Burberry targets younger shoppers . . . with £290 T-shirts

BurBerry is launching fashion lines through social media in a bid to woo young shoppers and shake off its traditional image.

The fashion house, which is known for its quintessentially British designs, is focusing on selling products through online platforms such as Instagram to attract millennials.

riccardo Tisci, Burberry’s chief creative officer who joined from French rival Givenchy in March, launched a clothing range through Instagram earlier this month. It was available to buy for just 24 hours in a flash sale.

But while Tisci, 44, is seeking to attract new customers, the clothes still come at a price.

Products so far have included a white T-shirt with the Burberry logo for £290 and a long-sleeve jersey for £450.

Burberry said the limited monthly releases, or ‘product drops’, are part of plans to create excitement around new fashion lines and release them more often. The product drops have been unveiled on Instagram, China’s WeChat, Japan’s Line and Korea’s Kakao – but not at Burberry’s traditional stores or websites.

They so far have included more casual clothes than those typically associated with Burberry.

Tisci has also introduced a logo redesign, Burberry’s first in two decades. It is a monogram featuring the interlocking initials of founder Thomas Burberry.

Burberry is yet to sell a full range designed by Italian-born Tisci, who was known for his racy, gothic style at Givenchy, leaving analysts in the dark as to what effect his appointment will have on revenues.

However, analysts at Jefferies have questioned Tisci’s decision to introduce a major rebrand. A note by the broker said: ‘The strategy looks the right one but the timing is too ambitious.

‘The Tisci branded “drops” are selling very well but numbers are small and we will not really know before next spring what real direction Burberry will take.’

But Berenberg has been more positive, saying it would look closely for more detail on Tisci’s eagerly anticipated range when Burberry reports its half-year results in November.

‘We continue to believe that Burberry remains one of the most promising brand turnaround stories in the space,’ it added.

Tisci took over from long-standing chief creative officer Christopher Bailey.

His appointment came as a surprise but has been welcomed by analysts, particularly due to his knowledge of British fashion having studied at London’s Central Saint Martins.

He has worked with Burberry’s chief executive Marco Gobbetti, who recruited Tisci when he headed up Givenchy.

But his arrival comes at a tricky time as the luxury goods market faces a slowdown in spending among Chinese customers, a major market for Burberry.

Burberry is understood to be looking at how to fight back against the slump in China and rely less on the country to generate revenues.

earlier this year Julie Brown, chief financial officer at Burberry, said: ‘We do find our Chinese clientele will move depending on how currency is moving.

‘We had far fewer Chinese tourists in europe, in the uK and continental europe.’