Burberry has announced the appointment of Charlotte Baldwin as chief information officer as the luxury fashion house rolls out its new tech-driven strategy following weak sales performance last year.

Baldwin, who will lead the brand’s global technology team, joins Burberry from Costa Coffee where she currently works as global chief digital and information officer overseeing the company’s technology, digital and data organisation.

Following a 20 per cent decline in sales in the first half of 2024, Burberry announced a new strategy in November.

Under the Burberry Forward plan, the retailer said it would reconnect the brand to selling outwear, improve its e-commerce functionality, and use data-driven decision making to complement the creative process.

Burberry also unveiled plans for a virtual scarf try-on service to complement scarf bars where customers can buy products in person.

Prior to joining Costa Coffee, Baldwin was the chief information, digital and transformation officer, Bupa Insurance, at Bupa. She has also held senior roles at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Pearson and Thomson Reuters.

Baldwin will join the company at the end of March this year. She will report to Burberry’s chief executive officer Joshua Schulman and join the company’s executive committee.

“I am very pleased to welcome Charlotte to Burberry, Charlotte is a highly experienced technology and digital leader with a track record of leading large-scale digital transformation,” said Shulman. “I am delighted that Charlotte will be joining our leadership team and look forward to working with her to advance our technological capabilities and drive our strategy forward.”

---