中文Mulberry Cut Its Losses by 72% Without Discounting — Here’s How
Turnaround stories in luxury usually follow a depressing script: cut prices, chase volume, blow out inventory, report a “return to growth” that turns out to be borrowed from next year’s margin. Mulberry did not follow that script, and its full-year results show why that discipline pays.
The British leather goods house has reported its year ending 28 March 2026 with revenue up, margins sharply improved and losses cut by nearly three quarters — and crucially, the improvement came from selling fewer things at full price, not more things cheaply.
The Numbers
Group revenue rose 4% year-on-year to £125.5 million (US$167.89 million). That headline understates the trajectory, because the second half carried the year: sales in H2 rose 11% following the company’s brand repositioning.
The margin story is where the discipline shows. Gross margin improved from 67% to 72% — five full percentage points — on the back of stronger full-price trading, reduced promotional activity and tighter inventory control.
Loss before tax narrowed dramatically, from £32.2 million (US$43.08 million) to £8.9 million (US$11.91 million). Operating expenses fell 10% to £96.2 million (US$128.69 million) even while the company continued spending on marketing, brand building and digital.
Cutting costs 10% while increasing brand investment is the hard version of cost control. It means the savings came from structural inefficiency, not from starving the future.
Where the Growth Came From
Retail revenue edged up 1% to £110.9 million (US$148.36 million), with physical stores outperforming digital — a mild but persistent reversal of the pandemic-era assumption that everything migrates online. For a brand rebuilding desirability, the store is where the material does the talking. It is difficult to communicate the hand of a well-finished bridle leather through a product page.
Franchise and wholesale grew 33% to £14.6 million (US$19.53 million), supported by expanded international partnerships.
Regionally, Europe grew 21%, the U.S. grew 6%, and Asia Pacific declined 6% following earlier restructuring. The European figure is the standout — evidence that Mulberry’s British-heritage positioning travels well in markets that value provenance.
The Product Decisions That Actually Mattered
Financial engineering does not rebuild a leather goods brand. Product does.
Mulberry brought back the Roxanne, launched the Boston family, and continued developing the Bayswater range — its most recognisable icon. This is textbook heritage brand management: mine the archive, refresh the icons, and give customers a reason to reconnect rather than asking them to accept an unfamiliar new direction.
Christopher Kane was appointed Ready-to-Wear Creative Director, extending the brand’s reach beyond accessories. Wholesale relationships expanded to include John Lewis, Liberty, Flannels and Harvey Nichols — a distribution list that is deliberately upmarket, avoiding the discount channels that erode perceived value.
Two data points deserve particular attention. First, more than half of UK retail and digital sales came from returning customers. Repeat purchase rate is the most honest measure of whether a brand turnaround is real; new customers can be bought with advertising, but returning ones have to be earned. Second, The Mulberry Exchange, the company’s resale platform, continued building momentum — a channel that simultaneously captures secondary market value, supports residual pricing, and gives sustainability claims some substance.
Financing the Recovery
Cash flow improved alongside trading, helped by disciplined investment. The group maintained positive liquidity through a £20 million (US$26.75 million) convertible loan note and supplier financing arrangements, while continuing to focus on inventory management and rebuilding product availability.
That last phrase — rebuilding product availability — is quietly important. Aggressive inventory reduction is the fastest way to protect margin and the fastest way to lose sales when demand returns. Mulberry has to thread that needle for the next twelve months.
What CEO Andrea Baldo Said
“FY26 has been a year of meaningful progress as we continue to deliver our Back to the Mulberry Spirit strategy,” said CEO Andrea Baldo. “Back in January 2025 I set out my immediate priorities to restore profitability, rebuild gross margin and invest in brand building initiatives, and I am pleased with the progress we have made against those objectives.”
Notably, he listed the same three priorities he set eighteen months ago and delivered on all three. That is rarer than it should be.
The Forward Number That Changes Everything
Here is the figure that reframes the whole result: revenue for the 13 weeks to 27 June was 23% higher than the same period last year. Retail and digital rose 18%, with all regions delivering double-digit like-for-like growth.
Twenty-three percent is not a stabilisation. That is acceleration.
Mulberry is now targeting annual revenue above £200 million (US$267.55 million) and a 15% adjusted EBIT margin over the medium term. From £125.5 million, that requires roughly 60% growth — ambitious, but no longer fanciful given the Q1 trajectory.
The lesson for the broader leather goods sector is straightforward and slightly unfashionable: the fastest route out of a downturn is not price. It is product people actually want, sold at the price it’s worth.
Source: International Leather Maker
