Romeo Beckham boosts Burberry sales

Brand Beckham has sold underpants, razors, fish fingers, designer fashion and the game of football around the world, and now it has also come to the aid of Burberry’s £1,500-a-go trenchcoats.

The venerable British fashion label has credited a Christmas advertising campaign fronted by Romeo Beckham, the 12-year-old son of Victoria and David, with boosting sales in the US, Europe and the Middle East – and helping to make up for falling sales in Hong Kong in the wake of the pro-democracy demonstrations. You can view here the video.

Sales of Burberry coats, bags and fashion climbed 14% to just over £600m in the three months to the end of December. That was better than City retail analysts had expected and Burberry bosses said the adverts featuring Beckham junior had been a big success.

The four minute film featured Romeo and 50 dancers – all decked out in the label’s trademark trenchcoats – spinning umbrellas on a London-themed set at Elstree studios. It racked up 9m views on Youtube and trended on Twitter all day following the campaign’s launch. A 10% increase in sales of trenchcoats followed, with demand particularly strong in the US. That offset a fall in sales in Hong Kong, which usually accounts for 10% of Burberry’s global sales, as civil rights protestors camped out in the streets.

The big increase in sales of the company’s trenchcoats means it is now taking on new staff at the factory where they are made in Castleford, Yorkshire. It currently employs 750 people, a quarter more than two years ago. The success of the campaign was good news for Burberry but also marks the expansion of the Beckham brand into the next generation.

Romeo, described as “the fashion one” of the Beckham children by his former footballer father, made his modelling debut for Burberry in 2013.