British luxury handbag maker Mulberry is moving closer to appointing a new chief executive and aims to have one installed by July when its new creative director joins, a source told Reuters.

Mulberry CEO Bruno Guillon quit almost a year ago after a turbulent two years that was marked by three profit warnings during an attempt to move upmarket that failed to pay off.

The group has been led since by Mulberry veteran and chairman Godfrey Davis, who has been working to reconnect the brand with its core followers.

While the company slumped to a loss in the first half to Sept. 30 last year, it said in December a return to its lower-priced roots had lifted sales more recently.

The source close to the company told Reuters Mulberry could make an announcement on a new CEO soon.

The candidate would link up with Mulberry's new creative director, Johnny Coca, who will join from France's Celine in July, replacing Emma Hill, who quit in 2013 and was creative director behind Mulberry's Alexa and Del Rey bags.

The source said that upon the arrival of a new CEO Davis would likely revert to non-executive chairman of the group but would have a more involved role than normal to ensure the new boss and Coca settle into its new strategy.

Mulberry declined to comment.