Burberry has entered a new chapter. As boss Jonathan Akeroyd departs amid yet another profit warning, Retail Week looks at incoming CEO Joshua Schulman’s CV, what we can expect from him and what will be top of his to-do list as the head of Britain’s most famous luxury fashion house.
Dwindling consumer demand for lavish products, rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis have combined to make the waters very choppy for Burberry and other luxury players.
The label reported a “disappointing” first-quarter trading update to the City yesterday, with retail revenue dropping 22% to £458m and comparable store sales falling across all geographies.
Noting the weak US market, shattered consumer confidence in mainland China, and instability across the board, Burberry chair Gerry Murphy confirmed the luxury giant has suspended dividend payments for FY25 and cost-saving measures are needed to drive an improvement in performance.
So, with luxury veteran Joshua Schulman ready to set up shop at Burberry’s London head office and take the reins, Retail Week explores what he brings to the table to turn things around.
Repositioning the brand
Chair Gerry Murphy called Schulman a “proven leader with an outstanding record of building global luxury brands and driving profitable growth”, and one thing is for sure – his CV is impressive.
With CEO gigs at Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors and Coach under his belt, as well as stints in other senior roles at the likes of Mytheresa, Gap, Yves Saint Laurent and Bergdorf Goodman, there’s no doubt that the American has a wealth of experience to take on a retailer like Burberry.
But will he be able to put his experience into practice? With the market calling for Burberry to pivot back to a more “affordable” price point, and return to its heritage prints and products, driving this turnaround will take a lot of grit and determination.
Luxury retail analyst Marie Driscoll says that Schulman’s experience at Coach in particular will be what he draws on the most in his new role.
“Joshua Schulman has a long pedigree of working with both luxury retailers, luxury brands and modern luxury brands. His tenure at Coach is especially relevant as he guided Coach through its repositioning as a modern luxury brand which was conceived in 2014 and was in mid-execution by 2017 when Joshua joined.
“Similar to Coach, Burberry is not quite luxury and not high street either. It is heritage and beloved but needs an operational and a fashion update.”
GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders echoes this saying Schulman’s unmatched experience and knowledge will help drive positive change for the business.
“If you look at the turnaround experience, he’s done that at Tapestry. If you look at the channels of distribution experience, he worked for Neiman Marcus. If you look at the higher-end luxury experience required, he’s had that at Gucci. He will bring this experience in a way that Burberry hasn’t really had for a while.”
Having already said in the statement that Burberry’s original purpose of protecting people from the rain with its iconic trench coat is “more relevant than ever”, Schulman’s background has clearly helped him understand what it’s going to take to return Burberry back to its core.
Hands-on leadership
Burberry has seen a conveyor belt of bosses in a few short years. Christopher Bailey, Marco Gobbetti and Jonathan Akeroyd have left alongside other senior executives such as chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci, highly-regarded joint CFO and COO Julie Brown and chief marketing officer Rod Manley.
Such upheaval is sure to be unsettling, but Burberry isn’t alone. Yesterday’s news follows that of Mulberry which saw the shock departure of long-serving CEO Thierry Andretta’s last week, proving that the market in general has struggled to battle the decline in luxury spend, making it a tricky time to be at the helm.
Saunders says that while the new appointment doesn’t take away from Akeroyd’s efforts and that he is good at what he does, a more hands-on approach will really make a difference.
“Schulman is a very hands-on CEO and some of his thinking now needs to be applied to Burberry,” he said.
“I think he’s a creative person, from what I’ve seen in the past, but he’s also very strategic. I’ve heard him speak before and I found him very knowledgeable. He sets out a vision for what he wants to do that makes a lot of sense and that’s a very comforting thing when there’s a brand that needs to be turned around.”
He adds that after a poor period of trading, there’s a lack of confidence and conviction among investors, which is only adding to the brand’s woes. But he’s confident that Schulman is the man to bring back this vital belief in the brand.
“I think what they want is someone to come in and almost provide the hand-holding that investors need. Schulman is a good choice because he understands that you have to do that hand-holding, but I think he has a vision and he knows how to do it.
“Obviously, he’s not going to do that on day one and it’s going to take him a little bit of time to get his feet under the table, but he’s a much safer pair of hands.”
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