GROUP 2A

Burberry Case

The story so far

1856: Thomas Burberry in Basingstoke, UK
1914-18: Supplied trench coats to British Army
1920s: Burberry check pattern introduced
1955: Great Universal Stores bought Burberry
1970s-80s: Licensing agreements across
categories
1990s: Company starts facing strategic issues
1997 : Rose Marie Bravo steps in as CEO

The Rose Marie Bravo

Effect
Immediate
Measures

Repositionin
g The Brand

Transform

Burberry from outwear manufacturer

to luxury brand
Recruitment of people with hands-on
experience
Change of name, logo and packaging

Positioned

the brand between cutting-edge

fashion and classics
Aspirational as well as functional
Represent accessible luxury

Revamping the Brand

New product line - bandanas, miniskirts and spike heeled boots

Three Primary Collections

Womens wear

Mens wear

Accessories

Outerwear, casualwear, tailored garments,

swimwear and underwear

Tailored suits, raincoats, trousers and shirts

Soft accessories - scarves, shawls, ties

Hard accesso scarves, shawls, ties ries :leather
bags, umbrellas, timepieces, eyegear, womens
shoes

PORTFOLIO EXPANSION
Low price segment:
Thomas Burberry etc.

Thomas Burberry available

in Spain and Portugal
Burberry Blue and Black in
Japan

High price segment:

Burberry Prorsum

Hand tailored products from

innovative fabrics
Positioned as a luxury
brand for fashion conscious
people
Promoted at major fashion
weeks

Issues to Tackle
Product Categories
Popularity of brand among Non-target
Consumers

Promotion Strategies

Role of the Check

Sustainability of the Brand Positioning

Existing vs New Strategy (proposed)

Product

Categories

Product Categories- The Numbers

Analysis of the Numbers

Major focus on (in order of priority)

Accessories
Max. % increase in sales coupled with
Max. margin

Womens Wear
Mens Wear

Phasing out the licenses

Removes issue of counterfeiting
Focus on the core areas

Complete disbanding of the products in

other category (fabrics and misc.)

Product Categories- The New Products

(Product Mix)

Recommendations

Expand vigorously in Accessories segment

Only 4% share of the market (5th in Luxury
segment)
Introduction of the new products eats into share
of the competitors thus automatically increasing
share.

Diverge into children wear segment to

increase the share in the apparel segment
Only 3% stake in the market (2nd in Luxury
segment)
Launch sports line (jackets etc.)

Place(Channels of
distribution)

UK and US market
Focus on the flagship stores & directly operated stores
Continue the current strategy of acquisitions of distributors

Asian Markets (e.g. India, China etc.)

Retailers (choose them after careful scrutiny)

Problem of counterfeiting
Maybe one or two flagship stores (initially in a country)
Start with Tier I and Tier II cities (posh markets)

Promotion
Issues

Only 3% of sales (~
98mn EUR) being
spent on
advertisements

Proposed Strategy

Asian and other

Markets (with low
penetration)

Adopt aggressive
promotion strategy in the
European and US market
(rope in new models)
For the Thomas Burberry
use local advertising
channels
Rope in big stars(with big
referent power) to attract
markets
For Tier II cities use local
advertising channels

Popularity

of brand among
Non-target Consumers
Promotion Challenges

Popularity of Brand among

Non-Target Customers

Issues

Targeting non-target
customers
Problem of
Counterfeiting

Opportunity

Burberry achieving
aspirational status
among youth

Challenge

Prevent alienation
of core customers
while targeting
new customers

Recommendations

Strengthen the Thomas Burberry brand

Caters to the aspirational youth vying for high end
fashion
Flanker brand to the Burberry brand

Promotion
Proper promotion
Local media (No national TV)

Proper distribution
Retailers (after proper scrutiny)

Role

of the Check

Check

In

Current
Situation

the clothing line only 40% of the products did not

use the check (and the sales increased)
In the apparels section 60% to 70% sales were check
The check design is mainly targeted to the female
consumers
Inhibition to use the check by the male consumers

Attribute Positioning of the Check

Check
Perception

Male

of
feminity and hence
a degree of
dissonance

Goes

Female

well with this

category due to the
perceived feminity

Non Check
More

in sync with
the male macho
image
More adaptable to
the men's-wear line
Seemingly
indifferent

Strategy
for milking
the
check

Re-launch the Burberry brand in the menswear

segments with a less subtle expression of the check
Keep a high end fashion check line intact for the
core customers (who associate Burberry with check)
Gradually phase out check (in the other lines) as it
limits design options
In the Accessories segment e.g. perfume bottles,
beauty products etc. stress on check

Sustainability

of Brand
Positioning

Sustainability of Brand Positioning

(current scene)
Comfortably nestled between
Lifestyle (represented by Ralph Lauren) &
High end Fashion products (represented by Gucci)
In the Accessories and some Mens apparels
High end brand in womens wear and most of mens apparels

Issues

High end
customers
gravitating towards
discount
warehouses

Opportunity

Middle Income
people shopping
at luxury retailers

Challenge

Integrating the
high end and the
mid segment
customers with a
product line
(different)

Issues and the

Current/Proposed Strategy
Issues

High End Brands

launching a product
in the lower
category to
compete with
Burberry.

Low Prices brands

like launching a
brand in the
Burberry segment

Existing /Proposed
Solution

The existing Burberry brand

is priced such that it takes
care of the competition

Strengthen the low end

brand of Burberry (e.g.
Burberry London)
Will serve as a flanker
brand.
Will cater to the younger
and comparatively less
affluent.

PLC
Maturity

Sales

Decline

Growth

Introduction

Pioneerin
g

Time
Competitive

Comparative

Recommendations

Imposing Time Premium for fashion

Introduce new fashion in the Prorsum brand
After a time, introduce them in the Burberry brand
and after that in theThomas Burberry brand

Advantages
Extended life cycle of the product resulting in
Higher revenues

THANK YOU