Marketing Project

The Re-incarnation of the Lost Cachet of

English Fashion - Burberry

Lecturer: Richard Small

PREPARED BY:

Arittra Basu

MBA Term 2-MBA2510-L-A2

UWL ID: 28001438

Word Count: 6116

ABSTRACT:

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The British fashion brand of the Victorian era, Burberry was founded by Thomas Burberry a 21

year old draper’s apprentice in 1856, Basingstoke Hampshire England. It has been a patent name

in the fashion statement of the English people since the inception with the accolade of being

awarded as the ‘Royal Warrant’ by the Royal family and carrying the heritage of 150 years in the

fashion business. But as all business experiences the boom and bust in their operating cycle the

similar sequence happened along with Burberry due to lack of concentration on the changing

pattern and taste in the fashion industry with the modernization of fashion trends and designs. In

the 21st century there is a lot of emphasis been given on the fashion statement of every individual

with designer brands becoming more pertinent in the wardrobe and fashion industry becoming a

very volatile market to exist? Innovation and adaptation of the modern taste is the fundamental

requirement for the retail fashion business to exist in the competitive market. However, there has

been some problems in the strategic decision making level of the Burberry’s business and owing

to that financial year ending 31st March 1998, they have experienced a major profit margin drop

from £62m to £25m. Instead of disposing of the sinking business the proprietor, Great Universal

Stores (GUS), the British consumer and retail conglomerate appointed Ms. Rose Marie Bravo as

the new chief executive for Burberry in 1997, after which significant improvements happened

within the business increasing their profitability aspect. However, in this project the main

objective is to justify the statement that Burberry has found a missing link in the fashion industry

about the esteem of a ‘national brand’ and utilized intelligent re-cycling of their glorious heritage

to transform the image and brand identity of Burberry. Particular reference would be taken from

their re-positioning strategy, merchandising, distribution strategy, brand management, product

designing and sourcing, licensing strategy and advertising strategy. The entire project about

Burberry’s business model redesign would be based on secondary data available from the

research work done by business analyst and academics in the field of fashion marketing and

business development. Furthermore, information would also be taken from newspaper articles

along with the Initial Public Offering (IPO) Prospectus of Burberry where clear illustrations and

critical analysis about the developmental strategies were discussed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

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Page Numbers

1.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..4-5

2.0 Chronology of Burberry………………………………………………………………..5-6

3.0 Problem Recognition of Burberry……………………………….………………….....6-9

4.0 Implementation of Re-Positioning Strategy……………………………………….........9

4.1 Brand Management……………………………………………………………..….......9-11

4.2 Marketing Communications……..…………………………………………………….11-12

4.3 Product Design and Resourcing……………………………………………………….12-14

4.4 Brand Distribution Strategy…………………………………………………………...14-16

5.0 Critical Discussion and Recommendations…………………………………………...16-18

6.0 Conclusion………………………………………………………………........................18-19

7.0 References……………………………………………………………………………....20-22

Appendix:

1. Latest Adverts of Burberry ……….………………………………………………….…...23

2. Marketing Communications Strategy: Diagrammatic Representation.………………..24

1.0 INTRODUCTION:

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The viability of success for a particular business is reliant upon the efficiency and effectiveness

of the management responsible of making strategic decisions for the prosperity of the business

[Jackson & Haird (2003)] Managers in specific organizations may develop a series on initiatives,

modifications or innovations in their present business model to implement change in the existing

model to reconstruct the business strategy taking consideration of the customers, partners,

organizational feedback, field responses and predictable alteration of the competitors business

model [Johnson (2007: 66)] Moreover, Jackson & Haird (2003) in Moore & Britwistle (2004:

412-422) suggests that there are several examples of various brands in the market who has

flourished or emaciated due to the reactions of the business models deployed by the management

in the sight of attaining their strategic or non strategic objectives. Reference would be taken from

the case of Gucci, the Italian luxury brand whose success was in the platform of peak in the

1950s and was an exclusive brand for the silver screen beauties in the Hollywood and European

Society. Although, the brand suffered a loss of prestige and a high volume profitable venture

scored massive losses, which was the result of a strategy Gucci applied where they reduced the

control of management over product development and distribution taking into account the

wholesale licensing agreements but diluted the authority of the brand as an exclusive and

desirable fashion brand.

However, Moore & Fernie (2004) discussed about the business model redesign after Gucci got

hold of Tom Ford, who adopted an interactive model of increasing internal controls with respect

to product sourcing, brand infrastructure and supply channels. The essence of the model was to

synergising the logistics, fiscal planning and real estate management to reduce cost and

utilization of the supplied resources effectively which is a “back-end” strategy whereas the “front

end” puts emphasis on evaluation of competitive risk by forming a portfolio of distinctly

positioned fashion brands in the market. Additionally, emphasis was also given to the

maximization of internal resources and discarding of licensing agreements for the company

owned and company controlled manufacturing and distribution outlets. [Gucci, (2001), (2002)]

Similarly, adaptation of unfavourable business model in accordance with the company’s progress

has resulted in diminishing the brand identity of the English pioneering brand, Burberry. [Cowe

