British fashion house Burberry Group said today chief executive Rose Marie Bravo would leave next July as expected but would stay on with the company as vice chairman.
Ms Bravo is widely credited with reinventing Burberry - pink raincoats, mini-capes, fragrances and bikinis were added to the classic camel, red and black check whose heritage stretches back to the days of Queen Victoria.
Burberry, which signalled last week that Bravo's role was to change, said in a statement it had appointed Angela Ahrendts as chief executive with effect from July 1st.
Ms Ahrendts, who will join Burberry on January 9th as an executive director, joins from US clothing company Liz Claiborne, where she is executive vice president responsible for brands including Ellen Tracy, Juicy Couture, DKNY Jeans, Lucky Brand and the company's men's businesses.
Burberry is 66 per cent owned by retail conglomerate GUS, which unveiled plans in May to break itself up in a bid to net more value for shareholders. That process is expected to start later this year with the demerger of its Burberry stake.
GUS and Burberry are both due to publish trading updates tomorrow.