Could Riccardo Tisci leave Burberry?

Last night, the senior editor of Love Magazine, Pierre A. M'Péle, posted a now-deleted tweet that said, "Riccardo Tisci is leaving Burberry." As often happens, these news must be taken with precaution and even the brand has defined the unfounded assumptions, but often in the fashion world, where so much importance is given to appearances, certain gossips possess a bottom of truth. The first rumor about Raf Simons' arrival at Prada, after all, came from a tweet published and immediately deleted. M'Pelé himself then suggested that Tisci's next job could be that of co-creative director of Versace. As for his (hypothetical) successor, the web voices have made the name of Clare Waight Keller, a British designer recently released by Givenchy after a series of collections appreciated but commercially unexciting.

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Burberry FW20

Although it is true that the coronavirus, lockdown and lack of tourism put a strain on the British brand, in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, which ended 28 December, the fashion house's sales had reached 719 million pounds, a modest increase between 1% and 2%, but it nevertheless shows that the work of CEO Marco Gobetti and Tisci was starting to get the right gear. And while it's true that neither Tisci's collections nor the brand's sales have enjoyed surprising success, an improvement has been made. Changing a creative director mid-race certainly seems like a risky choice but not to be completely excluded, especially if investors feel distrust of the change wanted by the CEO and his creative director.

According to some, in fact, the problem of the brand lies in the timing of the project of CEO and creative director to elevate Burberry to the same rank as Louis Vuitton, Chanel or Gucci – waging war on competitors in the field of leather goods and footwear, areas in which the brand has yet to build its credibility after relying for years on an accessible ready-to-wear. Mario Ortelli, founder of Ortelli & Co., a luxury consultancy group, called Gobetti and Tisci's "a Herculean effort" on Business of Fashion. Among other things, the recent recruitment of commercial directors for the specific sectors of ready-to-wear, accessories and footwear, such as Adrian Ward-Rees, who will respond directly to the CEO without going through Tisci, suggests a fragile and fragmented internal situation, in a scenario that is not of prosperous growth but of mere subsistence.

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Burberry SS20 Campaign

Since the pandemic came, Burberry's sales have halved and recovered slightly in June, with Chinese stores reopening. But, as Business of Fashion reports, if brands such as Louis Vuitton and Swatch have seen sales growth in China of 50% and 60%, Burberry's have increased only 30%. The brand also said it expects sales to fall by between 15% and 20% in the current quarter – essentially saying that no notable improvement in performance is expected. Now, even though sales are picking up, Burberry's shares in the market have tumbled 8% while those of other brands and luxury groups are slowly rising again. Based on this data, Robert Williams noted, in the same Business of Fashion article, that "investors believe there are problems specific to Burberry's business".