(1998)] The major shove came into the business when their turnovers plunge from £62m to

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£25m which was observed in the financial year close of 31st March 1998 and the leading

financial analyst of the country described the business as “an outdated business with a fashion

cachet of almost zero”. [Finch & May (1998)] The proprietor of the Burberry brand Great

Universal Stores (GUS) instead of selling the business taken an initiative to appoint Rose Marie

Bravo as the new chief executive of the company which turned out to be a massive success for

Burberry. She sought after to re-position the brand by implementing internal control over

manufacturing and distribution, expansion of product portfolio to embrace an extensive customer

base and adaptation of a multi-brand positioning strategy, which are significant strategic moves

happened within other premium fashion brands like Gucci, Ralph Lauren and Prada. [Moore &

Fernie (2004)] The objective behind this strategy is to modernize the brand image, repossession

over distribution and product development keeping the traditional heritage of Burberry alive

within the apparels and accessories thus regaining the cachet of a premier English fashion house

and the traditional customer base with emphasis to attract new and more conscious clientele.

2.0 CHRONOLOGY OF BURBERRY:

Since the foundation of Burberry in 1856 by Thomas Burberry the reputation of the company is

preserved through Burberry’s development of the ‘gabardine’ fabric which was resistant to

tearing, weatherproof and breathable at the same time. [Burberry (2002)] This particular fabric

was meeting the requirements of the military needs and lead Burberry to develop and design

officer’s rain coat which eventually became an integral part of the British army officer’s service

uniform in the early 1900’s. Burberry used to produce the officer’s rain coat but modified it by

adding some new magnitude such as epaulettes, straps and D-rings which later took the name of

“Trench Coat” due to its association with military wardrobe. Moreover, they also developed the

unique Burberry check as a lining for the product. Apparently, due to its alliance along with the

military dress code Burberry outwears was readily used by leading explorers like Captain Scott

and Sir Earnest Shackleton on their mission to the Antarctic expeditions. [Moore & Britwistle

(2004: 412-422)]

Along with the prosperity of Burberry, the first radical step was taken in 1891 when it opened its

first store in London and thus entered into the retail and wholesale market of fashion.

Subsequently, in 1910 Burberry also opened its first international store in Paris at the Boulevard

Malesherbes. Burberry entered into supplying the foreign market in early 1900’s with the foot

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step of Thomas Burberry who began to supply products to retail stockists based in New York,

Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Later in 1920 Burberry entered into the Japanese market by

whole sale distribution licence in coalition with Japanese retailers. The relationship went strong

when Burberry signed up with Mitsui for distribution system of their outerwear products in Japan

in 1964 along with the addition of Sanyo as their licensee in 1980. [Adams (1995), Sherwood

(1998), Burberry (2002)]

However, along with the growth of the Burberry brand in national and international markets the

brand was taken over by British retail corporation, Great Universal Stores (GUS) in 1955 which

aided the organization in adding fund to the business for expansion in UK and USA with better

management to exist in the retail fashion market. Additionally, licences were issued to various

third parties to assist the expansion of the Burberry product range in Europe and Asia in order to

garb the distribution network in the foreign market. [Cowe (1998)] Conversely, the downturn in

the Japanese economy has significantly affected the performance level of the brand in mid-

1990’s due to its heavy reliance upon the Asian market for sales and distribution. Moreover, in

1997 Burberry’s strategy became susceptible to withstand the market turmoil and suffered a huge

loss in their balance sheet. GUS was advised to sell the brand in a legitimate amount as financial

analyst predicted the plummeting future of the fashion house. Thus arises the problem of existent

for Burberry in the market place. [Finch & May (1998); Roberts (1998)]

3.0 PROBLEM RECOGNITION OF BURBERRY:

The key issue concerning at this point of time is, how to retrieve the lost cachet of the Burberry

fashion house. The question that would be primarily rose to the management on Burberry’s

performance in its late 1990’s, which has caused an abrupt major drop in the business. Argonti &

Janis (2002: 90) suggests that there are a number of factors which contributed to the major

disorder and irregularity in Burberry’s management and strategy which ultimately lead to a lethal

sluggish reputation. The story begins before 1997 when the Burberry management instead of

practically developing a consistent brand across the globe adopted a liassez- faire approach and

authorized each countries management team to develop the brand as they wanted. The result was

therefore quite contradictory and formed an image of confused identity in the mind of the

customers. The reaction in different countries about the brand image of Burberry was

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inconsistent. In USA the brand defines the traditional raincoats and scarves whereas in Korea it

meant whisky and in Switzerland it signifies watches.

