How Emma Watson helped Burberry lose its chequered past

By Daily Mail Reporter

Pure magic: Harry Potter star Emma Watson was the face of Burberry until last month


Once everyone was wearing it.

Which, when you have built your name on quality and exclusivity, simply won't do.

But it seems that Burberry may at last have put its days as the chav uniform of choice behind it.

The girl it has to thank, apparently, is the magical Miss Emma Watson.

Fresh-faced, quietly confident, and world- famous thanks to her role in the Harry Potter films, she has seen the firm's fortunes skyrocket since she starred in its advertising campaigns.


Matching outfits: Ex soap star Daniella Westbrook is clearly a fan of Burberry


That 2008 memory of former soap star and cocaine addict Danniella Westbrook kitted out head-to-toe in Burberry check - a moment which saw demand for the design plummet - can now be filed away under corporate nightmares.

The company, founded in 1856, has had to fight hard to protect its upmarket image against both counterfeiters and popularity with less-than-exclusive customers.

At one stage, cheap fakes flooded markets, leading to the designs becoming known as 'council house chic'. Burberry has also ended a number of deals supplying certain wholesalers amid concerns that its products were finding their way into discount outlets.

It was last year that the wholesome Miss Watson, 20, and her brother Alex, 18, featured in a series of moody images taken for Burberry by Mario Testino.

While that campaign revitalised the brand, sales figures responded with a 23 per cent jump in profits to £215million for the last financial year.
Yesterday that success showed no sign of slipping with the release of the company's latest figures.

Burberry said revenues were up by a better-than-expected 24 per cent in the three months to the end of June. Sales in its stores were up 16 per cent.

As well as enlisting Miss Watson, who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, it has shifted a lot of its marketing to the internet.

The company has more than a million Facebook followers

source: dailymail