High-end retailers Mulberry and Laura Ashley may be falling out of fashion with consumers.
Luxury handbag maker Mulberry revealed plunging profits just days after it announced creative director Emma Hill was leaving the company.
Meanwhile, Laura Ashley admitted its current season clothing range had underperformed, despite growth in the home furnishing side of its business.
Mulberry recorded a slump of more than a quarter in pre-tax profits, from £36 million to £26m.
The company blamed the fall on its investments in international markets, which it hopes will help it ride out the economic gloom in UK and Europe.
But the annual results also showed total revenues down 2%.
Sales in Mulberry’s own stores were up by 6% on a like-for-like basis but dragged down by a 16% dip in wholesale.
Shoppers continued to flock to its UK outlets, spending £91.8m on the likes of the Alexa and Del Rey designer bags.
But there is anxiety over whether the momentum can continue after it emerged that Ms Hill was leaving after Mulberry’s London Fashion Week collection is unveiled this September.
Chief executive Bruno Guillon said: “Mulberry has a well-established business in the UK and a growing presence in Europe.
“With over 80% of our sales derived from these markets where the economic climate remains difficult, Mulberry’s challenge for the future is to accelerate our brand awareness in the USA and Asia.”
Fashion and furnishings retailer Laura Ashley yesterday admitted its current season clothing range had underperformed.
The firm said it had taken steps to redress the issue but total and like-for-like retail sales fell by 0.6% in the first 18 weeks of the current financial year.
The sales downturn came despite the company’s home furnishings business posting positive like-for-like sales growth in the period. Online sales grew by 4.4%.
In a market update, the company said: “We have seen a strong performance and like-for-like growth in our home furnishings business but fashion has under-performed, partly due to the impact of unseasonal weather during the period.”