Burberry has come under fire for burning its unsold clothes but it’s ‘commonplace’ within the fashion industry
Maintaining brand image means exclusive products should be sold in exclusive distribution networks and markets shouldn’t be flooded with end of season products, experts say
Burberry, which has been in the cross hairs for burning tens of millions of dollars of its products, is far from the only firm to destroy unsold goods to maintain the exclusivity and luxury mystique of their brands.
In its annual report the British fashion firm acknowledged that it had burned unsold clothes, accessories and perfume worth £28.6 million (US$37 million).
More than a third of the products destroyed were perfumes, which the company said was due to the rupture of its licence with US fragrances manufacturer Coty.
Since Thursday, when that piece of information buried in its 200-page report came to light, Burberry has come under scrutiny on social and news media for the practice. But industry experts say Burberry is far from alone.
“It is a widespread practice in the fashion industry, it’s commonplace,” said Arnaud Cadart, a portfolio manager at Flornoy and Associates who has previously followed the luxury industry as an analyst.
He said very few luxury brands hold sales to get rid of stock and instead destroy unsold products. Fashion items with short cycles increases the amount of leftover stock and items destroyed.
