With an army of celebrity fans, from Sienna Miller to Kate Winslet, plus an array of supermodels keen to hang one from their slender arm, Mulberry has long been the handbag of choice for the A-listers.
And while the prices were always rather sky high,recently the high end fashion brand pushed up the cost of owning a Mulberry tote towards nearly £5,000 in a bid to tap into an even more exclusive luxury market.
But the ploy for the big bucks simply hasn't worked and Mulberry have now revealed plans for an about turn and will launch a more affordable range in a bid to win back loyal customers.
The news comes following a warning that its underlying annual profit would fall below expectations for the fourth time in two years.
The luxury goods firm said that profit before tax for the year ended 31 March 2014 was now expected to be around £14million, while analysts had been expecting around £19million.
The group, which is still looking for a new chief executive after last month's departure of Bruno Guillon, said it will look to refocus its sales efforts on offering products at more affordable prices.
The new strategy was unveiled by former head Godfrey Davis, who oversaw the rapid growth of the Mulberry brand between 2002 and 2012. He has returned to the helm on a temporary basis until a permanent boss is found.
Under former boss, Mr Guillon's leadership, Mulberry pushed up prices in an attempt to become even more exclusive, with products such as the Bayswater and Alexa handbags selling for up to £4,500.
However, the increase in prices alienated the company's core customer base, triggering a slew of profit warnings.
Creative director Emma Hill also resigned from the group last year amid speculation over disagreements with Mr Guillon.
Following her appointment in 2008, Ms Hill was credited with transforming the company into an international fashion powerhouse with a number of celebrity fans, including Kate Winslet and Sienna Miller.
Mulberry shares fell 4 per cent after today's latest profits warning and have more than halved in value since the start of 2013.
In January, the group issued a profit warning after heavy discounting over Christmas in Britain and weak demand in South Korea dampened sales.
In implementing a new strategy, Mr Davis warned that there will be a short-term 'material' negative impact on profits but it was necessary to ensure the future strength of the Mulberry brand.
Davis said the firm will slow the rate of store openings from eight for 2013/14 to five for the 2014/15 financial year, in order to control costs and enable existing stores to gain traction.
He added that Mulberry's new factory in Somerset, which opened in June, was now fully operational with more than 300 workers.
The Bridgwater-based facilities were created thanks to £2.5million worth of investment from the Government's Regional Growth Fund with the hope of doubling Mulberry's UK capacity.
Mr Davis said: 'Following the recent change in management, we are focusing on achieving sales growth through the reinforcement of our product offering at more affordable prices to meet the expectations of our loyal customers.
'This will have short term financial consequences but is necessary to ensure the future strength of the Mulberry brand,' he added.
I couldn't agree more.
