Joshua Schulman Named CEO of Burberry in Major Shakeup

LONDON – Burberry has named Joshua Schulman chief executive officer, replacing Jonathan Akeroyd who is leaving the company with immediate effect and by mutual agreement with the board.

Schulman, 52, joins Burberry “with a track record of driving transformative growth and value creation as CEO of global luxury, fashion, and retail businesses,” said Burberry, which has been battling the slowdown in luxury sales, and seeking to reposition the company at a higher end of the market.

Schulman was previously CEO of Michael Kors and Coach where he also served as brand president. Prior to that, at Neiman Marcus Group, he was president of Bergdorf Goodman for five years.

From 2007 to 2012, Joshua was CEO of Jimmy Choo in London. Earlier, he was executive vice president worldwide merchandising and sales at Yves Saint Laurent and worldwide director women’s ready-to-wear at Gucci.

He will join Burberry on July 17, and be based at the company’s headquarters here. He will lead the executive committee and report to Burberry chair Gerry Murphy and the board of directors.

Murphy said: “I am pleased that Josh will be joining Burberry as our new CEO. Josh is a proven leader with an outstanding record of building global luxury brands and driving profitable growth. He has a strong understanding of our brand and shares our ambition to build on Burberry’s unique creative heritage. His extensive experience in luxury and fashion will be key to realizing Burberry’s full potential.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan Akeroyd for the contribution he has made to Burberry. Jonathan has set out a clear strategy for growth that we will build on,” he added.

Schulman said: “I am deeply honored to join Burberry as CEO. Burberry is an extraordinary luxury brand, quintessentially British, equal parts heritage and innovation. Its original purpose to protect people from the weather is more relevant than ever.

“I look forward to working alongside [creative director] Daniel Lee and the talented teams to drive global growth, delight our customers, and write the next chapter of the Burberry story,” he added.

Schulman is a well-rounded retail leader known for building brands, and also restoring them to health. His appointment as CEO marks his return to the industry after two years, and his return to the U.K. after 12 years after exiting Jimmy Choo.

For the past two years, he’d been keeping a low profile following his exit from Capri Holdings in September 2022. He had been leading the company’s Michael Kors brand and was set to become Capri’s CEO, succeeding John Idol.

In a surprise move, Idol stayed on and Schulman exited with a multi-million dollar separation agreement.

Before joining Capri Holdings, he served as CEO of Coach. Prior to his arrival the brand had been struggling and revenues had been shrinking for several years. Schulman restored it to quality growth, and made market share gains, moves that won him plaudits in the financial community.

Executives have described him as strategic, organized, methodical and focused on execution.

He’s also a lateral thinker. During his pre-Coach days as president of Bergdorf Goodman, Schulman brought in some unexpected labels such as Vetements, Off-White and Fenty by Puma, while maintaining the luxury appeal by emphasizing luxury mainstays like Chanel, Valentino and Goyard.

During his five years as CEO of Jimmy Choo, he transformed the business from a niche player into a multi-million dollar global luxury brand, doubling the store count, entering new categories, and taking control of the Japanese and Hong Kong businesses, before selling it to Labelux in 2011 for 500 million pounds.

It’s no wonder that Burberry’s board had wanted him to be a member, and why they ultimately decided to tap him as CEO.

On the call, Murphy said the board “didn’t conduct any serious discussions with anybody about replacing Jonathan, until very recently. Josh was known to us a lot of the company, and we’d been talking to him about a board role. And as things evolved, it was clear that he was interested in a bigger role, and we acted,” he said.

Schulman’s remuneration arrangements have been set in accordance with the directors’ remuneration policy approved by shareholders, Burberry said.

His salary will be 1.2 million pounds per annum and he will be eligible for a target bonus of 100 percent of salary and maximum of 200 percent of salary and a Burberry share plan award of 162.5 percent of salary.

Akeroyd, who joined Burberry from Versace two years ago, and later hired Lee as creative director, will not be eligible for a bonus for the current financial year, and all unvested share awards will lapse in full.

Asked about the company’s future strategy, and whether Lee would keep his job, Murphy said: “Daniel’s not going anywhere. He is looking forward to working with Josh. They’ve already spoken and will meet later this week. So there is no change in terms of creative leadership,” he said.

Murphy also emphasized that Burberry had no intention to become the British Coach, despite having hired the U.S. brand’s former CEO.

“Josh’s background is actually much closer to luxury than anything else, and he’s got a very clear view that Burberry is a true luxury brand and has a spectacular potential in what Jonathan coined as ‘modern British luxury.’

“There is no intention of changing that ambition, or of becoming a British Coach. That is not to disparage Coach in any way – it’s just a different business,” he said, adding that Burberry also had no ambition to become a British Louis Vuitton.”

Murphy added that Burberry made the leadership change due to a number of factors.

“Our strategy has been quite coherent for a while, but with the benefit of hindsight, in a weak market, we perhaps went a bit too far too fast with a creative transition at a time when customers are feeling a bit more challenged, and a bit more conservative in in sampling newness, especially new units at higher price points,” he said.

He stressed that Burberry’s shift to focus on more recognizable, classic items, and outerwear was not a signal that the brand was changing tack, or becoming more mass.

“It’s not about dropping prices but about making sure that we have a product that people want at prices that are acceptable to them from from Burberry,” Murphy said, adding there will be some high price points going forward for merchandise “with more innovation, design content, and higher higher-cost materials.

“This is about having a more inclusive and democratic brand, and not about dropping prices or a reversal of strategies. It’s about us rebalancing to ensure that people can get what they want from Burberry.

Schulman’s appointment closes a very short chapter for Akeroyd, who joined Burberry in 2022 from Versace, which belongs to Capri Holdings. Prior to joining Versace, Akeroyd served as CEO of Alexander McQueen, after having begun his career at Harrods.

Less than two years ago, Akeroyd set out his plan to move Burberry further upmarket to compete with brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci.

He projected revenue growth of 4 billion pounds in the medium term, and 5 billion pounds in the long term, at constant exchange rates, and with “good” margin progression.

His new vision included “a refocus on Britishness,” doubling the sales of leather goods, shoes and women’s rtw, and growing outerwear by 50 percent in the medium-term.

Another of Akeroyd’s ambitions was to grow accessories to more than 50 percent of group sales in the medium term.

Those plans came with hefty price tags on merchandise: 2,000 pounds for the medium Rocking Horse shoulder bag; 2,000 pounds for a Long Gabardine Trench Coat; and 690 pounds for a pair of Check Knit Box sneakers.

While those prices may seem normal in the luxury goods business, they have been shocking to many longtime British customers, and non-fashion institutional investors, who view Burberry as a heritage brand that should be growing through sales of accessibly-priced classic merchandise.

Akeroyd was also counting on Lee, whose bags and accessories were a runaway success at Bottega Veneta, to deliver best-sellers, but they have yet to materialize.

The strategy might have been successful at another period in time, but with China (historically, one of Burberry’s biggest markets) still cautious about spending, and U.S. demand tepid, it has damaged the share price and stymied sales.

It will now be up to Schulman, Burberry’s fourth CEO in seven years, to re-position the brand for profit, unlock the dividend payments and restore the brand to its former glory as a top purveyor of outerwear.