• by Tanya Gazdik , November 14, 2024

Burberry's new CEO is taking the fashion brand back to its scarf and outerwear roots in a plan embraced by investors. 

“Shares of Burberry rose as much as 15% in early trading in London, after Joshua Schulman said he would undo the missteps of previous management teams who had tried to push Burberry too hard and too fast into the upper echelons of the luxury sector and lost loyal customers along the way,” according to Bloomberg. “The former CEO of Michael Kors’ vision was presented... Thursday as Burberry reported a 20% drop in comparable retail sales for the quarter ended Sept. 28.”

The luxury brand unveiled an outerwear campaign, “It’s Always Burberry Weather” including a roll-out of “scarf bars,” starting with its New York flagship store. New managers were also appointed across marketing, product merchandising and planning divisions, as well as the Americas, according to the Business of Fashion.

The brand will also use its British heritage appeal to win back customers, according to CNN Business. 

Analysts responded positively to the news, according to CNBC. “Shares jumped over 22% on the announcement, to log its biggest-ever intraday gain. The stock ended the day up 18.7%. Shares are down around 39% year-to-date.”

A Daily Mail report suggested that Italian fashion titan Moncler is eyeing a potential takeover of the company. But Moncler has remained tight-lipped on the matter, dismissing the speculation as "unsubstantiated rumors," according to a Reuters report.

Burberry isn’t the only luxury brand struggling. Tapestry (which owns Coach) is pulling the plug on a merger with Capri (which owns Michael Kors) after the Federal Trade Commission successfully sued to stop the transaction, according to The New York Times.