Becoming champions of sustainability when the markets see your stocks take a nosedive. That’s what happened to the British brand Burberry, which chalked up two records in the space of a few hours. First, in a horrible week in which the FTSE 100 (the index of the most capitalised companies listed in London) retrogressed en masse, they found themselves one of the worst performers. After the publication of a report according to which Burberry is about to cut prices in Hong Kong and China to offset the impact of the weak pound, shares lost 2.2% of their value. At the same time, however, the British fashion house (which in July appointed Italian Marco Gobbetti as its CEO, making him responsible for getting it out of its current unhappy situation) won the award for the most sustainable fashion business. The 2016 edition of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) gave Burberry the highest place on the podium (occupied by the Kering group in recent years) out of the brands that have made the greatest efforts on topics such as the environmental and social impact. For the British fashion house, it is not an honour for its own sake. With its rankings, the DJSI, set up in 1999 with the aim of monitoring Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index companies, is capable of creating a positive aura around brands and influencing investors’ intentions. Environmentalists are not at all fond of the DJSI, due to its profile as a possible additional marketing tool in the hands of corporations. Let’s see if it is true and if this time, a little green help will enable Burberry to reverse its course on the stock exchange. (rp)
Green consolation: Burberry slips on the stock exchange (-2.2%), but pips Kering to the top of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
