The read · 2020 · Shenzhen
A social retail store built with Tencent
A WeChat mini-programme linked product information, appointments and a café, with social currency earned through participation.
Where the evidence standsRung reached: delivered.
In practice: platform integration, interactive content and a game. No public source reports attended appointments, repeat visits or extra full-price sales. The question that carries to other cities is whether a reward for scanning measures interest in the product or interest in the reward.
One of four Burberry decisions read on the ladder using only what the company itself has published. Burberry is the example because it has published more, for longer, than any comparable house. I developed product at Burberry; nothing here draws on anything learned inside the company.
For the year to March 2026 Burberry reported revenue of £2,420 million and adjusted operating profit of £160 million. Those are group results, not a return on any decision above. The temptation to draw that line anyway is the habit the ladder is meant to break. The full reading, with every source, is note 1 of Luxury by Design.
Sources: Burberry, Annual Report 2020/21; launch release, 31 July 2020.