The document compares and contrasts the luxury British brands Burberry and Aquascutum. While both were founded in the 19th century focusing on waterproof outerwear, Burberry has seen immense success in recent decades while Aquascutum struggles financially and has lost relevance. The key differences that have led to their divergent fortunes are Burberry's aggressive marketing, celebrity endorsements, and innovative digital strategies versus Aquascutum's passive reliance on tradition without modernization.

1. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
Comparison of Two Luxury Brands
A matter of Checks
Burberry VS Aquascutum: so similar, yet so different
Burberry and Aquascutum have much in common: similar brand history, completely
identical trademark fabric - the gabardine and extremely akin brand logos - the checks. Not even to
mention the brands’ leading product: the trench coat. However, their fates are not similar at all.
According to the official website, Burberry Group has exceeded the estimates and obtained £ 2230
revenue in March 2015 (www.burberryplc.com). On the contrary, Aquascutum has experienced
administration in 2012 and risks to be forgotten (L. Cochrane, 2012). How could be possible that
these two British, traditional and stating brands share their origins but still diversify so much in their
success - or failure? What makes these brands so different while they are so similar?
Both of them were born in the 19th Century, in England. Aquascutum boasts of being the first one:
in 1851, in the elegant Mayfair, John Emary set up the company. The atelier was highly focused on
tailored suits and craftsmanship: the use of waterproof textiles gave it the right chance to succeed
and in 1895 Aquascutum’s flagship store was opened in 100 Regent Street. The name of the brand
derives from the Latin words aqua - water - and scutum - shield - as immediate statement of the
brand’s speciality (www.aquascutum.com). On the other hand, Burberry was founded in 1856 by
the 21-year-old Thomas Burberry. The Burberry’s tailoring shop was firstly opened in Basingstoke,
Hampshire County. The brand was devoted to outdoor, hard-wearing and water resistant clothes,
soon starting to use the gabardine textile. The brand was officially registered in 1901 with the
equestrian knight and the Latin motto Prorsum - forwards (www.burberry.com). The use of the Latin
language in both brands is remarkable: in the Victorian era, Latin was still considered the language
of the richest social classes, aristocracy and nobility. Indeed, these brands have always targeted
an high-end, classy and elegant customer-type. Burberry’s of London - as it was called
immediately after the First World War - held the “royal warrants of appointment” for over one
hundred years, being worn by the Royal Family and becoming the official supplier for the British
Army (M. Haig, 2004). Burberry was used by the “explorer Major F.G. Jackson, “famed for mapping
parts of the Arctic Circle” in 1897 (www.burberry.com). At the same time, Aquascutum was adopted
by the British military forces in both of the World War and it officially sponsored the explorer
“Edmund Hilary and his team during their first ascent of Mount Everest” in 1953
(www.aquascutum.com).
Potentially, there is no difference between them except their names and their profits. The
Burberry’s CEO Rosie Marie Bravo - appointed in 1997 - represents the turning point: the CEO
was able to use the brand’s heritage as stimulus to re-enter the high-end luxury market. Victoria
Beckham and Kate Moss were the actual “levers” of the brand, which was suffering of being out of
fashion and too much licensed. On the other hand, the last public figure which was proud of
wearing Aquascutum was Margaret Tatcher in the 80’s and the British Olympic Team in 1997
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2. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
Olympics. The latter company was sold to Harold Tillman in 2009, and since that moment few are
the victories: in 2015 the creative director Thomas Harvey debuted with a Menswear collection
(www.aquascutum.com).
Moreover, one of the major causes that boosted Burberry is the acute use of celebrity
endorsements: the last ad campaign featured the always-edgy Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne for
the fragrance promotion, Naomi Campbell and Jourdan Dunn for the S/S 2015 collection and
Romeo Beckham for the Christmas’ campaign (B. London, 2014; M. Cliff, 2014). The importance of
the marketing tactics is the key element for the brand success: in the web-era, images, rather than
words, are essential. Aquascutum is now struggling not to collapse and the CEO Tillman is
concentrating more on other businesses - e.g., charity and found raising - than reshuffling the
brand (J. Solomon, 2014). The appointment of Thomas Harvey in 2014 could be Tillman’s “swan-
song”: “we are staying true to the brand’s heritage, but evolving it through modern touches”, says
the young creative director to Hungertv magazine (A. Hughes-Chamberlain, 2014).
Thanks to the Prism of Identity model, the differences and analogies between the two brand
analysed would be clearer (Appendix One). The most important distinctions are the relationship
and the reflection categories: while Burberry is considered synonymous of class, elegance and
“must-have”, Aquascutum is still related to tradition and “old-style”. As Martin Raymond, editor-in-
chief of the trend forecasting agency The Future Laboratory, said to The Guardian, “while
[Burberry] says “now”, Aquascutum says “then” (L. Cochrane, 2012). Even though Burberry was
related to the “chavs” movement during the 90’s, it has the courage to use this imaginary in order
to be known worldwide. Aquascutum, instead, has slowly - yet increasingly - been associated with
the British “old-school” aristocracy and luxury, failing in modernising the brand image and
appealing to younger customers. This brand is appreciated among “hipsters”, who find it less
mainstream and easily accessible in vintage stores.
