Burberry Group revenue grows 5 percent for H1

Burberry has reported a 5 percent increase in revenue for the first half of the year, saying it’s on track to meet expectations despite “considerable disruptions” in Hong Kong.

For the 26 weeks to the end of September, the British luxury brand increased revenue to 1.281 billion pounds, while net profit was 203 million pounds, compared to 178 million pounds In the same period last year.

Commenting on the result in a statement, CEO Marco Gobbetti, said: “We are pleased with our performance in the half, as we remain on track to deliver the first phase of our strategy. New product now represents a high proportion of our assortment and the customer response has been positive delivering strong double-digit growth.

”We also continued to strengthen momentum around our brand and transform our distribution. We delivered financial results in line with guidance despite the decline in Hong Kong and we confirm our outlook for FY 2020.”

Burberry announces new partnership

The company also announced a new partnership with tech company Tencent to develop social retail in China. The partnership will see the companies “pioneer a concept that blends social media and retail to create digital and physical spaces for engaged communities to interact, share and shop.”

Burberry said the first step will see the company open a store powered by Tencents technology, which will offer a “unique experiences that connect luxury customers’ social and online lives to their physical environments.”

Gobbetti said: “Social media is becoming such an important part of the luxury customer journey, particularly in the inspiration phase, and retail needs to keep pace with this. Continuing our history of innovation, we wanted to explore the connection between these touchpoints by merging social media and the store experience to reflect the way luxury customers are engaging with brands.”

“China was the obvious place to start as it is one of the leading hubs for innovation and technology and Chinese consumers are some of the highest users of social media. We are thrilled to be partnering exclusively with Tencent on this pioneering project which is an example of the step-change in our ambitions for the next phase of our transformation.”

Burbery was founded in 1856 and is best known for its iconic trench coat with check lining, first developed in the 1920s and now a registered trademark. Today, Burberry creates apparel collections and accessories for men, women and children.

As of 2019, Burberry Group has more than 10,000 employees and operates over 400 stores.

Picture: Burberry website