However, Ms. Bravo (CEO of Burberry) in Argonti & Janis (2002: 90) exemplifies the fact that

before her arrival into the business the brand had an incongruent network of licences marketing

its products around the world and it was not a coherent business. She mentioned that each

country was representing its own domesticated version of Burberry and that’s how the demand

slowed down. She particularly commented that “the business was over exposed and over

distributed”. Another important factor which affected the Burberry’s down fall was the confused

sate of the business. Burberry was not able to identify its target group of customers because of its

uneven distribution and licensing policies in different countries of operation. It was confused

about what they are selling and to whom? Burberry’s inability to configure whether they are

serving the high-end consumers or the low-end consumers caused massive problems in the Asian

market. Subsequently, Burberry products were sold in bulk to discount retailers, damaging the

reflection of the elite high-end Burberry boutiques were trying to generate. Abruptly, the

conflicting meaning of both types of retailers flawed the earlier pristine Burberry brand. [Argonti

& Janis (2002: 90)]

[Moore & Britwistle (2004: 412-422)] identifies that Ms. Bravo pointed out that the only strategy

that Burberry could undertake to restructure the brand is to concentrate more on the high-end

retailing alone to send a consistent message to the consumers rather than having a haphazard

outlook. Subsequently, with the poor choice of products in the women segment the brand was

having a diminishing value in the eye of the consumers and the traditional ethnicity of being the

patron of trench coat, raincoats for high-end gentlemen was constructing a missing link among

the customers about the brand identity. In the mean while Burberry was aligning excessively on

the Asian market ignoring the lack of popularity among the consumers in different parts of the

world. Though, their initial concentration on the Asian market has resulted in generating 2/3 of

the company’s revenue by 1996, but the adverse affect came into play with the fluctuation in the

Asian economy in mid 1990’s. [Argonti & Janis (2002: 90)]

O’ Shaughnessy (2003: 219) asserts that preference of brand is not just a matter of appraising

objective factors but it is related to trust which is provided by a brand. Yet reliance of consumers

with a particular brand does not determine the fact that they are loyal to it. Consumers may trust

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a specific brand but no longer be a pertinent part of it as it might look outdated and old fashioned

in the present scenario. There comes the factor of novelty or innovation into the image building

objective of a brand. O’ Shaughnessy (2003: 219) states that “continuity of identity is needed

even when changes in direction are required because current strategies are not working”. If a

particular brand wants to have a continuity of individuality, there must be a storyline which

should connect the transformation in the life of the brand, and the connection must be portrayed

in the packaging and advertising of the brand.

Laura Ashley, the clothing and furnishings manufacturer is a case in point where they tried to tie

up their brand with the illustration of Victorian schoolrooms and country vicarage tea parties,

marked in soft, shaped dresses decorated with country patterns. Updating necessarily does not

mean surrendering the ancestry but the essence should be in the vitality of making narrative

connectedness in harmony with the modern facts. [O’ Shaughnessy (2003: 220)] Similarly,

Burberry has been criticized by the author that they have “seemingly” being successful in

updating their brand image, and the use of seemingly relates to the fact that, what is new to us or

potential customers may estrange many former aspirants of Burberry. [O’ Shaughnessy (2003:

220)]

However, the major strategic challenges faced by Burberry in their business year 1997 were

described in their [IPO (Initial Public Offering) prospectus 2002],

Dependence upon small base core products.

Company-owned retail distribution based within non-strategic locations.

Incoherent wholesale distribution strategy whereby Burberry products were sold to a

wide range of retail outlets of varying quality.

Burberry products being traded by legitimate wholesale customers to other non-approved

stockists and distributors.

Weak licensing strategy which has less control over prices, design and quality control

across the operating markets and lack of Total Quality Management (TQM)

Undermining investment in corporate infrastructure development especially in the field of

marketing, merchandising, product development and sustainable functions.

4.0 IMPLEMENTATION OF RE-POSITIONING STRATEGY:

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As described by Fletcher (2003) that the scenario particularly in London was quite bizarre about

the distribution of the Burberry brand. The brand was available in 60 different stores across

London but was stocked up in the esteemed high end retailers like Selfridges, Harvey Nichols

and Harrods. Furthermore, the Bravo management recognized the need to revive the entire

operational structure of the brand and implemented a reposition strategy addressing the problems

associated with insufficient command over product design and distribution occurring due to

unsystematic licensing and circulation contracts. [Fletcher (2003)]

According to [Burberry IPO Prospectus, 2002] the management’s new strategy was to re-design

the unique luxury brand with a clear design, merchandising, marketing and distribution strategy

in order to appeal the new younger fashion forward customers rather than being stuck with a

narrow customer base encompassing fashion conservative middle aged men. Subsequently, the

present management undertook and range of initiatives to reform Burberry’s brand image,

restructuring of the distribution channel and implementing more inclusive controls over product

development, sourcing and allocation of products both internationally and domestically.

[Burberry IPO Prospectus, 2002] However, these initiatives were taken as the first step to

construct a platform for realigning the new Burberry business model with a focus to achieve

strategic growth and development of the brand in the future with the intention to attain stability

in the market with innovation. Apparently, it is quite clear from their [IPO Prospectus of 2002,]

that the management’s motive to “reposition the Burberry brand” is concerned with modern

approach towards brand management, brand distribution and product design and sourcing.

