Burberry: sales plunge as Covid crisis bites

(CercleFinance.com) - British luxury goods group Burberry said that its sales have been severely impacted by the drop in demand for luxury goods stemming from the Covid-19 crisis over the past quarter, and expects that it will "take time" to return to pre-crisis levels.


The maker of camel raincoats and pocket bags said retail revenue dropped by 49% to 257 million pounds at constant exchange rates in its fiscal first quarter.

Burberry said, however, that it is "encouraged" by the improving trends in all regions and the "promising" figures for June, with comparable sales down "just" 20%.

Based on its sales performance in June, the company expects sales for its second-quarter ended September 2020 to decline by 15% to 20%.

Burberry said that it is making some organisational changes, which include office space streamlining, to deliver annualised savings of 55 million pounds, on top of the previously announced 140 million pound cost saving program.

The shares were down over 5% after this trading update. They have fallen by 30% year-to-date.

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