Burberry: Defining Luxury with British Taste

Burberry: Defining Luxury with British Taste




What is Burberry?

Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, distributing clothing, fashion accessories, fragrances, sunglasses, and cosmetics. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its trench coat, which was designed by founder Thomas Burberry.The company has branded stores and franchises around the world and also sells through concessions in third-party stores. Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales have granted the company Royal Warrants, which have been maintained despite Burberry's closure of its factory in Wales. The Chief Creative Officer is Christopher Bailey. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

According to a 2013 report by Interbrand, Burberry was the 77th most valuable brand in the world that year.



Burberry Logo





History:

Burberry was founded in 1856 when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry, a former draper's apprentice, opened his own store in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. By 1870, the business had established itself by focusing on the development of outdoors attire. In 1880, Burberry introduced in his brand the gabardine, a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric, in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving. "Burberry" was the original name, but then the company soon switched to using the name "Burberrys", after many customers from around the world began calling it "Burberrys of London". This name is still visible on many older Burberry products. In 1891 Burberry opened a shop in the Haymarket, London.



Burberry Store in Haymarket (1913)

In 1901, the Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo was developed containing the Latin word "Prorsum", meaning forwards, and registered as a trademark. In 1911 they became the outfitters for Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, and Ernest Shackleton, who led a 1914 expedition to cross Antarctica. A Burberry gabardine jacket was worn by George Mallory on his presumed ill-fated attempt on Mount Everest in 1924.

Gabardine Trench Coat

In 1914, Burberry was commissioned by the War Office to adapt its officer's coat to suit the conditions of contemporary warfare, resulting in the "trench coat". After the war, the trench coat became popular with civilians. The iconic Burberry check was created in the 1920s and used as a lining in its trench coats.

Burberry Trench Coat for women

Burberry also specially designed aviation garments. A.E. Clouston and Betty Kirby-Green made the fastest flying time to Cape Town from London in 1937 and were sponsored by Burberry.

Burberry was an independent company until 1955, when it was taken over by Great Universal Stores (GUS).

During the 1970s, the brand became popular with the British casual cult, leading to its being associated with members of football firms by the 1990s and 'chav's the following decade.

In 1998, Burberrys changed their marketing name to Burberry.

In May 2001, Christopher Bailey joined Burberry as creative director. GUS divested its remaining interest in Burberry in December 2005. Burberry Group plc was initially floated on the London Stock Exchange in July 2002. In 2005, Sanyo-shokai was the Burberry ready-to-wear licence holder in Japan with retail value of €435 million.

Burberry Store in Ginza

In 2006, Rose Marie Bravo, who as Chief Executive had led Burberry to mass market success through licensing, decided to retire. She was replaced by another American Angela Ahrendts, who joined from Liz Claiborne in January 2006, and took up the position of CEO on 1 July 2006. Ahrendts and Bailey successfully turned around the then Chav-like reputation that the brand had acquired at the end of Bravo's tenure, by removing the brand's iconic check-pattern from all but 10% of the company's products and buying out the Spanish franchise that was worth 20% of group revenues. Part of the new design-led drive and vision was taken from admiring and learning lessons from iconic leading design brands, including Apple Inc. Burberry first began selling online in the US, followed by the UK in October 2006, and the rest of the EU in 2007. Bailey became Chief Creative Officer in November 2009, whilst it was reported that during 2012 Ahrendts was the highest paid CEO in the UK, making £16.9m, the first time a woman topped the table.

In recent years, Burberry has attempted to rebrand itself with advertisements in GQ, Esquire, Vogue, Tatler, and Harper's Bazaar, and is well known for using British celebrities in its advertising, including models Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn, Jourdan Dunn, and Lily Donaldson, singer George Craig, actress Emma Watson, who was named the face of Burberry's 2009 autumn/winter campaign and the cover model for the 2010 spring/summer campaign, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who was unveiled as the face of Burberry's newest fragrance, Burberry Body, in July 2011. In June 2010, the Group launched its first cosmetics line, Burberry Beauty.

Kate Moss and Cara Delevigne in a Burberry Ad

In October 2013, it was announced that Ahrendts would take up the position of Senior Vice President of retail and online at Apple, Inc. from April 2014, and be replaced as CEO by Bailey. During her tenure, sales increased to over £2 billion, and shares gained more than threefold to £7 billion. Although Burberry promotes its British connection, according to The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper, as of July 2012, Burberry maintains only two production facilities in Great Britain, one in Castleford producing raincoats, and a smaller one in Keighley.

Brands:

Burberry Prorsum – The most fashion forward collection, centred around runway shows, providing the design inspiration for the brand

Burberry Prorsum Ad with Emma Watson

Burberry London – The tailored collection, typically what a customer wears on weekdays for work

Burberry London Ad 

Burberry Brit – The most casual collection, typically worn on weekends

Burberry Brit Polo Shirt

Checks:

Haymarket: Classic check with the Burberry Equestrian Knight

Burberry Haymarket Check Tote Bag

House: Classic check without the Burberry Equestrian Knight

Burberry House Check Bag

Nova: The newer and bigger check pattern. Has a cream/tan background with vertical and horizontal black and pink/red stripes

Burberry Nova Check Bowling Bag

Supernova: Larger than Nova check.

Burberry SuperNova Check Tote Bag

Exploded: Exploded check usually in metallic colours like silver

Burberry Exploded Button Down Shirt

Smoked: Classic check in a darker colour with no Equestrian Knight detail

Burberry Smoked Check Wallet

The Beat: Classic check in black and white.

Burberry The Beat Check Tote Bag

Burberry became a standard in fashion. Producing exquisite Trench Coats, Pea Coats, Bags, Everyday Shirts, etc. That's why it was very successful in the fashion world. Many celebrities wear Burberry. Without a doubt Burberry means defining luxury with British Taste