4.1 Brand Management:The rebranding of the Burberry brand started with the attempt to change the name of the

organization from Burberry’s to Burberry which is more prominent and determines it as a

specific brand rather than an association with someone’s name and was sustained by the new

brand logo introduction along with a fashionable packaging. Moreover, in order to enhance the

picture of Burberry in the fashion market they have taken utilized the importance of advertising

in international fashion brand positioning and endorsed British super model Kate Moss for their

lucrative advertising campaign along with upright fashion photographers. [Moore & Britwistle

(2004: 412-422)] Argonti & Janis (2002: 90) reveals the fact the brand saw a major turnaround

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after the Kate moss campaign of Burberry came into the silver screen where she was claded in a

signature plaid bikini. The add sore the sales of Burberry to a peak and also added a new

dimension of customer segment to the business appealing more younger generation to it.

However, Argonti & Janis (2002: 90) commented that the action of Burberry in their new

revamping advertising campaign was rather daring but that acted as the most viable point of

turnaround to put the picture of the brand with a complete makeover preserving the conventional

British themes an important aspect of the advertisement.

Subsequently, the next step for the contemporary and highly credible fashion brand was to open

a flagship store in the New Bond Street area of London, where all the existent fashion brand like

Gucci, Versace, YSL, Prada. Chanel, Bulgari Ted Baker has portrayed their wardrobe collection

in the form of their patent shops targeting the fashion conscious Londoners. The insight into the

matter of opening of the flagship store was supplemented by the motive of the management to

get the attention of the International fashion press that would facilitate Burberry to get an

exposure to the editorial world of fashion and media. [Moore & Britwistle (2004: 412-422)]

Schultz, Jo Hatch and Larsen (2000: 61) suggests that brands are very important to consumers

and are having overwhelming impact on the purchasing behaviour of the consumers. There are

certain factors why brands are becoming an integral part of the society. Primarily, the world has

become a very complex place with all extremities and in this situation it is very hard to choose

from the offerings which are quite similar to one another. However, the choices of products are

based on rational judgement of the consumers and selection of products is critical but brands

play a vital role in distinguishing products and form an identity. Schultz, Jo Hatch and Larsen

(2000: 61) state that “brands are the device we use to differentiate between otherwise almost

indistinguishable competitors”. Additionally, without clear branding of specific products

consumers are confused about the offer and brand creates a continuity and association with the

consumers forming a narrative connectedness. Secondly, brands offer consistency. It can be

justified by the thought that what we are today is the same as it was yesterday and the same

continuation will be there tomorrow. Brands always reassure the consumers that we are an

integral part of your culture and it’s a form of their identification signifying their personality.

The thought can be connected with one of the major aspect of branding i.e. empathy. Therefore,

brands helps consumers to build a relationship and forms a link between why consumers are

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typical and shapes the people to form identity of them to communicate with the rest of the world.

(E.g. fashionable (Max Mara) Sporty (Umbro) or Peppy (Brooks Bros.) However, consistency

should always be embraced by variety and diversity of products along with the changing pattern

of society and trend. [Schultz, Jo Hatch and Larsen (2000: 61)]

4.2 Marketing Communications:However, according to the IPO Prospectus (2002) of Burberry its is clearly identified that the

company has paid concern of the vitality of marketing communications for the development and

enhancement of the brand which is capable of producing attention among the fashion retailers

and wholesalers in the market. Subsequently, in order to continue a coherent brand identity

Burberry has made efforts to manage all its marketing activities from its headquarters in London.

They have divided their core marketing communication strategy into 3 major strands.

Advertising

Fashion Shows

Editorial Placement

Burberry has made an active effort to make the presence of itself in the fashion market by

launching a seasonal brochure and website targeting the leading fashion life style publications

for its publicity through its twice yearly advertising campaigns. However, their advertising is

focused on keeping the brand image of Burberry rather than the products offered and strong

emphasis has been given in the ‘iconoclastic’ British images drawing attention from the firm’s

heritage and history. Additionally, they have focused more on product mix of the brand rather

than individual products with prominence on key products as the trade marks but bringing up the

overall brand image of Burberry. However, in their major operating wing in Japan, the

partnership companies Mitsui and Sanyo both are advised to manage their local advertising

campaigns maintaining symmetry with the London ads and with approval of the central

marketing department. Moreover, with the introduction of the ‘Burberry Prorsum’ product line

the brand has accentuate more on fashion shows as an important element in their marketing plan

to project the luxury segment of the brand. Furthermore, in order to get the international fashion

audience in the forefront the ‘Burberry Prorsum’ fashion shows are held twice-yearly in Milan

enhancing the fashion credibility of the brand. Another addition to their marketing effort is made

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through proactive public relations strategy intended to target the international fashion press by

exploiting the global editorial column in support of the Burberry brand ensuring regular product

placement in the leading fashion, business, trade and newspaper publications.

[Moore & Britwistle (2004: 412-422)]

4.3 Product design and resourcing:Kapferer (2008: 448) describes that Rose Mary Bravo knew the fact that if she has to revitalize

the brand the foremost step would be segmenting the product lines into different categories and

sub-branding them into specific subsections. However, Kapferer (2008: 448) suggests that

rejuvenating a particular brand is not an easy task to be accomplished. Only advertising cannot

change the whole image of the brand radically but it needs to be boosted up by creating new

product lines and the reason behind this is concerned with the time frame between the past and

present where the perception of the consumers, their habits, consumption of fashion trends and

competition within the market has changed and therefore a break of connectedness happens.

