Burberry this week said that digital outperformed in every region to help deliver it a 17% rise in retail sales.
Shoppers spent £370m at Burberry in the first quarter of its financial year, to June 30, while like-for-like sales rose by 12% on the same time last year.
Burberry said sales met its expectations, with double-digit growth in Asia Pacific and the Americas, and low single-digit growth in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.
Momentum, it said, came from “record” customer engagement through digital, including the event with which it launched in Shanghai. It said growth continued to reflect “evolving consumer behaviour,” with strong online sales but “soft” offline sales. But investment in customer service, it said, saw conversion increase in stores and over the website. Customers also responded well to measures such as orders taken on iPads in-store as well as collect-in-store.
“This first quarter performance reflects our focus on striving to give customers the best possible experience of the Burberry brand through ongoing investment in retail, digital and service, both on and offline,” said chief creative and chief executive officer Christopher Bailey. “The 12% increase in comparable sales demonstrates our teams’ success in unlocking the benefits of these investments, as we continue to concentrate on the things we can control in an uncertain external environment.
“As we build on this strong start to the year, our priority remains to connect consumers ever closer to Burberry through authentic products and experiences that celebrate our unique heritage.”
