Fashion Retail Management

The case of Burberry not only highlight the struggle of a company to evolve which lost focus on its roots but not to forget the very remarkable role of unwavering executive that turned the lights on for Burberry. As in the case we observed a brand which lost the platform of its business with the aim of bring luxury to the omnipresence state and that was time which brought setback to Burberry business. After the new CEO Angela stepped in, she observed that top notch employees of the company were not promoting anything about Burberry as they do not own anything under thing brand and as a CEO, she easily analyzed the unspoken truth about the business situation of the Burberry. Burberry had around 23 licenses under which different products were being sold around the globe but there was no focus on its core strengths area- “Trench coats”. In the beginning, trench coats were its iconic wear but now company was not realizing anything on them. The only focus on leather goods and modest luxury clothing did not brought enough cash on the financials of the Burberry. Re-invention of the any brand is the world of competition is not easy process because it involves a complete refreshment of product lines with the aim of connecting the products with the customers. Burberry was mainly concentrating on the competition whereas to regain its brand value, it should have fostered its areas of strength. The case of Burberry also highlighted that for all business aiming to showcase themselves to be brand icon need to stick to the core of their business. Every business start with something exclusive and if they move ahead leaving the roots, it is nearly impossible to form a structured brand no matter how much is the investment made. The recovery plan strategies need to optimize the best resource Burberry had it from base. Business experts believe in the power of innovation and as per business needs and goals, accordingly installation of strategies should be the priority. (Brooks, 2013)

For Burberry, there were voluminous unsolved questions which need answers soon because future of the business was at stake and there was no strategy of comeback. The sales were highly impacted and questions were raised on the direction of the business. Superfluous interrogations were about what Burberry was selling, to whom was selling and who they were competing. All business activities are different and management need to analyze to understand the thin line difference between critical and strategic issues. (Halter, 2010)

Major strategic issues that triggered business problems in Burberry are identified as follows:

Burberry’s efforts to be omnipresent-Though Burberry was presenting the face of luxury in the luxury sector which was growing in tremendous way, the company did not earn well because in the efforts of being present everywhere in the world, it was no more luxury. Due to this, elite customer base moved away from Burberry and financial situation was at stake. There was around 23 licenses with Burberry and under those different licenses. Product being sold were like Kilts, dog cover ups, leashes and so on. Though these products were bringing usual revenue for the business but again these products were generic and not highly exclusive. (Sherman, 2009).Consumer anticipation is the high when products are exclusive and are available at specific outlets or stores. Burberry was not making efforts to be have selected products and be at only good real estate locations to optimize on customers available on such locations. Burberry lost its charm by having “something for everyone” and being at locations without elite crowd. In marketing positioning of products is a crucial thing.

Not sticking to the core business line-The business of Burberry did not enjoyed many advantages in spite of its rich growth history of trench coats. The core strength of the business was its iconic wear –trench coats but Burberry didn’t capitalize it and thus lost its focus from being a luxury brand to something else that later did not proved fruitful. The valuable assets of the company were ignored and profits were very low as compared to competitive firms such as LVMH, PPR. When company was selling trench coats initially, they became famous in short period. The fabric of the trench coats was unique and this was produced at the Yorkshire facility of Burberry but both, this location as well as the fabric produce were ignored and problems were invited. The unique business line which was core of the business soon became very down and just contributed one-fifth to the total sales. The advantage of central focus was lost. It is not always beneficial to go for more leaving the core behind. Prospects of new venture need to scrutinize before the final move is taken. (Waite, 2002)

Lack of one attribute consistency- One of the unique feature that every brand possess is uniqueness of the products or services. For example, Macdonald restaurant will have the nearly same taste of burger and courtesy of the staff will be similar to each other no matter which restaurant you step in across the globe. Burberry didn’t had same kind of consistency in relation to the products it was selling. Every time a customer would visit stores of Burberry at different locations, the experience of each store was different whether it be sales associate ability, infrastructure, and product line and so on. This was a major hurdle in the line of Burberry to be a brand. It is not always that customers will share same value across the globe there could be conflicting viewpoints so branding is a thoughtful process and the best that can be made common is superior quality. (Holt, Quelch and Taylor, 2004).

Recovery plan of Burberry was not easy as expected because some breath-taking decisions were required and they made the road to better future clearer. There was need to look back to the roots and actual problems were figured out. Efforts started to revive the core strength of the business and later, this proved worthy enough to be called as brand Burberry. The new CEO, Angela took all steps to regain focus of the business and she stood by her vision of bringing back charm which was lost. Angela made it sure that lead in the category of newcomers was captured. Whether the business is small or big, it do not matter because one have to compete for business continuity and there needs planning for the same. Business continuity is one thing on which recovery plan is actionable. (Lindros and Tittel, 2013).

