Consumption of secondhand luxury goods is rapidly developing in China, but the market share of secondhand luxury goods in the overall luxury market is still below that of developing countries and the world’s average level. This study uses a multi-method approach to promote the increase of secondhand luxury goods consumption in China. First, a qualitative study was carried out to identify potential attitudes and barriers towards Chinese consumers’ consumption of secondhand luxury goods. Then, based on qualitative research results and prior studies, the barriers associated with purchasing secondhand luxury goods were identified as five categories of perceived risks. The research model was verified through quantitative research. The results demonstrated that perceived value of luxury goods was negatively affected by four types of perceived risk, but not by financial risk. In addition, perceived value positively affected purchase intention of secondhand luxury goods.

This study analyzed what premium features significantly affect customer satisfaction and their recommendation, and what factors significantly affect product attributes. In the process, first, the loyalty program and the customer compensation program were studied to determine the impact of the customer satisfaction and recommendation. The study analyzed that quality and design of product properties had significant effects on all factors, but the brand was not significantly affected. Second, while superiority, differentiation and scarcity of luxury items are significant to customer satisfaction but superiority is only significant in relation to recommendation intention. Third, the preceding study shows that the customer compensation program has a significant impact on sales growth, but the study found that it was not for imported luxury car customers. Fourth, if the royalties program is low in awareness, it has been analyzed that the scarcity and customer satisfaction relationships among luxury goods have been adjusted. On the contrary, if there is a high level of awareness, it is analyzed that there is a control effect customer satisfaction and differentiation among luxury brands. In the conclusion, in order to satisfy customers at the import luxury car market, the differentiation of luxury goods by standard index must be strengthened and the brand must be strengthened among the attributes of the product. In addition, by raising awareness of the royalties program, the relationship between differentiation and customer satisfaction can be enhanced.

This study seeks to examine the effects of customer’s power motivation in the social media context, driven primarily by to extend the theory of how powerlessness induces compensatory consumption (Rucker and Galinsky, 2008). Power motivation refers to a chronic desire to strive and retain power (Maner, Gailliot, Butz, & Peruche, 2007). Given that positions of power are often associated with enjoyment of social and material rewards, naturally some individuals strive to achieve and retain positions of power as a satisfying goal in itself (Cassidy and Lynn, 1989). These ‘power-strivers’ are motivated to achieve status and superiority, and prone towards negative emotional states when confronted with situations that induce a state of powerlessness. The sense of inferiority have been shown to lead to greater desire for status-enhancing goods, such as luxury items with more prominently displayed brand names to restore their sense of wellbeing (Rucker and Galinsky, 2009). In the context of social media, research suggests that longterm exposure to upward social comparisons on social media resulted in lower levels of self-esteem (Vogel, Rose, Roberts, & Eckles, 2014). We argue that observing other people’s ‘highlight reel’ on social media may also negatively influence the consumers’ sense of power. Thus, these type of consumers are likely to be more receptive towards communications that advertise status-enhancing goods. However, this effect should be particularly pronounced in consumers who have high power motivation in the first place. Subsequently, our first proposition is that when exposed to negative social comparisons, power motivation would moderate the consumers’ sense of inferiority and lead to more positive attitude towards advertisements of luxury goods. Our second proposition points to mindfulness as a palliative to mitigate this sense of inferiority, since exercising mindfulness enables better self-regulation that contributes to behaviors and decisions that positive contribute towards one’s wellbeing (Brown and Ryan, 2003). Two experimental studies confirm our hypotheses that when exposed to upward social comparisons on social media, power-strivers exhibit more positive attitude towards advertisements of luxury goods, mediated by a sense of inferiority. In the second study we found that implicitly inducing mindfulness mitigates the effects of power motivation. This paper thus enriches the understanding of the role of consumers’ sense of power in the context of social media. Furthermore, we offer a balanced view that (1) unpacks how marketers could exploit social media features to induce desire for luxury goods but also (2) suggests ethical solutions that contributes to positive psychology literature in the context of social media usage.

