Last weekend’s preview of summer turned out to be fleeting, and the wool and leather pieces that I had started to put away have been unpacked for chillier temperatures this week.
The many check printed pieces worn in this post put me in the mood to discuss the state of Burberry (last discussed here). Its C-suite has since been reshuffled: Last summer, we learned that Christopher Bailey will formally cede the title of CEO to Marco Gobbetti (currently CEO of Céline) on July 5, 2017, while remaining the brand’s president and CCO. (Its COO and CFO were also replaced in January 2017.) The brand has been helped by a weaker pound, but hampered by the discount-driven American retail segment. Its fastest growing division is leather goods, though it recently entered into a licensing agreement with Coty Inc. for its beauty line. After its stock fell to a 52-week low (of £1039) in June of 2016, Burberry’s post-Brexit outlook had seemed rosy to investors, and rose to £1838 last month. Growth slowed in Q4 of 2016, failing to meet the 3-4% growth projected by most analysts (sales rose just two percent in the fourth quarter).
All of these macroeconomic challenges and reliefs put Burberry in a dicey spot: if Gobbetti, who has been hired to realize the cost-cutting and streamlining measures that shareholders demand, fails to deliver, Burberry could become an attractive M&A target, as it is a uniquely non-family-owned luxury brand.
As a consumer though, I like the direction that Burberry is headed. After all, how many trench coats could one own before it becomes reckless (financially). But handbags and beauty products? Well, those are practically consumables.
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| J. Crew Double-cloth Townhouse Trench (past season; size 00P) || Zara Batwing Sleeve Sweater (size S) || Diane von Furstenberg Yama Bis Skirt (past season; size 0) || Burberry Heritage Giant Check Cashmere Scarf || Burberry Lavenby Medium Reversible Haymarket Check & Leather Tote Bag in Camel (reviewed here; also sold here and here) || Lauren Ralph Lauren Bryce Boots |
In sale news, earn up to $600 in gift cards by shopping Neiman Marcus‘s gift card event (online only). Qualifying items will have special designations on their product pages. The Lavenby Reversible Tote seen above qualifies for the promotion. NM sale items are also on sale: all sale styles are an extra 20% off, prices as marked.
And Bloomingdale’s is running a private sale until 04/24/17: use code PRIVATE to take $25 off every $100 spent.
Happy shopping!
