Finance
Mulberry eyes British comeback as focus shifts away from China
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 30, 2025
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Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 30, 2025
By Yadarisa Shabong and Chandini Monnappa
(Reuters) -Mulberry Group is seeking to win back customers in Britain, build a digital presence in the United States and scale back in China, CEO Andrea Baldo said as he outlined his strategy to turn around the struggling luxury handbag maker.
Like larger rival Burberry, Mulberry said it would focus on its 'British heritage' appeal to regain customers it had neglected in previous years when it focussed on expansion in Asia-Pacific.
"We need to export the British culture, but in another way it is also a way to showcase a British way of doing manufacturing," Baldo, who took office in September, told Reuters.
He said luxury for Mulberry meant luxury at the entry price, and that he aims to rebuild the brand's wholesale and outlet networks to reach UK customers.
His plans include shutting non-performing stores in China and moving marketing budgets away from Asia-Pacific into the UK and United States, where he plans to build the brand's e-commerce business.
Like other luxury goods companies, Mulberry has been hit by consumers' fading appetite for high-end goods in China.
Luxury brands have been struggling globally with a shrinking customer base, and prolonged economic weakness in China has been a further drag on retailers' margins.
Mulberry said it was working to reduce operating costs by about 25% on an annualised basis compared to 2024 after reporting a 27.9% drop in Asia Pacific sales in the 13 weeks through Dec. 28. Revenue fell 18.3% during this period even as sales in Europe and the U.S. grew by 11.1%.
Shares were down 2.5% at 1220 GMT.
Mulberry named Billie O'Connor, who has previously held finance roles at Selfridges Group and Marks and Spencer, as its new finance boss.
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Savio D'Souza, Bernadette Baum and Christina Fincher)