A major British retail brand is preparing to axe 1,700 jobs as part of efforts to cut costs amid falling sales.
Burberry has confirmed plans to accrue an additional £60million of savings in the next two years, which will impact 18 per cent of its global workforce.
This latest move from the company comes despite the firm reporting better-than-expected comparable retail sales in the fourth quarter.
Over the period, Burberry's adjusted operating profit for the year came to £26million.
Burberry is axing jobs
PA
Job cuts from Burberry come after the brand reported a 17 per cent fall in revenue to £2.5billion for the 12 months to March 29.
Furthermore, the luxury fashion house posted an operating loss of £3million compared with a £418million profit the year before.
Burberry chief executive officer Joshua Schulman, who was hired by the company to reverse its fortunes in July 2024, outlined the brand's mission statement going forward.
He explained: "After a challenging first half, we have moved at pace to implement Burberry Forward, our strategic plan to reignite brand desire, improve our performance and drive long-term value creation.
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Rachel Reeves is attempting to navigate a stagnant UK economy
GETTY"Our customers are responding to our Timeless British Luxury brand expression. With improvement in brand sentiment, we will be ramping up the frequency and reach of our campaigns as our Autumn and Winter collections arrive in store.
"The continued resilience of our outerwear and scarf categories reaffirms my belief that we have the most opportunity where we have the most authenticity.
"While we are operating against a difficult macroeconomic backdrop and are still in the early stages of our turnaround, I am more optimistic than ever that Burberry’s best days are ahead and that we will deliver sustainable profitable growth over time.”
Despite consumer spending easing in recent years during the cost of living crisis, recent data suggests that the retail sector has greens shoots.
According to the Retail Consortium-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, retail sales jumped by seven per cent year-on-year last month.
While the boost was also helped by this year's late Easter, figures for March and April combined, to smooth out any distortion, show sales were 4.3 per cent higher than a year ago.
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Britain's high streets have been hit by a wave of store and restaurant chain closures PABRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: "The sunniest April on record brought with it a boost to retail sales.
"While the stronger performance was partially a result of Easter falling in April this year, the sunshine prompted strong consumer spending across the board.
"But clouds loom on the horizon as new costs begin to bite. Even a strong April performance will do little to make up for the extra £7billion facing the industry this year.
"Both employer National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage rose last month, and retailers face another £2billion bill when a new packaging tax comes in later this year."
