Burberry’s successful campaign with footballer Marcus Rashford has helped the luxury retailer ride out the pandemic.
Despite a fall in “retail comparable store sales” for the three months to Boxing Day, the store saw “new, younger clientele” thanks to Rashford’s involvement with the brand.
Sales remained week and were down 9% due to the fall in tourism and footfall amid the pandemic. Sales in the Asia Pacific rose by 11% thanks to strong demand in Mainland China and Korea, however, fell in the EMEIA and Americas by -37% and -8% respectively.
Marco Gobbetti, the chief executive officer of Burberry, commented: “Despite the challenging external environment, we made good progress on our strategic priorities in the quarter. We saw a strong increase in full-price sales as our collections and communication resonated well with new, younger clientele as well as existing customers. Our localised plans and digital capabilities helped drive growth in rebounding markets and we implemented our planned reduction in markdown. While the short-term outlook remains uncertain due to COVID-19, we are well placed to accelerate when the pandemic eases.”
On the new campaign with Rashford, Burberry commented: “In November, we launched our Festive campaign, partnering with Marcus Rashford MBE, the English international footballer who has taken a prominent role against child poverty during the pandemic, and global charities championing youth-related causes.
“The consumer response to the campaign was exceptional, with engagement on our Instagram campaign posts more than double our Q2 average, and imagery featuring Marcus becoming our most liked Instagram post of all time. Marcus’ work to support the UK’s youth sits at the heart of our partnership and embodies our commitment to community and going beyond.”
Looking forward, Burberry remains encouraged by “the strong underlying outperformance of full-price sales in Q3”, despite headwinds from store closures.
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