Speaking today after the group posted a loss of £41 million for the six months to the end of September, Mr Schulman said he has spent his first 90 days in office putting together a £40m cost-cutting programme as Burberry is “acting with urgency” to stabilise the business.
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The plan is to return to the brand’s origins in outerwear, including trench coats and scarves with its distinctive Burberry check. A new outerwear campaign, It’s Always Burberry Weather, will involve the rollout of “scarf bars”, starting with Burberry’s 57th Street flagship store in New York.
The strategy requires a careful balancing act so as not to skew the Burberry offering to a narrow based of luxury customers at the expense of its loyal fanbase.
Previous attempts to “premiumise” the brand have done little to help Burberry, whose sales remain subdued with operating margins in negative territory. The downturn in consumers spending in key luxury retail markets such as China has impacted the whole of the sector, but other brands have proven more resilient.
Mr Schulman’s efforts to make the brand more desirable will be under close scrutiny, but with hope that this could prove a turning point in what has been a very difficult period for Burberry.
