Unit 1 exploring business

T Jones
27220
2174
Introduction

In this coursework I will be investigating two businesses, Burberry and AccessArt. I will be looking at the
business ownership, size and scope. I will also be investigating the aims and objectives these two
businesses have.

Description and Purpose

Burberry Group plc (BRBY) is British luxury fashion brand well known for its iconic and distinguishable
tartan pattern, in addition to its high-quality clothing, accessories and fragrances. Burberry revolves
around being a globally recognised luxury fashion brand and its commitment to innovation and the
unique blend of traditional British and modern fashion. Burberry strive to connect with its customers,
maintain a strong brand identity and engage in retail and wholesale operations that make products
available to customers while upholding a premium retail experience. 1

Burberry’s purpose is underpinned by it’s 4 values.

‘Being creatively driven’ putting passion into finding beauty in every detail while committing to
excellence and the challenging the ordinary to pursue the extraordinary.
‘forward-thinking' inspired by our past as we create our feature learning from others. Championing
contrasts from royals to rebels that represent Britain on a global scale
open and caring, and proud of it’s heritage’2. All aspects have continued to remained core in the brand.

AccessArt Limited is a self-sustaining arts organisation and registered UK Charity (Limited Company) that
is a member of The Council for Subject Associations3. As a membership organisation, AccessArt rely on
the income created from memberships to continue to be the leading provider of digital visual arts
resources in the UK, focusing on promoting and facilitating art education for individuals of all ages and
abilities. AN example of resources created by AccessArt include lesson plans, art projects, and teaching
materials. The charity supports and advocates the importance of art education highlighting the positive
impacts it can have on people or communities. The charity raises awareness about the value of creativity
in the educational curriculum and the wider benefit it has on personal development.

Access Art’s purpose is shaped around its 8 values, the charity believes ‘enthusiasm fuels creative
potential’; ‘Growth is driven by ideas, opportunities and reflection’; ‘Holding ideas lightly, helps us to
create space for everyone to reach their potential’; ‘Through small acts of understanding we can
enable big thinking’; ‘The intentions behind even the smallest actions are important. Incrementally,
these intentional actions create impact’; ‘We can be our most brave and creative self when we feel
safe and valued. To help others feel valued we need to be kind’; ‘We all have something to contribute
which is of value to others. There is strength in shared experience which empowers us all’; ‘Generosity
of spirit can help build a bigger, more diverse and inclusive world, bringing more opportunities and
greater understanding for all.4

Brief History
Profit (2021-2023)
Ownership/Investors

Burberry was an independent, family-owned company until 1955, when it was sold to UK Retailing,
manufacturing and financial conglomerate group Great Universal Stores (GUS) 5. In July 2002 Burberry
listed on the London Stock Exchange, becoming a Public limited company6. Hence the name BRBY Group
Plc this means shares can be sold to the public via the stock exchange specifically for Burberry the
London Stock Exchange7. In 2005, GUS distributed its stake to its shareholders as result of a split at GUS
and the result of a demerge8. As a result of this Burberry's ownership structure is mix of institutional,
retail and individual investors. 60.09% of the company's stock is owned by Public Companies and
Individual Investors, the advantage to Burberry of being a Public Limited Company is that more capital
can be raised through the sale of shares to these Public Companies and Individual Investors.
Approximately 38.60% of the company's stock is owned by institutional investors 9. An institutional
investor in the UK is a company or organisation that invest money on behalf of clients or members.
Burberry’s top shareholder is Aqr Funds holding 13.02% of the company at a value of
£57,523,961,037.15.

