Burberry’s chief executive Angela Ahrendts is to leave the firm after eight years to join Apple.
Burberry confirmed the news in a statement this morning that Ms Ahrendts would be replaced by chief creative officer Christopher Bailey by mid-2014. The company said the move follows “nearly a decade during which Angela, Christopher and the senior executive team have transformed Burberry into a world leading digital luxury brand”.

Mr Bailey has been at Burberry since 2001 and in his current position for six years. He has overseen all consumer-facing activities including product design and development, creative marketing, store design, consumer technology and digital innovation.

Angela Ahrendts said: "Burberry is in brilliant shape, having built the industry's most powerful management team, converted the business to a dynamic digital global retailer, created a world class supply chain, state of the art technology infrastructure, sensational brand momentum and one of the most closely connected creative cultures in the world today.  It has been an honour to have partnered with Sir John Peace and Christopher for the last eight years.

“I am confident that, with Sir John's continued guidance and the executive team's support, Christopher, as one of this generation's greatest visionaries, will continue to lead Burberry to new heights.  Today, Burberry is not only a great brand, but a truly great company."

Sir John Peace, chairman of Burberry, commented: "I want to thank Angela personally for building a great culture and leading the company through the incredible transformation over the last eight years.  This CEO transition is a natural progression and comes as Burberry reports yet another strong first half revenue performance. The new beauty division is fully embedded and the Japan integration is well underway.  I have no doubt that Christopher's vision and leadership, with the excellent management team in place, will keep Burberry on the forefront creatively, digitally and financially, creating further value for shareholders in the next exciting stage of our evolution."
Ms Ahrendts will become senior vice president of retail and online stores at Apple, a position created for her.

In its latest trading results, the luxury fashion brand reported a 20% rise in retail sales for the first half, with total revenue for the first half up 14% underlying thanks to gains in both online and offline channels.