The new boss of Burberry Group PLC (LON:BRBY) is set to join the luxury fashion house later this month, although he is initially coming on board as executive chairman of Asia Pacific and Middle East.
Marco Gobbetti will then take over from outgoing chief executive Christopher Bailey on 5 July.
Bailey won’t be leaving Burberry for good though; instead he’ll take up his new position as the group’s new President and chief creative officer.
Gobbetti’s arrival isn’t quite how Burberry had planned it when they announced the board changes last July.
He was originally supposed to come in straight away as chief executive, with Bailey transitioning to his new post immediately as well.
Gobbetti is coming from French luxury brand Céline where he was chairman and chief executive. He’s been in the luxury goods sector for over 20 years and has worked for the likes of Givenchy and Moschino in his time in the industry.
The Italian has been tasked with bringing Burberry back into fashion and will be responsible for all commercial, operational and financial elements of the business.
The group’s new chief operating and financial officer Julie Brown – announced along with Gobbetti last summer – will also take up her new position this month, joining up with the team on Wednesday.
The board changes came as part of a “business review” to try and tackle sliding sales in a “challenging external environment”.
The market seems to think that the fashion brand will have turned things around since its last update when it releases its Christmas trading figures on Wednesday.
The fall in the pound is likely to have pushed up sales over the key holiday trading season, with so-called ‘Brexit tourists’ – many from the Far East – spending more than £700mln in British shops last month.
Shares peaked to an 18-month high on the back of the news, trading at £16.22 shortly after market open.