Fashion may be fickle… but some things never seem to change.
Another year, another set of record-breaking results for Burberry (LSE: BRBY), which reported a 17% jump in its annual sales this morning. That’s 14 out of the last 15 years that Burberry has reported growth in revenues, from £675m a decade ago to £2.3bn today.
Burberry, which designs and sells luxury clothing and accessories, is a true British export success story — the company has gone from making only 10% of its profits outside the UK in 2002 to more than 75% today.
And while tastes, styles and CEO’s come and go — this was Christopher Bailey’s first set of results as new boss — Burberry’s business seems to maintain the same timeless qualities as its iconic trench coats. Sustainable, high-margin, profitable growth around the world is always in vogue among Foolish investors.
Burberry isn’t resting on its laurels outside of the UK, either, and has targeted Japan — the second largest luxury market in the world — as a big opportunity for potential expansion. Mr Bailey has set out his stall by targeting a 300% increase in sales in the country by 2017, driven by new store openings in cities like Tokyo and Osaka.
World domination does come with an expensive price, though — or at least, there are a few drawbacks to owning part of a company doing so much business overseas. With all of those international sales coming from China, America and beyond, it doesn’t help when the pound is strong — which at the moment, it is.
In fact, Burberry admitted in today’s results that if sterling maintained its current strength throughout the year, profits would be a massive £40m lower in 2015.
That may worry some investors in the short term, and the jury is still out on the new CEO. But while these factors and concerns seem to change from one season to the next, I think the fundamental case for Burberry remains the same. In my view, Burberry is very good at what it does — taking its world-class brand to the global stage, selling its high-priced wares to discerning customers, who desire only the best.
When it comes to picking shares, here at the Motley Fool, we’re pretty discerning ourselves — and I think Burberry’s high-margin business could greatly benefit from the potential rise of the emerging market consumer in the years to come. With the shares still 10% off their peak, now could be the ideal time to add some flair and style to your portfolio.
