Forget the It bag: Male satchels boosts Burberry's sales by 27%

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Bag it: Burberry Prorsum's autumn/winter 2011 campaign in Milan showed many of the models wearing man-bags


Forget the It-bag, it's now the man bag helping fashion brands boost profits.

Burberry has reported a 27 per cent rise in sales in part due to the trendy piece.

And it seems the item made a popular gift choice in the run up to Christmas.

The totes, selling for between £295 and £895, have proved particularly popular with Chinese and Asian shoppers.

Chief financial officer Stacey Cartwright said: 'In China and the rest of Asia — where Burberry has a big fan base — men’s accessories are a huge market'.

The latest menswear collection features brightly-coloured bags with Sixties-style duffel coats and transparent ponchos and was unveiled in Milan on Saturday.

Total sales in the three months to the end of December hit £480 million, meaning Burberry expects annual profits to come in at the top end of City forecasts.


Star: Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, the former model for Burberry helped boost profits when she was announced as the face of the brand in 2009


Analysts are pencilling in pre-tax profits of almost £290 million for the 12 months to the end of March.

Cartwright said its stores in the UK and on the east coast of the US suffered during the snow, but she was 'delighted' with the performance of London’s stores where almost a third of customers come from China.

Shoppers from the Middle East, Russia, the rest of Europe and Brazil also helped to drive up sales.


source: dailymail