LONDON — Céline’s Johnny Coca will join Mulberry as creative director in July, writing a fresh chapter for the British brand, which has witnessed a dramatic 18 months. Godfrey Davis, Mulberry’s chairman and chief executive officer, said Coca, a star in the luxury accessories design world, is “the perfect fit” for the business.
Following the announcement, Mulberry’s share price rose 6.7 percent to 8 pounds, or $12.60, on the London Stock Exchange, and it ended the day up 2.3 percent, closing at 7.67 pounds or $12.07. WWD first reported that Coca was the front-runner for the job of creative director on Oct. 17.
“In particular, he has a very modern take on luxury accessories, and he’s very in tune” with what the customer wants, Davis told WWD in an interview shortly after the announcement. “At Mulberry, we are very much trying to look forward, and we are all keen to keep the positioning of the brand,” said Davis.
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He added that while Mulberry may sell bags worth thousands of pounds, 1,500 pounds, or $2,360, is a “natural price point, and we also want to make sure we do great bags costing 500-800 pounds ($790-$1,260),” he said.
Coca, who was most recently head design director for leather goods, accessories, shoes and jewelry at Céline, said in a statement he is looking forward to joining Mulberry and “to leading a new design direction at one of the very best British brands.”
He will be responsible for all of Mulberry’s collections, include rtw, and will report to Davis.
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Coca, who was born in Seville to Spanish parents, studied art, architecture and design at the École des Beaux-Arts and École Boulle in Paris, and currently works as a tutor at Central Saint Martins. He has said his sources of inspiration come from his passion for fashion and design, art and architecture, film and music.
The multi-lingual Coca, who has in the past worked for Bally and Louis Vuitton in accessories, said he intends to ensure that Mulberry continues its tradition of encouraging new young talent as he helps to build the next generation at the brand.
Coca joins Mulberry after a tumultuous 18 months: The company’s former creative director Emma Hill and its chief executive officer Bruno Guillon left within months of each other.
The company had also attempted to push too far and too quickly into the high-end luxury space. The moves were not successful, and the brand was forced to issue a string of profit warnings, the latest of which came just last month. Mulberry said pre-tax profit for the full year ending March 31 is expected to be “significantly below current expectations” following a 17 percent drop in first half revenues to 64.7 million pounds, or $104.8 million.
Davis has since returned to the chief executive’s seat in a bid to get Mulberry on track once again by luring back the core consumer and re-adjusting the average price points.
Davis added that the company has also been investing in disproportion to its size, but according to plan. It has opened a raft of new stores over the past few years in North America, Europe and the Far East and plans to cut the ribbon on a Paris flagship store next spring, which will mark the end of its accelerated investment program.