Mulberry profits up 21% on back of revamped classics

Mulberry cited its revamped signature bag, the Zipped Bayswater, as a star item as it revealed profits and sales up for the full year ending March 2017.

The British luxury brand achieved revenues up 8% at £168.1m while pre-tax profit was up 21% at £7.5m. Mulberry said new and revamped collections from creative director Johnny Coca, who joined the brand from Céline in July 2015, had contributed to its strong performance, in particular the lighter weight Zipped Bayswater.

Mulberry has also revamped its price architecture in recent seasons to lower prices after an ill-fated attempt by previous CEO Bruno Guillon to raise prices led to a plunge in profits. Current CEO Thierry Andretta was brought in just before Coca in March 2015.

He said the brand had made "good progress" in the past 12 months. "Our sales and profits are growing, enhancing our strong cash position. We have advanced our international growth strategy with a new partnership in Asia and the continued expansion of our omni-channel offer in key markets," he said.

"We have generated strong creative momentum with new products that are well received by our existing and new customers. Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in advancing our international development and increasing Mulberry's relevance to our customers' rapidly evolving lifestyle," Andretta added.

Other financial highlights included retail sales (including digital) up 8% to £128.3m, while revenue from digital channels increased by 19% to represent 15% of group revenue (2016: 14%). In the 10 weeks to 3 June retail like-for-like sales (including digital) were up 1%.