Burberry has outlined plans to create new business divisions its product-focused teams will move into, including a ready-to-wear arm that will be led by Adrian Ward-Rees.
Ward-Rees, who was previously at Christian Dior where he served as senior vice president and managing director of Dior Homme for the past four years, will join Burberry on July 20.
Ward-Rees has been appointed senior vice president, head of ready-to-wear, and will report to the fashion group’s chief executive Marco Gobbetti.
He also joins the FTSE 100 firm’s executive committee. Ward-Rees previously worked at Burberry, known for its trademark trenchcoats, as a director of merchandising.
The appointment came as Burberry said its product-focused teams, based in London, comprising commercial planning which concentrates on inventory management and supply chain, merchandising and product development, are set to be housed into three new divisions.
Burberry said it is evolving its approach to product. It intends to create three new business units covering ready-to-wear, accessories and shoes "and pool expertise within them to enhance our product focus, increase our agility and elevate quality".
Product-focused staff currently work across different categories at the company which, like rivals, had to close stores due to the coronavirus crisis and has seen sales impacted by travel restrictions. The design team are not included in the proposed restructure of the product teams.
Gobbetti, who has led Burberry since 2017 and wants to move it further upmarket, said: “The changes we intend to make will ensure we have the right structures in place as we enter the next phase of our strategy.”
He added: “Embedding product specialisation will enable us to elevate quality and increase our agility, further supporting the momentum we have built across our brand and product and setting us up for future success as markets begin to recover.”
