Burberry's Brand Repositioning: A Case Study in Upmarket Expansion

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments. This report analyzes Burberry's repositioning strategy.

Assignment 2:
Individual Assignment
1

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Q1...............................................................................................................................................4
Q2...............................................................................................................................................5
Q3...............................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Reference List............................................................................................................................9
2

Introduction
In this study, a report will be represented which consists of an analysis of how a business
intends to go more up-market. In this context, the importance and relevance of positioning
and repositioning for marketers will also be discussed. The implications of positioning and
repositioning on a business will be explained here as a case study analysis on Burberry by
means of position mapping. Using several methods of how the company can achieve
repositioning will also be elaborated in this study. A context will be shown at the end about
how repositioning helps in targeting a set of potential consumers.
3

Q1.
Explain the relevance and importance of positioning and repositioning for marketers.
What are the implications for the performance of the business if such a move is
successful?
In the given case study, it is observed that Burberry is now trying to expand its business by
means of profit margins and productivity. Now, before involving this kind of business
activity, the brand is required to follow some corporate strategies by means of positioning
and repositioning of products while having a competition with the rival products.
Positioning is defined as the basic marketing concept which states how a brand occupies a
space in the consumer’s mind in order to have a distinguished form of products with respect
to its competitors. A brand tries to distinguish a particular product from other rival products
by placing it in the right position in the customer’s mind. Now, Burberry obviously would
like to market its products in terms of building a reputation in the new market. This is how
positioning becomes an important aspect of marketing (Pike et al., 2018).
Repositioning is referred as a method of brand marketing by which a business compares its
products with the products of its rival companies. Performing this activity, an organisation
can understand how much it has to improve its products or items and services in terms of
consumer demands or competitive rivalry (Edwards, 2019). Burberry will be benefited by
repositioning for differentiating between the features of its products and the rival products
having the same features. Its rival companies in the fashion designing industry in the UK are
Gucci, Primark, Mulberry, LVMH’s Céline, Zara, Marks Spencer or Givenchy (Reimer,
2016).
After going through this positioning and repositioning type of practices, it can be concluded
that these corporate activities should be incorporated in the business strategies of Burberry
in order to have a brand reputation in the new market. Moreover, they will require brand
positioning and repositioning in the situation which will demand to change the business
policies in a changing scenario. Hence, in case these moves became successful in a new
market, it will be much easier for Burberry to perform its business activities smoothly. The
improvement in the quality of the products at fewer price rates of Burberry will surely help
4

High Quality
High PriceLow Quality
Low Quality
them to attract new potential customer and accordingly increase the brand value and
reputation.
Q2.
In the case of Burberry, demonstrate by means of a positioning map, how the
positioning of the brand will change as a result of this process. In presenting the map,
also identify where on the map the following brands would be located: Gucci and
Primark.
Positioning map, also called perpetual mapping is defined as the tool for determining the
position of a brand in the corresponding market. This technique is used in a diagrammatic
way, where four quadrants are drawn against four axes representing four factors, such as-
high quality, low quality, high price and low price. The perpetual mapping of Burberry’s
products is shown in the following diagram-
Before Positioning Strategies were applied to Burberry:
Figure-1: Case study on Burberry before applying positioning strategies
(Source: Created by the learner)
5

6

High Quality
High PriceLow Price
Low Quality
After Positioning Strategies have been applied to Burberry:
Figure-2: Case study on Burberry after applying positioning strategies
(Source: Created by the learner)
After comparing the above position mappings, it can be concluded that the effect of
positioning of products affected the brands like Gucci, Givenchy, Burberry, Primark and
Zara as shown above. From a consumer’s research on fashion designing in 2017, it is seen
that the age group of 16-24 is mostly active in luxury shopping of Burberry products. Before
applying the positioning strategy, the products that were previously sold by Burberry was
placed in the first quadrant of the map, which indicates high quality at high price rates.
However, after applying a positioning strategy, the same products were successfully placed in
the second quadrant, such that high quality at comparatively fewer price rates. This strategic
move has helped Burberry to target the new set of customers.
7

Q3.
Provide two methods which brands such as Burberry might use to achieve
repositioning.
Burberry can achieve repositioning by implementing the following methods-
 Digital Activities: Digital marketing is a burning platform for conducting digital
activities in a competitive scenario. Burberry can focus on digital marketing strategies as
well as an easier use interface to buy its products online. Using digital Media like
internet, television, e-mail and others, Burberry can perform its promotional activities by
providing a comparison with its rivals. Moreover, they can also introduce promotional
activities of substitute products in the market for counting a successful repositioning of
brands (Armstrong et al., 2015).
 Advertising: The method of promotion for a particular product to meet its certain
potential customers is defined as advertising. Burberry can use advertising specifically
by demonstrating the features and comparing with other substitutes. Moreover, Burberry
provides seasonal products like a leather jacket, luxury home wares or designer bags with
a regular discount to their potential customers. In this particular context, the brand can
introduce advertising method for repositioning of their particulate products so that they
can have a strong grip on the market for selling these particular goods (Percy, 2016).
8

Conclusion
In this study, positioning and repositioning of brands are implemented as a strategy to
develop a business. In order to do so, a case study on Burberry is conducted through this
context. Perpetual mapping helped to understand the effects of the positioning of products to
a set of potential customers. The competitive rivals of the brand are also compared in the
maps. Several methods for positioning are also described along with their application on
Burberry. The usefulness of positioning and repositioning also affected the pricing system
and as well as in quality improvement. This is how; Burberry can grow its business in a new
market competing with other fashion brands in the UK market.
9

Reference List
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Buchwitz, L.A., Trifts, V. and Gaudet, D., 2015. Marketing: an
introduction.
Edwards, R.A., 2019. How Organizations and Their Brands Leverage Marketing Partnerships
to Enhance Their Success: The Guidelines to Navigating Both Reaffirming and Repositioning
Strategic Partnerships.
Percy, L., 2016. Strategic advertising management. Oxford University Press.
Pike, S., Gentle, J., Kelly, L. and Beatson, A., 2018. Tracking brand positioning for an
emerging destination: 2003 to 2015. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 18(3), pp.286-296.
Reimer, S., 2016. ‘It’s just a very male industry’: gender and work in UK design
agencies. Gender, Place & Culture, 23(7), pp.1033-1046.
Straker, K. and Wrigley, C., 2016. Emotionally engaging customers in the digital age: the
case study of “Burberry love”. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 20(3),
pp.276-299.
Won, E.J., Oh, Y.K. and Choeh, J.Y., 2018. Perceptual mapping based on web search queries
and consumer forum comments. International Journal of Market Research, 60(4), pp.394-
407.
10