Burberry lowers profit forecast after weak December sales

Burberry lowers profit forecast after weak December sales

Efforts to revitalise the brand have faced obstacles due to high prices and sluggish demand for luxury goods.

Burberry cautioned in November that achieving this year’s revenue target might be challenging, given the sluggish growth in sales. (Burberry pic)
LONDON:
Burberry Group Plc lowered its profit forecast after sales in the key month of December fell.

Adjusted operating profit should be £410 million to £460 million (US$523 million to US$587 million) in the year through March, the UK trenchcoat maker said Friday in an unscheduled trading update. Burberry previously forecast earnings of £552 million to £668 million.

In November Burberry warned this year’s revenue target may be out of reach as the UK trenchcoat maker’s sales were barely growing. This meant it profit would probably come in at the lower end of its guided range. On Friday it showed that trading was even more difficult than expected.

CEO Jonathan Akeroyd‘s efforts to jumpstart the brand have been stymied amid weak demand for luxury goods. Akeroyd has appointed designer Daniel Lee to reinvigorate the company’s popularity, but the efforts have yet to bear fruit.

Consumers have had a muted reaction to Lee’s creations, UBS analyst Zuzanna Pusz wrote in a note in early October, adding there’s a lack of hype on social media for the brand.

In the past few quarters, shoppers worldwide have been balking at higher prices from luxury brands, signaling that inflation is also hitting well-heeled shoppers, especially so-called aspirational customers who tend to buy items at the lowest price levels.

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