LONDON – Burberry has appointed Joshua Schulman as CEO, succeeding Jonathan Akeroyd, who is leaving the company with immediate effect and by mutual agreement with the board.
Schulman, 52, joins Burberry “with a track record of driving transformational growth and value creation as CEO of global luxury, fashion and retail businesses,” said Burberry, which is struggling with slowing luxury goods sales and trying to reposition the company. at the higher end of the market.
Schulman was previously CEO of Michael Kors and Coach, where he also served as brand president. Prior to that, he was president of Bergdorf Goodman for five years at Neiman Marcus Group.
From 2007 to 2012, Joshua was the Managing Director of Jimmy Choo in London. He was previously Executive Vice President of Worldwide Merchandising and Sales at Yves Saint Laurent and Global Director of Womenswear at Gucci.
Retail veteran Joshua Schulman was previously CEO of Jimmy Choo. Here’s a picture with then-Creative Chief Tamara Mellon.
Courtesy photo
He will join Burberry on July 17 and will be based here at the company’s headquarters. 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 is joining Burberry as our new CEO. Josh is a proven leader with an excellent track record of building global luxury brands and driving profitable growth. He understands our brand very well 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 growth strategy that we will build on,” he added.
Schulman said: “I am very honored to be joining Burberry as CEO. Burberry is an extraordinary luxury brand, quintessentially British, 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 in the Burberry story,” he added.
Burberry Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear collection. In the future, Burberry will emphasize its main strength in outerwear, and most importantly, the signature trench.
Courtesy of Burberry
Schulman is a versatile retail leader known for building brands as well as restoring them to health. His appointment as CEO marks his return to the industry after two years and his return to the UK after 12 years since leaving Jimmy Choo.
He has kept a low profile for the past two years following his exit from Capri Holdings in September 2022. He led the company’s Michael Kors brand and was slated to become CEO of Capri, replacing John Idol.
In a surprise move, Idol stayed and Schulman stepped down with a multi-million dollar separation agreement.
Prior to joining Capri Holdings, he was CEO of Coach. Prior to his arrival, the brand had been struggling and revenues had been declining for several years. Schulman restored its qualitative growth and achieved an increase in market share, moves that won him recognition in the financial community.
Executives have described him as strategic, organized, methodical and execution-oriented.
He is also a lateral thinker. During his pre-Coach days as president of Bergdorf Goodman, Schulman brought in some unexpected labels such as Vetements, Off-White and Fenty from Puma, while maintaining a luxury appeal by emphasizing luxury mainstays such as Chanel, Valentino and Goyard.
During his five years as CEO, Jimmy Choo 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 before selling. it to Labelux in 2011 for £500m.
It’s no wonder the Burberry board wanted him on board and why they eventually decided to elect him as CEO.
Murphy said during the call that the board “has not had any serious discussions with anyone about replacing Jonathan until recently. Josh was known to a lot of us in the company and we talked to him about a role on the board. And as things developed, it became clear that he was interested in a bigger role and we acted,” he said.
Schulman’s compensation was set in line with the director compensation 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 award 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 entitled to a bonus for the current financial year and any unclaimed share awards will forfeit in full.
Asked about the company’s future strategy and whether Lee would keep his job, Murphy said: “Daniel is not going anywhere. She looks forward to working with Josh. They have already spoken and will meet later this week. So there is no change from a creative direction perspective,” he said.
Murphy also stressed that Burberry had no intention of becoming a UK coach despite hiring the US brand’s former chief executive.
“Josh’s background is actually much closer to luxury than anything else and he has a very clear view that Burberry is a truly luxury brand and has amazing potential in what Jonathan has described as ‘modern British luxury’.
“There is no intention of changing that ambition or becoming a British coach. I don’t mean to disparage Coach – it’s just a different business,” he said, adding that Burberry also had no ambitions to become Britain’s 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 hindsight, we may have gone too fast with the creative transition in a weak market at a time when customers are feeling a bit more demanding. a little more conservative in sampling new releases, especially new units at higher prices,” he said.
He emphasized that Burberry’s shift to focus on more recognizable, classic items and outerwear is not a signal that the brand is changing direction or becoming more mainstream.
“It’s not about lowering prices, it’s about making sure we have the product that people want at prices that are acceptable to them from Burberry,” Murphy said, adding that in the future there will be certain high price points for items “with more innovation , design content and higher material costs.
“It’s about having a more inclusive and democratic brand and not about cutting prices or reversing strategies. It’s about rebalancing to make sure 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 was CEO of Alexander McQueen after starting his career at Harrods.
Less than two years ago, Akeroyd set out his plan to move Burberry further upmarket to compete with the likes of 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 with “good” margin progression.
His new vision included a “refocus on Britishness”, doubling sales of leather goods, footwear 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 hefty price tags for the goods: £2,000 for a medium Rocking Horse shoulder bag; £2,000 for a long Gabardine coat; and £690 for a pair of Check Knit Box trainers.
While these prices may seem normal in the luxury goods business, they have come as a shock to many long-time British customers and non-fashionable institutional investors who see Burberry as a traditional brand that should grow by selling classics at affordable prices.
Akeroyd also counted on Lee, whose bags and accessories have been a huge success at Bottega Veneta, to deliver bestsellers that have yet to materialize.
This strategy might have been successful in another time period, 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 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 its former glory as a top outerwear purveyor.