11 June 2007

Come on, it’s only 200 miles from Britain…

Is it just me, or is the comms team down at Burberry failing to spot the 900lb football hooligan in the room?

The fashion house has hired Leslie Dance, formerly of Motorola, to counteract the negative publicity the company is receiving following its decision to close down a factory in Wales (and the associated job losses).

Sure, in an ideal world, I wouldn’t want Burberry to close down its Welsh factory…more Taffs on the streets with time on their hands is bad news for everyone…but I understand the pressures placed on business these days. In an ever more competitive global market, the drive to reduce production costs to the minimum is inexorable. Inevitably, Burberry plans to move its production to China, where it’ll cost, like, 95% less than it does in Wales (probably).

The factory closure, while clearly tough for those involved, is unlikely (in my view) to have huge consequences in terms of lost sales. Far more significant, surely, is that Burberry as a brand has become synonymous with football thugs and chavs? I’m no more likely than you (I’m assuming) to buy something that features the hugely distinctive beige check.

But maybe I’m missing the point? I’m sure that in pure commercial terms, Burberry has done very well out of its products becoming popular amongst a much wider public, sales must be far greater today than a decade ago. So perhaps it doesn’t care that I’m no longer part of the target market? It’s a bit like Bentley. OK, so in going a bit downmarket, it might have lost a few old school(tie) Bentley customers…and let’s face it, they’d have been dead soon anyway…but it’s more than made up for them with any number of footballers and their wives.

To be honest though, I reckon a bunch of chavs are going to be even less bothered (sorry, "bovvered") about some Welsh people losing their jobs than I am.

To quote Ali G once again, “when you hear the world Wales, you probably think about the fish with the biggest dick in the ocean. But it is also the name of a country that is only about 200 miles from Britain.”

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Innit

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine went for a job at Burberry. The interview went well but when it got to the bit where they ask 'now, do you have any questions for us', he understandably asked 'what are you doing to stop the erosion of your brand by chavs and football hooligans' to which they tersely responded there was no such thing happening, Burberry was still a respected and aspirational brand for the middle and upper classes and indicated that he'd just blown the interview with that one question... this was about two or three years ago and they were very much head-in-the-sand. How long before Burberry starts doing Ford seat covers?

Anonymous said...

I would be surprised if Burberry had experienced a boom in sales. More likely, the local market trader had on his cheap knock-offs.

Established 1984 said...

I don't think that Burberry has experienced huge sales increases in the 'chav sector'. After all, aren't the majority of Burberry baseball caps either nicked or fake imports from Thailand?

Established 1984 said...

Damn - it's happened again - my comment comes in just after an almost identical one (think Heinz Salad Cream from a recent thread...)

Anonymous said...

ever been to Wales, TWL..??

....the world's leading.... said...

As it happens, I have. Quite recently too.

Anonymous said...

>>"As it happens, I have. Quite recently too."<<

let me guess - you went to Newport.

....the world's leading.... said...

No, no, no...a bit further along - St Bride's Bay, near Little Haven. Do you know it? There's a great little pub there.

But enough of my holidays.

Anonymous said...

>>"No, no, no...a bit further along - St Bride's Bay, near Little Haven. Do you know it?"<<

ah, my neck of the woods. if I'd have known, I could have bought you a drink...