Getting back to the basics- Since we analyzed that Burberry lost its core strength and concentrated only on competition, now was the time to get the basics right. The Burberry top management under the vision of Angela started the efforts to bring trench coats back to its product line and present the come through well-established marketing campaign. To reinforce rich heritage of Burberry, the goal was set to put weight on progress of core luxury products and everything in the business should relate to core of the business.

Share, Engage and Involve-The change was not be overnight possibility for Burberry and management knew it. Angela had a clear and big picture in her mind and this picture was about bringing drastic opportunities to the business. She conveyed the message and confirmed that change makers of Burberry are through with what they are doing and how they will be doing.  In a nutshell, recovery mission with effort based vision was shared, people got engaged with the enthusiasm of the CEO and time was near to see the expected results. Bringing in Christopher Bailey was thoughtful move and all the products of the Burberry were passed through his eyes which were sharp with fashion. (Rose, 2015)

Shaking decision of layoffs and closures was right move- Closing factories of New Jersey and Wales, people lost jobs and these all decisions were never without controversies. Closing few outlets was must have step to move towards branding of the business. Closing the factory which was only producing polo shirts was not a loss and the capital and human resources were invested in Castleford facility to produce the core products. Questions were raised by shareholders, government with the position of the firm but all was handled well by the CEO with her strategies and revival plan and we all know, rest is history.

Change in the corporate structure- The changes made were big enough and now was the time to reflect those changes through set mechanism. To do this, shift was made from Burberry’s historical structure to new classical and it was necessary because new things packed in old packets will never be sold. There are always different legal formalities associated with corporate structures of the business and several criteria’s need to be evaluated. (Khwaja, 2013) A functional expertise was hired to strengthen the retail activities and sales people were trained. The target of training was also to ensure that sales people do not neglect customers, not just target on selling regular products and the purpose of training proved worthy. Sales associates know that selling a unique product was way better than putting efforts on numerous budgeted items.

After the revival of Burberry and now as a brand, it understand well that being stagnant in the fashion industry will bring them back in menace, they already dealt with. In business word, there is no certainty is respect to markets and its reactions Highly profitable businesses can get eroded if there are no back up strategies. (Toner, Ojha, Paepe and Melo, 2015) To manage challenges of the competition and other factors, Burberry implemented following strategies to keep the momentum of growth on and enjoy the perks:

Focus on product line areas: Burberry have always believed in its products. Products are the groundwork of growth and efficiency goals. The company have set its focus on end to end category management of key products with the aim and target of inventiveness towards both heritage and fashion. After the recovery of trench coats, the next area of force which is drive the company is bags. Burberry believe that they need to infiltrate more into the section of bags which in future will turn beneficial for the financial health of the company. (Burberryplc.com)

Optimize Channels- The purpose of this strategy is to cover all the market routes whether making sales online or offline, whether selling products through own stores or third parties. Burberry have put customer as center point for its activities with the aim of maintaining customer loyalty and their retention. Enhancement of the services and effectively managing the profile of existing customers and warm welcome of the new leads put a point that the company has come all the way to create happy customers. (Burberryplc.com)

Investing in digital-Today technology is moving the world and being digitally advanced will add up the value of the firm. Burberry made investment in Burberry.com and this platform delivered strong growth. Burberry provided the customers with the opportunity to view all its products, varieties available with locations with enhanced delivery. This provided customers with delighted shopping experience. Recent add on of 18 more fashion and beauty product platforms have enabled Burberry to compete with difference against other digitalized commercial players. (Burberryplc.com)

Store Investment-Burberry is focus to brace its stores through openings in key location with strategies of reallocations and renovations. Burberry have recently launched new 18 leading stores (closing 17 at different locations across the globe) with the target of value presence. (Burberryplc.com)

Unlock market opportunities- Burberry is leaving no stone unturned and evolving its footsteps and stand in all differentiation of markets such as developed markets, younger markets, new customer lines and so on. During 2015/16, Burberry have moved its focus untapped areas such as engaging the Chinese luxury customers to bring and maintain the luxury sector trend, transforming Japan with the aim of building strong brand awareness and building young markets because early growth markets need to be tapped early and Burberry is smart organization to do so. (Burberryplc.com)

Burberry was established in 1856 and after a rise, there were losses of both finances and brand value. But comeback was tremendously happening to regain the brand and reinvention of the brand today have expanded a lot. The credit of this retaliating success is exceptional leadership and innovation. After setbacks, Burberry learnt the changing customer needs and market demands and then accordingly strategies were made and implemented. This case also put light on the business working strategies whether focus was need for expansion or core line of products could bring better sales and loyal customers. Any business with trusted roots can continue to grow its line and enhance its market credibility. To make a comeback from setback situations, there is always need for clear vision and organized leadership which will make a stand in the adverse situations.

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