Building our leather goods business has been a key element of our strategy. In the past three years, we have completely transformed the category with a range of distinctive shapes, including the TB, Lola, Pocket and Title, that cater to different customer preferences. We have also raised the bar in terms of quality thanks to the integration of our leather goods centre of excellence, Burberry Manifattura, in Italy.
The introduction of the Olympia bag in spring 2021 added a new storyline to our signature bag selection. Combining a sleek practical design with a distinctive look, the slim structured shoulder bag is manufactured in Italy in three proportions and multiple finishes.
During the year, our collections resonated well with new and younger clientele, as well as repeat customers, while our communications around leather goods have continued to build excitement around the category. FY 2020/21 was punctuated by three stand-out leather goods moments:
From our partners:
BUILDING BRAND HEAT
Our ambition is to excite and inspire the Fashion Vanguard, who are highly influential luxury consumers. Among activations fuelling brand heat among this customer group was the launch of a limited-edition version of our Pocket Bag, which we created exclusively for followers of Chinese influencer Mr. Bags in June 2020. A fashion blogger with over nine million followers, many young luxury customers consult Mr. Bags before planning a luxury bag purchase. We crafted 100 beige-and-red colourway Pocket Bags, which, when made available on Mr. Bags’ WeChat, sold out within one minute.
SHARING OUR BRAND STORY
Burberry’s heritage is rich with stories of adventurers and exploration, and our leather goods speak to creative freedom and the timeless appeal of quality products made to last.
To share these aspects of our brand story with our customers, we launched a series of immersive travelling pop-up shops in June 2020. The pop-ups started their journeys in China before making their way to the Americas and EMEIA. Featuring largescale models of brightly coloured animals, the whimsical and interactive custom-built installations travelled from location to location showcasing our leather goods. The installations’ structures could be reused and reconfigured, meaning they could be scaled up or down depending on location, so reducing waste. Each pop-up was digitally augmented, incorporating creatures, which could be brought to life by customers on their phones through an immersive AR experience.
BRINGING LEATHER GOODS TO LIFE
When our customers could not visit Burberry retail spaces in person, we gave our leather goods an additional dimension with AR. Using our smartphone app, customers could place our Spring/Summer 2021 Pocket Bag collection (pictured on the right) in their surroundings. This meant they could explore the bags in more detail, see them at scale against other real-life objects and get a realistic idea of dimensions before purchasing.
As a nod to our Spring/Summer 2021 collection, we created a playful experience, which enabled customers to design their own 3D shell sculptures incorporating their chosen Pocket Bag.
For enquiries, product placements, sponsorships, and collaborations, connect with us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!
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