic products in Castleford and Keighley, is continuing to invest in its UK operations and remains committed to Yorkshire.

Jonathan Akeroyd, chief executive officer of Burberry said: “Burberry has an extraordinary legacy, a unique British heritage and a very strong platform to build on, as shown in our half-year results. Our focus in this next phase is on growth and acceleration.

"We have a clear plan to achieve this across brand, product and distribution and a very talented designer in Daniel Lee, supported by a passionate team. I am confident in our ability to deliver our medium-term targets and realise our potential as the modern British luxury brand. I am excited about what we can achieve in pursuit of our long-term ambition to reach £5bn in revenue.”

Richard Hunter, Head of Markets at interactive investor, commented: “Burberry is taking the bull by the horns and continuing with an ambitious strategy which is showing some early signs of success.

“The company had previously switched largely away from in-store discounts and ties with non-luxury partners, unashamedly positioning at the high end of the market. This is already bearing fruit, underpinned by a typical customer perhaps less susceptible to the ravages of inflationary and even recessionary environments.

“At the same time, the shares have more recently been boosted by an easing of Covid-19 lockdowns in China, a strong read across from other luxury retailers such as Richemont, and a tailwind from a weaker sterling which has boosted revenues on translation.

“Operating profit increased by 27 per cent to £263m from the previous year, ahead of expectations of £230m, while revenues grew by 11 per cent to £1.35bn, also beating projections of £1.32bn.”

"Operating profit margin has also begun to reflect the move towards full-price sales, rising from 17.1 per cent to 19.5 per cent, with gross margin now in excess of 70 per cent.”

Mr Hunter added: “Burberry’s ability to inject excitement and innovation to the retail space remains unchecked. The more recent campaign around its Lola handbag range saw sales of comparable leather goods rise by 11 per cent over the period, with a particularly strong second quarter growth of 15 per cent.”

"The new outerwear campaign comes with similar hopes, and adds to the company’s ambitious next phase of its strategy. Burberry has its sights on a raft of growth measures including, but not limited to, doubling sales of both leather goods and e-commerce revenues.”