LONDON — With first-half sales and profits on track and a boost from the weaker pound, Burberry is looking ahead — and girding itself for more trouble in Hong Kong amid rising violence and political unrest.
In the six months to Sept. 28, Burberry saw a double-digit sales decline in Hong Kong, where it has 12 stores. The region usually represents 8 percent of overall revenue, but in the first half that figure dropped to 5 percent.
Sales in Mainland China and other parts of Asia compensated for some of the decline — but not all of it. Some business simply evaporated, said Marco Gobbetti, Burberry’s chief executive officer who is headed to the region for the brand’s Ginza store opening in Tokyo and to evaluate the situation in Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong has always proven itself to be resilient, and we have to give credit to the Hong Kongese for having been there through very tough times. They are going through a very difficult moment, and we do not think that in the very near future the situation is going to improve,” said Gobbetti on the sidelines of the interim results presentation to analysts.
“We are always very hopeful that, over time, the
In the six months to Sept. 28, Burberry saw a double-digit sales decline in Hong Kong, where it has 12 stores. The region usually represents 8 percent of overall revenue, but in the first half that figure dropped to 5 percent.
Sales in Mainland China and other parts of Asia compensated for some of the decline — but not all of it. Some business simply evaporated, said Marco Gobbetti, Burberry’s chief executive officer who is headed to the region for the brand’s Ginza store opening in Tokyo and to evaluate the situation in Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong has always proven itself to be resilient, and we have to give credit to the Hong Kongese for having been there through very tough times. They are going through a very difficult moment, and we do not think that in the very near future the situation is going to improve,” said Gobbetti on the sidelines of the interim results presentation to analysts.
“We are always very hopeful that, over time, the