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Burberry says sales return to pre-Covid level
Sales rose by one percent in the group's first quarter or three months to late June, compared with the equivalent period in 2019 before the pandemic erupted, Burberry said in a statement.
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Pedestrians pass the Burberry store as they walk along Regent Street in central London on November 9, 2017. Burberry Group Plc will acquire an Italian leather-goods factory as the company works to ramp up its business in luxury handbags under Chief Executive Officer Marco Gobbetti. (AFP/Niklas Hallen)
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ritish luxury fashion house Burberry, famed for its handbags and trenchcoats, revealed Friday that sales have returned to pre-pandemic levels as young customers embraced the brand.
Sales rose by one percent in the group's first quarter or three months to late June, compared with the equivalent period in 2019 before the pandemic erupted, Burberry said in a statement.
First-quarter sales surged by 90 percent to £479 million ($663 million, 561 million euros), from the same time in 2020 when Covid lockdowns shut stores.
Burberry enjoyed a strong performance in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, helping to offset deflated sales in Europe as tourists stayed away.
[RA::Fragile economic improvement must not be disrupted::Retail association::/news/2021/06/17/fragile-economic-improvement-must-not-be-disrupted-retail-association.html]
"We have made an excellent start to the new fiscal year," said chief executive Marco Gobbetti, who recently announced plans to depart the group.
"Full-price sales accelerated as our collections and campaigns attracted new, younger luxury customers to the brand," he added in the statement.
Investors however gave the earnings update a thumbs down.
Burberry shares lost four percent to £19.87 in late morning deals on London's FTSE 100 index, which was up by around half-a-percent overall.
"Burberry has bolted out of the blocks in its new financial year, rising to pre-pandemic sales levels virtually across the board," said Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.
"The virtual disappearance of tourism is having a lingering effect on continental Europe in particular, however, where sales remain down by 38 percent compared to pre-pandemic."
Read also: Retailers rush online as COVID-19 speeds up digital disruption
Gobbetti steps down at the end of 2021 after nearly five years as Burberry's CEO, and is to run the Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo.
No successor has been announced so far.
