Economic Audit - Burberry Group plc

Domain: Economic (Economic) Entity scope: Burberry Group plc (LSE: BRBY), independent. The independent Israeli franchise operator is distinguished from Burberry’s own acts. Compiled: 2026-06-21 Method: Live web search only

Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships

Burberry’s disclosed manufacturing footprint is concentrated in the UK and Italy: owned sites at Castleford and Keighley (Yorkshire - its gabardine trench coats) and in Italy (Florence and Turin, the latter including outerwear maker Pattern SpA, acquired 2023 for ~€21m), plus a Scandicci leather-goods facility (CF&P, 2018).¹²³ Burberry’s FY2024/25 Modern Slavery Statement discloses Tier-1 production as ~75% Italy, 21% rest of Europe, 4% Asia; Israel is not named as a sourcing country in any official Burberry disclosure reviewed.⁴

An activist-aggregator claim that Burberry sources wool from an Israeli textile firm (“Meronot”) circulates online (one secondary source attributing it to a “2023 WhoProfits finding”), but no primary-source corroboration was found - Burberry’s supplier lists and transparency statements do not mention Meronot or any Israeli material supplier, and no retrievable primary WhoProfits publication on Burberry was located. The claim is treated as unverified.⁵⁶ Burberry’s principal wool sourcing is publicly associated with Australian Merino (Woolmark/Commonwealth Fashion Council).⁷ No public evidence of Israeli raw-material procurement was identified in official disclosures.

Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance

Burberry products sold in Israel (via the Tel Aviv franchise) are manufactured in the UK and Italy and imported; no Israel-origin labelling issue was identified, and no public evidence of Burberry sourcing finished goods or components from Israeli settlements or occupied territories was found. No regulatory actions, customs rulings, or labelling complaints relating to Burberry and Israeli/occupied-territory product origin were identified.

Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure

Burberry Group plc is LSE-listed with a broadly institutional, international shareholder base; no Israeli sovereign-wealth fund, Israeli institutional investor, or Israel-linked capital vehicle was identified as a material shareholder. FY2024/25 results note EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India, Africa) accounted for ~34.8% of net revenue, with Israel subsumed in that aggregate and no Israel-specific figure disclosed.⁸ Burberry’s accounts reference deferred consideration relating to the 2016 acquisition of the non-controlling interest in Burberry Middle East LLC - a 2008 joint venture with the Jashanmal Group covering the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait; Israel was not within that entity’s scope.⁹¹⁰ No public evidence was identified of Burberry holding any direct equity stake in an Israeli entity, Israeli bonds, or Israeli government securities.

Operational Presence & Market Activity

Retail structure - independent franchise. Burberry entered the Israeli market in late 2010/early 2011 with a ~370 m² flagship at Kikar HaMedina (State Square), Tel Aviv, operated under a franchise agreement with local Israeli operators Ofra Yaakobi and Yoram Hishin (previously the Gucci franchisees in Israel).¹¹¹² The structure is a third-party independent franchise: Burberry licenses its brand and supplies product to an Israeli franchisee; Burberry Group plc does not own or directly operate the retail point. More recent aggregator sources name Al Tayer Group (Dubai) as the current operator, but no primary Burberry announcement corroborating an Al Tayer arrangement for Israel was located - the original Yaakobi/Hishin arrangement is the only primary-sourced structure.¹³ Burberry’s global store locator (June 2026) did not surface an Israel store page, and no definitive public confirmation of the Tel Aviv store’s current open/closed status was identified.¹⁴ Burberry operated ~33 franchise stores globally as of late 2024 (10 Asia-Pacific, 23 EMEIA); any Israel store would sit within the EMEIA total.⁹

Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties

Burberry Group plc is incorporated in England and Wales; its leadership, board, and principal subsidiaries are UK/Europe-domiciled. No Israeli directors, subsidiary entities, or joint ventures appear in corporate filings reviewed, and Burberry Middle East LLC (Dubai) does not encompass Israel.¹⁰ No foundational ties linking Burberry to Israeli state entities or Israeli capital were identified.

Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution

Under the franchise model, the Israeli franchise operator retains the retail margin on product sold in Israel; Burberry Group plc receives payment for wholesale product supplied to the franchisee and may receive a royalty/franchise fee (these flows are not disaggregated in any Burberry disclosure). No profit is repatriated from an Israeli subsidiary, because Burberry holds no Israeli operating entity. The economic contribution to Israel is limited to franchisee wholesale purchases, any franchise/royalty fees, and the franchisee’s own local employment and taxes - franchisee-level activities, not Burberry-owned operations. No public evidence of Burberry making charitable or philanthropic contributions to Israeli institutions was identified.

End Notes