The new Burberry boss, Christopher Bailey, presided over a set of record-beating full-year results today with headline profits up 8% and sales reaching £2.33 billion.
Pre-tax profit of £461 million beat City forecasts and sales jumped 17% for the year to April.
The company refused to comment on the £7 million-plus pay and perks package Bailey was granted to take over from Angela Ahrendts who left for Apple last month.
But Bailey said he had a “fierce determination” to continue to promote the brand’s “true and clear” identity. Bailey said he would focus on growing the digital, Japanese and beauty businesses.
Burberry will take control of its Japanese business next year — after its licensing agreement ends — and begin to expand its collections in new shops, departments stores and online.
Bailey said the digital strategy includes working with Google, Apple and Amazon and it will create a Burberry shop on website Tmall — operated by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Burberry hopes to control counterfeit and grey market sales of its brands online, and Bailey said digital was designed to “protect and enhance” its “luxury positioning”. The group warned currency fluctuations could be an issue in the coming year but it committed itself to a 50% dividend payout ratio in future with the full year dividend up 10% to 32p.
Burberry also welcomed easyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall as a non-executive director.