Burberry

About the house

Thomas Burberry founded the company in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1856, at the age of 21. Gabardine, the water-resistant but breathable fabric, came into the brand in 1879, and a shop in the Haymarket, London, opened in 1891. Burberry stayed independent and family-controlled until 1955, when Great Universal Stores took ownership. Burberry Group plc floated on the London Stock Exchange in July 2002, and GUS sold its remaining stake in December 2005.

Fragrance came later, and at first under licence. Perfume Intelligence lists Burberrys for Women from 1995, with Michel Almairac as perfumer and the Inter Parfums group named, and Burberry Week End for men and for women in 1997. Burberrys Touch followed in 2000: Pierre Edouard at Firmenich made the men's version, Michel Girard at Quest International the women's, and the bottle was inspired by thread spools. Burberry Brit arrived in 2003 as an eau de parfum by Natalie Gracia-Cetto. Brit Gold (2005) is credited to Antoine Lie of Givaudan, and Brit Red (2005) to Gracia-Cetto.

Accounts differ on when Burberry took the fragrance business in-house. One gives the end of 2012, another 2013. Christopher Bailey had joined as creative director in May 2001 and became CEO as well in 2014. My Burberry, set for September 2014 with Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne in the campaign, was composed by Francis Kurkdjian. Bailey called it a trench coat in a bottle, and Kurkdjian said the flowery side of the perfume comes from the idea of the garden after the rain. Mr Burberry launched in 2016.

On 3 April 2017 Burberry announced it would license its beauty business to Coty, effective October 2017 and subject to approval. Burberry keeps creative control, while Coty brings global distribution. The deal was reported at about $225 million, made up of 130 million pounds for the long-term licence and about 50 million pounds for inventory and other assets. Bailey, then CEO and chief creative officer, said a global partner of that calibre would help drive the next stage of Burberry Beauty.