Stuart GouldenYorkshire has helped global luxury fashion brand Burberry achieve bumper sales in the three months to 31 December 2011.
The red-brick factory in Castleford is at the heart of its manufacturing operations: making the traditional English trench coats that display its signature Burberry check inner-lining. Thomas Burberry, the inventor of gabardine fabric, submitted a design for the now-iconic army officer’s raincoat to the United Kingdom War Office in 1901. The trench coat became an optional item of dress in the British Army, and was obtained by private purchase by officers and Warrant Officers Class I who were under no obligation to own them. No other ranks were permitted to wear them.
The Castleford site has added symbolic importance because it is the only factory Burberry still owns and is the company’s sole manufacturing base in Britain.
Burberry underwent something of a identity crisis in the 90s and was forced to rethink its retail strategy, pulling products such as chequered baseball caps in order to live up to its desired positioning as “a luxury brand with a distinctive British sensibility, and strong international recognition”. The iconic trench coat was at the heart of this change, and the Castleford has had to introduce graveyard shifts and double capacity to help meet demand. Burberry said that its core outerwear “again drove half of growth” when reporting a 21% rise in revenues to £574m for the last quarter in 2011. Annual turnover increased by 27 per cent last year to £1.5bn
Angela Ahrendts, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“Burberry has delivered another strong performance, with a 21% increase in revenue in this important third quarter. Our investment in flagship markets and digital technology has enabled our global teams to continue to drive customer engagement, enhance retail disciplines and improve operational effectiveness, further strengthening brand momentum.
Looking ahead, we remain focused on executing our proven core strategies to achieve long-term sustainable growth, while staying mindful of the challenging macro environment.”
Those wishing to purchase the trench coat can do so in any one of the 189 Burberry retail stores, 208 concessions, 46 outlets or 56 franchise stores across the world.
