Research Methods for Business: Burberry's Fashion Industry Challenges

This reflective report analyzes the challenges faced by Burberry in the fashion industry, focusing on the impact of trends and customer preferences. The research involved identifying market trends, understanding customer behavior, and determining the effects of external factors like technology and globalization. The research employed both primary and secondary data collection methods, including questionnaires and literature review, to assess the challenges related to inventory management, marketing strategies, and resource acquisition. The report also explores strategies for Burberry to adapt to these challenges, such as gathering customer feedback, employing effective communication, and developing new skills for research. The findings and recommendations aim to help Burberry formulate effective strategies to maintain its market position and meet evolving customer needs within the competitive fashion industry. The report concludes with a reflection on the research process, highlighting both the difficulties encountered and the skills developed throughout the project. The author also mentions the use of various research methods to ensure the authenticity of the findings. The report also provides recommendations to Burberry for effectively dealing with the changing trends in the fashion industry.

Research Methods for
Business

Table of Contents
Reflective Report.............................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

Reflective Report
It was an opportunity for me to undertake this research on this topic and I am happy for that.
The topic for this research is to determine the challenges that have been faced by the Burberry
due to various trends within the industry. With the help of this topic I could understand various
aspects related to the fashion industry and the factors that can affect them. For conducting this
research I had to determine various external factors that have direct impact on the products and
services that are offered by the Burberry. Out of the all the factors the most important factors that
has impact on the operations of the company includes the taste and preference of the customers
as they are the one for whom they manufacture or design new and fashionable clothes (Bell,
Bryman and Harley, 2018). I analysed that with a little change in the customers taste and
perception the company has major impact and this is the reason they have to understand the
trends that has been prevailing in the environment so that they can move hand-in-hand with such
changes.
The Burberry is extremely famous for their fashionable clothes and they take all the
measures for making their business competitive by adopting all the trends within their
organisation. Still the demand of the customers changes with change in the perception due to
which their business has direct influence. For ensuring the sustainability of their business the
Burberry appointed me to undertake the research with the help of which I can let them know the
trends that are prevailing in the market. This will enable them to formulate various strategies
with which they can ensure the customers base. While undertaking this research my main aim
was to identify various major challenges that can be faced by the company due to trends that are
prevailing in the fashion industry. This research facilitated me in developing a detailed
understanding of how the fashion industry works, what are the ways and factors that they focus
upon for understanding the taste and preference of the customers. It will help me in undertaking
various similar researches in future which has better scope because it is important for each and
every organisation to understand the impact and influence of the customers and external factors
on their businesses (Wren, 2015).
For undertaking research this research I determine various objectives but I had to receive
which includes identification of various trends that has impact on the fashion industry, the
challenges which will have to be faced by Burberry due to such trends and determination of
various strategies that can be adopted by them for dealing with such challenges. The entire

research revolves around objectives write an effective recommendation can be made to the
company which will help them achieving their objectives. I collected the data for the research
from various methods and sources which include both primary and secondary sources. On the
basis of various articles present on the internet I gather the opinion of various authors regarding
trends in the fashion industry and the extent to which it can affect the organisation.
On the basis of the secondary sources I analyse that various factors that has impact on the
organisation includes advancement of Technology, globalisation due to which cultural
movement has taken place and that leads to adoption of different culture by the local people
(Fletcher, 2017). Also I analyse that this increases the level of competition for Burberry as if
there competitor offers trendy clothes to the customers their customer base will eventually go
down. Due to this I have to recommend specific strategy that can help them in reshaping the
business as per changing need of the customers.
Further I analyse various challenges that the company has to face. Various challenges
includes shortage of funds, frequent changes in the strategies of marketing the business,
management of the inventory, acquisition of various resources by the organisation etc. I analyse
that to cope up with such changing need of the customers organisation must effectively plan their
production and procurement so that they can efficiently manage total cost of the organisation.
Also for overcoming the challenge they must focus upon attractive designs, better quality and
aggressive promotional techniques so that they can make their customers aware of they are
differentiated offering than the competitors.
For this research I used various research methods so that the outcomes of the research can be
made authentic and reliable. I used various quantitative and qualitative methods as per my level
of understanding which enabled me in gathering in depth and illustrative information regarding
trends in the fashion industry (Gioia, Corley and Hamilton, 2013). Apart from this I used both
primary and secondary sources which helped me in developing a better understanding of the
topic. I requested various people associated with the company to fill up the questionnaire so that
I can get their opinion regarding the company and their techniques. Such respondents include the
manager, employees, customers and various channel partners of Burberry.
To conduct a research was not an easy task for me as I have to maintain ethical and reliable
behaviour throughout the research. This is because it enabled me to have better responses of the
people and to develop better relation with them. For ensuring the timely completion of the

