British luxury fashion house Mulberry has announced a significant surge in sales over the crucial Christmas period, providing a clear signal that its major restructuring plan is beginning to deliver results.
Strong Festive Performance Across Key Markets
The Somerset-based leather goods maker reported that global like-for-like sales increased by 11% for the 13 weeks ending 27 December. This robust growth was not uniform, however, revealing distinct geographic trends.
Continental Europe emerged as the standout region, with like-for-like sales skyrocketing by an impressive 27.2%. The home UK market saw more modest, yet solid, growth of 6.5%. Investors responded positively to the news, sending Mulberry's share price up by as much as 10% in early trading on Wednesday 14 January, before it settled around 5% higher.
The Strategy Behind the Recovery
This encouraging performance follows a difficult period for the brand. In late 2024, Mulberry embarked on a comprehensive transformation plan, named 'Back to the Mulberry Spirit', which involved making 85 staff redundant – about a quarter of its workforce. The company also secured £20 million in funding last June to support its overhaul, a move necessitated by a steep 21% drop in turnover during 2024.
Central to its new direction is a strategic refocus on its British heritage and core UK customers. The company stated this pivot has been key to driving expansion "amid a backdrop of more challenging growth in the wider retail market." A high-profile campaign featuring Wicked star Cynthia Erivo to relaunch the iconic Roxanne bag collection exemplifies this refreshed approach.
Defying a Tough Retail Climate
Mulberry's success stands in contrast to a generally subdued festive season for UK shops. Data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed overall UK retail sales grew just 1.2% year-on-year in December, a sharp slowdown from the 3.2% growth seen in December the previous year.
The fashion sector has found it particularly hard to compete with food retail, as cautious consumer spending and intense competition from online rivals create strong headwinds. Despite this, Mulberry achieved notably strong results in its full-price retail business, where like-for-like sales leapt by 19%.
Chief Executive Andrea Baldo struck a cautiously optimistic tone. "While there remains plenty more to be done, it is encouraging to see the early signs of our strategy delivering," he said. He added that the foundations put in place are working and that the brand is entering 2026 with "good momentum," remaining "laser focused on continuing to deliver our strategy and build a sustainable, profitable business for the long term."
