It has a hotshot new designer known for dressing Beyonce and is experimenting with monthly product launches on social media.
Now Burberry is moving past its famed camel check prints with new logo-style branding meant to give its handbags and other wares the kind of covetable cachet top luxury rivals like LVMH’s Louis Vuitton have long enjoyed.
It’s a gamble as fans of the British label digest the unfamiliar monogram – a motif of interlocking “Ts” and “Bs” in a nod to founder Thomas Burberry – splashed onto everything from hoodies to high heels.
But the makeover, part of a bid to revive stagnant sales, also reflects a growing battle among high-end brands to lure young shoppers in markets like Asia, including with instantly recognisable items they can flaunt – leading to a recent proliferation of logo-driven launches by Burberry rivals too.
Burberry’s revamped image is set to get its first real test on Tuesday, with first quarter sales that should reflect the higher proportion of designs by former Givenchy star Riccardo Tisci gradually making their way into stores.
After unveiling his first take on the label last September – including twists on Burberry classics, like trench coats lined with punky rings, more than a third of items in stores should now carry Tisci’s stamp, analysts estimate.
Some are optimistic that comparable revenue growth will improve as a result, from an underwhelming 1% in the previous three months to 3% according to JP Morgan.
Burberry’s new monogram products, which it began pushing in May in a special collection that included $690 bum bags and $400 baseball caps, will likely only account for a tiny part of that.
But the bet is that heightened buzz around the brand linked to the launch – with campaigns featuring model-of-the-moment Gigi Hadid – should have helped spur demand for other items too.
