Burberry is one of the world's most recognisable luxury fashion labels. It possessed a 165-year history and heritage, was known for exceptional craftsmanship, and was favoured by celebrities and royalty. Burberry had all the hallmarks of a high-end brand. It is said to have had “one of the most talked-about brand transformations of our time” (Desai, 2021), and they have definitely shown this over the past 20 years.
Since attracting an unwelcome target audience in the early 2000s (Rackham, 2017), the company has been attempting to climb back up the social ladder and reclaim its reputation as a luxury fashion label. Burberry has had its ups and downs with how it communicates with its customers and, most significantly, their brand communication strategy since it was founded in 1856. When Angela Ahrendts became Burberry's CEO in 2006, she had one question: “where were the trench coats?” Burberry's external focus on the competitive luxury clothes and leather goods sector had caused the business to overlook its core strength - iconic outerwear (Kotter, 2013).
When then CEO Angela Ahrendts arrived at Burberry, she set out to improve what was already in place. She came up with several innovative ideas for growing and improving the brand that no other luxury fashion house had attempted. One of the things she introduced was an “’end to end’ digital enterprise” – its strategy was to use big data and artificial intelligence to boost sales and customer satisfaction with the use of RFID tags (Marr, 2017). Customers are asked a few voluntary questions before being guided through a database of loyalty and incentive programmes. This data is then processed to help with stock and quality management, as well as improving the customer experience at select retailers. Customers may view customised multimedia content related to particular products and ranges on in-store display displays thanks to RFID technology (Burberry). This is undoubtedly one of the most creative and beneficial ways Burberry has communicated with its customers, as it demonstrates that the company is prepared for whatever the future holds. This is just one of the many examples Burberry has used to regain and maintain its success.
Together, Angela Ahrendts and Christopher Bailey transformed the British trench coat maker into one of the most widely known luxury fashion houses in the world, reaching £2.5 billion in revenue in 2014 (Christopher Bailey is part of the BoF 500, 2021). Bailey was arguably the first designer to grasp the concept of a celebrity campaign and recognise the benefit of having someone like Emma Watson, Sienna Miller, or Romeo Beckham fronting your collection (De Klerk, 2017). His campaigns became conversation points, and the brand was re-contextualized as a result of this. Kate Moss appeared on the cover of major fashion magazines sporting the Burberry trench all of a sudden. It was a risk – and it did not go unnoticed – but it certainly got people talking about Burberry and put the company on the map for Beckham's youthful admirers.
Christopher Bailey, the brand's chief creative officer and president, said in 2017 that he would be stepping down after 17 years with the brand, with the Spring 2018 show being his last (Phelps, 2017). Many thought Burberry's glory days were over, but Italian designer Riccardo Tisci stepped in. In fact, the share price of Burberry grew an extra 5% when it was announced that Riccardo Tisci was to become the next creative director (Business of Fashion, 2018). "Tisci's recent designs in 2020 also triggered a 14% jump in Burberry's shares," according to the company (Sequeira, 2020). This demonstrates how two very different designers can have vastly different effects on consumers; nonetheless, both designers have contributed to Burberry becoming one of the finest luxury brands in the world.
"From London with Love" | Starring Romeo Beckham
References
Kotter, J (2013) Burberry’s secret to Successful Brand Reinvention, Forbes [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2013/02/26/burberrys-secrets-to-successful-brand-reinvention/?sh=78f269f65ad5 [Accessed: 16/11/21]
Marr, B (2017) The Amazing Ways Burberry Is Using Artificial Intelligence And Big Data To Drive Success, Forbes[Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/09/25/the-amazing-ways-burberry-is-using-artificial-intelligence-and-big-data-to-drive-success/?sh=74ce74104f63 [Accessed: 16/11/21]
Phelps, N (2017) Christopher Bailey to Step Down From Burberry in 2018, Vogue, [Online] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/burberry-christopher-bailey-exit [Accessed: 11/21]
Sequeira, M (2020) Burberry, ‘Tisci and streetwear’, NOVA – Business School of Economics, [Online] Available at:https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/105570/1/1239148301-5477_Marco_Antonio_Barbosa_Sequeira_2018-19_S1-20336-16-Marco_Sequeira.pdf_124450_566319201.pdf [Accessed: 11/21]
The Business of Fashion. 2021. Christopher Bailey is part of the BoF 500. [Online] Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/christopher-bailey [Accessed 11/21].
Burberry, RFID, [Online] Available at: https://uk.burberry.com/legal-cookies/privacy-policy/rfid/ [Accessed: 16/11/21]
Desai, S (2021) How Burberry executed one of the most successful brand identity transformations of all time... and how your business can too, LinkedIn [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-burberry-executed-one-most-successful-brand-identity-desai?trk=read_related_article-card_title [Accessed: 16/11/21]
De Klerk, A (2017) How Christopher Bailey transformed Burberry forever, Vogue, [Online] Available at: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/a13134055/christopher-bailey-burberry-profile-legacy/ [Accessed: 16/11/21]
[Image 1] Burberry Enhances its Digital Experience With Scannable Tags and Smart Personalization, 8ninths [Online image] Available at: https://8ninths.com/burberry-scannable-tags/ [Accessed: 16/11/21]
[Image 2] Demarchelier, P (2010) The Moss Factor - a "fusion of rock 'n' roll flair and classic elegance", Vogue, [Online image] Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/kate-moss-on-the-cover-of-vogue [Accessed: 11/21]
[Image 3] Oxberry, E (2009) Emma Watson stars in Burberry ad campaign, Draper [Online image] Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/emma-watson-stars-in-burberry-ad-campaign [Accessed: 11/21]
Burberry (2014) "From London with Love" | Starring Romeo Beckham [Online video] Available at: https://youtu.be/ojBufhpPgMo [Accessed: 11/21]
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