Burberry's British Revival: Winning Back Luxury Shoppers

Burberry is revamping its strategy to win back customers by underscoring its British heritage with a focus on trench coats and scarves, recalibrating prices on bags and shoes, and eschewing recent ambitious pricing strategies. The brand's shares soared 20% following the announcement.

Burberry is set to leverage its quintessentially British heritage to reclaim its market share by concentrating on trench coats and scarves, while revising pricing strategies on bags and shoes, the company announced. This new approach triggered a substantial 20% jump in share prices, marking a promising turnaround.

The strategic shift, outlined by new CEO Joshua Schulman, comes after Burberry reported a first-half financial loss, coupled with a 40 million pound cost-cutting initiative. Schulman addressed prior pitfalls, highlighting that ambitious pricing deterred customers, marking the inception of a fresh, disciplined approach to branding as timeless British luxury.

Despite struggling with diminishing luxury demand in markets, particularly China, Burberry lags behind peers in an industry slowdown. Plans include bolstering lower-priced product lines, maintaining luxury appeal, and elevating performance in key sectors, all under scrutiny as the brand remains a potential acquisition target.

(With inputs from agencies.)