Even though luxury brands embraced social media (Godey et al., 2016; Kim & Ko, 2012), research on the use of social media for luxury brand marketing is limited. Given the increasing popularity of social media, it is imperative to examine social media-based communication strategies for luxury brands to achieve desirable consumer evaluations of brands and advertising. This research explored the role of brand anthropomorphism strategies in social media in enhancing consumers’ advertising and brand evaluations. Specifically, this research investigated (1) the effects of verbal-based brand anthropomorphism in the luxury goods brand context (Study 1), (2) the effects of verbalbased brand anthropomorphism in the luxury service brand context (Study 2), and (3) the effects of verbal-based brand anthropomorphism cues (Study 3) on consumers’ luxury brand and advertising evaluations. Studies 1 and 2 both collectively examined the role of self-focused anthropomorphized brand effects in two different contexts. Consumers easily connect themselves with an anthropomorphized advertising, compared to an objectified advertising for luxury brands. Study 3 identified the fit between luxury brand type and an anthropomorphized brand cue to explore the effectiveness of brand anthropomorphism. Depending on the type of luxury brands, consumers processed anthropomorphized brand cues differently. Consumers favorably perceived the fit between luxury good brands and partner cues; on the other hand, consumers favorably perceived the fit between luxury service brands and servant cues. Results of this research contribute to the social media advertising and luxury brand marketing literature by clarifying the role of brand anthropomorphism in consumer-brand relationships as well as in brand-advertising relationships. Results also provide industry suggestions for delivering personified brand messages to have desirable consumer brand and advertising evaluations.

Introduction This paper investigates the implementation possibilities of the Industry 4.0 systems within the production of fashion luxury goods by collecting the opinion of the managers and the perception of the potential customers. The results indicate that technologies 4.0 can be implemented within luxury fashion production without affecting the quality of the finished product. However customers are negatively prevented against them. Therefore, giving the present situation of the fashion industry, now more demanding than ever, it would be appropriate to implement such systems without disclosing it to customers. Theoretical development With this research we aim to demonstrate that in the world of luxury fashion production there is room, if not the need, to implement the technologies of the Industry 4.0 without affecting the quality of the final product. We believe it is crucial that the luxury environment starts to seriously consider the Industry 4.0 as the former, in recent years, has become ever more challenging. Since luxury has become more accessible to masses, customers are no longer content just by getting the product, they often want it before the general public has it or fully customized to distinguish themselves. This implies a reduction of production times together with multiple rearrangements of the entire production process. Which is why we need to start thinking about Luxury and Industry 4.0. The concept of Industry 4.0 started developing with the exponential involvement of technological means during production processes of any kind. The term describes the model of the “smart” factory of the future where computer-driven systems “monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralized decisions” based on self-organization mechanisms (Smith, 2016). The goal of the industry 4.0 is to reach a deeper interconnection and cooperation between the available resources and the final customer; it’s a multiple layer engagement composed by complex machines, people, products, information within the production sight and all along the value chain (Tolio, 2016). The implementation of such systems allows achieving better levels of efficiency and contributes to increase the competitive advantage; it is a revolution that involves a company at all levels from the production centers to human resources. Although luxury fashion is a quite peculiar industry, all its processes are still very much cyclical and could benefit from the help of such implementations. The main technologies that are often quoted as being at the core of the Industry 4.0 are IoT (Internet of Things), big data, additive manufacturing, 3D printing, augmented reality and new generation robots. All this may seem too futuristic for an industry such as luxury that has always been associated with craftsmanship. When defining luxury in fact, one of the qualities attributed to this kind of products is the “strong connection with the past proven by the tradition handed down over time” (Dubois, 2001); a description that can be taken quite literally as the heritage of the brand is built upon the traditions passed on by the different artisans who crafted the product. But if we fraction the production process and analyze it in depth, we will see that it is cyclical, and that some of its parts may benefit from such technologies that would make it leaner without affecting the quality of the end product. An example of this can be seen in the laser cutting machines for leather. A robot can cut the elements