British luxury and fashion house Burberry has reported that its comparable store sales for the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) grew by 1%.
The company said its sales performance was affected due to Covid-19 lockdowns in Mainland China.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Outside Mainland China, Burberry’s sales rose by 16% in the three months to 2 July, driven by its focus categories of leather goods and outerwear.
On a region basis, sales in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) reported the strongest growth of 47%, caused in part by a localised approach taken by the company.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions and store closures, Burberry’s sales suffered a 35% decline in Mainland China, while its Asia-Pacific business also recorded a 16% drop in sales.
Burberry CEO Jonathan Akeroyd said: “Our performance in the quarter continued to be impacted by lockdowns in Mainland China but I was pleased to see our more localised approach drive recovery in EMEIA, where spending by local clients was above pre-pandemic levels.
“Our focus categories, leather goods and outerwear, continued to perform well outside of Mainland China and our programme of brand activations boosted customer engagement.
“While the current macro-economic environment creates some near-term uncertainty, we are confident we can build on our platform for growth.”
For the full year, Burberry continues to expect high-single-digit revenue growth and 20% margins in the medium term.
The company’s Mainland China operations have also experienced an improvement in sales as stores continued to reopen last month.
As of 2 July, Burberry operated a network of 220 retail stores, 142 concessions, 57 outlets and 38 franchise stores, excluding pop-up stores, worldwide.
Earlier this year, the retailer reported an increase in revenue and full-price comparable store sales for the third quarter (Q3) of the fiscal year 2022 (FY22).
