What It Does: Burberry designs and creates luxury fashion items, especially trench coats. Burberry also produces footwear, eyewear, and leather accessories such as handbags. The company also produces cosmetic products and fragrances.
Mission: Burberry is on a mission to unleash the power of imagination to redefine boundaries and create new possibilities for its people, clients, and stakeholders.
Size and Presence: Burberry employs thousands of workers across 191 locations in the UK.
Best Known For: Burberry is one of the most popular fashion companies in the UK and in the world as well. This fashion house is most renowned for its trench coats and its clientele, which comprises members of the societal upper class. Another standout factor is its equestrian logo.
The Good Bits: Burberry is a generous employer because its workers enjoy numerous incentives which enhance their lifestyle. The work is exciting. The company has a productive and fun working atmosphere.
The Not-So-Good Bits: The job comes with high expectations, which may trigger employees to work under pressure. The work schedule may not be as flexible as one may like.
Burberry came into existence in the 19th century. In 1856, a 21-year-old apprentice named Thomas Burberry decided to open his shop in Basingstoke, a town in Hampshire. Burberry gained a reputation as a business that developed outdoor attire. In 1879, Burberry made gabardine a key raw material in its production. Thirty-five years later, Burberry launched a shop in Haymarket in London. At the turn of the 20th century, Burberry gained renown for its iconic logo, which contains the word "Prorsum.” It was eventually trademarked in 1909. Two years later, Burberry’s clothes were seen on famous individuals such as Roald Amundsen, George Mallory, and so on.
The First World War was a turning point for the company because it was during this period that the “trench coat’ was created. Initially, this cloth was adorned by British military officers in the trenches, but after the war, it became a common clothing article among civilians. Burberry remained a family-controlled company till 1955 when Great Universal Stores, a manufacturing and financial giant in the UK, acquired it. GUS ownership of Burberry ended in 2005. The company made its first digital sale in 2006, first in the US, followed by the UK. Last year, Burberry announced that it would become an eco-friendly organisation by 2040.
Burberry believes in an open culture because it understands that it will foster a sense of belonging for every employee regardless of the diversity in their races, religions, political affiliations, creeds, nationalities, gender, socioeconomic backgrounds, and sexualities. The company also believes it will create a supportive environment, which makes the company the perfect grooming ground for new intakes, such as fresh graduates and interns. At Burberry, individual perspectives are shared, innovation is encouraged, and opinions are respected. Burberry makes it easy for its employees to achieve job satisfaction. The company issues uniforms to its employees.
Burberry provides a broad range of training and development resources to help its employees to grow professionally and hone essential business skills. The company organises specialist coaching modules and seasonal programs. Burberry offers developmental programs to its staff members at all levels of the organisation. This means that the company doesn’t just focus its efforts on freshers and interns but includes experienced professionals as well. The numerous learning opportunities that abound in the company allow the employees to improve and reinvent themselves continually. A highly skilled workforce equals a highly successful company.
After the company screens applications, it selects the most suitable applicants and subjects them to the following;
Burberry pays its freshers an average salary of £30,000 annually.
Through the Burberry Foundation, this company empowers young people from low-privileged communities in the UK.
In 2019, the company faced criticism from the public when one of its clothes (a hoodie with a noose around the neck) was displayed on the runway during the London Fashion Week event.