required to compose a bag in a few minutes, while it would take up to half an hour to do it by hand. Even if mechanically cut though, the bag will still need to be assembled by a highly skilled artisan to become the exceptional quality product that customers expect to see in stores. Many are afraid that technological implementations will lead to the disappearance of the artisanal component failing to understand that the Industry 4.0 is not about complete automation but rather about human-machine interaction. Talking about production we will refer to the process in its integrity, from the sketches to the products in the stores. Research design The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews to questiont professionals who work in different stages of luxury fashion production for different companies. All the interviewees were chosen among the industry biggest players: LVMH, Kering, Richemont, Hermès, Chanel and others. To establish the sample of interviewees we divided the production process into four main phases and then identified at least one professional to question for each one of them. The subdivision we applied was the following: ⦁ Phase 1 - Creation & Design ⦁ Phase 2 - Production & Merchandising ⦁ Phase 3 - Retail & Marketing ⦁ Phase 4 - Supply Chain & Distribution Each interviewee was asked a set of specific questions related to the complexities of their job and the problems encountered while doing it (Appendix 1). Among the sample there were two professionals that did not belong to the production process but that we deemed necessary to involve to have a more complete outcome. One is a Professor of Fashion design at the Politecnico of Milan, the other is a Strategic Planning Analyst who works for Lectra, one of the biggest companies producing technologies for fashion. In order to investigate the perception of the customers we distributed a multiple choice survey to a heterogeneous sample of 200 people. Among the questions asked one was strictly related to the use of technology while the others regarded arguments, related to its utilization, that emerged while interviewing the professionals. Despite not being directly on the use of technology, we deemed the other queries important to evaluate if the problems emerged from the interviews were relevant also from a customer point of view. The questions submitted via survey were the followings: 1) On a scale of 1 to 4, (1= low interest, 4=high interest) how interested are you in luxury goods? 2) How much worth is being able to buy a luxury good before it is on sale in stores? (1= not worth, 4= very worth) 3) Would you think of higher quality a bag completely handcrafted rather than the very same bag produced also by using industrial processes? 4) Would you attribute a higher value to a luxury product conceived to be respectful for the environment? The survey ended up highlighting that customers have a negative bias towards the exploitation of such systems within the production of luxury goods. In fact they attribute a higher value to completely handcrafted products, without considering the possibility that the latters may have more defects. The methodology used was successful in helping us understanding the opinion of the management along with the perceptions of the customers. Moreover, through the interviews we were able to highlight practical daily problems encountered by people directly involved in the production process. Results and conclusion We used the problems that arose as bases to begin thinking what could be concretely implemented, in which phase and with what goal. We started by focusing our attention on five points that currently challenge production and could be exploited as opportunities for the implementation of specific technology. Nevertheless, we also highlighted three main limits that might prevent the application of said technology. The opportunities of implementation were the following: Production times - Representing one of the biggest problems in the industry, we believe that technology could come to the rescue especially in the first two stages of the process. For example, the use of 3D printing to produce some prototypes or certain components that could be useful for reducing time and costs. Another example is Modaris 3D, a new generation software that allows you to digitize the pattern allowing you to see it in 3D. Exploiting this software would allow to predict the potential problems of the prototype before even crafting it and would help save a lot of time and resources. Not to mention that digitized patterns can be archived and easily reused later. Moreover, the exploitation of the new generation robots to pre-cut certain components would once again allow a shorter production time and reduce costs. Couterfeiting - Another implementation opportunity is represented by counterfeiting. Now that online commerce is booming, the fake industry is at its peak and people find it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not. IoT technologies could help immensely with this problem. One of the interviewees working in the distribution phase told us that today when the products are shipped, in order to track them down and recognize them from counterfeits, companies install into their pockets RFID chips, small chips similar to those of credit cards. Their limitation though is that they can be traced or recognized only if scanned. The use of IoT technologies on this type of device (for