Mulberry Group Plc’ share price up, appoints Johnny Coca as a Creative Director

U.K.-based Mulberry Group Plc said in an official statement that it appointed Johnny Coca at the position of Creative Director. The companys choice puts an end to a long search for a worthy replacement for its British designer Emma Hill.

The Chairman of the company, Godfrey Davis, said in a statement, cited by Bloomberg, that Mr. Coca “has a wealth of international luxury and fashion experience that will help us bring new energy and innovation to Mulberry”.

The appointment comes almost a year and a half after Emma Hill departed from the company. Johnny Coca is known for being head accessories designer in Celine, where Mr. Coca’s responsibilities included taking care of some of the best-selling, and respectively, most copied products over the past ten years.

According to the statement of Mulberry, Mr. Coca is to join the company on July 8th. The company has been left without a creative director after the departure of Ms. Hill, who in June 2013 announced that she had decided to leave the brand after spending six years at Mulberry.

As reported by the Financial Times, the company’s chairman said: “Talent has no boundaries. Johnny already lectures at [UK art school] Central Saint Martins, and has spent part of his life living in London. His interest is because he’s interested in Mulberry as a British brand, rather than turning it into something that it is not. He is a detailed, technical designer and is fascinated by the fact we have manufacturing facilities in the UK.”

Since the departure of Ms. Hill, the company has been hurt by a series of unsatisfactory financial results. Despite that, at present Mulberry remains the largest luxury leather goods maker in the U.K.

Mulberry Group Plc closed at GBX 772.50 per share yesterday, marking a one-year decrease of 22.36%. The company is valued at GBP 463.48 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 4 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Mulberry Group Plc have a median target of GBX 725.00, with a high estimate of GBX796.00 and a low estimate of GBX 600.00. The median estimate represents a -6.15% decrease from the last price of GBX 772.50.