LONDON – Burberry has appointed Joshua Schulman as chief executive, replacing Jonathan Akeroyd who is leaving the company with immediate effect and by mutual agreement with the board.
Schulman, 52, joins Burberry “with a history of transformational development and value creation as CEO of its global luxury, fashion and retail businesses,” said Burberry, which is struggling with slowing luxury sales and seeking reposition the company. at a higher end of the market.
Schulman was previously CEO of Michael Kors and Coach where he also served as brand president. Prior to that, at Neiman Marcus Group, he was president of Bergdorf Goodman for five years.
From 2007 to 2012, Joshua was the CEO of Jimmy Choo in London. Previously, he was executive vice president of worldwide merchandising and sales at Yves Saint Laurent and worldwide director of women’s ready-to-wear at Gucci.
Retail veteran Joshua Schulman was previously CEO of Jimmy Choo. Here’s a photo with then-Chief Creative Officer Tamara Mellon.
Courtesy photo
He will join Burberry on July 17 and will be based at the company’s headquarters here. He will lead the executive committee and report to Burberry chairman Gerry Murphy and the board of directors.
Murphy said: “I am delighted that Josh will be joining Burberry as the new CEO. Josh is a proven leader with an outstanding track record of building global luxury brands and driving profitable growth. He has a strong understanding of our brand and shares our ambition to build on Burberry’s unique creative heritage. His extensive experience in luxury and fashion will be key to realizing Burberry’s full potential.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan Akeroyd for his contribution to Burberry. Jonathan has set out a clear strategy for growth that we will build on,” he added.
Schulman said: “I am deeply honored to join Burberry as CEO. Burberry is an extraordinary, quintessentially British luxury brand with equal parts heritage and innovation. Its original purpose of protecting people from the weather is more important than ever.
“I look forward to working together [creative director] Daniel Lee and talented teams to drive global growth, delight our customers and write the next chapter of the Burberry story,” he added.
Burberry Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection. Going forward, Burberry will look to emphasize its core strength in outerwear and, most importantly, its signature channel.
Courtesy of Burberry
Schulman is a well-rounded retail leader known for building brands and also bringing them back to health. His appointment as CEO marks his return to the industry after two years and his return to the UK 12 years after leaving Jimmy Choo.
For the past two years, he had kept a low profile following his departure from Capri Holdings in September 2022. He had led the company’s Michael Kors brand and was set to become CEO of Capri, succeeding John Idol.
In a surprise move, Idol stayed and Schulman walked away with a multi-million dollar severance deal.
Prior to joining Capri Holdings, he served as CEO of Coach. Before his arrival, the brand had been struggling and revenues had been declining for several years. Schulman returned it to quality growth and made market share gains, moves that won him praise in the financial community.
Executives have described him as strategic, organized, methodical and focused on execution.
He is also a lateral thinker. During his pre-Coach days as president of Bergdorf Goodman, Schulman brought in some unexpected labels like Vetements, Off-White and Fenty from Puma, maintaining the luxe appeal by highlighting luxury mainstays like Chanel, Valentino and Goyard.
During his five years as CEO of Jimmy Choo, he transformed the business from a niche player to a multi-million dollar global luxury brand, doubling the number of stores, entering new categories and taking control of the Japanese and Hong Kong businesses. Kong, before selling. that of Labelux in 2011 for £500 million.
No wonder Burberry’s board wanted him on board and why they ultimately chose him as CEO.
In the call, Murphy said the board “has not had any serious discussions with anyone about replacing Jonathan, until recently. Josh was known to us a lot from the company, and we had talked to him about a role on the board. And as things evolved, it was clear that he was interested in a bigger role and we acted,” he said.
Schulman’s remuneration arrangements are set in accordance with the director remuneration policy approved by shareholders, Burberry said.
His salary will be £1.2m a year and he will be entitled to a target bonus of 100 per cent of salary and a maximum of 200 per cent of salary and a Burberry share plan of 162.5 per cent of salary.
Akeroyd, who joined Burberry from Versace two years ago, and later hired Lee as creative director, will not be eligible for a bonus for the current financial year and all unvested share awards will expire in full.
Asked about the company’s future strategy and whether Lee will continue his work, Murphy said: “Daniel is not going anywhere. He looks forward to working with Josh. They have already spoken and will meet later this week. So there is no change in terms of creative leadership,” he said.
Murphy also stressed that Burberry had no intention of becoming the British coach, despite hiring the former CEO of the American brand.
“Josh’s background is actually much closer to luxury than anything else, and he has a very clear view that Burberry is a true luxury brand and has spectacular potential in what Jonathan coined ‘modern British luxury.’
“There is no intention to change that ambition, or to become a British coach. That’s not to disparage Coach in any way – it’s just a different business,” he said, adding that Burberry also had no ambitions to become a British Louis Vuitton.
Murphy added that Burberry made the leadership change due to a number of factors.
“Our strategy has been pretty coherent for a while, but with the benefit of new insight, in a weak market, we probably went too fast with a creative transition at a time when customers are feeling a little more challenged, and a little more conservative.” in getting new samples, especially new higher-priced units,” he said.
He emphasized that Burberry’s shift to focus on more popular, classic items and outerwear was not a signal that the brand was changing style, or becoming more mainstream.
“It’s not about lowering prices, it’s about making sure we have a product that people want at a price that’s affordable for them from Burberry,” Murphy said, adding that there will be some high price points for the merchandise. “with more innovation. design content and higher cost materials.
“This is about having a more inclusive and democratic brand, not about lowering prices or changing strategies. It’s about us rebalancing to ensure people can get what they want from Burberry.
Schulman’s appointment closes a very short chapter for Akeroyd, who joined Burberry in 2022 from Versace, which is owned by Capri Holdings. Before joining Versace, Akeroyd served as CEO of Alexander McQueen, having started his career at Harrods.
Less than two years ago, Akeroyd laid out his plan to move Burberry further upmarket to compete with brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
It forecast revenue growth of £4bn in the medium term and £5bn in the long term, at constant exchange rates and “good” margin progression.
His new vision included “a refocus on Britishness”, doubling sales of leather goods, shoes and women’s rtw, and growing outerwear by 50 per cent in the medium term.
Another of Akeroyd’s ambitions was to grow accessories to more than 50 percent of the group’s sales in the medium term.
These plans came with high prices for the goods: £2,000 for the medium Rocking Horse shoulder bag; £2,000 for a long gabardine coat; and £690 for a pair of Check Knit Box sneakers.
While these prices may seem normal in the luxury goods business, they have come as a shock to many older British customers and non-fashion institutional investors, who see Burberry as a heritage brand that needs to grow through sales of premium classics. affordable.
Akeroyd was also counting on Lee, whose bags and accessories were a huge success at Bottega Veneta, to deliver the bestsellers, but they have yet to materialize.
The strategy might have been successful at another point in time, but with China (historically, one of Burberry’s biggest markets) still cautious about spending, and US demand tepid, it has hurt the stock price and has hampered sales.
It will now be up to Schulman, Burberry’s fourth CEO in seven years, to reposition the brand for profit, unlock dividend payouts and restore the brand to its former glory as a premier outerwear purveyor.