Institutional investors have a positive impact on Burberry as institutional investors often have a long-
term portfolio, providing stability to the company’s stock. This is beneficial for Burberry especially
considering its ‘next phase’ of their strategy focusing on ‘revenue growth and acceleration, building on a
very strong platform’10. As stocks with low volatility11 attracts investors to the BRBY Group Plc in the long
term. Greater access to capital from institutional investors also aid Burberry‘s strategy to ‘unlock growth
opportunities across the business’12 and use the capital to diversify its product range ’shifting our mix
more towards accessories'13. Although, one negative impact of institutional investors owning more than a
third of Burberry is the loss of independence and control over decision making. Increasing the risk in the
comprise to Burberry’s proud brand identity/ purpose, a shift in focus away from its British heritage, and
the reduction of campaigns made alongside British history14. All aspects that are/ were key to the success
of the company15.

In January 1999 Paula Briggs, CEO & Creative Director at AccessArt received a phone call from
government’s department for education announcing they had been awarded over £100,000 to invest
into art-lead education. 2 years later Access art received money from NESTA, established by labour as an
endorsement. Both grants had a positive impact on the charity as AcessArt was able to grow, clarify our
aims and establish themselves as a charity. In 2011, as the economic climate tightened and it became
harder to secure funding, AccessArt made the conscious decision not to apply for any core or revenue
funding, but instead to aspire to become a self-sustaining arts organisation. A membership scheme was
introduced, and for a small fee the community was invited to join AccessArt, in return for full access to
all the resources. AcessArt can continue based upon the idea of a “pot”, each member of the community
is invited to make a small contribution (either in the form of a small monthly fee or an idea) As a
membership organisation AccessArt rely on the oncome created from the memberships to continue to
expand and develop the resources shared via the website.17

Liability

BRBY Group Plc is a public limited company therefore it has limited debt, the owners are not accountable
for the debt to the company as it is a separate legal identity. Burberry Group Plc has a total shareholder
equity of £1.1 Billion and a total debt of £392.0 Million bringing its debt-to-equity ratio of 35.1% BRBY
Group Plc is a less risky investment for shareholders, so they can make substantial investments into the
company that already has perceived status due to having Plc in its name. The perceived status improves
Burberry’s recognisability as a luxury fashion brand. The owners who have the most shares in Burberry
cannot be held responsible for any business losses more than the amount they paid for their shares.

AccessArt Limited is a Private limited company by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its
Memorandum and Articles of Association. Companies limited by guarantee are widely used for charities
and other similar bodies and must be enrolled with the companies house. Most guarantee companies
are not-for-profit companies this means that they do not distribute their profits to their members but
instead retained and re-used for the good of the charity. The charity is a separate legal entity from its
members. An advantage of AccessArt being a company limited by guarantee is that it protects the
members of the charity from personal liability of debts. Another advantage is that by being a registered
charity no provision is considered necessary for tax. A disadvantage of being a company limited by
guarantee is that If there is a distribution of profits, then the company will have to forfeit its application
for ‘charitable status’.

Size and Scope

Scope refers to the scale on which the business or charity operates. A local business sells within a small
geographical area. A national business sells across the whole of a country. Whereas an international
business sells across multiple countries. The size of the business is measured by the number of
employees. A small to medium business has fewer than 250 employees. Any business with over 250
employees is considered as large.

Burberry has 8,868 employees as of 2023 made up of 120 nationalities across 34 countries and
territories. 18 Burberry’s global headquarters is located at Horseferry House, London with corporate
offices in Asia, Europe and America. Burberry have 400 mai line stores, concessions and outlets across
more than 30 countries. Manufacturing sites are exclusively in Italy, England, Scotland and China
operating with a network of global suppliers. 19

Access Art has a team of 8 employees, 4 trustees, over 20000 paid members and over 35000 free
subscribers. Working in collaboration with artists, educators, schools, museums, galleries and art
organisations to provide digital visual arts resources to people across the uk and overseas. AccessArt’s
registered office is in Cambridge, England. All employees and trustees are based in the UK. AccessArt
encourages contributors form the UK and overseas to create a unique collection of resources for
members.
Sector

Burberry is in the consumer discretionary, manufacture goods or provide services that people want
but, don't necessarily need.