Furthermore, since the product/symbol of the two brands is the trench coat - produced with the
same high quality fabric and the same exquisite craftsmanship, the gap between them must be
caused by the diverse merchandising strategies applied. As mentioned above, thanks to the
immense brand reassessment perpetuated by Rose Marie Bravo and Angela Ahrendts, Burberry
has now a solid and undisputed presence in luxury market (I. Amed, 2007). By creating three
different lines - Prorsum, London and Brit, the brand has amplified the possible range of
customers. In addition to this, the collections are becoming more and more fashion-forward,
playful, modern, young and diversified - appealing to both the loyal elderly customers and the
young generations (e.g., the last typographic collection; www.burberry.com). In order to depict
objectively the in-store experience at Burberry’s flagship store in Regent Street, it has been
relevant to see how the brand delivers itself to the public (Appendix Two). The store is a sort of
“brand temple”, where tradition, aristocracy and British-ness merge together, amplifying the
importance of the “checks”. On the contrary, Aquascutum is almost absent from the real London
opulent scene: the mono brand store is located at 15 Brompton Road - Knightsbridge, the heart of
the luxury enclave. House of Frasers and Harrods are the only department stores which still stock
Aquascutum - where the former is famous for its traditional and higher age-range customers and
the latter stocks only fourteen garments (www.houseoffraser.co.uk; www.harrods.com).
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3. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
Nevertheless, the modern and edgy Selfridge’s and the central Liberty department stores do not
stock the brand considered anymore. This aspect is highly evocative: the brand is officially related
to a classic, traditional and not à la mode customer profile. However, it still sustains a luxurious
façade and the in-store experience remains strongly fixed to the old luxury ambience (Appendix 2).
Moving from the off-line to the on-line customers’ experience, we will be able - once again - to
notice the distinction between these two labels. According to Okonkwo (2010), luxury brands are
now facing the web reality and the necessity of satisfying a completely new luxury consumer.
Moreover, due to the social networks and the growing phenomenon of “fashion bloggers”, anyone
at anytime is able to access the luxury brands’ websites (U. Okonkwo, 2010). Burberry was the first
luxury fashion house to exploit the internet in order to create massive awareness among both
typical customers and new ones: in 2014, Burberry developed a digital buying experience which
allowed customers to buy the collection directly from the catwalk. Thanks to a collaboration with
the social channel Twitter, the runway was live-streamed and purchasable simply by clicking a
button (J. Arlidge, 2014). Recently, the label’s headquarter has developed other means to increase
their digital presence: for the catwalk organised in Los Angeles the last 16th of April, fans were able
to “sit” in the front row and assist the show just by logging in the Burberry’s app (Luxury Daily,
2015). The Burberry official website is perceived as the “on-line physical” involvement and tries to
educate its possible clients in the Burberry’s philosophy and image (www.burberry.com).
Undoubtedly, Burberry has wholly understood the importance of the “cybernetic image” that
nowadays luxury brands must portray. The flagship store has been updated with “radio-frequency
identification” system: a microchip is inserted in the garments and, once the customer reflects
himself/herself in special mirrors, these mirrors turn in computer screens, provide details and
possible outfits (R.Johnstone, 2013). Contrarily, Aquascutum is still devoted to the mainstream of
the on-line shopping. The website is well presented and easy to navigate: the customers could
easily browse the collections - mostly focused on the trench coats and the new menswear line, see
the “ad campaign behind the scenes”, and sign up for the newsletter mailing list
(www.aquascutum.com). It is structured in the same way of all the other luxury brands’ web pages,
trying to be up-to-date and modern. However, the discrepancy between the on-line presence and
the real market is wide and, in few - maybe harsh - words, Aquascutum fails in the willingness of
being modern without concretely modernising its image. Despite this, the attention to details and
tailoring could be exploited: Aquascutum provides a made-to-measure and bespoke tailoring
service, which could be successfully improved in the actual “customised-luxury-era”. In the off-
Regent Street store, two tailors would personally measure the customers and the suit would be
delivered at home within six weeks (N. Carvell, 2015). Once again, it is incontestable how much
Aquascutum is trying to live on the tradition, which should be seen as “springboard” and not as
final aim.