Subsequently, the major objective is to regain contact with the customers as customers perceive

brand as relationship with their identity rather than just an association of name of a product.

Additionally, [Moore & Britwistle (2004: 412-422)] suggests that in order to furnish the

Burberry’s flagship store in central London and competing alongside with the major fashion

brands with their product lines the Burberry in house design team recognized the need to extend

their product range. In order to bring a turning point in the designing section of Burberry

Christopher Bailey was appointed as a design director who bought in his extensive experience

and knowledge from other fashion houses like Gucci and Donna Karan. However, Tungate

(2008: 167) describes that Bailey was later replaced by Roberto Menichetti who launched the

upmarket prorsum (derived from the company’s Latin motto which means “Forwards”) range of

womenswear that allowed Burberry to compete along with the prestige lines offered by its rivals.

As stated in the [Burberry IPO Prospectus, 2002, p.22] that the main mission of the designing

team of the Burberry was to improve the product range under the banner and creating new

products which makes a connection with the updated lifestyle re-positioning of the brand.

Consequently, the company launched a multi-dimensional brand strategy comprising of six new

brand levels. These new brands include the premium Burberry Prorsum range, Thomas Burberry

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aimed for teenagers, Burberry accessories and Burberry London for the patent UK customers.

Alongside they have also developed four distinctly variant ranges integrating the conventional

Burberry style and tradition and named then as Burberry blue and Burberry black for its inspiring

customer segment in Japan. However, Kapferer (2008: 448) commented that the first segment of

the product range generates cash flow for the brand and facilitates the company to take a

calculative risk on the cash-demanding fashion stores and outlets. Moreover, with the creation of

different product ranges under the Burberry clan it has exponentially increased the market

growth prospects and caters them to compete with their rivals without being abolishing from the

high street. Additionally, Burberry has taken the opportunity to expand its products in all

dimensions from traditional menswear, womenswear, children’s clothing and accessories which

includes ‘soft’ goods like scarves and ties and also ‘hard’ goods like luggage and eyewear.

[Moore & Britwistle (2004: 412-422)]

Tungate (2008: 167) signifies the fact that the multi-dimensional brand strategy has facilitated in

maximization of its market coverage and achieved a higher customer attention. Furthermore, this

approach has provided the brand with flexibility and market sensitivity which is evident from its

country specific Burberry blue and black brands. Subsequently, the broad spectrum of product

offerings has enabled Burberry to capture a wide area of market and its differential pricing

strategy among the brands provided the opportunity to trade with the levels in parity rather than a

symbol of ‘aristocrat British living’.

It has been also exemplified by [Bravo for Burberry, 2005] that Burberry believes in the strategy

of keeping its products as continual (products with long life span) and seasonal (products more

responsive to a specific fashion trend and short lasting period) However, their strategy as

reflected in the [Burberry IPO Prospectus, 2002, p. 26] states that they “seek to achieve a

relatively high proportion of continuity products in order to minimise our exposure to changes in

consumer preferences and fashion trends.” O’Shaughnessy (2003: 219) suggests that nations

seeks a continuity of identity in order to associate themselves along with the tradition and

heritage of the particular brand and making a noticeable connection of being the citizen of the

country of origin of the brand. It gives them the feel of who they are and how the brand has

evolved making a narrative connection through the generations producing a sense of cultural

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sharing. However, O’Shaughnessy (2003: 219) argues that multiculturalism and multiethnicity

could be perceived as a threatening for brand loyalty rather than being enriching as it acts as a

barrier in the way of assimilation. Examples could be taken from the tendency of the European

nations to break into smaller units of sub groups like Scottish, Welsh and English rather than

British, as along with time loyalties move to smaller and smaller groups nurturing their deep-

rooted interests. Thus, O’ Shaughnessy (2003: 219) narrates the fact that the scholastic British

monarchy often fail to recognize the supportive pictogram of continuity among the qualms of

change.

4.4 Brand Distribution Strategy:

However, another core aspect of the re-positioning strategy of the Burberry brand was to

reconstruct the distribution channel and formation of a centralized approach to its supply chain

management and the need to reinforce the management’s control over the distribution of the

brand within U.K. and in the international market. Furthermore, Tungate (2008: 167) suggests

that the company was focusing more on the central benefit to be acquired by perfect distribution

strategy that would support the newly formed image of the brand reflecting the fact that Burberry

had not only been ‘re-positioned’ in the market but also ‘re-imagined’. This would relate to the

opinion given by Tungate (2008: 167) that Burberry has successfully manipulated the consumers

with their re-position strategy by delivering ‘what is being promised’ through its advertising,

stores, designs and availability of the products in the right place to satisfy the real taste palate of

the fashion cultivators. Moreover, Jackson and Shaw (2006: 79) describes that Burberry has

reduced its operating licenses as a first step towards exercising greater control over its brand

image. Subsequently, it has extracted all the necessary licenses which the company evaluated as

incompatible along with the re-positioning strategy defined by the brand, but restricted licenses

to those companies which produces specialized goods like fragrances, eyewear, time pieces and

children wears and implemented the regulation that these producers have to be consistent with

the Burberry’s brand image. It has been prominent from the (Burberry, 2003) that due to this

strategy all ‘unprofitable’ and ‘non core’ retailer stores were closed in Europe and wholesale

accounts with inappropriate stockists or known parallel traders (i.e. firms which sales branded

goods that have not been obtained from authorized sources) were suspended.

