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1. Prathivadi, Abhinav – UGBA 167 Paper #2
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Burberry [Youngme Moon]
Abhinav Prathivadi
UGBA 167
18669026
October 6th, 2005
Throughout history numerous brands have conquered and established themselves in the
minds of consumers and. Brands such as P&G, Disney, Armani, Lee and numerous
household products have captured the imagination of consumers worldwide. Their presence
and visibility has become prominent over the decades, and the brand management of these
products has effectively been executedby managers working at their brands. The case
study Burberry [by Youngme Moon] explores a classic British brand that has established
itself among the most prominent of luxury fashion merchandise. Burberry’s existence on
the fashion circuit since 1856 went through many iterations before becoming an integral
part of the fashion industry. Following the British Army’s adoption of its coats in World
War I, Burberry became associated with on a larger scale in public and ever since, it’s
celebrity endorsements have increased placing it amongst the most admiredbrands of the
world.
Burberry faced numerous challenges in the mid 1990s, as its brand began to dwindle
owing to the loss of its brand equity and inefficient management of it in the 1980s, and this
put pressure on the new management headed by Rose Maria Bravo, who came into
Burberry in 1997. By restructuring the attitude of the top management and bringing in a
new set of ideals and culture, Bravo helped initiative a revival of the Burberry product line
and brand that propelled it into a lifestyle brand covering many people of different fashion
senses and attributes. Although Bravo’s goal was to turn around the companyfrom it’s mid
1980s mindset, Bravo achieved more than what Burberry set out to at that point by rapidly
expanding and downsizing inventory that had been outdated over the years. Although these
actions represented temporary losses that had to be written off, the focus of the corporation
shifted to a more chic and urban style bandanas, perfumes, etc that transformed the dying
corporation into a flourishing fashion business unit. The aspect of bringing in new ideas
and product lines to appeal to a wider generation and set of previously loyal audiences (that
had whisked away from the brand in its years of turmoil) grew in favor of Burberry as it
increased it to accommodate the attributes of today’s generation that viewed fashion
completely different from the way their parents viewed it.
The brand previously stood for the traditional and classic style of clothing that Burberry
symbolized following the World War Era. Although, the classic tag existed into the 1980s
and 1990s, the brand began to be evaded by the younger generation and sales dropped
sharply because of the brand misrepresentation the company faltered on. It was only with
Bravo’s initiative of introducing a new line of clothing supplementary to the traditional that
Burberry as a fashion oriented company began to attract theyounger generation. This
increased its visibility and with leading models like Kate Moss sporting the brand, it
became associated with the chic and out going audience that was included in its’ base of

2. Prathivadi, Abhinav – UGBA 167 Paper #2
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consumers. Their introduction of perfumes along with the traditional fashion lines is a good
strategy on the part of Burberry to become a lifestyle brand as opposed to being solely
relegated to the fashion market. With a lifestyle approach towards the consumers,
Burberry’s brand and merchandise can gain visibility across generations and within the
niche groups that value fashion over price.
Many brands suffer the consequence of losing out on their own prior success,and
brands such as Google and Facebook in the modern era of the Internet face similar
challenges that have often been associated with classic brands. Although Google and
Facebook started out as projects targeted to a small audience, its effective growth and
positioning of being the Internet’s megalith to poses different challenges in maintaining
day
its brand identity. Burberry faces a similar situation that puts it’s brand at stake in getting
too common and accessible, which would over the long run gradually destroy the
distinctiveness associated with it’s brand.
Maintaining the brand among consumers not targeted or part of their in-house strategy is
crucial to the long term prospects of the brand and constantly surveying consumers with the
help of third-party research organizations or in-house research departments will serve
Burberry to strategize better and incorporate it in new marketingcampaigns. As Bravo
pointed out, the check symbolizes the brand and its visibility to consumers has gained
strong credibility throughout the existence of the brand primarily due to this symbol. With
increasing brand visibility the need to control it effectively and preserving it from
becoming diluted among other lesser known brands po a major challenge, and Burberry
ses
is at the cross roads of being a victim of it’s own success as Bravo pointed out. By
carefully protecting the “check” and the quality of the product, Burberry reduces the risk of
diluting its brand and raising the distinctiveness associated with it.
Global expansion comes with a lot of hurdles and requires careful analysis of the market
before corporations enter foreign markets. By expanding globally, corporations like
Burberry need to adapt their products to the market, and as in the case of any international
market analysis, the need to understand the cultural tastes of the people being targeted is
even more crucial to the success of a product especially if the product is fashion related.
Fashion in most cases are often fads, and may last up to a decade or so, before requiring a
major overhaul of the brand, and although Burberry lost its way before the 1990s, it
seemed to have gained a lot of momentum following Bravo’s tenure at the corporation
signaling a new era for Burberry products and the company.
International marketing is pivotal to the success of a global corporation like Burberry, and
its distinct symbol of recognition across countries puts a lot of brand equity at stake and
demands a well executed strategy by the top managementto maintain the pulse of a
fledging enterprise.