Mulberry plans Fashion Week 'marketing activity'

Cara Delevingne for Mulberry [Photo/Agencies]

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The British brand will still have a strong presence at next February's event, despite recently announcing the cancellation of its catwalk show due to the departure of creative director Emma Hill.

Bruno Guillon, Mulberry's chief executive, teased in an interview with the Financial Times: "You can't come to catwalk without a creative director. We are trying to put together a very interesting marketing activity... It will be very interesting and will still give visibility to the brand."

Mulberry has issued two profit warnings and this week announced a 28 per cent fall in first half pre-tax profit, but Guillon - who took the role in March 2012 - is confident things will change.

He explained: "It is not easy because we are not in a big group. The big groups, they take a huge space, they arrive with all the brands ... I think we are building the foundations for a good business."

Guillon disagrees with market analysts who believe the drop is caused by a move towards a higher pricing structure, and believes upping the costs of Mulberry's coveted leather handbags makes the brand stand out against its mid-market competitors.

He explained: "[We use] a very good quality leather, and if you want to buy today, you need to pay the cost. At 30 [customers] used to buy a Mulberry, and when they got to 40, and had a bit more money, they were going to other brands.

"With the additional offer we are proposing, we are much more capable of retaining this customer."