Burberry has slowed its sales decline as the luxury brand said it was making “early progress” on its turnaround plan.

Retail revenue fell 6% to £433m in the 13 weeks to 28 June, with comparable store sales down 1% compared to the 21% decline last year.

This was supported by a 4% and 1% increase in comparable sales in the Americas and EMEIA thanks to new customer growth, helping to offset a 5% and 4% drop in Greater China and Asia Pacific.

Burberry said its first quarter growth was driven by stronger brand desirability, outperformance in outwear and scarves, as well as improved conversion.

The luxury brand reported it was on track to deliver £80m in annualised savings during the current financial year and expects to see the impact of its initiatives build as the year progresses.

Burberry chief executive Joshua Schulman said: “Over the past year, we have moved from stabilising the business to driving Burberry Forward with confidence.

“The improvement in our first quarter comparable sales, strength in our core categories, and uptick in brand desirability gives us conviction in the path ahead.

“Our Autumn 2025 collection is being well received by a broad range of luxury customers as it arrives in stores.

“Although the external environment remains challenging and we are still in the early stages of our transformation, we are encouraged by the initial progress we are starting to see.”

It comes as Burberry plunged to an operating loss of £3m in the 52 weeks to 29 March, down from a £418m profit the year prior. Sales fell 17% to £2.5bn.

The retailer cautioned that it would cut 1,700 jobs from the company by 2027, as part of a business-wide cost-cutting drive to bolster its turnaround.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter