News

Burberry chief feels economic pain as much as UK retailer

June 8, 2016

Burberry Group, the U.K.'s top luxury goods vendor, had a bit of a rough 2015 in terms of sales and revenue and so did its top leader in terms of annual compensation.

CEO Christopher Bailey took a 75 percent pay cut (making just $2.7 million last year) due to the company's poor financial results, according to a Bloomberg report posted at Swiss Info. In addition, there was no annual bonus or incentive gift regarding the retailer's performance. The year prior Bailey made $10.8 million.

"Our overall approach to incentive structures for all staff, including senior management, is based on performance," Chairman John Peace said in the company's recently released financial report, according to Bloomberg. "When the business does not perform as well, this has an impact on what we pay to our staff. And when the share price falls as it has in the past year, this has a substantial impact on historical share awards."

The news report cites that Bailey’s dual role, CEO/chief creative officer, may be a big culprit.

A CNN report noted company shares fell 10 percent and have lost 35 percent in past 12 months.