Mulberry boss quits after profit warning

Bruno Guillon’s departure comes after the firm’s results are going to be “substantially” below expectations.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The chief executive of British fashion house Mulberry has stood down from the role after the company issued a profit warning in its latest financial results this week.

It was announced by the firm that it predicts results would be "substantially" below expectations, which led to the share price of the company dropping by 25 per cent during yesterday's (March 20th) trading session on the London Stock Exchange.

Bruno Guillon's departure opens up one of the biggest jobs in British business, although the fortunes of the firm have been sliding over the last few years.

Former boss Godfrey Davis, who oversaw a period of strong growth of the brand between 2002 and 2012, will take over from Mr Guillon on an interim basis until a more permanent chief executive can be found for the company. That time saw the firm benefit from a close association with British television presenter and model Alexa Chung, who designed her own range of hugely popular handbags for the brand.

Mr Davis stated that his predecessor had "improved the quality of the Mulberry offering", and added: "I am confident that Mulberry has the heritage, brand appeal and products to build on what has been achieved."

Share price

Stocks in the firm recovered slightly this morning after the major drop in its share price in yesterday's session. By 08:03 GMT, stocks in the company were up around one per cent on the start of the day, though the share price seemed jumpy.

Last June, Mulberry announced the departure of creative director Emma Hill, who has been given credit for a lot of the fashion house's success in recent years. But the first recent profit warning issued by the company came in 2012, just a few months after the arrival of Mr Guillon.

Mulberry's latest profit warning – which was released by the firm earlier this year – came only a short time after the company said retail sales fell over the key Christmas trading period. They were revealed by the firm to be down seven per cent in the eight weeks to the end of January.

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