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.

For your viewing pleasure...

Below are ten of my favorite looks, straight from the London runway, of Burberry's Spring 2012 collection. This may be my favorite color pallete on the runway this season. Purple's, teal's, and mustard's are everywhere right now, and I find the traditional Burberry silhouette's fantasically splashed with these hues. Aztec prints and tribal- and geometric- inspired patterns also flow throughout the line, giving each piece a little flavor, but showcasing the always functinal and flattering drape of the sweaters, skirts, coats and other outerwear. This line also showcases Burberry's great line of accessories, from hats and belts to large bags and clutches. Additionally, almost every look throughout the collection features what resembles Dior's "New Look", accentuating each waist and dropping the hem just below the knee. The fabrics seem to be rather bulky, in my opinion, for the Spring line, but as we know not all fabric feels the way it looks. The fabrics chosen, though, drape wonderfully throughout each look and continue to exhibit Burberry's classy and chic consumer.

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2012RTW-BURBERRY/

Luxury goes Green

Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy and prepared to do research when it comes to their favorite brands’ environmental efforts. Nowadays, the consumer looking to go green is progressively more likely to be an affluent professional woman wearing an eco-friendly and animal-free Stella McCartney suit and satin shoes. Furthermore, if a brand wants that consumers dollars and her loyalty, they need to pay attention to the priorities she finds important when making her selection of luxury goods and services. Luxury consumers are also looking beyond their pocketbooks to larger issues, like protecting the environment, global warming, and avoiding water and air pollution. Going green, though, is not as easy as just presenting an all natural, animal-friendly, or eco-sustainable line for their audience.

"Many marketers are skeptical about the green trend,” says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience. “They don't know whether it has legs or is just a fad of the moment. I am convinced that this issue is only going to gain momentum in the future, with the affluent consumers in particular taking the lead as early adopters of green living. So the call is for luxury brands to connect with their customers who are increasingly green aware and eco-conscious by making green marketing a part of their strategy. Luxury marketers can learn by studying trend-setters who are creating a dedicated following among green- living luxury consumers,"

As I continued to research strategies for going green, I found that in order for a brand to truly appeal to their eco-friendly consumers, they must adopt several characteristics to market and represent the brand.

First of all, the brand should be accountable. Companies should acknowledge that environmental issues such as climate change are real and that, despite good intentions, they are a part of the problem. They can be, though, a big part of the solution. At this point, businesses are likely to alienate few consumers with such a statement and can begin to attract the growing number of consumers looking for green brand leadership. Additionally, businesses, such as Burberry, could audit their own operations and the lifecycle of their products – including sourcing, use, and disposal – to determine their environmental impact and track these metrics over time.

Luxury companies should also be credible. Today, brand efforts can be questionable; too many companies have tried to “go green” yet failed at actual environmental efforts. As such, companies must work hard to build credibility and earn consumer trust over time. One way for a company to do so is to first green its internal operations, followed by its products and services, and then its marketing communications. This way, companies ensure that they take responsibility for their own actions before encouraging consumers to do so with their products or through their brand message.

Another important factor in going green is to be a visionary. Visionaries are willing to make bold decisions that redefine their strategy or reshape industry dynamics. For example, Rose Marie Bravo entire repositioning of Burberry, as previously discussed in this blog. Although, her efforts were not necessarily about the environment, it takes leadership and visions like hers to completely upgrade a brand.

Smart brand marketers should think twice about simply focusing on near-term green revenue and cost savings opportunities; the path for sustaining growth needs to start with greening the entire brand.

Burberry in Society

In past and recent years, Burberry has continuously initiated business with ethic- and moral-based decisions and has yet to stray away from the brands values. The company, though, has faced some ups and downs in society and the media, affecting the luxury brand image and the way the company handles marketing, product placement, sales, and other aspects of Burberry's development.

The First "Tweetwalk"



Tweeted Septermber 19, 2011,
hours before the show


The most recent venture that has positively affected the Burberry image and inevitably boosted sales and brand awareness is their partnering with Twitter. The luxury brand collaborated with the social networking craze, Twitter, to launch what the companies are calling the first-ever Tweetwalk. That’s right, a “tweetwalk”! Oh, the incredible things people concoct using technology these days… Nevertheless, this project allowed the retailer’s Twitter followers to view backstage pictures of every runway look live from London’s fashion show before the models hit the runway. According to the general manager of Twitter UK, Tony Wang, “Burberry was one of the first brands to truly understand Twitter’s ability to connect people all over the world with what’s most meaningful to them.” He also added, “Thanks to their creativity, fashion lovers were able to see the new Burberry collection even before those in the front row.” As an avid “tweeter”, I found this social networking endeavor to be a great marketing tool for the brand and believe it can do nothing but positive things for Burberry in the future.

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The finale and Christopher Bailey
before they hit the runway

Additionally, Twitter followers were able to view the entire runway show via live stream. All consumers, celebrities, fans, and loyal customers of the brand alike are only getting closer to fashion show action and the latest trends thanks to social networking outlets. I believe the Burberry team should and probably will continue on with these inovative projects in order to relate to their target consumer market and positively boost brand awareness.





Burberry vs. the Chavs

The photo heard 'round the world:
When former British soap star
Dannielle Westbrook stepped out
with her daughter, both splashed head-to-
toe in Burberry, the tabloids
attacked the brand.

