Burberry

1. Burberry is a brand that began its history many years ago. However, the company has the same positioning on the market, which proves that Burberry values traditional principles of the performance. It does not mean that the company follows an old-fashioned set of values. It means that the company manages to save its uniqueness and promote its growth through flexible diversification of the product line. Today, Burberry continues to offer products of luxury that aim to reach three segments of the target audience, including absolute, aspirational, and accessible customers (Jarosinski, 2014). Burberry is a diverse brand that wants to satisfy the needs of its customers and correspond to the high standards of the target audience. As long as the company’s customers tend to have a stable financial income, they provide the company with the same stability regardless of the economic conditions in the countries where Burberry operates. An absolute segment of customers helps the company to balance its financial goals and maintenance of its image, reputation, and brand at the same level.

The success of the company became possible to the diverse offers of products that the customers might choose. One can define two categories of products – fashion and continuity. These products achieve two goals of product distribution and the satisfaction of customers’ needs. First, the company manages to be in touch with the latest fashion tendencies, if it cannot be the first one to dictate them. As long as the company operates on the market full of competitors, it should listen to the customers’ wishes and understand what will be in fashion according to their needs and interests. Burberry manages to mix two categories of products to keep the same position on the market and pursue the name of the respected brand. Continuity products tend to reflect the company’s traditional view on womenswear and menswear. Burberry successfully produces collections that represent both contemporary and classic view on fashion. It is a part of the company’s performance that helps it to respect its traditions and value customers’ desire to be a part of the fashion trends. Various rewards for both classic and contemporary collections prove that the company successfully performs to support its brand image and positioning on the market.

If one aims to compare the current performance of Burberry and its historical principles of leading business, it is possible to see changes in the advertising. The company used to advertise its products differently without defining or associating the brand with the age or lifestyle of potential customers. The history of Burberry shows that the company used to promote its brand only by disseminating its clothes and accessories among celebrities, sportsmen, and archers (Jarosinski, 2014). It became a tradition regardless of the age of the people involved in the promotion. Today, the company’s position on the market and the overall performance depend on young people willing to be in fashion. Burberry’s advertisements involve young people reflecting the essence of the contemporary culture. Burberry has managed to pursue aristocratism, elegance, and combine it with youth, following the latest tendencies of fashion. In particular, contemporary advertisements tend to focus on young models in bikinis, which is most likely to attract the attention of potential customers.

In general, it is possible to claim that Burberry successfully manages to position itself on the market full of competitors. The financial performance of the company is the best reflection of the efficiency of all processes involved in the development of the brand. Advertisements support the company’s collections and meet the standards of the customers willing to become owners of unique and luxurious clothes.

2. From the point of view of Burberry’s CEO, it is possible to think about several challenges on the way to success. First, it is most likely that the main challenge will be to save freshness of the brand and protect it from counterfeit versions of the brand’s products. The Chaves continue to represent a significant part of Burberry’s customers (Jarosinski, 2014). However, this category may misinform other clients regarding the assortment of the company’s collections. On the one hand, it may have a negative influence on the company’s overall performance, which will automatically burden the name and the reputation of the brand. On the other hand, such segments of the target audience as absolute and aspirational customers may not even pay attention to the manipulations of the Chaves. It is hardly possible to predict the future reaction of customers of the purchasing aspects of the Chaves. However, it is most likely that the company will be capable of turning attention to the original collections belonging to the brand. As for the opportunities, it is possible to define at least two directions of the company’s development.

First, one should point at the need to penetrate the market of fashion with an opportunity of personalization. Customers have always looked for uniqueness and personification of style. It means that the company should increase its opportunities regarding a unique design of clothes and accessories. Customers from the absolute segment of the target audience can be helpful in the renaissance of the company’s traditional performance. It does not mean that the company will return to the old-fashioned way of performance. It means that the company will use its traditional approach towards advertising. Aristocratism, elegance, fashion, and classic style should enhance the company’s market position by increasing the value of its products. In addition, Burberry should revise its contemporary collection and add a tone of preciousness to luxurious products by means of advertising. It is necessary to move away from the common idea that skinny models in bikinis can be the only effective way of promoting the brand. Short promotional videos featuring outstanding celebrities respected all over the world can help to boost the company’s luxury level. Customers will automatically want to be a part of the narrow circle of lucky customers who own unique elements of the wardrobe. The company should not change its collections in order to impress customers from the new side. It will be more effective to keep working in the same traditional style and by advertising the new products, motivate customers to purchase them.

