Burberry CEO vows revival following 20% drop in sales

Burberry Group Plc's recently appointed chief executive officer pledged to return the British fashion brand to its roots as a maker of trenchcoats and scarves in a move welcomed by investors.

Shares of Burberry rose as much as 15% in early trading in London, after Joshua Schulman said he would undo the missteps of previous management teams who had tried to push Burberry too hard and too fast into the upper echelons of the luxury sector and lost loyal customers along the way.

Schulman, who was named to the top post in July, said his plan to refocus on outerwear, where Burberry is known for check print gabardine trenchcoats, would return the fashion house to its heydey when the company was profitable and hitting annual sales of £3 billion ($3.8 billion).

The former CEO of Michael Kors' vision was presented in a statement Thursday as Burberry reported a 20% drop in comparable retail sales for the quarter ended Sept. 28. Analysts had expected a slide of 21%. The company also swung to an adjusted operating loss of £41 million in the last six months.