Festivalgoers help Burberry to best sales in 18 months

Shoppers snapping up Burberry wellies, scarves and jackets for music festivals have helped the fashion brand to its best sales performance in 18 months despite lacklustre spending by tourists around the world.

- Sarah Butler

Sales of the luxury British brand fell by 2% to £433m in the three months to the end of June, with a 1% decline at established stores, an improvement from the 6% fall in the previous quarter and the best performance since Christmas 2023.

Shares in Burberry rose by more than 4% yesterday morning on the better than expected performance, as its chief executive, Joshua Schulman, who was appointed a year ago, attempts a turnaround.

Sales rose in Europe and the Americas but continued to fall in Asia, including the Chinese market, which accounts for 30% of sales.

Schulman, the former boss of the US brand Coach, said: "Its a tough macro [environment] out there and we are taking things step by step but we are optimistic about the quarters ahead and the business in general."