Mulberry boss eyes London gross sales enhance if Iran struggle pushes extra households to depart Dubai

The boss of Mulberry has said its London sales could be boosted by families moving back to the UK from Dubai due to the Iran war.

Chief executive Andrea Baldo suggested its department store concessions and London flagship could see higher footfall should more expats return. 

It came as the British handbag maker said sales had bounced back due to a turnaround strategy that has re-focused on its home market.  

While giants Hermes and LVMH have seen sales in the Middle East dented by the conflict, Baldo said he was not especially concerned as the business is not as reliant on the region compared to rivals.

And shops in its home market could even benefit from Brits moving back home from Dubai – although it is ‘too early’ to see signs of this at the minute, he said.

He said: ‘There are a lot of residents going back to London at least temporarily.

Mulberry wants to revive its ‘cool Britannia’ image that saw its bags adopted by ‘It girls’ such as model Alexa Chung

‘The link between Dubai and London is so strong we might hopefully see some families come back. Probably what we will see is that it is all based on school, so with term-times in September, families could start moving around.’

The luxury brand said new bags had helped group sales rise 13.6 per cent in the six months to 28 March, after they fell 3.2 per cent in the first half.

This helped lift sales 5.7 per cent for the full year as Baldo hailed ‘a year of decisive progress.’

His turnaround has focused on reviving the firm’s ‘cool Britannia’ image from the 2010s, when ‘It girls’ like Alexa Chung – who has a bag named after her – paraded its products.

Sales in the UK rose 13.7 per cent in the second half thanks to new bags and concessions in John Lewis and Selfridges stores.

Baldo said the brand was offering ‘value for money’ by trying to win in the £800-£1,200 price range. 

He has rejigged prices so that now 60 per cent of the group’s wares are sold below £1,000.

But a product refresh has also helped to boost the sales of pricier bags. A new Boston bag – which costs £1,395 – has ‘performed strongly’ while a limited edition version of its staple Bayswater bag – priced at £1,855 – sold out ‘within minutes’ when it launched in February. 

The brand will focus on opening more shops outside of London, including a new store in Liverpool before Christmas this year, Baldo said.

‘The UK is the most important market for us, not just in London where our performance is really strong but also in the regions,’ he said.

Shares soared 7 per cent on Monday afternoon, contributing to gains of 27 per cent over the past year.

But the business did not provide any guidance on profits, having made a loss of £23.7million for the year to March 28 2025.

Baldo added: ‘Despite a challenging economic and geopolitical environment, we have delivered growth across all channels and geographies, with clear momentum right across the business.’

‘We are simplifying the business, restoring full price discipline, strengthening our connection with customers, and reasserting Mulberry’s position as a distinctive British lifestyle brand. The early results are clear: improved sales quality, stronger margins and growing engagement from both existing and new customers.’

After taking on the job in September 2024, Baldo oversaw 85 job cuts at the company’s head office.

Baldo said on Monday that ‘we have painfully done what was needed in the beginning’ and said his focus was now on investing in marketing to promote new shops.