News

Burberry COO taking leave as luxury retailer’s struggle continues

June 15, 2016

Burberry COO John Smith will leave his post before year’s end, according to a Retail Dive report, which said that the 7-year Burberry veteran, was looking for new opportunities in international business.

The leadership change is just the latest shift facing the beleaguered retailer. Poor financials of the most recent quarter dealt a huge compensation blow to CEO Christopher Bailey, who also holds title as chief creative officer.

As Retail Customer Experience reported last week, the U.K.'s top luxury goods vendor, had a bit of a rough 2015 in terms of sales and revenue, and 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. A year earlier, he earned $10.8 million.

"John Smith retiring opens the opportunity for further changes in senior responsibilities," Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, told Bloomberg. "Burberry needs to go through management adjustments, as the organization based on Christopher Bailey having a dual role does not seem ideal — and results are under pressure."