While searching through research topics and headlines, I ran across several articles about the “chav” and its effects on the Burberry name. Completely oblivious to what a “chav” is or was, I explored the subject and found that Burberry became negatively connected to this stereotype years ago, and society began to look down upon the once luxury brand and its wearers. To begin with, "chav" is the name given to certain groups of aggressive and arrogant teenagers and young adults in the UK. This stereotype can be compared to skinheads or punks of other generations and time periods. Chavs tend to engage in anti-social behavior such as street drinking, drug abuse and rowdiness, and other forms of juvenile delinquency. Burberry has argued that the brand's popular association with "chav" fashion is linked to counterfeit versions of the clothing. The company has taken a number of steps to distance itself from the stereotype. The brand ceased production of its own branded baseball cap in 2004, a popular accessory for chavs, and has scaled back the use of its trademarked checkered/tartan design, in which chavs decked out in head-to-toe. Buberry has also taken legal action against high-profile infringements of the brand.




http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/09/20/burberry-walks-its-twitter-followers-down-runway

Financial ups and downs

During her first few years with Burberry, Bravo and her team had to deal with the Asian economic crisis and the effects it had on the Burberry brand. FYI: The Asian economic crisis was a period of financial emergency that gripped much of Asia beginning in July 1997, and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. While the company worked on positioning itself among luxury leaders in the fashion industry, Burberry began facing problems caused by its over-dependence on Asian customers. In 1998, sales decreased by seven percent and profits plummeted in its retail and wholesale segment due to the Asian economic crisis. The company began to slow down its shipments to the Asian grey market—a market in which its products were sold cheaply or re-imported back to Europe and sold at a discount—and shut down three production facilities in the United Kingdom. Whereas this decision hurt the firm’s profits in 1998, management felt it would, in the long run, protect the Burberry image.

As Burberry entered the new millennium, its financial results improved dramatically. The Asian market recovered, its European and American markets grew, and its new brand strategy began to pay off. Financial reports for the last few years (2008-2011) show that Burberry is continually growing and exceeding financial expectations. Some of the brand’s highlights include strong financial performance (Revenue up 27% and retail/wholesale revenue up 29%), strategic operational progress, and continued focus on investing for growth.

http://www.burberryplc.com/bbry/newsrel/finnews/2011/2011-01-18/

"Burberry Ltd." International Directory of Company Histories. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Sep. 2011 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

From a Branding Perspective

CEO of Burberry, Rose Marie Bravo

In my last post, one of the highlights on Burberry's timeline was that in 1997, Rose Marie Bravo was hired on as the CEO of Burberry. It was the smallest description on that timeline, yet had an amazing impact on the brand of Burberry and its future. I discussed in a classroom forum today how Burberry faced repostioning challenges when it was time for the brand to revamp their unexciting and slowly evolving product line. Bravo is mostly to thank for Burberry's transformation and successful launch of a new product position. The following was the discussion topic:


"Repositioning is a challenging strategy. What are some of these challenges, and how did Burberry manage to deal with them?"




Some of the obstacles that Burberry faced in repositioning were transforming the brand’s image without compromising core values, redesigning the product mix and positioning it cleverly, and hiring a new team that was trained in interpreting and analyzing consumer market trends. Burberry also wanted to keep focus on the importance of the aesthetic values of the brand’s identity. Rose Bravo did an amazing job with revamping the brilliant brand that already was Burberry. She made several modifications to what most think of as cosmetic changes, such as the brand’s name (Burberry’s to Burberry) and introducing a more modern logo and packaging designs. These changes, though, did not distract from the core quality and accessibility of the British brand. Additionally, with her new team, Bravo studied the luxury market and had one goal to work toward: establish a niche where Burberry could grow, and create a product mix capable of sustaining traditional products while adding complement products to the mix. Once Bravo got this ball rolling, the addition of designer Christopher Bailey in 2000 boosted Burberry’s image and has continued to prove their reposition successful.

Christopher Bailey of Burberry

Hameide, aled . Fashion Branding Unraveled. Fairchild Books & Visuals, 2012. <http://books.google.com/books/feeds/volumes?q=978-1-56367-874-5>.

About the brand

Burberry is a manufacturer and marketer of men's, women's, and children's apparel, as well as accessories and fragrances. The Burberry name is virtually synonymous with the tan gabardine raincoat pioneered by the company more than 145 years ago. Writing for WWD (Women's Wear Daily) in 1989, Andrew Collier described the garment as "a mainstay in outerwear worldwide, that symbolizes all that is Britain: sturdy and unassuming, equally at home. in fine hotels, and muddy lanes." In 1999, the firm launched the Prorsum designer collection as part of its efforts to reinvent Burberry's luxury brand status. An icon of classic clothing, Burberry has utilized licensing and brand extensions to appeal to a younger generation of fashion-conscious customers.

Burberry Prorsum Fall Winter 2011-2012 Ad Campaign


Timeline:


Thomas Burberry

1856: Thomas Burberry establishes his first shop.
1891: Burberry begins selling clothing under the Burberry name in London's Haymarket section.
1909: The firm registers the "Equestrian Knight" trademark.
1915: Burberry ships its raincoats to Japan.
1966: The firm becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Universal Stores.
1994: The company begins using well-known model Christy Turlington in its ad campaigns.
1996: By now, Burberry has accumulated a record six Queen's Awards for Export Achievement and ranks among Great Britain's leading clothing exporters.
1997: Rose Marie Bravo is hired as CEO.
1998: The Asian economic crisis causes financial problems for the firm.
1999: Burberry launches the Prorsum collection.
2000: Burberry breaks ground on a new flagship store in London.

Burberry's London Flagship store