research I divided the entire task into small activities which were allotted specific time
framework in which they have to be completed.
For effective completion of the project, I had to gather various resources so that this research
can be completed on time and as per the client requirement. Various resources that I had together
includes four students, a few laptops and phones, various right to access some sources, funds for
gathering all these resources for the research. The student helped me in gathering information
from various secondary sources, for example, we have to go through from so many articles and
blogs so that we can identify specific challenges impacts. Also with the help of them, I could get
the questionnaire filled by the respondents. Further with the help of laptops, they assisted me in
preparing the reports which I have to submit to the project manager of the company.
On the basis of this research, I analyzed various aspects which helped me in providing
recommendation to the company that includes Burberry take feedback from their customers,
employees, channel partners on a consistent basis so that they can frequently analyze the changes
taking place in the taste and preference of the customers. This will enable them to be innovative
and effective in comparison to their competitors. Also, I analyzed that as a researcher interview
method is an effective method of gathering information as in this various open-ended questions
are asked with the help of which a large number of information and opinion on the customers can
be taken easily (Sauvant, 2019).
For this research I have to communicate with the management of the company and the
people responsible for the research on time to time basis by way of emails, video conference and
through phone calls. It was with the aim to communicate them regarding the progress of the
research. While undertaking this research I faced various difficulties such as the respondents
were not ready to respond for various questions and some did not behave properly that had an
impact on the students working with me. Also for gathering authentic information subscriptions
of various sources had to be taken due to which I had to bear the extra cost. At the time of
analysing the responses and information so gathered by me and my team, I face difficulty in
interpreting the responses of the people as the context in which they answered may vary to what
I assume. This can have a direct influence on the recommendations which I made to the
company.
In addition to this, I realised that I lack various skills such as I do not have appropriate
knowledge of the various advanced methods of research which include hypothesis tests, trend

analysis, regression and many more (Noble and Smith, 2015). For developing understanding I
have to take various sessions with the help of which I could develop an ability to understand
people, their gestures and behaviour which helped me in analysing the responses of the
respondent. Along with this, I took various online sessions for improving my writing and
communicating skills. This was because I had to communicate with the company by way of
writing emails, reports, etc.
This research enabled me to develop various skills such as a chance to understand the
impact of various environmental factors on the organisation and the extent to which it can affect
them, the way organisation manage their strategy formulation for dealing with such change, also
give me an experience of working with students in a team. This was overall an amazing
experience for me which will help me in undertaking various researches in the future.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Bell, E., Bryman, A. and Harley, B., 2018. Business research methods. Oxford university press.
Fletcher, A.J., 2017. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets
method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology .20(2). pp.181-194.
Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G. and Hamilton, A. L., 2013. Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive
research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational research methods. 16(1).
pp.15-31
Noble, H. and Smith, J., 2015. Issues of validity and reliability in qualitative research. Evidence-
based nursing .18(2). pp.34-35.
Sauvant, K. P., 2019. Controlling multinational enterprises: Problems, strategies,
counterstrategies. Routledge.
Wren, D.A., 2015. Implementing the Gantt chart in Europe and Britain: the contributions of
Wallace Clark. Journal of Management History 21(3). pp.309-327.