Burberry Brand Introduction

Even if you don’t recognize the Burberry name, chances are you’re familiar with the company’s signature plaid. The trademark red, camel, black and white checked pattern adorns everything from scarves to coats to umbrellas. If you happen to view one of these items while still on a store shelf, you can count on it having a shockingly high price tag attached.

This London-based brand dates back to 1856 when it was founded by Thomas Burberry. Now known more for its style, early attention focused more on function — Burberry invented gabardine, a durable, breathable and waterproof fabric. Ernest Shackleton was even outfitted in Burberry during his 1914 expedition across Antarctica.

Several decades later the famous check was introduced (1924), and shortly thereafter, trademarked. (Someone obviously had a keen understanding of the counterfeit value in the signature look.) Burberry’s rabidly vigilant copyright department is still thriving to this day (see threatening trademark section at Burberry.com).

The small UK brand didn’t cross the pond until the 1970s when it opened a flagship store in the appropriately posh location of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. At this point the narrow product line expanded from coats to scarves, umbrellas and luggage.

Despite worldwide reach (stores in upscale locales only), by the 1990s the brand started to look like your grandmother’s pocketbook. Burberry turned to Rosemary Bravo (then President of Saks Fifth Avenue) to become Chief Executive Officer. Under Bravo’s watch the brand revamped, broadening its line further and surrendering to less conservative items like the Burberry bikini. As the company crisply states: “Since the arrival of a new management team, commencing in 1997, we have been repositioning the Burberry brand in line with its luxury heritage.”

It worked. The plaid took off. Personalities from Martha Stewart to Prince William are seen at various events sporting Burberry threads. Even Ja Rule gets his groove on with a Burberry bucket hat planted firmly, yet crooked, on his head.

Ja Rule? That’s right, hip hop artist Ja Rule is a fan of the plaid. As are Nelly, Foxy Brown and a million fans. The brand features in so many current song lyrics, that it was ranked eighth on American Brandstand for “most mentioned brand” in song lyrics for the week of June 12.

In England, football hooligans have become as loyal to the Burberry brand as they are to the sport. A sea of plaid can be seen in the stands as fans sport Burberry shirts and hats. This includes Cardiff City in Wales, known for its out-of-control fans. But police aren’t complaining — the plaid makes it easy for them to spot trouble-causing fans that try to blend in with the public after rowdy matches.

Talk about a broad target. These fans are nowhere near the polo field where Prince William dons his plaid, but they are fierce brand enthusiasts nonetheless.

It’s safe to assume that this stuffy, conservative British luxury brand was unintentionally off-target when it hit these markets; there is a notably chilly reception to this growing fan base seen in the tight-lipped stance concerning the whole “off-target” issue. The Burberry website home page isn’t exactly embracing diverse markets: it features people lounging around, looking particularly beautifully, particularly wealthy, and particularly white.

What may be the strongest example of Burberry’s rejection of its shifting demographic is that the company isn’t following suit with other luxury brands by endorsing the artists who promote their brand in lyrics. In September of last year in a report covering brand names in the hip-hop world, The Village Voice reported that Foxy Brown, who promotes the Burberry brand in her song lyrics, had “tried unsuccessfully to approach Burberry executives.”

Despite this, it looks like the broad appeal is, if anything, becoming broader. So what does a shift to an unintended market mean for a brand like Burberry?

Sales in 2002 (fiscal year ending March) reached US$ 711.7 million, up from US$ 605.9 in 2001 — and that’s with the SARS outbreak, which affected the sales of brands in the Asian market, and the overall economic slowdown.

Could the shift to alternate markets be a reason why Burberry is experiencing such success? There is no public documentation on this, but the increased sales certainly aren’t hurting the company. And it doesn’t look like the alternative markets are repelling on-target consumers. The plaid seems equally at ease on the back of Barbra Streisand’s dog as Nelly’s head.

Perhaps Burberry should embrace these additional markets. The company does note its broad appeal in the About Us section of its website, but if the frosty tone is any indication, it doesn’t sound like Burberry’s ready to catch the vapors anytime soon: “Burberry is a distinctive luxury brand with international recognition and broad appeal.”

On the other hand, maybe Burberry’s discomfort with alternative markets is exactly what makes it so popular.

According to www.brandstrend.com