Chapter 1: Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

Burberry mission statement- Digital Luxury positioning and the optimization across innovative mediums of the trench coat, trademark check and pros rum knight heritage icons make the brand purer, more compelling and more revenant globally, across gender and generations. 

Thomas Burberry, a 21 year old draper’s apprentice, began Burberry in 1856 with the vision of creating “innovative functional outerwear”. In 1879 he did just that by inventing gabardine a tightly woven water-resistant fabric. His new rain coats began making a name for the brand and had a reputation for being weather-resistant. This caused Burberry to be the outfitter of choice on many important expeditions, for the British army, and by many other private clients. Ronald Amundsen and his team of explorers all wore Burberry when they became the first people to reach the South Pole. Ernest Shackleton kept warm in Burberry while crossing Antarctica, and Claude Grahame White sported Burberry while becoming the first person to fly between London and Manchester in less than 24 hours. While Thomas Burberry had submitted an early trench coat prototype to the United Kingdom War Office in 1901 the trench coat’s classic design was developed between the First and Second World War. Although the trench coat was originally designed for military use every functional detail has become a part of the coat’s enduring style. Anywhere from the punks incorporation of the trench for their bold fashions of the 70’s, (or anti-fashions as they would have preferred) to now making a comeback as a sign of chic sophistication, the trench coat shows versatility and practicality. In 1901 the Equestrian logo was also created. Between the First and Second World War the final Burberry trademark, the classic check pattern, was also introduced.

After many years of success Burberry had some rough years in the eyes of the fashion industry during the 80’s and early 90’s. With the intent of appealing to a younger crowd Burberry began licensing its name, logo, and check pattern to other manufacturers. In the beginning the idea seemed to have worked as Burberry products were everywhere and on anything and everything. Many products were not top quality or in some cases poorly made and this tarnished the Burberry name and image. Sales were up but Burberry had lost its prestige as a luxury house.

In 1997 Rose Marie Bravo was externally hired as CEO from Saks Fifth Avenue and during her years at the helm she staged a turnaround. Her approach was to focus on the luxury womenswear market and only license and sell Burberry to luxury retailers such as Saks and Neiman Marcus. She also hired fresh designers Roberto Menichetti, and in 2001 when Menichetti moved on he was replaced by Christopher Bailey. Christopher Bailey had held senior design positions at Donna Karen and Gucci prior to his hiring but was not well known in the fashion industry at the time. In the last decade Bailey has received much praise for his Men’s and Women’s collections at Burberry and is now a world renowned designer. With his mix of fresh smart design and Burberry heritage he has been a crucial part to the rise and return of Burberry as a respected luxury house.