As mentioned above, the store location and concept is another vital aspect of luxury brands’
awareness (M. Ehbauer, R. Gregel, 2012). Burberry opened the “biggest flagship store in the
world” in 2012 (J. Cartner-Morley, 2012). The building was formerly a 1930s cinema, where Her
Majesty The Queen Victoria used to have a private dais. Moreover, all the interiors were
handcrafted by British artisans. What is interesting is that the concept beneath the store in to have
a physical experience of the on-line shopping: the store resemble the method of browsing a
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4. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
shopping website, by merchandising firstly the entire collection and then specialised departments
(R. Johnstone, 2013). Aquascutum, on the oder side, still presents itself in the posh Knightsbridge
area, settling its presence in the luxury hot-spot of London and relying simply on this aspect.
In conclusion, the brands considered in this report have been competitors since their
origins. On one hand, Burberry is succeeding in creating a luxurious, modern, fresh and
reinventing persona: the famous trademark trench-coat is now surrounded by three different lines,
always reinterpreted. Alongside the innovative ad campaigns and celebrity endorsements, the
brand delivers a professional and almost unique technologic experience, from the hi-tech
installations in its stores to the on-line presence (for example, live streaming shows, “buy-from-the-
runway” initiative, customisation). The success of Burberry seems to be the diversifications of
channels used to appeal to and cater for its customers. On the other side, the failure of
Aquascutum could be caused by the exact contrary: the passive exploitation of its heritage, the
only focus on tradition and past glory, the basic on-line services. What could improve the brand is
using the bespoke/tailoring customisation and turn it into a more modern and fresher direction.
One trench coat, two completely opposite ways of selling it: in this historic moment, the inevitable
challenge of all the classic luxury brands is to balance between tradition and modernity, without
loosing the identity for which they are so famous.
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5. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
Appendix One: The Identity Prisms1
Adapted from Kapferer (1992)1
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Personality:
à la mode; smart; savvy;
pragmatic; elegant; connoisseur
Physic:
ochre double-breasted
trench coat;
gabardine; checks;
Culture:
waterproof; practicality;
functionality; resistant;
aristocratic;
posh
Relationship:
class; must-have;
elegance //
“chavs”, tacky,
counterfeit
Self-image:
perfect mixture of class and modernity;
elegance; fashionable; updated; smart
Reflection:
elegance; class; modern; timeless;
sophisticated; British-look

6. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
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Physics:
Trench coat; checks;
gabardine; single-breasted
waterproof overcoats
Relationship:
connoisseurship;
traditional; classy;
snobby // old-
fashioned;
vintage
Reflection:
elderly customer type;
loyal; traditional-nostalgic;
not influenced by trends
Personality:
snobby; traditional; posh; elegant; “tory”//
hipster; vintage savvy; unconventional;
niche
Culture:
efficiency; pragmatism;
elegance; class;
British-ness;
posh
Self-image:
niche, connoisseur; posh; out of the
mainstream

7. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
Appendix Two: In-store Experience Report
1- BURBERRY:
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FLAGSHIP STORE DEPARTMENT STORE
LOCATION 121 Regent Street, next to luxury
jewellers; ‘30s cinema; interiors
designed and produced by
English artisans
Selfridge’s department store - 400
Oxford Street; first floor—> Men’s
Contemporary department; next
to Saint Laurent, Balenciaga
VISUAL MERCHANDISING First floor—>entire new collection;
different areas for different lines;
mega-screen projecting videos;
chromatic display of garments;
easy access to garments; items
directly lit by light-spots; two sizes
per garment
Contemporary; sleek; modern;
young; edgy and minimal corner.
Bright lights; few garments
displayed + accessories (not he
new collection).
PERSONNEL
(attitude, manners)
elegant (total black uniforms);
professional; polite; smiling;
active; clean; greetings and
politeness formula (“sir”)
Busy; snobby; impolite; no
greetings; no attention paid to the
customer; the client has to wait for
being approached by the sales
staff.
ADDITIONAL INFO While browsing the store, the
personnel was cleaning the
cages; once asked, the shop
assistant gives all the info about
the history of the brand and the
building itself; the staff pointed the
easiest way to arrive at the
menswear section; no visible
cashiers

8. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
2 - AQUASCUTUM
MONO BRAND STORE DEPARTMENT STORE
LOCATION 15 Brompton Road -
Knightsbridge. Opposite Burberry
store; next to tube station;
Selfridge’s department store - 400
Oxford Street
NOT IN STOCK
VISUAL MERCHANDISING small; bright white lights; mix of
wood and sleek materials (e.g.,
shelves); item disposed on cages
(e.g., umbrellas); modern counter
NOT IN STOCK
PERSONNEL
(attitude, manners)
extremely polite; greetings once
the customer enters (“sir”);
smiling; elegant (dark blue
uniforms)
NOT IN STOCK
ADDITIONAL INFO the sales person is extremely
polite and gentle when the
customer does not intend to
purchase the item requested
the receptionists underlines that
Aquascutum is no more available
in the department considered
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9. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
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May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
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11. Enrico Zanon
L4078882
May Submissions Fashion Marketing and
Retailing in the Luxury Sector:
Store Location and VM
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