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Jackson and Shaw (2006: 79) suggest that Burberry distributes its products through retail and

wholesale networks. Retail distribution is done through flagship and regular price stores,

concessions, designer outlets and factory shops whereas wholesale distribution is managed by

independent retailers like departmental and specialist stores, duty-free retailers and free standing

Burberry stores operated by wholesale customers acquiring license through the company’s

logistics channel. The company does holds a website but is solely use for product and brand

promotion with an objective to promote the history and tradition of the brand along with time

and showcases the new catalogue of the Burberry fashion with model portfolios. All these

activities are configured to generate the brand awareness and its latest offerings to the target

audience rather than commercial purpose. Additionally, [Moore & Britwistle (2004: 412-422)]

illustrates that the flagship stores are an important feature of the Burberry brand as they

showcase the brand and the ambience is of a fashion theatre where all the Burberry product lines

are promoted in order to create grow it as a life style brand for the consumers. However, Jackson

and Shaw (2006:79) suggest that as part of Burberry’s re-positioning strategy a number of retail

stores were closed or either renovated and relocated in order to align with the newly created

brand image of the brand. Similarly, they have kept the product mix consistent over its price

retail stores across different geographical locations in order to portray consistency and allowing

variation in retail space availability and consumer requirements. On the other hand the

merchandising process is customized to reflect the local environment and variation of the

Burberry products within that specific demographical area. Moreover, Moore & Britwistle

(2004: 412-422) suggests that Burberry selects the wholesale retailers on the basis of their

reputation and market positioning and negotiates along with the wholesale retailer from store by

store basis to certify that the right product mix is rotated throughout the distribution system.

According to (Burberry, 2003) its has been clarified that the company has retrieved back the

distribution rights with Hong Kong, Singapore and Australian markets in December 2001 and

with Korean market in 2002. Accordingly, they have acquired their Spanish licence in June

2000, and bestowed agreements with Japanese licence partners to achieve greater control over

product design and manufacturing activity.

5.0 CRITICAL DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

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Moreover, it is quite prominent from the re-positioning of the Burberry brand that the perception

of culture and its association with the consumers are relatively important in creating a

distinguishable identity along with heritage and tradition mix, which is carried along from

generations and reflected in the metamorphosed representation of the brand. However, Sparke

(2004: 208) suggests that in Britain and elsewhere during the 1990’s there was a drift from the

patronized production oriented buying behavior to consumption oriented which has a connection

of experience and characteristic of culture along with it. Moreover, Sparke (2004: 208) describes

that in the 20th century identities were lined with place, nation and in particular it came to a

point where it was less culturally inherited and more on consumption of pattern. Therefore, the

different nations became linked within the boundaries and more frequently with taste and

products which got associated along with the culture having particular characteristics were seen

more predominantly in the field of food, clothing and lifestyle related products. Hence, England

became recognized along with the upper-class image reflected by Burberry, Mackintoshes,

cashmere sweaters and jaguar cars.

Another important facade argued by McCracken (2006: 96) is the importance of symbols and

meanings that are connected along with the aspect of belief and understanding within the

community. Precisely saying it is our perception about class and status which is associated along

with our beliefs for summoning Mercedes Benz or gender along with Marlboro, nationality with

Burberry accomplishment with Nike, family with Disney etc which are all representations of the

cultural matrix of categories and the distinguishing variety exist along with class, gender,

nationality, accomplishment and other things in our society. McCracken (2006: 96) also

illustrates that these are the vital meanings which consumers highly value from buying

perspective and the brand manager of an organization has to match up with the perception of

these meanings which specifically get attached with the brand in order to satisfy the perception.

Brands which are constantly trying to pursue new meanings of perception end up having the

foundation of the brand into peril.

Consequently, Solomon (2006: 38) suggests that the perception of the consumers termed as the

‘perceptual process’ plays a major role in the positioning of the product. Majority of the

consumers use a few basic dimensions to classify the competing products and thus forms an

16

opinion or assessment in terms of the comparative standing of these dimensions. Moreover, this

tendency of the consumers has helped the marketers to develop a unique tool of assessment i.e.

the ‘perceptual map’ used solely for product positioning, seeking judgement from the consumers

using the variety of dimensions of the product and placing it adjacent to the competing products

in the identification process of the consumers. Thus, it has given an opportunity to test the

perception of the consumers concerning similar/dissimilar product offerings and prospect of

growth for new product development, encompassing the attributes which are not visible in the

current brands. [Solomon (2006: 38)] Similarly, Burberry has used the perceptual map to modify

the consumer perception of the brand from its so called ‘old position’ of 1980’s and 1990’s to the

revised iconic outlook in the modern era.

