Burberry’s new head designer Riccardo Tisci helps fashion brand smash expectations

Designer Riccardo Tisci replaced Christopher Bailey at the brand earlier this year

Fashion brand Burberry said on Thursday that its transformation plan is on track as it surpassed expectations on profit and hailed the early success of its new head designer.

Burberry chief executive Marco Gobbetti said the company’s strong first half performance was due to the “exceptional” customer response to chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci’s debut collection, Kingdom.

The group reported profit of £173m for the 26 weeks to 29 September, beating expectations of £169m.

Meanwhile, the company said it is set to make cost savings of £100m this year, having delivered savings of £80m so far.

“We made good progress in the half as we began to transform and reposition Burberry, while maintaining our focus on financial and operational discipline,” the company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

However, the group also advised: “While the early signs are encouraging, transitioning the product offer, evolving our distribution, changing wider consumer perception and seeing this translate into positive business performance will take time.”

Naeem Aslam at Think Markets said Burberry had proven that “hiring the right person for the right job matters a lot”.

“Designer Ricardo is the hope for the company and his collection has received exceptional response despite the fact that most products won't reach stores until February. The company styled ad campaign resonated with its lovers. This was something which the firm was lacking,” he added.

“What Burberry has realised that it needs to create FOMO among its customers and have more limited lines is the way forward. Communication and delivering a product which the users like is the key to the fashion industry because the competition is as fierce as it can be.”