Burberry has replaced its chief executive, effective immediately, as it warned that annual profits will fall short of expectations after first quarter sales fell by a fifth.
The luxury fashion house has hired ex-Michael Kors boss Joshua Schulman to replace Jonathan Akeroyd, who has stepped down “by mutual agreement with the board”.
Burberry said Schulman, who was the president of Bergdorf Goodman from 2015 to 2020, joins the business with a track record of driving transformative growth and value creation as CEO of global luxury, fashion, and retail businesses.
His appointment comes as the brand reported a “disappointing” first quarter, after sales plunged 21% to £458m in the 13 weeks to 29 June.
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The Americas and Asia Pacific both experienced a 23% drop in sales, with Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) reporting a 16% fall.
Burberry chair Gerry Murphy said: “Our Q1 FY25 performance is disappointing. We moved quickly with our creative transition in a luxury market that is proving more challenging than expected.
“The weakness we highlighted coming into FY25 has deepened and if the current trend persists through our Q2, we expect to report an operating loss for our first half.
“In light of current trading, we have decided to suspend dividend payments in respect of FY25. We are taking decisive action to rebalance our offer to be more familiar to Burberry’s core customers whilst delivering relevant newness.
“We expect the actions we are taking, including cost savings, to start to deliver an improvement in our second half and to strengthen our competitive position and underpin long-term growth.”
Last week, it was reported the fashion house is preparing to slash hundreds of jobs under a cost-cutting programme after its full-year profits plunged 36% to £418m in the year to March 30.
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