Luxury goods brand Mulberry has appointed the head designer of French ready-to-wear fashion house Céline as its new creative director.
Johnny Coca will join Mulberry, best known for its leather bags, next July from Paris-based Céline, where he is currently head design director for leather goods, shoes, hard accessories, jewellery and sunglasses. 
As Mulberry’s creative director, he will be responsible for all the Chilcompton, Somerset, based group’s collections.
Mulberry has suffered a torrid year with a string of profit warnings and the sudden departure of its chief executive Bruno Guillon in March – the result, according to industry insiders, of his failure to grapple with the group’s troubles during his two years at the helm.
However his exit failed to calm investors’ jitters and last month Mulberry shares fell by 20% in just one hour after its latest warning that its annual profits would be “significantly” lower than expected.
The group is undergoing a major restructuring after several years of dwindling profits. Mr Guillon was blamed for damaging sales in an ill-fated attempt to take the firm upmarket, with many of its trademark bags having a price tag above £1,000. Part of the restructuring is to launch new products in the £500-£800 bracket
Mr Coca will report to chairman and CEO Godfrey Davis, who has been leading the firm since Mr Guillon’s departure. He has admitted turning around the ailing business has been tougher than expected.
Today he said of Mr Coca’s appointment: “We are delighted that Johnny is joining us. He has a wealth of international luxury and fashion experience that will help us bring new energy and innovation to Mulberry.”
Céline is part of the French-owned global luxury goods group LVMH.
