Burberry has announced the departure of CEO Jonathan Akeroyd after a tenure of just over two years, as the high-end fashion brand anticipates a downturn in profits and has paused dividend payments to shareholders. The company stated that Mr Akeroyd's exit is effective immediately and was reached "by mutual agreement with the board". He will be succeeded by Joshua Schulman, the former head of Michael Kors, who is set to take over as chief executive from July 17.
The news comes as Burberry disclosed a potential first-half operating loss, with retail sales having dropped by 21% on a like-for-like basis during the first quarter ending June 29. The firm also expects its annual earnings to fall short of projections and has consequently suspended its dividend, which resulted in its shares dropping sharply by over 11% at the start of trading on Monday. Chairman Gerry Murphy expressed his disappointment with the recent performance but emphasised the company's commitment to strategic measures aimed at revitalising sales.
Murphy commented: "Our first-quarter performance is disappointing. "We moved quickly with our creative transition in a luxury market that is proving more challenging than expected. "The weakness we highlighted coming into 2024-25 has deepened and, if the current trend persists through our second quarter, we expect to report an operating loss for our first half.
" He added: "We are taking decisive action to rebalance our offer to be more familiar to Burberry's core custo.
