The following was written as a response to “Burberry Aligns Runway and Retail Calendar in Game-Changing Shift," which can be found by visiting here.

As a featured news story covered by the Business of Fashion, this article touches on Burberry’s evolving retail strategy and its potentially-monumental implications for the rest of the fashion industry as a whole.

To begin, I feel that Burberry’s tactic of condensing their runway shows into a multi-gender presentation of apparel could aid in sales, through portraying a more comprehensive image to consumers, with one, unified story. In the past, Burberry has staged separate shows for men’s and women’s collections as well as for various lines, such as Brit, Prorsum, and London. From my point of view, this has been responsible for driving a slight degree of confusion among customers, who might not necessarily understand where the differences lay between these conflicting segments, when the aesthetic is relatively similar. Today’s shopper has grown accustomed to integrated simplicity among brands, and now that each of these sectors is under the umbrella of “Burberry,” and is featured in the same shows, he or she will have an easier time navigating the brand’s merchandise and thus making purchases. Additionally, the new strategy of Burberry garments being “seasonless,” is one that I feel can benefit the British design house on a global level. With such an international presence and thus, varying weather conditions and climates, Burberry marketing apparel as “fitting for any time of year” can appeal to customers who inhabit a multitude of locations.

Perhaps the most important new aspect of Burberry’s retail strategy comes with their integration of runway, brick-and-mortar, and Internet retailing, combined with correlating ad campaigns. By aligning their runway and retail cycles and making merchandise available for purchase immediately after fashion shows, Burberry will be able to secure sales with shoppers when the memory of the brand’s collections is still fresh in shoppers’ minds. This is crucial, because it lessens the chances of a consumer forgetting their severe desire for Burberry’s products and also increases the chances of an impulse-buy. Additionally, the option for patrons to buy garments through direct links from Burberry’s streamed online fashion shows can drive countless sales, as it is very easy to share runway shows on an online medium and thus, generate buzz and purchases. Because of improvements in technology, runway shows are becoming more and more accessible to the general public, and through this innovative strategy, Burberry will be able to capitalize on the shifting dynamic. By releasing ad campaigns at the time of shows instead of long beforehand, this energy and consumer excitement can be even further increased, resulting in sales.

In terms of the brand’s reorganization of supply chain, I feel that by simultaneously designing the line and manufacturing it, lead times can be greatly shortened and Burberry as a whole can be more efficient. Realistically, though, I presume that this could create some issues with the creative direction, who might be more confined due to their inability to change their minds after the factory was informed of the designer’s original selections. Overall, while this decision might take some time for Burberry and its designers to adjust to, it will force every participant in the conceptualization and release of clothing to work together creating a uniform story.

Today’s perception of Burberry, among the younger generation, tends to be that the brand and its plaids are slightly stale and outdated. Because of this customer viewpoint as well as a decrease in revenue for the brand, I feel that the changes that the company is making in its retail strategy will both drive sales and create a more innovative image. In time, it will be possible to gauge just how successful the British clothier's new approach will be.