Burberry

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Burberry

Type	Public (LSE: BRBY)
Founded	Basingstoke, United Kingdom (1856)
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Key people	Thomas Burberry (Founder) Christopher Bailey (CCO)
Industry	Fashion
Products	Clothing Accessories Perfumes
Website	Burberry.com

Burberry is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing and fashion accessories. Its distinctive check pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. The company has branded stores and franchises around the world, and also sells through concessions in third-party stores. It runs a catalogue business and has a fragrance line. HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Prince of Wales have granted the company Royal Warrants. Burberry's trademark products are its fashionable handbags and exclusive fragrances. The Design Director is Christopher Bailey.

1 Early years
2 The Burberry Check
3 UK image problems and revitalisation
4 Closure of Treorchy factory
5 Corporate history
6 See also
7 References

[edit] Early years

A ladies' Burberry handbag in the company's trademarked check pattern

Burberry was founded in 1856 when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry (1835 - 1926), a former draper's apprentice, opened his own store in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. By 1870 the business had established itself by focusing on the development of outdoors attire. In 1880 Burberry invented gabardine, a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric, in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving. Gabardine was patented in 1888. Burberry was the original name, but then soon switched to Burberrys, after many customers from around the world began calling it Burberrys of London. This name is still visible on many older Burberry products.

In 1891 Burberry opened a shop in the Haymarket, London, which still exists and is the site of Burberry’s corporate headquarters. In 1904, the Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo was developed containing the Latin word "Prorsum", meaning forwards, and registered as a trademark. In 1911 they became the outfitters for Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, and Ernest Shackleton, who lead a 1914 expedition to cross Antarctica.

In 1914 Burberry was commissioned by the War Office to adapt its officer's coat to suit the conditions of contemporary warfare, resulting in the "trench coat". After the war, the trench coat became popular with civilians. The iconic Burberry check was created in the 1920s and used as a lining in its trench coats. It has been popularized by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca^{[citation needed]} and Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films.

Burberry also specially designed aviation garments. A. E. Clouston and Mrs Betsy Kirby Green made the fastest flying time to Cape Town from London in 1937 and were sponsored by Burberry.

[edit] The Burberry Check

The trademarked Burberry check pattern.

The black, white, and red pattern known as haymarket check or the "Burberry classic check" was first used as a lining for the Burberry trenchcoat in 1924. It was not until 1967 that the Burberry Check, now a registered trademark, was widely used on its own for items including umbrellas, scarves, and luggage. The Novacheck was introduced for the younger market, later altered by making it more "exploded" (bigger) and slanted in a diamond or "mitre" pattern. Christopher Bailey debuted of the "Housecheck", a more exploded version of the Novacheck, during the runway show of S/S 06.

[edit] UK image problems and revitalisation

During the 1970s, the brand became popular with the British football casual cult, leading to it to being associated with chavs, hooligans and members of football firms by the 1990s. The brand became something of a national joke, particularly when actress Danniella Westbrook was photographed with her young daughter wearing matching Burberry.

[edit] Closure of Treorchy factory

Burberry store in London, England

In September 2006 Burberry announced the closure in March 2007 of its factory in Treorchy, South Wales, moving 310 jobs to Hong Kong and mainland China. The firm stated that the Treorchy plant was "not commercially viable". The unpopular decision resulted in protests by workers outside the Burberry flagship stores in London, under the banner "Keep Burberry British". The high-profile campaign was masterminded by local Welsh Assembly Member Leighton Andrews and was supported by politicians from across Wales, including MEPs Glenys Kinnock, Eluned Morgan and Jill Evans. It was also backed by celebrities from the world of cinema, music and sport including Prince Charles ^[1], Tom Jones ^[2], Sir Alex Ferguson ^[3], Ioan Gruffudd (the international face of Burberry), Emma Thompson, Rhys Ifans, Bryn Terfel, The Automatic, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Irvine Welsh, Michael Sheen, Steve Jones and William Saville. The PR disaster reached a new stage when local MP Chris Bryant made a motion on 23 January 2007 in Parliament to remove Burberry's Royal Warrant if it persists in its intention to move these jobs offshore. The debate lasted 23 minutes.[1]

The campaign has gone global with co-ordinated protests against the closure held in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Strasbourg and Las Vegas. [2]

[edit] Corporate history

Burberry was an independent company until 1955, when it was bought by Great Universal Stores (GUS), owners of UK High Street retailers Argos and Homebase. Beginning in 2000, there were rumours of GUS releasing Burberry as an independent company. ^[4] But it was not until December 2005, when Burberry was spun-off as the Burberry Group. Today, Burberry trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BRBY.

In the United States, the company has boutiques in Americana Manhasset, Aspen, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Austin, Beverly Hills, Boca Raton, Boston, Canoga Park, CA, Charlotte, Chicago, Coral Gables, FL, Dallas, Denver, Hackensack, NJ, Houston, Kansas City, King of Prussia, Las Vegas, McLean, VA, Naples, FL, Natick, MA, New York City, Washington, DC, Northbrook, IL, Oak Brook, IL, Orlando, Palm Beach,Palo Alto, CA,Philadelphia, Scottsdale, Short Hills, Sunrise, Fl at Sawgrass Mills, Minneapolis at Mall of America , South Coast Plaza, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Washington Troy, Michigan, and White Plains, NY

To complement the Burberry USA Shop Online, the UK in October 2006 launched their transactional store, and in March 2007, extended order fulfilment across selected European countries at Burberry UK & Europe Shop Online. In November 2007, fulfilment was again extended to the whole of the EU. Both sites offer the latest new arrivals and classic pieces across rainwear, outerwear, apparel, handbags, shoes & accessories including sunglasses, watches & fragrance.

Rose Marie Bravo, who led Burberry to mass market success from 1997 till 2006, has now become vice executive, while her former job has been given to former DKNY and Liz Claiborne manager Angela Ahrendts.

They also have 5 icon stores in the world. In America it is located in the International Plaza and Bay Street in Tampa, Florida Icon Stores have all the classic Burberry items, however 90% of its stock is limited edition and exclusive items that they sell. You can only get those items online or in the 5 icon stores located around the world.