Tisci the toast of the town for Burberry

LUXURY fashion brand Burberry defied sceptics as strong demand for its new accessories and clothes under designer Riccardo Tisci boosted sales and sent shares soaring.

The company, which is trying to lure back shoppers who defected to other more upmarket rivals in recent years, saw like-for-like sales grow by 4pc for the three months to June, double the rate the City had been expecting.

Mr Tisci sought to breathe new life into the brand by redesigning the range based on its logo rather than its famous beige, red and black check pattern, and ran limited-edition “drops”, selling one-off wares in flash sales.

The turnaround comes more than a year after Marco Gobbetti was brought in to replace Burberry veteran Christopher

‘With UK sales benefiting from tourist spend, it is important the brand protects its British heritage’

Bailey as chief executive. Around 50pc of Burberry’s wares are Mr Tisci’s creations, and this will rise to three quarters by 2020.

The shares closed up 14pc at £22.77 yesterday, their best one-day performance since its float 17 years ago.

Chief financial officer Julie Brown said the new collection was popular with millennials in China, and that sales in Asia Pacific are growing by “a high single-digit percentage”.

One of Burberry’s limited-edition sales in April sold out in 20 minutes globally, she added.

Despite the sales rise, Burberry did not upgrade its sales and profit targets. It is closing some stores and refurbishing others as it moves towards the more expensive end of the market, hoping to take on the likes of LVMH and Kering.

Chloe Collins, of Globaldata, said: “We expect growth to continue throughout the rest of the financial year. With UK sales still benefiting from tourist spend, it is important that the brand continues to protect its Brit- ish heritage and identity to maintain appeal.

“Burberry must continue to invest in its social platforms to fight off other luxury players, such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton, which are focusing on the channel to target younger shoppers.”