Marketing Report: Burberry's Positioning and Competitive Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Burberry's brand positioning and repositioning strategies. It begins with an introduction outlining the importance of these strategies for brand development and market presence. The main body of the report delves into the relevance and importance of both positioning and repositioning, specifically in the context of Burberry's recent shift towards an exclusive luxury brand. A positioning map is created to compare Burberry with competitors like Gucci and Primark, illustrating its current market position and its repositioning goals. The report then explores two key methods for achieving effective positioning: head-to-head positioning and differentiation. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and recommending the most suitable marketing techniques for Burberry to achieve its strategic objectives. References to academic journals and online resources support the analysis.

PROJECT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Relevance and importance of positioning and repositioning.......................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Positioning Map...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
Two methods of achieving positioning........................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Positioning and repositioning are two strategies that are used by the marketers in order to
place their brand more strongly in the current market and these further assist in developing a
wider market base (Blankson, 2016). In the current report, the importance of positioning as well
as repositioning has been discussed in context of Burberry and further, a position map has been
prepared of the company and its competitors. Lastly, appropriate strategies recommending the
appropriate strategy for brand positioning will be discussed.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Relevance and importance of positioning and repositioning
Positioning is related to the process through which the marketers determine what is the
best manner in which the targeted customers can be attracted i.e. what are those pricing and
quality options through which the product can be positioned in the targeted market.
Repositioning on the other hand refers to a major change that is done in the earlier positioning of
the product in the market. Burberry has decided that they will now become an exclusively luxury
store only and reduce its supply to the lower end wholesalers and local retailers. The brands can
utilise various benefits of both positioning and repositioning of brands.
 Understanding the needs of customer: When the product is positioned correctly in the
market, it automatically depicts that the marketers of the company have a good
understanding about the market and various customer needs (Zhang, Lin and Newman,
2016). This also helps in developing a niche segment where targeted customer segment is
small but specialised. This helps in increasing the sales of the company and building
brand trust worthiness amongst its customers.
 Improved Competitive Positioning: When a product is positioned or repositioned, the
main objective behind this is to help the product in gaining competitive advantage over
the competitors of the company. This helps in developing a situation of added benefit for
the company and they are able to develop a broader market and customer base.
 Alignment with the market trends: The positioning and repositioning of the product
ensures that the marketing strategies that have been formulated by the company are in
sync with the latest trends and therefore addresses the current requirement of the market
so that the consumers feel encouraged and motivated to buy the newly positioned

product. It also assists in promoting the brand form a new perspective thus developing a
renewed brand image of the product.
TASK 2
Positioning Map
Positioning map is a tool through which it is identified in which segment the brand in
currently positioned and this is based on four segment classified on the basis of quality of the
product and its cost (Blankson, 2016). Burberry decided to reposition itself based on its pricing
level and has decided that now it will target only high end customers and upscale their price
level. They have further decided that the products that are currently in possession with the local
retailers and other wholesalers. Through a position map, the exact quadrant in which the product
lies i.e. the one based on the price of the product as well as its quality, is determined and this
helps in analysing whether the current brand position needs to be changed and repositioned or
whether it is currently good and is giving the fruits that are desirable.
Figure 1: Positioning Map of Burberry
Burberry
GUCCI
Primark

In the above position mapping, the brand positioning of Burberry has been depicted that is
compared with the position of its competitors in the market i.e. the brands that are targeting the
consumers at an higher income hand such as Gucci as well as a moderately priced brand i.e.
Primark. This represents the competitors of the company in the current market and depicts the
position of the company accurately. Currently Primark is giving good quality products which are
priced at both high rates and low rates but after the repositioning, the company’s products will be
placed at a higher rate only thus placing the brand in the first quadrant of product positioning
map (Burberry shifts strategy towards ultra-luxury positioning, 2017).
TASK 3
Two methods of achieving positioning
In order to position a product in the market, there are two major strategies that can be
adopted by the Burberry Company and these are:
Head to Head Positioning: In this technique, a comparison is made between the existing
products of the competitors and the new product that is being manufactured by the brand,
highlighting the difference in the features or quality of the product that is being manufactured
(Koch and Gyrd-Jones, 2019). Under this, the marketers try to develop a separate position in the
minds of the customers thus segregating their product form the similar category of products.
Head to head positioning therefore helps in attracting the common customer base thus targeting
those customers that are targeted by the competitors as well.
Differentiation: This is another king of marketing strategy through which the unique or different
qualities that the product itself has to offer are taken into consideration. Here the marketers to not
take help of the qualities of their competitors product and rather build up the image of their own
product (Roy, 2019). Also, this marketing technique tries to capture an altogether new market
and those customers are identified and targeted who may not necessarily require the product but
due to the innovative idea behind the product, they might become interested in the product.
For Burberry, the perfect marketing technique that could be adopted by them is head to
head positioning where they try to differentiate their product from the one of their existing
competitors in the similar market and then position their new product accordingly.
CONCLUSION
The above report highlighted why repositioning is as important as positioning for a brand
and comparative analysis has been done between Burberry and its competitors i.e. Gucci and

Primark. This report also analysed the two strategies for product positioning and analysed the
most appropriate strategy for the Burberry Company.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Blankson, C., 2016. Positioning a brand. The Routledge companion to contemporary brand
management, pp.164-185.
Koch, C.H. and Gyrd-Jones, R.I., 2019. Corporate brand positioning in complex industrial firms:
Introducing a dynamic, process approach to positioning. Industrial Marketing Management.
Roy, A., 2019. Studying positioning and repositioning of brands using multidimensional
scaling. Journal of Education for Business, pp.1-6.
Zhang, C., Lin, Y.H. and Newman, D.G., 2016. Investigating the effectiveness of repositioning
strategies: The customers’ perspective. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 33(9).
pp.1235-1250.
Online
Burberry shifts strategy towards ultra-luxury positioning. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://cpp-luxury.com/burberry-shifts-strategy-towards-ultra-luxury-positioning/ >
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