Burberry increases store closures under turnaround strategy

London - Luxury fashion house Burberry has increased the number of store closures during the financial year to March 31, 2018. The heritage brand closed 34 stores across the globe during the year, including seven outlets.

However, Burberry also opened 14 new stores throughout the year, bringing the net store closures to 20. “We closed net six outlets, including three in the Americas, in line with our plans,” said Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive Officer at Burberry during its preliminary results presentation for the year to March 31, 2018, Wednesday morning.

“We are refining our portfolio in line with the strategy, closing a number of smaller stores in non-strategic locations and investing in stores in high visibility, influential fashion markets.” The store closures are part of Burberry’s wider strategy, as the luxury fashion house works to ensure it obtains the right brand positioning in all its markets.

News of Burberry’s store closures comes as the luxury fashion house reports a 5 percent increase in full-year adjusted operating profit year on year to 467 million pounds. Revenue excluding beauty wholesale improved by 2 percent year on year to 2.6 billion pounds, driven by strong retail growth, with comparable store sales up 3 percent, reported Burberry.

“In a year of transition, we are pleased with our performance as we began to execute our strategy,” added Gobbetti in the financial statement. “While the task of transforming Burberry is still before us, the first steps we implemented to re-energise our brand are showing promising early signs.”

Photo: Burberry