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.”