Burberry Brand Repositioning Case Study: A Marketing Analysis

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OCTAVIA: INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDY

Contents
QUE.1..............................................................................................................................................1
QUE.2..............................................................................................................................................2
Que.3................................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

QUE.1
The competition is increasing day by day in fashion accessories brands in the UK. The sales of
many luxury brands got increased because of the increase in tourism (Andrews, and Shimp,
2017). The sales of the brand like Burberry in the UK got increased in 2017 but after that, the
challenging condition of the UK and Hong Kong has slow down its sales. The brand is also facing
tough competition in the market. The famous brands like Michael kors, Gucci, Prada and Louis
Vuitton are giving the tough competition to it. And the company is refocusing on the marketing
strategy to increase sales. The marketers of Burberry are making the strategy of the strong
positioning of the company. As the marketers have noticed that the 37% of revenue has been
gained in the year 2017 and the products like handbags and small leather goods are performing
well. So the company is making a strategy for repositioning itself in the luxury sector.
In a marketing plan product positioning is a very important element. Positioning refers to the
position of the brand where the brand stands in relation to other similar brands and in the mind
of the consumers (Gherghina, 2014). And the repositioning is when a company do the changes
in the brand to keep up with consumer wants and needs in order to increase the sales.
Positioning and repositioning of the brand both are very important for the company in order to
attain growth and development.
 A good positioning makes the product unique and good positioning of the brand makes
it different from others.
 It helps in understanding the strength and weaknesses of a brand from the perspective
of customers.
 Repositioning added the new value in the brand and enhance its overall appeal.
 It helps to keep the brand alive and always keep it in focus.
If the positioning and repositioning strategy of the brand got success then it will enhance its
overall performance and will increase the sales of the products. It will create the new value in
the brand which will help to attract the customers and will create the positive image of the
brand in the mind of the customers (Zahid, and Raja, 2014).

QUE.2
The positioning maps are used to identify or develop a market positioning strategy for the
products. The positioning maps are based on the perception of the buyers. Positioning map
shows where the products of the brand are positioned in the market and where it wants to
reach (Okonkwo, 2016). It helps to identify where the company could position a new brand. As
it has been noticed that the luxury sector products of the brand Burberry is performing well and
it is making the strategy to reposition itself and will extend the price of its luxury products and
will create the new luxury goods and accessories to attract the customers. And some other
brands are also repositioning their products by creating new style products and replacing them
with the older style products (Burns, et al.,2016).
This positioning map of Burberry is representing two category price and fashion as compared to
other brands Burberry is continuously working on to be set in a good position (BORSBOOM, et
al., 2018). And as compared to the other brands Burberry is making the strategy to move the
brand more upscale and moving towards the luxury products and extending its price and doing
the innovation in the designs and architecture of the products. And as per the report of
Designer Fashion UK, November 2017, youngsters between the age of 16-24 are the most
active customers of luxury products and to increase the sales of the brand Burberry is targeting
the young customers and attracting them by their new product range of luxury goods and

accessories. Whereas the other brand like Gucci and Primark are having a different strategy.
Gucci is already a well-established brand and to increase its sales it is renewing its products and
has adopted the strategy of appealing its customer by renewing the brand. It is also extending
its price and quality. Compare to Gucci and Burberry Primark is having a different strategy as it
is improving the quality and providing the products at affordable prices.
Figure 2: Positioning Map of Gucci

Que.3
BCG Matrix of Burberry
BCG matrix is a tool used in the corporate planning of company’s brand portfolio with the help
of four quadrants along with two axes i.e. relative market share on the horizontal axis and
market growth rate of the vertical axis. This matrix shows that the Burberry’s business units are
classified in four quadrants namely star, cash cow, dog and question mark. The company uses
this model for capitalizing the opportunities through identifying the potential products in the
market.
Figure 1: BCG Matrix
Stars: Stars are the products that have high relative market share and high market growth. The
Burberry is a leader in the non-apparel items. So the company must use its funds in such types
of product to strengthen its brand positioning. For example, Burberry’s scarf has both high
relative market share and high growth rate (Kim et al., 2019).
Question mark: These are the products having a low market share but high growth rate.
Question marks are the cash consumption so the company should divest its funds and invest in
some other brand.

Cash cows: These products have low market growth rate and high relative market share. Cash
cows are products that generate more cash than consumption. Burberry’s Iconic Trench Coat is
considered as a cash cow.
Dogs: Dogs neither generate cash nor consume the cash. In the case of Burberry, the men's
apparel is considered a dog for the company.
Ansoff Matrix
The brand positioning of the company depends on the marketing of an existing product or new
products.
Market penetration: Burberry develops the technology and invests in the digital platform to
increase its customer base.
Market development: The Company started on focusing the local customers by exploring the
new markets with the existing products.
Product development: The Company launches a new product or brings innovation to satisfy the
needs of the new market.
Diversification: Blueberry can strengthen its brand positioning by selling new products to new
markets (Schawel and Billing, 2018).

REFERENCES
 Andrews, J.C. and Shimp, T.A., 2017. Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of
integrated marketing communications. Nelson Education.
 BORSBOOM, L., CASE, B. and LAWSON, N., 2018. BURBERRY JOUSTING FOR
REDEMPTION. LBMG Corporate Brand Management and Reputation-Masters Case
Series.
 Burns, L.D., Mullet, K.K. and Bryant, N.O., 2016. The business of fashion: Designing,
manufacturing, and marketing. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
 Gherghina, L., 2014. The importance of image and communication of a brand or
trademark positioning. Analele Universitatii'Eftimie Murgu'Resita. Fascicola II. Studii
Economice, pp.83-87.
 Kim, L.B., Shkurupy, V.A. and Putyatina, A.N., 2019. Correlations between the Levels of
the Main Extracellular Matrix Components in Mouse Liver in Chronic BCG-Induced
Granulomatosis. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, pp.1-4.
 Okonkwo, U., 2016. Luxury fashion branding: trends, tactics, techniques. Springer.
 Schawel, C. and Billing, F., 2018. Ansoff-Matrix. In Top 100 Management Tools (pp. 31-
33). Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden
 Zahid, S. and Raja, N.S., 2014. Effect of rebranding and repositioning on brand equity
considering brand loyalty as a mediating variable. Journal of Business and
Management, 16(1), pp.55-63.