Burberry sales creep up as Asia Pacific rallies

Like-for-likes rose 4% while underlying sales rose 3% to £478m, a 13% increase in reported currencies.

The quarter is the first under new chief executive Marco Gobbetti, who joined the retailer from Celine to allow chief creative officer and former chief executive Christopher Bailey to focus exclusively on his creative work.

Gobbetti said: “We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter, while mindful of the work still to do. This is a time of great change for Burberry and the wider luxury industry.

“I look forward to building on the foundations Christopher and the team have put in place and creating new energy to drive growth.”

Burberry said that strength in Mainland China drove an improvement in its performance in Asia Pacific, where it achieved mid single-digit growth.

The luxury retailer achieved high single-digit growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with strong growth in the UK dragged down by poor sales in some Continental territories such as Italy and an ongoing poor market in the Middle East.

Burberry suffered in its American markets where footfall has been in decline. However, the relative strength of the US dollar has driven American consumers to shop while abroad despite demand at home declining in both domestic and tourist markets.

Mobile transactions now comprise 40% of Burberry’s sales, while its app, soft-launched in the UK last year, is live in five markets.

The heritage outfit said that it was on track to deliver cost savings of £50m in its full year.