Burberry wears its British identity crisis on its sleeve in turbulent times

When Burberry was successful, it bottled the essence of Britishness.

- Stephen Armstrong

It is now a medium-sized player that has gone through successive changes of management, facing an increasingly volatile world while seeming uncertain of its identity. So still the essence of Britain.

The company has announced huge job losses - up to 1,700 globally, or about a fifth of its workforce, including 150 at its Castleford mill in West Yorkshire, which produces its famous trench coat as part of a cost-cutting initiative aimed at saving £100m by 2027.

And yet in the same announcement, its chief executive, Joshua Schulman, announced a more optimistic end of year than expected, with a profitable second half offsetting losses in the first six months. Its adjusted operating profit was £26m.

Burberry’s problems began in 2016, when the company’s successful creative director, Christopher Bailey, was shuffled away from the shopfloor to become president before he stepped down in 2018, being replaced by Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci.

Bailey had delivered almost two decades of glory, transforming Burberry from a reliable but dull coat maker into a style powerhouse with cultural references from the Beatles through Princess Margaret to David Hockney, rappers, actors and supermodels.