Burberry posts smaller drop in quarterly comparable sales

British luxury brand Burberry’s third quarter retail revenue declined by 7 percent reported or 3 percent currency neutral to 659 million pounds. Comparable store sales declined 4 percent in the period versus the 12 percent decrease forecast by analysts.

The company said that in light of third quarter performance, Burberry expects its second-half results to broadly offset the first-half adjusted operating loss, notwithstanding the uncertain macroeconomic environment.

"We are encouraged by the response to our "It's Always Burberry Weather" outerwear campaign and "Wrapped in Burberry" festive campaign. The acceleration of our core categories reinforces our belief that Burberry has the most opportunity where we have the most authenticity and that our strategic plan will deliver sustainable, profitable growth over time," said Joshua Schulman, Burberry’s chief executive officer.

Burberry’s Q3 performance across core regions

The company added that Americas grew 4 percent, boosted by local spending, while globally, the Americas customer was in line with the regional performance.

Sales in EMEIA decreased 2 percent with a similar decline in both locals and tourists. Globally, the EMEIA customer group was flat.

Asia Pacific decreased 9 percent with Mainland China down 7 percent. Globally, the Mainland Chinese customer was flat versus last year and contributed to the 4 percent increase in Japan. South Asia Pacific was down 19 percent and South Korea down 12 percent.

By product, outerwear and scarves continued to outperform globally.

At the end of December 28, 2024, globally Burberry had 235 retail stores, 143 concessions, 54 outlets and 33 franchise stores, excluding pop-up stores.

Burberry’s festive campaigns receive positive response

Burberry further said that in the third quarter, the company implemented actions to drive Burberry Forward, generating an improvement in brand desirability, an acceleration in the performance of outerwear and scarves, and an uplift in conversion.

The company launched "It's Always Burberry Weather" outerwear campaign and "Wrapped in Burberry" festive campaign during the quarter under review and enhanced visual merchandising in stores with festive windows celebrating outerwear and scarves.

In its effort to boost brand visibility, Burberry also reunited creative and commercial teams in newly refurbished headquarters in London, for improved collaboration and productivity.