Burberry is predominantly falls into the Secondary sector through its manufacturing processes. Burberry
design and produce a wide range of products, including clothing, accessories and fragrances. Products
such as scarves, bags and shoes involves transforming raw materials like cotton, leather into finished
products. Bubrerry use

Aims and Objectives

Mission Statement- ‘Being creatively driven, forward thinking, open and caring, and proud of our
heritage.’

Burberry’s mission statement are hallmarks of their organisation at its best and have remained core to
their brand since the Company was founded in 1856.

Vision Statement- ‘Creativity Opens Spaces’

Burberry’s vision statement draws on their heritage of pushing boundaries and making space for
creativity to flourish. Today, Burberry continues to delight customers by harnessing creativity to deliver
products of the highest quality and exceptional shopping experiences.
Burberry’s vision statement can be seen implemented into their objectives as they diversify their
marketing mix.

Aim

In November 2022 Burberry set out their next phase of strategy to reach their full potential as a
modern British Luxury Brand. Burberry’s main aim is to unlock opportunities of growth, focusing on
revenue growth and acceleration.

Objectives

Burberry’s long-term ambition is developing into a £5million revenue brand, drive significant operating
leveragei increasing their adjusted operating profit margin well above 20%.

Burberry hope to meet this objective by using its key elements in the next phase focusing on;
improving clarity as a brand, communicating by supercharging customer focus, diversifying their
product range shifting their marketing mix towards accessories, seizing opportunities in e commerce
distribution and store refurbishment.
Burberry’s vision statement can be seen implemented into one of their key elements as they shift their
product mix more towards accessories. As Burberry expand to accessories or footwear lines for fall 2023,
the categories’ ability to translate into sales is coming into question. CEO Jonathan Akeroyd’s plan is to
grow Burberry’s accessories business from 37% of its total sales to more than 50%.20 . Reports made by
Statistica show that £1.125 Billion of its £3.094 billion global revenue is made up of accessories as of
2023. Creative director Daniel Lee introduced his Spring/ Summer 2024 collection with the development
of accessories offering at Burberry as a major part of its brief. Daniel Lee believes he can achieve his role
to distil the essence of brand into that object through accessories. As Burberry shift their marketing mix
towards accessories they reach a wider customer base, increase their market share with the help of the
brand being established and known for its quality standards the new products are more likely to sell.
Burberry therefore gain another revenue streams that should help them reach their long-term ambition.
Burberry opens the highly anticipated refurbished global flagship store on new bond street. The flagship
store is home to an immersive shopping experience offering a new VIP area. The store is one of London
and the UKs premier luxury shopping destinations that connects their customers with their brand and
unique heritage. This part of Burberrys next phase in opportunities to unlock growth, especially within
the distribution sector as they continue to accelerate store refurbishment.

These elements links to Burberry’s vision statement as the business creates ‘exceptional shopping
experiences’ through the refurbishment of stores. Another element links to Burberrys vision statement
and mission statement as the business ‘continues to delight customers’ and being ‘open and caring’
through ‘supercharging customer focus’. This will have an overarching positive impact on customer
experience at Burberry, leading to increased customer satisfaction. The combination of excellent
customer experience and satisfaction will lead to superior brand reputation. Therefore, customers are
more likely to choose Burberry over competitors within the competitive luxury fashion industry helping
to meet Burberrys long term ambition of increasing revenue.
Aims

The aim of the charitable company is the advancement of education in the visual arts.

Objective

To position itself as the innovative publisher of digital and physical visual arts learning experiences and
teaching ideas which broaden and deepen visual arts education

to nurture meaningful relationships between practitioners and learners, which ensure that through
practice and dialogue, a climate of cross-fertilisation is celebrated and shared;

to act as a beacon on behalf of those who learn best visually, spatially and actively, and to advocate their
needs to strategic local, regional and national organisations across the UK;

to pursue the opportunities presented to us by new technologies and to exploit their potential to deliver
powerful and accessible visual learning experiences;

to raise funds through public funding and commercial activity with the aim of ensuring that a significant
proportion of the material we distribute is free of charge to the end user.

https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search?
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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/may/26/5