Diffusion lines

Burberry

Burberry ©

Burberry - why more is sometimes more

Burberry, under Chris Bailey, went on an unprecedented consolidation spree. It consolidated 5+2 lines into one global Burberry line over a period of several years. The idea was to reign in some of the licensing deals as well as to offer a coherent offering that positioned all of Burberry in the luxury segment, moving away from the premium department store positioning that it occupied for decades.

Remember that most of Burberry’s core products, such as the cashmere scarf, retailed for €249-€299 in the 2000s to early 2010s, which, adjusted for the cumulative inflation rate of 37.61%, would price it at €411.45 today. Trenchcoats ranged from €799-€1099, putting them at €1099-€1512 in 2024. However, synthetic trenchcoats have been eliminated from its product offering, and the traditional beige cotton canvas twill trench now retails for €2499. This gives you a better indication of repositioning into the luxury segment. Non-core products have seen the most dramatic price hikes, like the €79-€99 Burberry London pique polo shirts that are now sold for €440, and these are not your Egyptian cotton polos sewn together in an Italian workshop; these are run-off-the-mill made in Romania garments, which is a country you only choose for manufacturing if you want to save as much on labor costs as possible without leaving Europe.

Cettire ©

Its tailored offering is another product category that went “to the moon”, as the crypto bois would say. These sold for €799, mostly at department stores, and Burberry ventured into made-to-measure, around 2011/12 iirc, for €999. Mind you that these were mostly fused garments that were massively overpriced for what you got. Fast forward to today, it is one of the few products that has improved along with the brand’s repositioning. The suits are now spec’d with a full canvas construction and cut from better cloths. All of this combined with the brand’s cachet, the +€2000 price tags are justified.

So what the lines that Burberry shelved in the name of brand coherence and saving on operating expenses ? Here they are.

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Burberry Prorsum (runway)

This was the runway collection, the pieces were frequently made in Italy by well-known suppliers, and the line was priced in the same segment that Burberry occupies today - the luxury segment.

Burberry Brit (staples)

This line included staples like the trench coat and other outerwear. Made in Eastern Europe, Italy or the UK depending on the season.