Moor (2007: 107) justifies the fact that consumers play an important role in the creation of value

for a brand not only by their purchasing behaviours which account to be as a part of profit for the

brand but its association with wrong group can harm and tarnish the brand as well. Subsequently,

the damage of ‘exclusivity’ of a luxury brand is not reliant upon the wide spread circulation but

the popular adoption of an allegedly ‘exclusive’ brand with the mundane and the ordinary rather

than the elite which alters the connection of the brand with its real consumers who has

particularly tried to cultivate a relationship with the brand echoing their own personified aura.

The similar consequence has happened along with the Burberry brand where it’s unregulated

wide spread distribution has incurred the loss of prestige and became associated along with

football hooligans and came to be identified as ‘chavs’ clothing which resulted in the dilution of

the pristine image of the brand. Therefore, Moor (2007: 107) recommends that as brands are

increasingly becoming an asset for the consumers, brand equity has to be measured according to

the reputation and recognition of the brand and companies should pay attention indentifying the

public perception of their brands and the people or participants with whom the brand is getting

connected with.

However, it can be argued that with the endorsement of Kate Moss in the Burberry advertising

campaign [see appendix no. 1] and other models like Stella Tennant, Liberty Ross, Viviene

Solari, Jerry Hall, Marie Helvin, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Sam Riley Burberry has

reflected a feminism in there brands and a more touchy feeling of seductiveness through the

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famous British models who are recognized as a symbol of sex tantrum in the society, which has

created a real propaganda into the crowd through the mode of print media.

[advertisingarchievs.co.uk] Moreover, Keenan (2001: 97) assert that Burberry men have been

seen predominantly as the privileged class in the society and they are termed to be the

constructer of the nation, like the way mind is privileged over the body; whereas Burberry

women are seen as the body of the nation. Whist, prompting the fact that men are privileged over

women. Burberry women were considered to be the male subordinate having an inert nature with

a backward integration shadowing their male counterparts. But, this phenomenon as been

completely transformed by the re-positioning strategy of Ms. Bravo who intended to tap the

female audience and created the glamorous add campaigns, accessories (mainly feminine by

incorporating the Burberry tartan) to target the elite women and turned Burberry to a more

feminine brand.

6.0 CONCLUSION:

The whole project about the Burberry brand repositioning tells us the fact how Burberry has

turned out to be an exclusive brand in the Britain from brick to brisk. They have used the

heritage and tradition mix of the old pristine brand to transform the positioning of the brand.

However, with a new sensation of glamour and exclusive designing it has placed the brand into

the highly competitive market to stand along with established brands like Gucci, Prada, YSL,

Louis Vuitton etc. However, it has been identified that the modern fashion industry is seeking a

new challenge from the customers where tradition and heritage are not the basic constraint of

consumption for the elite and civilized. In order to maintain a sustainable brand Equity it is

highly recommended that the brand should respond to the customer needs and place their

products with customer value proposition. In case of Burberry the brand lost its highly acclaimed

cachet due the wide spread and unregulated distribution network where the brand was readily

available to the mass rather than the prestige class, who has civilized them along with the brand

association and can identify themselves along with the tradition and richness of the brand.

However, this observable fact has been destroyed by its association along with the ‘Chavs’ in

U.K. where the sustainable customers realized a sense of threat in their self built aura. But

additionally, the important objective was to rewind the distorted image and bringing back the

exclusivity into the brand with a modernized representation. This particular task has been

18

efficiently handled by Ms. Bravo (CEO, Burberry) who has seen a missing link between the

heritage and the modernization of the brand. The Burberry culture was substantially much back

dated and concerned about the British monarchial people, typically the old gentleman class and

was not been nourished with the 21st century ‘Britpop’ attitude which was one of the major

concern for its banish from the fashion world. However, intelligent recycling of the heritage and

tradition of the Burberry brand along with the modern British culture which is exclusively a

cosmopolitan mix has given the brand a competitive edge to place in the market. Moreover, the

creation of new and variant product portfolio to serve different customer needs has given the

brand a chance to classify their product line in different markets. They have strategically seen the

weakness of the brand and studied the market to identify the opportunity which has resulted in

successful restructuring of the brand.

7.0 REFERENCES:

1. Adams, M., (1995), ‘Burberry Coats: a king provided them with their most familiar

alias’, Incentive, pp.68.

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2. Argonti, P.A., and Foreman, J., (2002), ‘The Power of Corporate Communication:

Crafting the Voice and Image of Your Business’, McGraw-Hill, London, U.K.,

3. Burberry (2002), Burberry PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2001-2002, Burberry,

London.,

4. Burberry IPO Prospectus (2002), ‘Burberry group global offer of shares’, Burberry IPO

Prospectus, Summer.,

5. Burberry (2003), Burberry PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2002-2003, Burberry,

London.,

6. Cowe, R., (1998), ‘Burberry fails to weather the Asia storm’, The Guardian, 25 June,.

7. Finch, J., and May, T. (1998), ‘Reputations: putting a zip in a Burberry’, The Guardian,

27 June,.

8. Fletcher, R., (2003), ‘Brava, Bravo!’ The Sunday Telegraph, 5th October.,

9. Gucci (2001), ‘Gucci Group Annual Report and Accounts’, 2000-2001, Gucci,

Amsterdam,.

