Brand expansion, product extension

Over the last decade, Burberry's team has successfully introduced many extensions to their already brilliant apparel, products, and brand in general. Some of these products and accessories include a wide range of bags and purses, shoes, hats, belts, unmbrellas, scarves, jewelry, timepieces, sunglasses, and EVEN some home decor. While browsing through some of this home section at Burberry.com, I noticed a product that looked lonely, and perhaps, out of place with the curtain and throw pillow selection. I believe a great product extension for the Burberry brand would be a line of candles. I personally spend too much time in the candle section of any store, and in my opinion, Burberry could have great success in introducing a collection of candles for their Fall 2012. Playing off of patterns, colors, shapes, and textures, this line extension would represent the Fall 2012 Ready to Wear collection in candle form.

http://us.burberry.com/store/home-gifts/home/

Spring 2012 AD

burberry Spring preview

Always functional, always fashionable.

Trend Report: Spring 2011 RTW

Last Spring, Burberry was clearly feeling very edgy, and Bailey brought biker-chic to the forefront. Nearly every look showcased leather and metallics and was made up of a combination of skinny's or mini's with a biker-style jacket. Some of the embellishments in this line included studs, spikes, exposed zippers (which was a huge trend this past year), and excentric decorative stitching. These characteristics paired with black and brightly scattered metallics gave this line a punk rock undertone. The always flattering silhouettes, though, created a more chic shape for several of the pieces. Bailey introduced animal prints later on in the collection, pairing them with black fabrics and layering print on print. I personally did not love this collection and the use of the animal print, but I would buy any of these leather jackets in a heartbeat!

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/F2011RTW-BURBERRY#slide=0

Trend Report: Fall 2011 RTW

Burberry, Prorsum's Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection was that of full fabrics, interesting shapes, and military-inspired colors and trimmings. One of Burberry's core business values is that the brand stay "very British". From the looks of it, creative director Christopher Bailey took great inspiration from the brand's history, and created high-fashion shapes with thicker, and probably very warm, fabrics, such as wool. As previously stated, many of the looks contain trimmings that relate to military-style embellishments, such as buckles, toggles, pipping, straps, and unique collar constructions. The color pallette is not widely ranged, but contains some contrasting hues and splashes of black and white. Bailey also brought variations of plaid into the line, and topped some looks with fur. One major focus to this line is the reappearing black and white ink-blot-looking berrets. The collection flows brilliantly from silhouette to silhouette, and greatly represents the luxury and functional brand.

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/F2011RTW-BURBERRY#slide=0

Burberry, Prorsum Womenswear SS2012

The full Burberry Prorsum Womenswear Spring/Summer 2012 show, filmed in London on Monday 19 September 2011.

"I put a spell on you..."

Works' Cited

"Burberry Ltd. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Burberry Ltd." Reference For Business - Encyclopedia of Small Business, Business Biographies, Business Plans, and Encyclopedia of American Industries. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/22/Burberry-Ltd.html.

"Burberry Prorsum Womenswear S/S12 Full Show - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. http://www.youtube.come/watch?v=fDgmpkSiBu8. "Burberry Results Driven by Brand Vision | News | Marketing Week," Marketing Jobs & Marketing News - Media, Advertising, Brands - Marketing Week. Web 5 Oct. 2011. http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/retail/burberry-results-driven-by-brand-vision/3026819.article.

"Burberry Plc - THIRD QUARTER TRADING UPDATE AND INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT." Burberry Plc - Home. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. http://www.burberryplc.com/bbry/newsrel/finnews/2011/2011-01-18/.

"Burberry Prorsum Spring 2012 Ready-To-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review." Style.com: The Online Home of Fashion: News, Runway Shows, Trends, Fashion Models, Designers, Shopping, Beauty & More. Web. 11 Oct. 2011. http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2012RTW-BURBERRY/.

Burberry. Twitter. 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. http://twitter.com/#1/Burberry?media?slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2Ft6O9xve.

"Green Marketing and the Luxury Consumer - The Luxry Market Is Going Green -- Luxury Brands Can't Afford to Ignore It." Market Research Reports - Business Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. http://www.marketresearch.com/Unity-Marketing-Inc-v642/Green-Luxiry-Consumer-Going-Brands-1804325/.

Hameide, Aled. Fashion Branding Unraveled. Fairchild Books & Visuals, 2012.

"Social Media - Burberry Walks Its Twitter Followers down the Runway - Internet Retailer." Indusrty Strategies for Online Merchants - Internet Retailer. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/09/20/burberry-walks-its-twitter-followers-down-runway.

"Wiki," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. http://en.wikiperdia.org/wiki/wiki.

The Future of Burberry

Emma Watson for Burberry, Prorsum.

Burberry continues to succeed in the luxury fashion business due to many factors, including great financial management, successful brand and product positioning, company inovation, smart marketing choices, and overall loyalty to their consumers. The number of successful Burberry stores is still on the rise, which shows that a company who has been around for over a century and a half is still able to reinvent and rejuvenate product lines to coordinate with present and future trends.

And as for the future...

According to CEO Angela Ahrendts, Burberry sees advanced growth in countries such as China, Latin America, and the Middle East. In the next twelve months, the brand plans an increase of 12-13% in average retail selling space, including the addition of up to 25 additional stores. China is predicted to add about 12% to average selling space in the first half of the year. Ahrendts says: “Burberry delivered strong operational and financial progress during the year, thanks to the consistent execution of our core strategies by our team and partners, more closely connecting our brand vision and values to consumers around the world. While mindful of global macro challenges in the current year, we will continue to invest to drive growth across our portfolio by channel, region and product.”  

• Burberry made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £298m and revenue rose 27% to £1.5 bn for the year ending 31 March 2011.
• The company saw double digit growth in retail and wholesale in all regions and product categories. Retail revenue jumped 36% to account for 64% of sales.

The brand also aims to reinforce its synergy with British landscapes, weather, and emerging talent. Their ad campaigns for Spring 2011 included the aucoustic duo Karen Anne and Johnny Flynn (posted above). With the brand's eye on fresh marketing strategies like this, along with trend research and their flare for luxury, I believe Burberry will be able to maintain their brand identity for years to come and continue to appeal to new generations while sticking to their core values and will inevitably increase sales.