Burberry has returned to growth for the first time in two years following a difficult period for the luxury brand.

Sales rose 2% in the second quarter to £1.03bn, with comparable sales flat across H1. The business is a year into its ‘Burberry Forward’ plan aimed at reigniting brand desire, improving performance and driving long-term value creation.

“Burberry is at its best when it forges its own path, grounded in timeless British luxury and guided by authenticity,” said CEO Joshua Schulman.

“I continue to be encouraged by our incredible team around the world, whether it’s the product triangle of design, merchandising and marketing coming together.”

Burberry has been ramping up its investment in marketing and brand, with CFO Kate Ferry explaining the fashion house’s ambition is to “deliver long-term sustainable growth”. The business pointed to “strengthened brand desirability” via its ‘Timeless British Luxury’ platform, highlighting what it describes as an “accelerated
cadence of distinctly British storytelling”.

The acquisition of Gen Z customers was cited as a reason for optimism, with engagement noted to have improved among this demographic. In general, the brand pointed to customers returning to the brand, delivering comparable store sales growth for the first time in two years.

Burberry also pointed to improvements in key categories – outerwear and scarves. The business claimed to be offering an “enhanced in-store experience” focused on “elevated” product displays, with the goal to create 200 ‘scarf bars’ by the end of the year.

The brand also noted the success of the ‘It’s always Burberry weather’ campaign, released in October and starring actress Olivia Coleman.

According to data from insights firm Tracksuit, Burberry over indexes with 24-35 year old consumers when analysing shoppers within the premium women’s clothes category. As of October 2025, Burberry’s awareness sat at 81%, consideration at 44%, investigation at 41%, usage at 30% and preference at 26% within the premium women’s clothes category.

From June to October 2025, Burberry’s ‘investigation’ – the extent to which consumers are seeking out the brand – fell 12 percentage points amongst 18-24 year olds, according to the Tracksuit data.

There are mixed perceptions regarding Burberry’s image, with some consumers viewing the brand as ‘overrated’ or ‘pretentious’, while others see it as ‘iconic’ and ‘reputable’. The label’s association with celebrities and mainstream fashion contributes to its recognisable and sometimes polarising image, Tracksuit data suggests.

Burberry blames ‘inconsistent brand execution’ for sales decline

In May, Burberry pledged to position itself as an “authentic, modern and relevant” brand after reporting a pre-tax loss of £66m in the 52 weeks ending 29 March 2025.

The Burberry Forward strategy involves increased marketing and brand investment, as well as a focus on what makes the label unique in terms of its creative output.

As part of the results presentation, Burberry pointed to a number of other “proof points” to demonstrate how its strategy is delivering on brand value, including sequential improvement in new and returning customers, and improved full price sales of its Autumn and Winter collections.

“While it is still early days and there is more to do, we now have proof points that Burberry Forward is the right strategic path to restore brand relevance and value creation. We move forward with confidence that Burberry’s best chapters lie ahead,” said Schulman.

‘Commercial alchemy’

Greater China notched up the strongest improvement since Q1, with sales growth of 3%. Both Burberry’s Valentine’s Day and follow-up ‘Back to the City’ campaigns were credited with driving growth, as sales rose 18% among Chinese Gen Z shoppers.

The rest of the Asia Pacific region was mixed, with a 4% decline in sales in Q1 and flat sales in Q2, resulting in an overall decline of 2%. The Americas were the first region to return to growth, with sales up 3% in Q1 and 4% Q2, respectively.

In terms of EMEIA, growth remained steady at 1% across both Q1 and Q2, with both local and returning customers driving the uptick.

Burberry now hopes to continue its strategy of “rekindling creative and commercial alchemy”, alongside streamlined operating and inventory costs, with its cost efficiency programme expected to deliver £80m in savings by the end of the 2026 financial year.