Analysis of U.K. Textile and Apparel Industry
Burberry Case Analysis
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Outline
Analysis of U.K. textile and Apparel Industry; case study of Burberry
Thesis Statement: The U.K. textile and Apparel sector faces multiple challenges which are threatening their sustainable future.
- Reason to focus VRIC on core products
- Growth and profit
- Regain brand name through
- Strategies behind turnaround of Burberry
- Looking back at history of the brand
- Refocusing on core product
- Centralize creativity and innovation
- Sales team alignment
- Secrets behind the longevity of firms
- Coopers Brewery Limited
- Focus on core brands
- Differentiation strategy
- Focus a niche marketing strategies
- The future of the textile and Apparel industry of the U.K
- Declining industry
- Dominated by small and micro-firms
- Demands for a more imaginative policy
- Conclusion
Introduction
The performance of textile and Apparel industry of U.K is faced with challenges. Currently, the industry is dominated by small and micro enterprises with no financial capability to compete on global scale. As a consequence, most clothing and textile products consumed in U.K are manufactured abroad. Traditional players such as Burberry have been forced to adopt innovative strategies to survive in this market. It is therefore obvious that the U.K. textile and Apparel sector faces multiple challenges threatening their sustainable future.
The reason it focused on Core Products
The need to make a brand and increase revenue and profit motivated Burberry to focus the value, rarity, and inimitability of its core products (Deep Media. (2015). Before 2006, Burberry was growing at just 2%. The new CEO attributed this slow growth to the assortment of products, which were also harming its profit and revenue. Hence, the CEO refocused on iconic core trench-coat products.
Factors behind turnaround of Burberry
The turnaround of Burberry is attributable to some factors. Upon appointment in 2006 the company was growing at barely 2% per annum. The new CEO Ahrendts looked back to get a better understanding on what made Burberry brand famous in the first place to develop turn around strategies
Refocusing on core product
The CEO refocused on core brand as opposed to providing an assortment of products as a strategy for gaining growth in market share and profit. In this regard, the management reinforced its heritage by innovating core luxury products to make them central to everything based on the VRIC model.
Refreshing the core products
Creativity and innovation were critical in growing the core products. The process involved upgrading the existing products as well as extending the core product range. The company further reinstated an iconic trench coat to be the essence of the entire brand, just like the timberland brand has boot as essence product.
Centralizing creativity
The creative leadership was a central factor that fostered growth and turnaround of Burberry. The strong leadership of Ahredts engaged and aligned design teams in Hong Kong and the U.S. A to get on board. The leadership in London was centralized under the ‘brand czar’ Bailey Christopher, just like in firms such as the case of Apple under Steve Jobs.
Sales team alignment
Refocusing on core products needed internal efforts to align the efforts of the sales team to aid them sell at a premium price as opposed to cheaper products like Polo. Besides, leading by example, was applied in the company with top managers wearing trench coats inside the business. These steps taken by the management were central to the turnaround of Burberry.
Secrets behind longevity
Coopers Brewery Limited is an Australian brewer known for making different beer products, including the famous Sparkling and Pale Ale brands, for the last 158 years. The success of this brewer is attributed to the use of a differentiation strategy to distinguish itself from competitors. Just like Burberry, Coopers Brewery has focused on a niche marketing strategies with a specific focus on unique core products, and emphasis on tradition and history contributed to the consistent success in the brewer making sector (Byrom, & Lehman, 2009). It also adopts a market penetration strategy to expand into unexploited domestic and international markets. Philanthropic activities also enhanced reputation of Coopers brand bin the broader community.
The future of made- in-UK textile products
The textile sector of the U.K. demands a more imaginative policy to aid in building necessary capabilities for a sustainable future. Today, the textile and Apparel sector is dominated by micro, and small firms courtesy of the government support for industrial strategy. White (2018) observed that even though the U.K. sector can design and manufacture high-quality textile products, the future of this sector is hampered by the low return on investment. Therefore, given a decline in the textile and apparel sector since 1970s, it is viewed as an industrial past, rather than industrial future in the U.K. about two-thirds of its capacity was eliminated by mid-2000s disappearing with 90% of jobs. Currently, over 80% of clothing and textile consumption in the U.K. are from abroad. There is need an explicit policy framework focused on revamping this sector. The focus of the policy to move them beyond the innovation concerns about skills and innovation to address specific challenges presented by the industry.
Conclusion
The analysis has confirmed that the U.K. textile and apparel sector faces multiple challenges threatening a sustainable future. Focus on core products mainly trench coat was motivated by the need to make a brand and increase revenue and profit motivated Burberry. It was observed that leadership skills of the CEO contributed to Burberry’s turn around. These skills helped the firm to refocus and refresh on core products and align the efforts of sales team. Consistent with analysis, the sustainable future of the U.K.’s textile sector would need a more imaginative policy to aid in building the necessary capabilities for a sustainable future.
References
Byrom, J., & Lehman, K. (2009). Coopers Brewery: Heritage and innovation within a family firm. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 27(4), 516-523.
Deep Media. (2015, April 27). Burberry: How a failing English luxury brand managed to turn itself around. Retrieved from https://www.deepmediaonline.com/deepmedia/2015/04/burberry-how-a-luxury-brand-turned-itself-around.html
White, M. (2018, July 3). Fast Fashion: Does it represent the future of the British textile industry. Retrieved from https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/fast-fashion-does-it-represent-the-future-of-the-british-textiles-industry/