Burberry's Global Success and Reinvention

Burberry today is globally recognised as one of the most celebrated luxury brands of the century. Its iconic ‘tartan’ pattern is understood to symbolise the wealth, prestige and refinement of all who wear a Burberry coat, use their perfumes or proudly carry an unmistakeably ‘Burberrian’ bag.

One must understand, however, that Burberry’s journey to reach these heights was not always a straight trajectory towards glory, but rather a process of bold steps on the part of Rose Marie Bravo, the chief executive of Burberry, to resurrect the Burberry brand to its contemporary state (Moon, 2004:1). The journey has been a long and painful one, like a model tripping down the catwalk and getting up again to continue her elegant stride.

Burberry is a perfect example of why re-positioning a brand is sometimes necessary in order for a brand to survive and continue to have the influence that it does in the minds of its loyal consumers as well as consumers of future generations to come.

The Glorious History of Burberry

Burberry was birthed when Thomas Burberry, at age 21, invented ‘gabardine’, a windproof, waterproof fabric that was also very durable and lightweight (Moon 2004, p.1). Its particular qualities lead for it to be utilised in the First World War as coats for officers who served in the trenches.

Consequently, Burberry coats earned the reputation of being ‘robust’ or ‘durable’ as well as being intimately linked with Britain’s proud national history.

Burberry’s coats have also had significant appearances in iconic films such as ‘Torn Curtain (1966), Kramer Versus Kramer (1979), Wall Street (1987), Dick Tracy (1990), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) (Watson, 2008:177). 

The Burberry coat worn by Audrey Hepburn in an iconic scene from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Yet by the mid-90s, the company was losing its way: Burberry’s earnings were historically low and the company lacked a cohesive vision (Moon 2004:2).

How had it all come to this…?

 A Stale Brand Perception  

Over the years, Burberry’s strong conservatism as a brand meant that it had done little to reinvent itself. It was only appealing to an older customer base and failing to communicate its brand to younger audiences. It earned the reputation of being a ‘luxury’, ‘traditional’ brand but more significantly, an ‘outdated’ brand. 

Too Much of a Good Thing

Burberry had licensed its brand over a vast category of products from wallpapers to chocolates (Moon 2004:2) as well as umbrellas to silk underwear in Japan by the 1980s (Buttolph, 1998:80). In Asia, the popularity of the brand caused Burberry’s products to be sold to unauthorized distributors in vast amounts. Distribution channels for Burberry products were therefore becoming less exclusive until it had become a very common brand. Stereotypically speaking, it was becoming less recognised for its ties to a proud British history but more for its overt presence in the Asian market.
There was a great need to restore the brand to being the exclusive brand that it was and yet move the brand forwards into a new era. 

The Re-Positioning of Burberry

Bravo’s ambition was to resurrect the outdated and ‘tired’ brand into becoming ‘a luxury lifestyle brand that was aspirational, stylish, and innovative’ (Moon, 2004:2). Her ambition was to ultimately re-position Burberry...

Many of Burberry’s former product lines were culled in order to regain control over their most central products (i.e. coats, handbags and accessories). Items such as Burberry bikinis were introduced to appeal to a younger audience and to communicate that Burberry was not only a luxury brand, but also a very ‘contemporary and sexy’ brand. 

Kate Moss Modelling the memorable Burberry Bikini 

Burberry Today

Today Burberry stands to be a resilient brand after the influence of Bravo’s genius. They are communicating effectively to a younger audience through the utilisation of celebrity endorsers such as Emma Watson and Romeo Beckham. The utilisation of British celebrity icons has revamped the notion of Burberry as a powerful ‘British’ brand. It is no longer understood as being the stagnant brand that it used to be, but a beautiful brand that is highly sought after by many consumers from a variety of age groups. 

Emma Watson, an effective brand endorser for Burberry’s younger target segment

Romeo Beckham (David Beckham’s son) modelling an umbrella and trench coat for Burberry

Burberry’s strategic success lies in the fact that they were willing to re-position themselves when the necessity to do so was identified. Although it was a bold move, Burberry is a perfect example of why bold business moves such as these reap precious dividends. 

References:
1. Buttolph, A. et al. (1998). ‘Burberry, Thomas’ in The Fashion Book (p.80). Phaidon Press
          Limited: London.
2. Meagher, D. (2008). ‘Christopher Bailey – Burberry’ in Fashion Speak (pp.36-55). Random
          House Australia: Sydney.
3. Moon, Y. (2004). Burberry. Harvard Business School (pp. 1-19).
4. Watson, L. (2008). ‘Burberry, Founded by Thomas Burberry in 1856’ in Vogue Fashion, over
          100 years of style by decade and designer, in association with Vogue (pp. 176-177). Penguin
          Group: Camberwell.
5. Image 1, The Spring/Summer Fashion show, 2013. viewed 7 April 2014

< http://www.upscalehype.com/2012/09/burberry-prorsum-springsummer-2013-collection-at-london-fashion-week/>
6. Image 2, The Burberry coat worn by Audrey Hepburn in an iconic scene from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. viewed 7 April 2014

<http://allaboutstyle.blog.com/2010/04/06/the-basics-of-style-trench-coat/>
7. Image 3, Kate Moss Modelling the memorable Burberry Bikini. viewed 22 May 2014 <http://theneotraditionalist.com/2010/09/22/burberry-flashback/> 
8. Image 4, Emma Watson, an effective brand endorser for Burberry’s younger target segment. viewed 7 April 2014

<http://www.justjared.com/photo-gallery/2406210/emma-watson-burberry-spring-summer-2010-campaign-10/fullsize/>
9. Image 5, Romeo Beckham (David Beckham’s son) modelling an umbrella and trench coat for Burberry. viewed 7 April 2014

<http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/04/25/david-beckham-on-romeo-beckham-burberry-adverts >