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Burberry is a British
luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge put ...
fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessories, and footwear. Its name and branding are licensed to
Coty Coty may refer to: *Coty, Inc., an American beauty products manufacturer *Coty Award, the Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (1943-1984) by Coty, Inc. *COTY, abbreviation for Car of the Year awards People * François Coty (1874–1934), perfum ...
for fragrances and cosmetics and to Luxottica for eyewear.


History


Early years, 19th century

Burberry was founded in 1856 when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry, a former draper's apprentice, opened his own store in
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
, Hampshire, England. By 1870, the business had established itself by focusing on the development of outdoors attire. In 1879, Burberry introduced
gabardine Gabardine Burberry advertisement for waterproof gabardine suit, 1908 Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool, a tightly woven fabric originally waterproof and used to make suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, windbreakers, outerwear and o ...
to his brand, a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric, in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving. In 1891, Burberry opened a shop in
the Haymarket Haymarket is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Piccadilly Circus in the north to Pall Mall at the southern end. Located on the street are the Theatre Royal, Her Majesty's Theatre, New Zealand H ...
, London.


20th century

In 1901, the Burberry Equestrian Knight logo was developed containing the Latin word "Prorsum", meaning "forwards", and later registered it as a trademark in 1909. In 1911, the company became the outfitters for Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, and Ernest Shackleton, who led a 1914 expedition to cross Antarctica. A Burberry gabardine jacket was worn by George Mallory on his attempt on Mount Everest in 1924. Adapted to meet the needs of military personnel, the " trench coat" was born during the First World War due to its being worn by British officers in the trenches. After the war, it became popular with civilians. The Burberry check has been in use since at least the 1920s, primarily as a lining in its trench coats. Burberry also specially designed aviation garments. In 1937,
A. E. Clouston Air Commodore Arthur Edmond Clouston, (7 April 1908 – 1 January 1984) was a New Zealand-born British test pilot and senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He took part in several air races and record-breaking flights in the 1930s. Early life ...
and Betty Kirby-Green broke the world record for the fastest return flight from London to Cape Town in ''The Burberry'' airplane that was sponsored by the brand. Burberry was an independent family-controlled company until 1955, when Great Universal Stores (GUS) assumed ownership.


Influences and rise to prominence

During the 1970s and 1980s, Burberry signed agreements with worldwide manufacturers to produce complementary products to the existing British collection such as suits, trousers, shirts, sportswear, accessories, for men, ladies, and children. These products, designed under the strict control of headquarters in London, were produced and distributed through independent retail stores worldwide as well as the Burberry stores, and contributed to the growth of the brand in sales and profits through to the late 90s, although the full extent of sales was not apparent in the parent company accounts since much was done through licensed agreements. The company had signed
Lord Litchfield Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family. Hi ...
as photographer, Lord (Leonard) Wolfson was Chairman and Stanley Peacock
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
Managing Director. In 1997,
GUS Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...
director Victor Barnett became chairman of Burberry, hiring
Rose Marie Bravo Rose Marie Bravo (born Rose Marie La Pila January 13, 1951 in the Bronx, New York) is an American businesswoman. During her career, she has occupied leadership positions in several major fashion businesses and is now vice chairman at Burberry, of ...
to execute a corporate reorganization and restoration of the brand as a luxury fashion house. Barnett led the company up to its successful
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
in 2001.


