At the end of 2017, Burberry’s new chief executive, Marco Gobbetti, outlined a far-reaching plan to ensconce the British trenchcoat purveyor “firmly in luxury” — a plan, developed with creative director Riccardo Tisci, in which it would overhaul its branding, up the volume and pace of its product drops and attempt to make it a serious contender in leather goods.
But as Gobbetti learnt earlier this year, even the best-laid five-year turnround plans often go awry.
2020 was supposed to be an inflection point: the moment when two years of investments in rebranding and new products would yield high-single-digit sales growth and higher profits. Instead, Burberry shares have slid 40 per cent since the start of January as the Covid-19 pandemic led to a sharp sales downturn and the temporary closure of more than half its stores. This month Burberry announced it was proposing to lay off up to 500 staff globally, or about 5 per cent of its workforce, including 150 head office jobs in the UK.