Burberry’s chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd, who took over from Marco Gobetti earlier this year, wants to increase annual revenue at the group by £5 billion.
His plan to do so involves increasing the sales of leather items, including shoes and other accessories meanwhile doubling ecommerce revenue.
Akeroyd failed to reveal the timeline for his ambitious plan, however said that “in the medium term” revenue should hit £4 billion a year, with sales of leather goods, shoes, women’s ready-to-wear and outerwear increasing 50%.
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Accessories should account for more than half of the luxury retail group’s sales “in the long term”, Akeroyd said.
He also claimed that he would help Burberry refocus on its quintessential Britishness, in order to do so, Akeroyd recruited Daniel Lee, a British designer, to replace the previous chief creative Riccardo Tisci.
Lee’s appointment followed the company’s results for the six months to 1 October that showed sales climbed by 5% at constant exchange rates to £1.35 billion.
Adjusted profit came in at £238 million, a 6% rise.
Burberry maintained its forecast for the fiscal year, “while [remaining] mindful of the challenging macro environment and its potential impact on trading”.
