Burberry shifts away from seasonal fashion collections

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LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - British luxury fashion brand Burberry is moving away from presenting traditional seasonal collections to meet growing demand from customers in different climates around the globe.

Burberry also plans to have just two catwalk shows instead of four each year and make its runway collections available in stores immediately, the first global fashion house to move away from the traditional calendar in which brands present their collections months before the clothes reach the shop floor.

Collections will be named February and September rather than spring/summer and autumn/winter.

The change may help Burberry to disrupt the rise of fast fashion retailers, who are able to respond to trends seen on the catwalk in a matter of weeks. Some retailers also point to the weather when sales fall short of expectations.

Burberry, known for its trench coats and cashmere scarves, said that from September, its two fashion shows would feature both menswear and womenswear that would be available in-store and online straight afterwards.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) already offers customers the option to buy its clothes straight from the catwalk on its website and said the move will allow the brand to align parts of its business better.

"It just feels like a natural next step," said Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey in a interview with online magazine Business of Fashion.

"But ... it takes time. You've got to work things through. This obviously will have a big impact on our supply chain, but in terms of the design and the creative process, it's actually less radical than it might seem."

Burberry has been announcing small changes to its business, including combining its Prorsum, London and Brit (LSE: 133772.L - news) lines under the Burberry label, amid concerns that the business environment for luxury goods is becoming more challenging. (Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; editing by John Stonestreet and Keith Weir)