example, providing the same type of support with a GPS) would allow them to be interactive and serve their purpose even better when the products are shipped all over the world. Sustainability - In recent years the problem of sustainability has become increasingly relevant, to the point that some luxury empires have been built on it, as in the case of Stella McCartney. To pay more attention to the environmental cause, fashion houses could start by wasting less resources. One way to do this could be to use software to optimize pattern placements on fabrics or on leather. Human supervision would still be required, as some pieces need to be cut from specific parts of the leather but it would certainly help in making some useful proposals. Internal communication – Internal communication is a problem at all levels of the production process. It can be an issue especially when it comes to communicating the intentions of the design team to the production and controlling the stock level in real time. In the first case, to solve the problem, we could consider the implementation of a software like PLM (Product Life Management). This type of program helps to follow the transformation from sketches to prototypes to products, providing detailed information on everything that is present on the garment, specifying consumption and costs of materials. With regard to the inventory control problem, we could again use the help of the IoT. Inventory control is a problem both in terms of raw materials (for all those houses that produce prototypes internally) and finished products. In the first case a potential solution could be to label the raw materials with magnetic labels that would allow to see immediately when the components leave the stock. In the second case, as previously mentioned, supplying the finished products with IoT chips would help to locate them and know how many are in stock. Demand forecast – Another major help that industry 4.0 could bring to fashion production is the exploitation of big data to forecast the demand. Nowadays in fact, the constant and hardly predictable changes in fashion heavily affect a demand that already has few reference standards. When it comes to forecast, several factors have an impact on it: trends, social medias, consumption habits etc. The most unpredictable of these factors is probably represented by the social media as clients may cause a peek in demand after seeing a celebrity or an influencer wearing a specific product. Giving all this, it's evident how the more variables we are able to consider when doing forecasts, the better the chances of predicting a scenario close to reality and Big Data would allow to do so. As previously mentioned we also highlighted some limits that could prevent implementation: Costs - The more significant limit when talking about this kind of technology is related to costs. It is important to consider both the ones needed to purchase the technology as well as the ones to train the employees in order to make the implementation possible. As we all know technology is extremely expensive, and in a certain way a form of luxury itself, often being just for few. The size of the brand would modulate of course the amount of the investment in it. Client perception & adverse attitude – The survey pointed out that clients are negatively biased towards technology and, if informed that the product has been realized with the help of technological means, may attribute to it a lower value. What it's necessary to keep in mind though, is that, when taking a survey, you are in front of a screen and not in front of the products. I believe in fact that if a "blind" test was conducted presenting two products of which one completely handcrafted and the other realized by artisans who exploited technological means as well, no one would be able to tell the difference. Training of employees - Another big challenge in the implementation of such systems is the training of the employees. Implementing these technologies for some employees may mean learning again how to do their job with the help of a computer. Being an environment where youngsters are outscored due to the lack of experience, this may represent a problem. In conclusion our research proved that there is indeed room to implement the 4.0 systems as the issues emerged can be partially, if not completely, solved by introducing these technologies making the process leaner and more efficient. Nevertheless, giving the fact that customers are negatively biased towards their use, it would be appropriate avoiding to disclose the information with them.

This research investigates luxury consumption preferences for different types of luxury goods (quiet vs loud) and shopping environments (online vs offline), as a function of individual motivation (bandwagon vs snob) and self-construal (independent vs interdependent), using a quantitative approach (online survey). Bandwagon-motivated consumers, as well as those with higher levels of interdependent self-construals show significant preferences for conspicuously branded luxury goods. Conversely, snobmotivated consumers show significant preferences for inconspicuously branded luxury goods. Finally, consumers displaying preferences for conspicuously branded luxury goods engage in both webrooming and showrooming behaviours, highlighting the complementary nature of online and in-store shopping. Results are discussed in the light of luxury consumption in the 21st century.

