Burberry's recovery holds, but analysts want the next act
Burberry's first quarter retail revenue returned to growth, though analysts say a modest rebound is not enough to satisfy the market.
Burberry's retail revenue grew 5% in its first quarter, a sharp reversal from a decline of 1% in the same period last year, according to WWD. The improvement marks a second consecutive quarter of positive momentum since chief executive Joshua Schulman began his turnaround, which has focused on reasserting Burberry's British heritage, tightening the product assortment around outerwear and scarves, and pulling back on discounting that had eroded the brand's pricing power.
Analysts quoted by WWD were broadly positive about the trajectory but cautioned that stabilisation is not the same as growth. Having spent roughly a year and a half convincing the market it could stop the slide, Burberry is now under pressure to demonstrate it can accelerate, at a moment when many luxury peers are still contending with soft demand in China and cautious wholesale buying. The comparison base also becomes tougher from here, meaning like-for-like growth will need to come from genuine sell-through rather than easier comparisons.
The stakes are significant for Schulman's credibility and for a British fashion industry keen to point to a homegrown success story, particularly with London Fashion Week's autumn schedule, featuring Burberry alongside Seán McGirr's McQueen debut and Christopher Kane's first Mulberry collection, positioned as a showcase for British creativity. What to watch next is whether Burberry's autumn and winter collections, and its outerwear-led pricing strategy, can convert stabilised sales into the sustained growth investors are now demanding.
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