10. Gucci (2002), ‘Gucci Group Annual Report and Accounts’, 2001-2002, Gucci, Amsterdam,.

11. Haig, M., (2006), ‘Brand Royalty: How the World’s Top 100 Brands Thrive and Survive’,

Edition: illustrated, Kogan Page Publishers, London, U.K.,

12. Jackson, T., Haird, C., (2003), ‘Gucci Group: the new family of luxury brands’,

International Journal of New Product Development and Innovation Management, Vol. 4

No.2, PP.161-72

13. Jackson, T., and Shaw, D., (2006), ‘The Fashion Handbook’, Edition: illustrated,

Routledge, London, U.K.,

14. Johnson, P., (2007), ‘Astute Competition: The Economics of Strategic Diversity’,

Emerald Group Publishing, U.K.,

15. Jones, M., and Beamish, K., (2006), ‘Customer Communications 2006-2007’ Edition:

illustrated, Butterworth-Heinemann, London, U.K.,

16. Kapferer, J.N., (2008), ‘The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining

Brand Equity Long Term’, Edition: 4th illustrated and revised, Kogan Page Publishers,

London, U.K.,

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17. Keenan, William J.F., (2001), ‘Dressed to Impress: looking the part’, Edition: illustrated,

Berg Publishers, London, U.K.,

18. Mc Cracken, G.D., (2006), ‘Flock and Flow: Predicting and Managing Change in a

Dynamic Marketplace’, Edition: illustrated, Indiana University Press, Indiana, U.S.A.,

19. Moore, C.M. and Britwistle, G. (2004), ‘The Burberry business model: creating an international luxury fashion brand’, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management Vol. 32 No. 8, pp. 412- 422, online available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article&Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0890320806.html , accessed on 20/02/09 @ 15:36pm

20. Moore, C., Fernie, J., (2004), 'Retailing within an international context’, in Bruce, M., Moore, C., Birtwistle, G. (Eds), International Retail Marketing; a Case Study Approach, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, pp.3-37.

21. Moor, L., (2007), ‘The Rise of Brands’, Edition: illustrated, Berg Publishers, London,

U.K.,

22. O’ Shaughnessy, J., and O’ Shaughnessy, N.J., (2003), ‘The Marketing Power of

Emotion’, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.,

23. Roberts, D., (1998), ‘Burberry is not really tailor –made for Far East’, Birmingham Post,

25th June.,

24. Schultz, M., et. al., (2000), ‘The Experience Organization: Linking Identity, Reputation

and the Corporate Brand’, Edition: illustrated, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.,

25. Sherwood, J.,(1998), ‘Born-again Burberry modelled by Stella Tennant, worn by Jarvis

and Noel and shot for the pages of Vogue and Frank…..’, The Independent, 3rd October.,

26. Solomon, M.R., (2006), ‘Consumer Behaviour: a European Perspective’, Edition: 3rd,

Pearson Education, London, U.K.,

27. Sparke, P., (2004), ‘An Introduction to Design and Culture: 1990 to the present’,

Edition: 2nd illustrated, Routledge, London, U.K.,

28. The “Bravo” for Burberry: From bust to boom – creating a luxury fashion brand,. (2005), Strategic Direction Vol 21 No. 1 pp. 22-24, online available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article&Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0560210107.html, accessed on 20/02/09 @ 15: 39 pm

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29. Tungate, M., (2008), ‘Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara’, Edition: 2nd

illustrated, Kogan Page Publishers, London, U.K.,

Latest Adverts of Burberry (Appendix Number: 1)

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All these Burberry Advertisements shows the symbol of BURBERRY as a pristine crest of British fashion and

the prominent Burberry check is endorsed in all the adverts. Celebrities like Kate Moss, Liberty Ross, Hugh

Dancy and Stella Tennant are used in the averters to give Burberry a new dimension in the fashion world. It

is quite evident from these ads that once the royal gentlemen’s wear has now transformed into an exclusive

fashion level for the elites, grabbing more attention from female consumers.

(Courtesy www. advertisingarchives.co.uk)

Marketing Communications Strategy Diagrammatic Representation

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(Appendix Number: 2) [adopted from the marketing communications model of Burberry.

Source: Moore and Britwistle (2004), ‘The Burberry business model: creating an international

luxury fashion brand’]

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Marketing Communications Model:

Aims at promoting the image of Burberry and create a Burberry lifestyle among the potential customers through the use of powerful media channels.

British Images

Heritage

Product Mix

Burberry Prorsum-Milan Fashion Week

Burberry London-

London Fashion Week

PR- editorial coverage

Product Placement

Advertising Fashion Shows Editorial Placement