Sophie Merritt

History of Burberry
Burberry is a luxury British fashion house
established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry. Not only
does it manufacture clothing, but also fragrances
and fashion accessories. Burberry’s distinctive
check pattern is one of the most widely copied
trademarks in the world.

The first Burberry store was opened in Basingstoke

in 1856, and by 1870 had established itself by
focusing on the development of outdoor attire. The
brand is most well known for the creation of the
trench coat primarily for the First World
War, which became extremely popular after this.
The iconic Burberry check was soon placed in the
lining of the garments and sold more widely. Not
only this, but the brand have also been the
outfitters for explorers such as Roald
Amundsen, Ernest Shackleton and George
Mallory, as well as designing aviation garments
and sponsoring the fastest flight to Cape Town
from London in 1937.
 History of Burberry
Burberry was an independent company
until 1955 when it was taken over by Great
Universal Stores (GUS). In the 70s the
brand was strongly associated with football
firms, hooliganism and later the ‘chav’
stereotype. Fake garments with the
distinctive check printed on the outside
were sold to the masses, giving the
impression that Burberry was no longer
exclusive and took away its high
desirability. Since then the brand has tried
to reinvent itself, with advertisements in a
range of different magazines (i.e.
GQ, Esquire, Vogue, Harper’s
Bazaar, etc.), and by using celebrity
endorsements from Kate Moss, Agyness
Deyn, Emma Watson, Rosie Huntington-
Whitely and many more.

Burberry operates under 4 different

brands
– Burberry Prorsum, Burberry
London, Burberry Brit and Burberry
Sport, with 2 regional brands recently
added (Burberry Black Label and Burberry
 Brand Values
Burberry has always been devoted to providing high quality, long lasting garments
for their customers, especially when it was first established and creating outdoors
attire for various explorers. Their use of gabardine (a hardwearing, water-resistant
fabric) demonstrates this, and their intent to protect their customers and ensure
that they have the best quality items. When the brand first began it was also
regarded as very gentlemanly, which is still the case today.

In more recent times Burberry has been seen as very classic, chic and high-end. In
the 70s when the brand’s unfortunate link with football hooliganism began, their
name gained a negative connotation and their customers no longer wanted to be
associated with them. In 2006 when Chief Executive Rose Marie Bravo retired and
Angela Ahrendts took over the company, the check was placed back on the inside of
the garments and British celebrity endorsement helped gain a positive view once
again.
Burberry value:
• High quality
• Desirability
• Class
• Exclusivity
• Trust
• Charity
• Innocence
• Devotion
• Success
Brand Values
Brand Values
 Brand Values:
‘The Foundation’
 Brand Values:
‘The Foundation’
 Brand Values:
‘The Foundation’
 Product Life Cycle
The Product Life Cycle is based upon the biological life cycle and is made up of 4
steps: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. However, the product life cycle
of a brand such as Burberry is different – instead of Burberry’s products declining
completely and people losing interest, they constantly develop their garments to
keep a firm grip on their customers.

New lines are always added – different ranges for each season appear, and have
new celebrity endorsements each time. This is the development stage of the
product life cycle and is what helps maintain Burberry’s success. Not only this, but
classic brands like Burberry will always be around; there will always be a demand
for high-end fashion and that feeling of exclusivity. Customers will even fight to
purchase older stock in the sale, just to get that buzz of buying from a designer.
Even older Burberry items are sought after, which proves that the brand wont just
decline like an ordinary item on the market (i.e. smart phones).
 Target Audience
Despite originally being designed for men,
Burberry has a female dominated target
audience; they would also have a high disposable
income. They are most likely to be around 26
years old and over, with a good career and no
children. However, the brand also have their
own childrenswear range which means that they
may appeal to some parents, although these will
probably be more successful business people and
those from wealthy backgrounds.

Burberry’s main garments such as coats and

dresses have an extremely exclusive and high-
end appeal. These would appeal mainly to
celebrities and very wealthy customers. Next
there are items such as bags and shoes –
despite still being very expensive, they are
more accessible and affordable than the other
garments, which broadens the brand’s target
audience. As well as this, the Burberry fragrances
are very much in ordinary people’s price range,
meaning that the brand does appeal to everyone
in some way.
Pricing Strategy
Burberry use competition pricing – the brand
price their goods at a similar price to its
competitors. For instance, it has a similar price
range to other big labels such as Louis
Vuitton. This gives a psychological effect on
Burberry’s customers; if the brand had a lower
price range then they may believe the quality
isn’t as good as the competitors.

If Burberry began lowering its prices it may

leave people wondering why; if something had
happened to make it lose its value. Despite it
being extremely expensive, the exclusivity and
high-end feel of buying something from a
designer such as Burberry is what people are
after. The pricing suggests quality and
desirability, which is what its customers are
after.
 Marketing & PR Strategy
Burberry use more of a viral marketing
approach – it is not often that you see TV
advertisements or billboards promoting the
brand, yet there are always banners on
fashion websites (as well as print
advertisements in the same magazines)
which advertise Burberry.

As well as this, the brand appear at fashion

weeks around the world without fail, and
also host their own shows to showcase new
lines. This means that they are always in
the press (whether that be fashion
magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc.) and
therefore have constant coverage.

Burberry rely hugely on celebrity

endorsements, and they helped the brand
win back their reputation after their
downfall during 1970-2000s. Faces such as
Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn and Rosie
Huntington-Whitely keep the brand fresh
and appealing.
 Place/Distribution
Burberry own 475 stores in 48 countries, which are all located in largely populated
cities where they will gain most custom. For instance, there are eleven stores in
London alone. These are ideal locations due to the type of people that populate the
areas; a huge number of them fall into Burberry’s target audience.

By opening stores in wealthy cities, especially those which are huge tourist
attractions, Burberry have the opportunity to make more profit and appeal to the
right audience. If there were stores in smaller, less wealthy cities, they would
probably not get as much custom, and the brand may also lose its sense of
exclusivity and expense. The distribution of stores is very much psychological, and
gives people all the right impressions of the brand.
 Successes/Failures

Burberry’s management has made smart decisions in investing in revamping its

brand as well as expanding it. The company recently purchased its licensed stores
in China to operate directly and further expand in the fastest growing luxury
market in the world. As well as this, the idea to feature all its lines under one
store concept instead of separating the different lines has helped its success.

In 2012 Burberry was the first brand to hit 10 million likes on Facebook, and still
remains the most liked brand on the social networking site. It has excelled in the
past 3 years, despite all its troubles at the turn of the century, after its association
with football hooliganism and chavs from 1970 onwards.

When the brand was strongly associated with the British casual cult, football
firms and violence, it saw a huge loss in profit and custom. In 2006 when new
CEO Angela Ahrendts stepped in, the company was rebranded entirely which kick
started its success story once more.
 SWOT
Strengths:
• Well established brand
• High price point causing high
desirability
• Strong celebrity
endorsements
• Distinctive check – instantly
recognisable
Opportunities:
• Could open more stores
worldwide to broader range of
cities
• Could cater for a wider age range
(i.e. selling more products such
as fragrances which are more
accessible)
• Sponsor more events
• More celebrity endorsements
• Host more Burberry shows in
different cities
Weaknesses:
• Damaged name after football
hooliganism and association with
‘chavs’
• Not accessible to the working
class/those who aren’t as wealthy
– could also be seen as a strength
(exclusivity)
Threats:
• Competition from other big
brands (i.e. Louis Vuitton)
• Threat of still being associated
with violence/hooliganism –
name still has negative
connotations
• Not enough stores in smaller
cities