CHANGING LEADERSHIP AT BURBERRY

BURBERRY BRAND

British fashion label Burberry’s terminated experiment of having Christopher Bailey serving as both chief creative and CEO holds lessons for others in the luxury sector.

On 11th june,it was announced that 
Marco Gobbetti has been appointed as its new CEO,with Bailey as the president.With the luxury industry facing challenging times due to geopolitical and economic turbulence, Burberry is not likely to be the only brand to see changes in leadership.

CHRISTOPHER BAILEY

"I think the role of any leader is to take themselves out of the situation and to say what is right for the company going forward," the former CEO, who will continue in his role of chief creative officer, told the Business Of Fashion. "And that is what I have always done, throughout my career, not just at Burberry, and to know to identify what my skills are, where I add the most value and where my strengths are not and where we need to add those strengths," he said, in doing so answering critics who have argued in recent months that he needed support on the business side of the brand.
Bailey also took the opportunity to compliment the talents of his new partner and the expertise that he will bring to Burberry.

MARCO GOBBETTI

"As soon as I met [Gobbetti], we had a very, very strong chemistry," he said of the former Céline chairman and CEO. "He has a profound understanding of retail and retail execution. He has also got an incredibly global experience; he is somebody that has done a lot of work in the US, of course in Europe but also in Asia, so he thinks very globally and that is relatively unusual."