Abstract
The story of Burberry started in 1856 when Thomas Burberry, a 21 year old draper's apprentice, opened his own store in Basingstoke, Hampshire. In 1880 he invented the famous gabardine now associated to the Brand's name in customer's unconscious. Burberry was an independent company until 1955, when it was bought by Great Universal Stores (GUS), owners of UK High Street retailers Argos and Homebase. The brand lost its family independence and also its image of innovating house. But in December 2005 Burberry became a part of the Burberry Group that trades today on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BRBY. "Burberry is now a luxury brand with a distinctive British sensibility, strong international recognition and differentiating brand values that resonate across a multi-generational and dual-gender audience.?
