Burberry Bets on 'Alchemy' and Regent Street as Forward Plan Enters Year Two

Burberry chief executive Joshua Schulman has spent two years running a turnaround plan that still comes with no fresh sales or margin targets attached.

Speaking at the WWD Apparel and Retail CEO Summit in New York City, Schulman framed the British luxury house's recovery around what he called "creative and commercial alchemy" — a pairing of design and merchandising discipline he says the brand had lost.

"Fashion is not a solo business, it's a team sport," Schulman said in a fireside chat with WWD London bureau chief Samantha Conti. He described creative director Daniel Lee, in place since 2022, as a "great partner" in the effort. Partnership language is easy; the proof will show in product sell-through and margin recovery, neither of which the executive quantified on stage.

What is the strategy underneath the rhetoric?

The Burberry Forward plan launched in 2024 to reverse slumping sales and restore profitability. It shifted the brand away from ultra-high-end fashion experiments and back to timeless British luxury — trenchcoats and outerwear, scarves, classic check patterns.

"Burberry had a tradition of creative and commercial alchemy and that goes back to Rose Marie Bravo when she hired Christopher," Schulman said, referencing the former CEO and Christopher Bailey, the longtime chief creative officer. Schulman crossed paths with Bailey decades earlier, when Schulman oversaw women's merchandising at Gucci and Bailey was women's design director there under Tom Ford.

He admitted the state he inherited: "The business was underperforming." One of his first acts was a joint meeting of design, product development and merchandising teams to share business data and align priorities. He also named-drop earlier roles at Bergdorf Goodman, Jimmy Choo and Coach — a resume that suggests board patience, but no guaranteed timeline.

"Burberry has always been at its best when it balances the heritage with innovation," Schulman said. "Now that we have laid the foundations, we have this opportunity to add additional layers of innovation to surprise and delight."

Which collaborations carry the strategy?

Two recent projects illustrate the direction:

• A Celia Birtwell collaboration, unveiled by Lee at the spring 2027 runway show during London Fashion Week last September. Birtwell is the celebrated British textile designer, formerly married to designer Ossie Clark — a pairing Schulman traced to the 1998 "Ossie Clark Diaries." He met Birtwell only on show day.
• A swimwear collection with British brand Hunza G, cofounded by Georgiana Huddart, built on the label's proprietary ultra-stretch Original Krinkle fabric.

The Hunza G link is the more concrete commercial argument. Schulman tied it directly to founder Thomas Burberry's invention of gabardine: "Georgiana stands for woven innovation with Hunza G. So there's a connection."

"It's no longer about just reminding people about Burberry's heritage, but how to express that within today's culture for today's customer," he said.

Asked about 2027 plans, Schulman declined specifics, offering only: "It's about amplifying the drumbeat that we have had, and it's this idea of being timeless while disrupting expectations." For a turnaround under investor scrutiny, that vagueness is notable.

What is happening on the ground in Shanghai and London?

Burberry will cap its 170th anniversary year with "Ever Forward" in Shanghai, billed as its largest brand exhibition ever, open for a month near the Bund.

The bigger capital commitment sits on Regent Street in London. Burberry is converting its flagship into "Burberry House," restoring the Grade II-listed building and layering in:

• The 1856 Gallery, hosting rotating exhibitions from brand archives
• The Trench Arcade, an immersive outerwear experience built around weather-specific design
• The first Burberry Coffee and Tea cafe, "with a famed British chef" — unnamed on stage
• Experiential, hospitality and archival elements throughout the store

Schulman also confirmed Burberry received planning permission to reinstall the historic "Burberrys" clock — which sat above its Haymarket headquarters for decades and later its Horseferry House offices — above the main facade entrance at Regent Street, in public view. "Why are we doing this just for ourselves? We should have this some place for our customers," he said.

Separately, the Victoria and Albert Museum is currently showing a trenchcoat exhibition at its Prince Consort Gallery, tracing the garment from its World War II functional purpose to the runway. The multiyear partnership's next milestone is a refurbishment of the V&A's Fashion Gallery, to be unveiled in fall 2028 as The Burberry Gallery — a fixed date in an otherwise date-light presentation.

What did Schulman leave unsaid?

He acknowledged the market is difficult: "Many of the breakthroughs happen in tough times. Burberry has endured and withstood for 170 years, and so we are optimistic and looking forward."

"We're now bringing a new level of inspiration to all of our touchpoints and igniting our brand message around the world," he added.

No revenue figures, no margin guidance, no store-count or capex detail accompanied the cultural-programming announcements. The V&A commitment through 2028 is the firmest dated obligation disclosed; everything else rests on execution the CEO says is working but did not measure publicly.

Schulman's team will need to convert exhibitions, cafes and clock restorations into outerwear and scarf sales before the "alchemy" claim can be treated as a result rather than a message.