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LONDON — Burberry’s chief marketing officer Rod Manley is leaving the company later this year, a spokesman for the brand has confirmed.
Manley joined Burberry in January 2019, and reported to then-chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti, who left the company in 2021. He reports to the current CEO Jonathan Akeroyd, and leads all marketing, communications and creative media teams.
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Manley was part of the squad that steered Burberry through challenges such as COVID-19, Brexit, and the post-pandemic decline in luxury goods sales. During his five-plus years at the company, he also worked alongside designers Riccardo Tisci and Daniel Lee, Burberry’s current chief creative officer.
Manley joined Burberry from Calvin Klein in New York, where he was executive vice president, influence marketing and communications. He previously held senior positions at Giorgio Armani and also worked at KCD.
A seasoned communications figure, Manley joined Calvin Klein in 2015. Before that, he was senior vice president, communications at Giorgio Armani, where he worked for nine years, both in New York and Milan.
It is understood that Manley’s exit was planned, and Burberry will begin looking to replace the position.
In fiscal 2024, Burberry reported a 4 percent decline in revenue to 2.97 billion pounds, with adjusted operating profit falling 34 percent to 418 million pounds.
At constant exchange, revenue was flat in the 12-month period ended March 30, while adjusted operating profit was down 25 percent as Chinese and American customers in particular held back on spending.
The company had warned the markets in January that adjusted operating profit would fall between 410 million pounds and 460 million pounds, lower than previously expected.
Along with other luxury goods players, Burberry has seen a slowdown in demand, particularly in China and the U.S. In the U.K., the brand has also suffered from the cancellation of the tax-free shopping program.
Despite the macro challenges, Akeroyd said earlier this month that Burberry made “good progress” on other fronts in 2024, refocusing the brand image, evolving the product, strengthening distribution and delivering operational improvements.
Looking ahead, he said “we are using what we have learned over the past year to fine tune our approach, while adapting to the external environment. We remain confident in our strategy to realize Burberry’s potential, and we are setting ourselves up for future growth.”