The luxury brand warned that full-year profits would fall short of expectations, then announced it would replace its CEO and suspend its dividend, sending its shares tumbling 11 percent.
The company, best known for its trench coats, announced that Joshua Shulman, former president of US brand Michael Kors, will take over as CEO.
Shulman succeeds Jonathan Akeroyd, who will leave Burberry “with immediate effect following agreement with the board,” the company said in a statement.
The announcement came as Burberry released its results for the three months to the end of June, warning that markets were “more challenging than expected”.
The fashion brand said it would suspend dividend payments as it expects to post an operating loss for the first half of its financial year.
Read more: Live: FTSE 100 and European markets fall as Burberry reports profit fall
The luxury retailer reported first-quarter results showing that same-store sales fell 21% and revenue fell 22% to 458 million pounds ($594.9 million).
“If current trading levels continue the group is likely to slip into an operating loss in the first half of the year, compounding an extremely tough period for the company,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
“The group's appeal has been undermined by weakening consumer demand, particularly in China, where sales in the Asia Pacific region fell 23% in the first quarter. Even before the shares fell by up to 12% at the open as investors tried to digest the news, they had fallen 58% over the past year and today's announcement will have a significant impact on the group's short-term fortunes.”
Bitcoin prices have surged, with some analysts linking it to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump on Saturday.
The Republican candidate is seen as a more pro-crypto candidate, inviting industry executives to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and his campaign is also the first major U.S. political party to accept crypto payments.
“I want to ensure that the future of bitcoin is built here in the United States and not taken offshore,” Trump said at an event in Washington, D.C., last month. “I support the right to self-govern.”
The former president is scheduled to speak at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee on July 27.
Trump, who was shot and wounded at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, is seen as having about 10 percentage points more likely to win November's presidential election to 70% on the Polymarket platform, which allows users to bet cryptocurrency on almost any outcome.
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Read more: Live Cryptocurrency Prices
Rania Gul, a market analyst at XS.com, said: “I believe that US political news is driving the crypto rally as crypto is a 'speculation-driven' space.”
“If re-elected, Trump could ease regulatory policies on cryptocurrencies and improve regulatory conditions to encourage further investment.”
“His policies on international relations and foreign trade will also have a significant impact on the market, as tensions or stability in international relations can lead to fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market.”
Shares in Trump Media surged about 70% in pre-market trading as traders increased bets that Donald Trump would win the US presidential election following the weekend assassination attempt.
There appears to be speculation in the market that the assassination attempt will increase the chances of Trump winning the November presidential election, which would benefit TMTG despite its financial difficulties thus far.
“The U.S. dollar is likely to get a boost as markets price in the possibility of Trump 2.0, but the Mexican peso and Chinese yuan could take a hit,” said Charu Chanana, market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets. “Trump-related trades may come back into focus.”
Read more: Today's Trending Stocks
Markets are expecting a Trump presidency to lead to looser fiscal policy and higher tariffs on foreign goods.
“To us, this news reinforces that Trump is the front-runner,” said Mark McCormick, global head of foreign exchange and emerging markets strategy at Toronto-Dominion Bank. “We remain bullish on the dollar in late and early 2025.”
The Trump Media and Technology Group's mission is to end Big Tech's attacks on free speech by opening up the internet and giving people a voice back.
Robert Walters (RWA.L)
Recruitment firm Robert Walters has warned that it does not expect the jobs market to recover until next year due to a slowdown in hiring around the world.
The recruitment consultancy said it cut its workforce by 5% in the second quarter, bringing headcount to 3,625, down 15% from the same period last year.
In the three months to the end of June, net fee income fell 12% on a constant currency basis to £84.8m, while gross profit fell 14% to £166.1m.
Global recruitment firms are struggling to regain momentum as clients delay hiring and candidates are reluctant to move jobs in the current volatile economic climate, with elections in some countries further weighing on the market.
Read more: Stocks to watch this week: Anglo American, Burberry, TSMC, Netflix
“Our near-term planning assumes that any significant improvements in reliability will occur gradually and not before 2025,” CEO Toby Foulston said.
“While current market conditions suggest the range of potential full-year outcomes is wider than historically, I have great confidence in our experienced leadership team, who have successfully navigated many challenging market cycles,” he added.
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