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It's important to sell what's in the store. Burberry's approach has required an overhaul of the company's supply chain, from when yarns are dyed to when leather is procured. The company is promising customers who order the runway items outerwear, makeup and accessories that they will receive them within seven weeks, versus the normal four to sixmonth lag between the runway and the rack. "It's one thing when you're talking to the industry that's used to a sixmonth turnabout," said Mr. Bailey of Burberry. "It's very different when you're talking to a direct customer." In catering to customers, though, Burberry and other design houses need to be careful not to lose their appeal by seeming common, said JeanNol Kapferer, a luxurymarketing consultant and professor at the business school HEC Paris. "The Internet helps build the awareness and desire by letting so many people peep into the catwalk," Mr. Kapferer said in an email. But "if too many people can buy it," he said, "the brand loses its exclusivity."and Clint Black Are B. Fleck and J. Lo the new Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara?
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