Burberry Chief Bailey Downplays Prospects of Chinese Rebound

LONDON, United Kingdom — Burberry Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey downplayed the prospect of any imminent rebound in China.

“There’s been a struggle there,” Bailey said Monday of luxury demand in Hong Kong and Macau, speaking after the company’s women’s fashion show in London’s Kensington Gardens. The shares fell 1.2 percent.

Sales of designer gear have cooled in China following a government clampdown on extravagance. Hong Kong and Macau, previously hubs for big spenders, have been hardest hit as wealthy consumers shop in Japan and Europe instead, with Italian handbag maker Prada SpA saying last week that business in the cities “remains quite difficult.” Burberry, which had its weakest revenue growth in two years in the three months through June, reports second-quarter sales next month.

China’s devaluing of the yuan in August and the Federal Reserve’s decision this month to hold off from raising U.S. interest rates have added to concerns about global growth.

“There’s lots of changes going on in the world,” Bailey, who is also chief creative officer, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “But at the heart there has to be that thing of moving forward.”

By Andrew Roberts; editors: Matthew Boyle, Paul Jarvis.