21st century

In May 2001, Christopher Bailey joined Burberry as creative director. Christopher Bailey has been the chief creative officer since 2014, as well as CEO from 2014 – November 2017. Bailey stepped down as chief creative officer in March 2018 and departed the brand completely by the end of 2018. Between 2001 and 2005, Burberry became associated with " chav" and football hooligan culture. This change in the brand reputation was attributed to lower priced products, the proliferation of counterfeit goods adopting Burberry's trademark
check pattern Check (also checker, Brit: chequer) is a pattern of modified stripes consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical lines which form squares. The pattern typically contains two colours where a single checker (that is a single square within the chec ...
, and adoption by celebrities prominently identified with "chav" culture. The association with football hooliganism led to the wearing of Burberry check garments being banned at some venues. GUS divested its remaining interest in Burberry in December 2005. Burberry Group plc was initially floated on the London Stock Exchange in July 2002. In 2005, Sanyo-shokai was the Burberry ready-to-wear licence holder in Japan with retail value of €435 million. In 2006,
Rose Marie Bravo Rose Marie Bravo (born Rose Marie La Pila January 13, 1951 in the Bronx, New York) is an American businesswoman. During her career, she has occupied leadership positions in several major fashion businesses and is now vice chairman at Burberry, of ...
, who as chief executive had led Burberry to mass market success through licensing, decided to retire. She was replaced by another American, Angela Ahrendts, who joined from
Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that cou ...
in January 2006, and took up the position of CEO on 1 July 2006. Ahrendts and Bailey successfully turned around the then chav-like reputation that the brand had acquired at the end of Bravo's tenure and cheapening effect of the brand's omnipresence, by removing the brand's check-pattern from all but 10% of the company's products, taking the fragrance and beauty product licenses back in-house and buying out the Spanish franchise that was worth 20% of group revenues. Burberry first sold online in the US, then in the UK in October 2006, and the rest of the EU in 2007. Bailey became Chief Creative Officer in November 2009. It was reported in 2012 Ahrendts was the highest paid CEO in the UK, making £16.9m. In October 2013, it was announced that Ahrendts would take up the position of Senior Vice President of retail and online at Apple, Inc. from April 2014, and be replaced as CEO by Bailey. During her tenure, sales increased to over £2 billion, and shares gained more than threefold to £7 billion. Burberry promotes its British connection; according to The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper, as of July 2012, Burberry maintains two production facilities in Great Britain, one in Castleford producing raincoats, and one in Keighley. In spring 2014, fashion designer Christopher Bailey became CEO of Burberry and retained the role as chief creative officer. His basic salary was £1.1m, with total compensation of up to £10m a year depending on sales targets being met. In July 2016, it was announced that Celine boss Marco Gobbetti would become CEO of the FTSE 100 Company, while Christopher Bailey became the Creative Director and President. In 2016, the label launched its "Mr Burberry" fragrance. In early May 2017, the store announced it was moving 300 employees from London to Leeds. In July 2017, Gobbetti replaced Bailey as CEO. In March 2018, Burberry named Riccardo Tisci, creative director at Givenchy from 2005 to 2007, as the brand's chief creative officer. A few months later, Tisci presented a new logo and monogram for the brand, designed by the English graphic designer Peter Saville. In April 2018, it was announced that Sir John Peace would be stepping down as chairman of the board and be replaced by Gerry Murphy. Murphy had served as CEO of Kingfisher plc, as well as being current chairman of
Tate and Lyle Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...
and The Blackstone Group International Partners LLP. Peace's departure marks a change in leadership for the group with Gobetti and Ahrends having left the previous years. In May 2018, it was reported that Burberry had filed a lawsuit against
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
claiming that Target had copied its check print designs and was seeking amount of $2 million, in addition to the amount to cover its legal fees. In July 2018, it was reported that in the previous past five years Burberry had destroyed unsold clothes, accessories, and perfume worth over £90m in order to protect its brand and prevent the items being stolen or sold cheaply. While a representative of
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
criticised the decision, Burberry claimed that the energy generated from burning its products was captured, making it environmentally friendly. According to Burberry's annual report, by the end of the financial year 2018, the company had destroyed goods worth £28.6m, an increase on the £26.9m from its financial year 2017. In September 2018, Burberry reported that it would stop the practice of burning unsold goods, with immediate effect. Burberry also announced it would stop using real fur in its products, and would phase out existing fur items. In February 2019, Burberry apologized for showcasing a hoodie with a noose around the neck during its show at London Fashion Week. The retailer said it has removed the item from its collection, after criticism from one of its own models led to an online backlash. In February 2020 Burberry was forced to close 24 of its 64 Chinese mainland stores because of COVID-19. In 2021, Burberry announced that it would become a 'climate positive' company by 2040. The fashion brand also announced that it would commit to a new target reduce chain emissions by 46% by 2030, an increase from an earlier pledge of a 30% reduction. In March 2021, Burberry was the first luxury brand to be targeted in China as part of the backlash regarding sanctions against the alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Brand ambassador and Actress Zhou Dongyu terminated her contract with Burberry. In 2022, citing a "commitment to make a positive difference to people, planet, and communities" and a "new ambition to be climate positive by 2040," the company's chief operating and financial officer announced a ban on the use of exotic skins –such as alligator and snake– in its collections. In September 2022, Burberry announced designer Daniel Lee, former creative director of
Bottega Veneta Bottega Veneta () is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Milan, Italy. Its product lines include ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, accessories, and jewelry; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrances. History Found ...
, as Riccardo Tisci's replacement as the company's chief creative officer.


References


External links


Official Burberry Group plc corporate website

Official Burberry consumer website
* {{FTSE 100 Index constituents Clothing brands of the United Kingdom Clothing companies of England Clothing companies based in London Clothing retailers of England Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange High fashion brands Fashion accessory brands Luxury brands Companies based in Hampshire British companies established in 1856 Clothing companies established in 1856 Retail companies established in 1856 1856 establishments in England British Royal Warrant holders British brands Youth culture in the United Kingdom Eyewear brands of the United Kingdom Companies based in the City of Westminster 1940s fashion 1950s fashion 1980s fashion 1990s fashion 2001 initial public offerings