Mulberry plans UK production expansion after recovery sets in

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 25, 2021

Mulberry could expand its UK production, the company said after delivering a strong set of results this week. The luxury leathergoods brand talked a lot about its production facilities in the earnings report and CEO Thierry Andretta added that around 60% of the firm’s products are now UK-made, a rise compared to the pre-pandemic figure of 50%.

The company has already added an extra production line at one of its two Somerset factories in the past year and could add another if the current rate of sales growth is sustained. The extra production line created around 50 jobs.

That came on top of news that sales rose 34% in the first half and that it returned to profit after making a loss a year earlier. 

Moving more production to Britain has been a boon to the business in recent periods as Brexit and the pandemic have created supply chain issues for companies manufacturing abroad.

Andretta said: “The bold decisions we have taken with regards to focusing on our UK production capabilities mean we are well placed for the festive trading period and beyond. We have an agile supply chain, and as part of our Brexit planning and in anticipation of disruption, we made the decision to order more raw materials than we usually would and to hold more stock. This means we are not affected by the global supply crisis.”

The good news on sales and profits — and Andretta’s insistence that the firm is well placed for the key shopping season — sent the firm’s share price surging 24% on Wednesday morning. However, the euphoria subsided slightly by Thursday morning with the share price falling 5%. It means the company has a market valuation of £211 million, a fraction of what it was almost a decade ago when the share price was around £22.50, compared to the current £3.67.