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In 2013, Ian Scott, director of a group supply at Mulberry Chilcompton Somerset, was interviewed by Luke Leitch of The Telegraph. He stated that many items (including all men's bags) are made in three Turkish factories also used by brands including Dunhill and Givenchy. The "small leather goods" (such as purses, wallets and phone-holders) are made in China, as is the Mulberry scotch-grain luggage.
Designer Emma Hill joined Mulberry in 2007. Hill was credited with creating items for the company such as the Alexa Chung handbag. Profits for the firm were initially strong after Hill's appointment, however the brand struggled during the credit crisis, and has issued two profit warnings in the past year. In June 2013, it was announced that Hill would be leaving the brand due to creative differences. Company share prices fell in the wake of the announcement.[7]
During the year 2014, four new directly operated stores were opened in the US and in Germany, one new concession was opened in France and the Stansted Airport store was temporarily closed due to the redevelopment of the terminal. As of 31 March 2015, there were 70 directly operated stores.
For the year ended 31 March 2015, the Mulberry Group announced that the company’s total revenues were 148.7 million pounds (229.5 million dollars), down 9 percent from 163.5 million pounds (252.5 million dollars) in 2013, reflecting a small growth in retail sales which was offset by a decline in wholesale sales.[8]
In March 2017, Mulberry launched its Mulberry Asia business with Challice, a joint venture partner. In July 2017, Mulberry signed a deal with Onward Global Fashion in Japan to form a joint venture named Mulberry Japan, to be headquartered in Tokyo.[9]
In October 2018, the shareholder discount scheme was changed with the qualifying shareholding increased from the original minimum of 250 shares to a new minimum of 500 shares.[10]
In February 2020, Mike Ashley's Frasers Group bought a 12.5 per cent stake in Mulberry, said by a business journalist for The Times to be worth around £19 million. In May 2023 has upped to 37%.[11] In October 2024, Frasers Group made two unsuccessful bids to acquire the company for up to £111 million, but they were rejected by Mulberry's majority investor, Challice, which owns 56.4 per cent of the company.[12][13]
