Burberry

Burberry Case

Burberry is an iconic brand which has been historically associated to luxury and exclusivity. Since its establishment in 1856, the company has released durable and consistent products, and in the 1920s they introduced the Burberry check pattern which became the company’s trademark. Burberry grew to be associated with status, superior quality and tradition. Nonetheless, by the mid-90s, the company was facing several strategic and structural issues which affected its earnings, quality and brand equity. These included lack of licensing control across a range of categories; decreased product quality; and a narrow product line – mainly functional outerwear – that was inconsistent with brand proposition. Also, the brand had a stodgy, conservative appearance, which clustered the customer base among older men and alienated younger customers. Most importantly, there was no cohesive vision and branding elements were non-existent. This case examination will explore the different steps taken to revitalize Burberry’s brand image in response to the identified problems, as well as look into some of the issues that affect the company’s ability to move to the next level, offering recommendations based on the analysis.

The need for reinvention and repositioning was clear. In 1997, Rose Marie Bravo joined the company as chief executive, and was able to transform Burberry into a luxury lifestyle brand within a remarkably short period of five years. This is particularly interesting because the company positioned itself as a contradiction – affordable luxury. This is an unorthodox standpoint because it is hard and risky to be both a prestige and every man’s brand. Some of the changes first implemented by Bravo, such as changing the name from Burberry’s to Burberry, as well as the packaging and logo, aimed to make it more contemporary. She also brought in a strong management team to reposition the brand, trying to attract a younger crowd while also sustaining its current customer base. Bravo also sought to update the product line, and re-vamped the three core collections: Womenswear, menswear and accessories. The signature trench coats and scarves were kept, but by 2003, Burberry’s image was extended to a new range of products in response to current fashion trends. In this way, Bravo made a consistent product line, improving its uniformity and eliminating the variability of quality whilst raising price.

Another important change was the shift towards strengthened licensing control. With non-licensed products, Burberry could now exercise control over design, sourcing, manufacturing and distribution. By having a stronger presence in the supply chain and cutting back channel dealings, the company was able to control their image more meaningfully, reducing variability and also curbing inconsistencies in price, design and quality. She got rid of parallel trading, gray markets and licensing deals, which eroded brand equity. Bravo opened more stores in an attempt to have more control over the customer experience, boosting consistency and the sense of exclusivity. She additionally expanded the brand portfolio, adding the Prorsum line – a high-profile, first-class brand to reinforce its new position in the luxury market. In order to promote this new image, Burberry worked with photographer Mario Testino, to feature British aristocrat Stella Tenant and model Kate Moss in advertisements that would appeal to its polar demographics. This created consistency within brand association because they were straddling between tradition and modernity / edge.

Although Burberry has done a formidable job revamping the quality, equity and image of the brand in order to meet new customer needs and appeal to new market segments, there are still some areas for improvement. First, there is the issue of entering new product categories, which was a key component of the growth plan. I think that Burberry possesses strong brand equity in the accessories division, which is popular among consumers, has highly profitable margins, as well as exceeds sales goals. This will be beneficial