Introduction
Burberry is a famous producer of fragrances, sunglasses, fashion accessories, and trench coats. Headquartered in London, this luxury brand is a successful company. Over its long history, Burberry has managed to create an appropriate image among millions of customers throughout the whole world. However, the existing economic tendencies make the firm consider going more up-market to earn more benefits. That is why the given assignment both comments on positioning and repositioning and explains the importance of these phenomena for the company.
The Importance of Positioning and Repositioning
Positioning is an essential phenomenon for every brand in the modern world. According to SMstudy (2016, para. 1), it “creates an image of the company’s products in the mind of consumers, highlighting the most important benefits that differentiate the product from similar products in the market”. When a firm deals with product positioning, it should determine target consumers and communicate its values, including price, quality, innovation and others, to them.
If a firm wants to achieve more fruitful results, it can apply repositioning that is used to change the way of how clients will perceive products (Drummond, 2018, para. 1). Often, repositioning is a severe challenge for well-known businesses because customers have developed strong opinions concerning their products, and it is difficult to change their thoughts. However, this phenomenon helps numerous companies overcome the existing problems in the market and achieve more beneficial outcomes.
As for the case with Burberry, the company needs repositioning to meet the existing opportunities and reach a new market segment. On the one hand, repositioning seems necessary for Burberry because it lost 2% of accessories revenue in 2019, and it is essential to improve this situation (Burberry, 2019). In addition to that, this strategy should increase sales in other product divisions. On the other hand, the company wants to offer new luxury leather goods, extend its price architecture and reduce sales to wholesalers.
In this case, Burberry should avoid mistakes made by Mulberry, another British firm that also wanted to enter an up-market segment. These mistakes included outpricing customers, losing a competition battle and others. In addition to that, this process should draw attention to the fact that the customers of 16-24 years old form the basis of the target audience. That is why it is necessary to develop such design offerings that will be attractive to these customers.
If Burberry manages to implement the step above successfully, it will generate a few positive outcomes for the company. Firstly, Burberry will develop an image of a luxury brand with distinctive design offerings. Secondly, repositioning of this kind will lead the company to a market segment where competition is low. Finally, it is reasonable to comment on the expected benefits. Even though sales can decrease, the advantages above will result in significant benefits for the company in the long run.
Positioning Map
If a company wants to determine its position in the market, it is reasonable to use a positioning map. Also called perceptual maps, these tools help analyse brands according to the quality of their products and prices offered to customers (Learn Marketing, 2020, para. 1). As for the current state of affairs, Burberry is a part of an upper market segment. However, the scheme below shows that the company does not succeed in the given area. According to Adamska (2019, para. 4), Gucci is a top representative of this market segment, but Burberry’s significant rivals also include Michael Kors, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, LVMH’s Céline and Givenchy. At the same time, Primark is not a luxury brand, and it occupies a mass-market position.
However, when it comes to repositioning, this process is going to introduce some changes to the scheme above. It is so because Burberry’s intentions, as has been described previously, are to become a more up-market brand. Consequently, it wants to occupy a niche of the top fashion brands in the world by overcoming Gucci in a competitive activity. If it happens, the positioning map will change radically because Burberry and Gucci will switch their places. At the same time, the repositioning of Burberry will not affect Primark because it is a part of a different market segment. Thus, the scheme below demonstrates how the market is going to change if Burberry manages to achieve its goal.
Methods to Achieve Repositioning
Since the significance and the expected outcomes of repositioning have been described, it is reasonable to comment on the ways of how to implement this process. Burberry can use two methods to achieve it, and real repositioning is among them. This approach denotes that the company should change the attributes of the products to create its new image in the market (TAZ, 2017, para. 3).
As for the given case, the firm can provide its customers with new offerings, including both exclusive designs and additional product lines. This method is one of the most effective repositioning approaches because it shows that a brand does not stand still. However, this strategy is also expensive because it means that a firm should develop new products and deliver them to the market.
At the same time, Burberry can also use psychological repositioning. The given technique denotes that it is necessary to influence and change the customers’ beliefs and opinions about the brand without the need to introduce new goods. Here, various means can make customers believe that some of the Burberry products have unique features. Firstly, when Burberry increases its prices, clients will understand that the company offers goods of premium quality.
Secondly, it is of significance in the modern world that the firm should develop online shopping possibilities. When clients from various world countries have an opportunity to buy a Burberry item without leaving their houses, it will make them reconsider their attitude toward the brand. Thus, Burberry should do its best to cover as many social media users as possible.
Conclusion
Burberry is a fashion brand that occupies a prosperous place in the market. Even though it is a representative of a luxury market segment, it wants to go more up-market, and repositioning is a suitable approach to achieve this goal. Repositioning is necessary for Burberry because it will help the firm win a competitive activity against its rivals, including Gucci and others. This process is also essential because it will provide the company with significant benefits if performed successfully. Finally, Burberry can use two methods, including real and psychological techniques, to achieve the repositioning goals.
References
Adamska, M. (2019) The positioning of the four most valuable luxury fashion brands – 2019 update. Web.
Burberry (2019) Financial performance & KPIs. Web.
Drummond, B. (2018) 10 reasons to reposition your brand. Web.
SMstudy (2016) The importance of product positioning to the marketing strategic planning. Web.
Learn Marketing (2020) Perceptual mapping/ positioning map. Web.
TAZ (2017) Brand repositioning: the techniques. Web.