Professor Gary Wolf
Jooyeon Lee
Burberry Final Project The Burberry brand as defined by consumers is authentic British heritage. Brand is globally recognized by the iconic trench coat, the trademark check and the Prorsum horse logo. Burberry indeed has the strongest association with its signature checks and its winter collection, particularly its trench coats. Luxury consumers recognize the brand for its Classic English style, and its Brand Ambassador – Emma Watsons and Kate Moss. While we hypothesized that Burberry was Expensive, it is interesting to see some consumers associating Burberry with Affordable as well. Some negative associations include ‘counterfeit products’, ‘boring’, ‘ugly’, ‘old’, and even ‘show-off because of the obvious checks’. Burberry offers the customer authenticity and quintessentially British charm, which grants the brand a stand out position in the modern luxury marketplace. From the iconic trench to the glamorous fragrances, Burberry innovates through classic reinterpretation and modern styling. The brand is powerful, emotionally engaging, and stands out among luxury brands for its globally recognized icons. Burberry has positioned its brand as “functional luxury”, exuding sophistication, elegance, quality, function, and style while maintaining modern edginess and British sensibility. Burberry markets a product line with great width and depth. They offer two main categories which are fashion and continuity. Fashion products are responsive to fashion trends. Continuity products with a life cycle last for a number of years (classic). Burberry has two primary product categories: apparel and accessories. The most famous product category being apparel led by its durable, water resistant, iconic, gabardine fabric trench coats first manufactured in 1879. The major global competitors that focus on apparel are the stylish and poised Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren with their iconic Polo Tees. Burberry smartly identified their niche between these top two brands: Ralph Lauren (represent lifestyle) and Giorgio Armani (represent high end fashion). While Burberry (representing performance and classic) offered high quality materials and durability. Burberry priced their products between the Armani and Lauren price point to reach consumers. The image of accessible luxury was created. The Burberry brand seems to evoke a more private and enduring feeling of social approval and self–actualization in the eyes of the consumers. Burberry also appeals to wider market segment from hip 20s to conservative 60s or even 70s. By owning Burberry product consumers feel a great sense of social approval because they feel part of the elite community, almost on par with celebrities or even members of Royal family who are often seen in Burberry’s apparel. Consumers feel fashionable and attractive when people see them wearing the Burberry brand, this influence consumer’s motivation to buy their product. Consumers also have a strong feeling of self–actualization because they feel confident, sophisticated and wealthy when wearing the brand. Burberry achieves a high performance in the eyes of consumers in the sense of offering a durable product and a great customer service. Burberry website, known as Burberry World, is part of the ongoing efforts to build the Burberry community around the world. It features in six languages and transactional across 45 countries. Burberry World is the ultimate expression of the Burberry brand, allowing customers globally to connect with all its aspects, from heritage, to music and video, to the full product offer. Through the use of dynamic audiovisual content Burberry World engages, entertains and interacts. An ultimate online luxury shopping experience is established through a personalized customer service application that allows customers to call and chat with sales staff in real time and in 14 languages. Burberry operates under 4 different brands: Burberry Prorsum, Burberry London and