Another option is to experiment in collaborating with other respected brands. For example, Louis Vuitton can become a reliable partner in the creation of a unique collection. It should become a partnership that will assure the customers that brands work together to dictate the latest tendencies of fashion. This will become a project that should be a blast to the target audience willing to see a combination of favorite brands in a single collection. It will automatically boost the performance of both companies and will attract the attention of new customers who like both brands. The main aim of such a collaboration is to design a collection that can increase the loyalty of customers and attract them to the activity of the company in general.

3. Globalization has a significant impact on the performance of every company regardless of the industry, in which the company performs. Burberry also falls under the influence of globalization that introduced many outsourcing companies, continuing to improve the quality of their performance. It is obvious that every brand suffers from globalization, which has caused the emergence of copies of famous brands by numerous outsourcing companies. However, it is easy to understand that the company needs to point at the uniqueness of its products. In addition, there is a need to add new elements to the label that will prove that the customer purchases an original product of the company in the official distribution point. Otherwise, the company is most likely to lose its identity in the myriad of other companies willing to enjoy the same success of the company. Burberry needs to develop itself according to the terms of globalization, if there is a need to reinvent the technological aspect that will become a part of dissimenating the company’s original products.

The effect of outsourcing companies can be dramatic and can lead to the dissatisfaction of the company’s customers. Regardless of the fact that globalization has made it possible to enhance the quality of products from the outsourcing companies, customers are always interested in receiving original products. These products should have an origin of the country, where the company is established. In fact, Burberry needs to be aware of the fact that outsourcing companies will still play their role in shaping the future of its business. However, it is necessary to make careful decisions in trusting other companies to make the same products. Otherwise, customers will lose their trust in the quality of clothes that they are willing to purchase. The outstanding quality of the company’s performance can be ruined in a blink of an eye. Moreover, it will be difficult to restore the customers’ trust and respect as long as it is most likely that customers will not be willing to risk and pay for the products of questionable quality.

In general, Burberry should be ready to add outsourcing companies to its performance if it wants to succeed in the industry and survive in terms of tough competition. However, it is necessary to enhance the overall system of quality to monitor every process in the company’s performance. The customers should have any doubt about the quality of products offered under the label of Burberry. Technological innovations can help to follow the terms of globalization and save the customers’ trust in the brand. In general, it is unavoidable to have changes in the performance of the company as long as there is a need to turn to another level of the expansion of the company’s products. In addition, it will still be important to enhance the level of luxury and uniqueness of the company’s products.

4. Burberry needs to follow two segments of changes covering operational and marketing transformations. In the operational segment, it is important to go through four levels of changes, including standardization, integration, centralization, and optimization. All these components can help to enhance company performance in several ways. First, Burberry should pay attention of society to the standards that the company successfully follows. For example, the company may integrate new standardization regarding customer service to reduce costs spent on time-consuming problems. It does not mean that the company will avoid customers’ problems. It means that the company will create a system of services following the same standards, which can help to handle the problems of quality, returning problems, and any other typical issues of the customers. It will enhance trust and loyalty from customers. Further, the company needs to take advantage of integration, which should unite the company’s intention to grow, develop, and design new collections. All these aspects should have support for the technological breakthrough to put the company’s performance in the innovative aspect. Centralization, in its turn, should help Burberry to reach economies of scale and avoid unnecessary processes that waste the company’s performance. For example, the company can avoid producing the products not very popular among the customers and replace them with fresh products. Finally, optimization should become the key to the company’s evolution, which will enhance the overall system of processes. For example, the enhancement of the monitoring system of quality can essentially improve the company’s productivity and efficiency of its performance.

In the marketing aspect, the company needs to refresh its marketing campaign and return to the idea of advertising the collections for all age groups. In addition, it is possible to create family-oriented collections supported by advertising, which will improve the overall performance of the company. Aristocracy, uniqueness, and elegance should be combined with comfort, affection, and care. It should become a new approach to the marketing campaign of Burberry. It can change the acceptance of the company’s products by keeping the same level of luxury without burdening the brand. In addition, the customers will be willing to move away from the egocentric concept of keeping personal identity to the fashion trends. Burberry can become an initiator of family-oriented fashion that will focus on targeting absolute and aspirational customers. At the same time, such a marketing concept will enhance the company’s ability to impress its customers and keep them interested in the development of new projects and collections. In addition, Burberry should actively use its official website to attract the attention of customers to upcoming projects and events. Social media can also help to spread the news and increase the world’s interest in the latest product of the company’s creativity and talent. All these manifestations should contribute to the strengthening of the company’s position on the market.