The economic growth that East Asian countries (in particular China) experience led to a dramatic increase in the demand for luxury products. The widespread use of them has eliminated to an extent the scarcity effect that distinguishes luxury products from ordinary goods. Yet, these products are largely desired, sought after and distributed with a high price tag, thereupon establishing the new class of neo-luxury products. The current body of knowledge regarding the consumption of luxury products is mostly based on economic and marketing research. There is little reference to the design of luxury goods and even less reference to the effects of design on the perception of luxury goods. Often, marketing research uses terms such as authenticity and aesthetics when defining and describing luxury brands and goods. Nonetheless, “design” is almost completely overlooked in these analyses. Rather, there is an assumption that design is automatically considered an embedded part of luxury creation through words such as “authentic”, “aesthetic” and “heritage.” Nonetheless, looking at the heritage aspects of luxurious products design, one may identify the building blocks that have been present in this market for centuries to create successful brands and products and, during the recent global economic changes, have transform into the new category of "mass luxury". This new product category of neo-luxury products should be looked at and analysed as a class of its own, distinct from luxury goods. In this respect, the luxury segment of the Chinese market is particularly interesting, since it had not experienced this genre of consumerism during most of the contemporary history of the western luxury industry post WWII. Thereupon, the new luxury design that addresses this rapidly growing and relatively immature market does it by harnessing the heritage and the conventional framework of luxury and luxury goods in new ways that can referred to as neo-luxury. The role and position of luxury goods are somewhat questioned in today's mass market: Often, in past times, luxury was associated with rarity (or, at least, with singling out an individual user from the masses of consumers of a similar category product). The paper aims at identifying the attributes of the new, rising class of neo-luxury products that distinguish themselves from the “conventional” luxury goods by utilizing qualitative materials and design. In this respect, aspects of heritage play a major role in the strategic design of these products. Further, they assist in establishing, promoting and

In the context of the consumption of luxury goods, WOM generation seems to be an important way for individuals to express their identity. It has long been implied that luxury goods should be “conspicuous” because, generally, individuals are motivated to consume particular goods to communicate their social identity (cf. Belk, 1988; Berger & Health 2007). However, once individuals send positive messages about a luxury good, that item may be adopted by others whom they dislike. Thus, individuals may use moderation in generating positive WOM and prevent use of their favorite luxury brands from trickling down (Berger & Ward, 2010). In this regard, recent research has examined the effects of need-for-uniqueness (NFU) on consumers’ intention to generate word-of-mouth (WOM) and suggested that high-NFU consumers are unwilling to generate (positive) WOM because WOM results in the adoption of the product and would harm the consumers’ unique image (Cheema & Kaikati, 2010). However, they have focused on only one (avoidance-of-similarity) of the three types of NFU: avoidance of similarity (AS), unpopular choice counter-conformity (UCC), and creative choice counter-conformity (CCC) (Tian, Bearden, & Hunter, 2001). The purpose of this study is to examine how different types of NFU affect consumers’ willingness to generate WOM, considering the moderating role of product domain in the relationship between NFU and WOM. We examined the effects of types of NFU and product domain on positive WOM generation using a 3 (WOM sender type: high-AS/high-UCC/high-CCC consumers) × 2 (product domain: more identity-relevant, luxury vs. less identity-relevant, ordinary goods) between-subjects experimental design. The participants were 80 university students. We selected a high-quality coat as a luxury item and a high-end flash drive as an ordinary product. The former was represented as more identity-related than the latter. The results of ANOVA showed that three types of NFU have different effects on consumer’ willingness to generate positive WOM. High-AS consumers, as well as high-UCC consumers, are more unwilling to generate positive WOM, whereas high-CCC consumers are more willing to generate WOM; moreover, these effects are more pronounced when the consumers were referencing a more identity-relevant, luxury good. The implications of this study may help firms understand the factors that elicit or prevent WOM generation.

Introduction Social and environmental damage from unsustainable fashion manufacturing (Kang, Liu, & Kim, 2013) should be addressed using sustainability marketing communications (Lu, Bock, & Joseph, 2013). Millennials are both sustainability-conscious (Lu et al., 2013) and prevalent consumers of luxury (Giovannini, Xu, & Thomas, 2015). Perceptions of luxury products using recycled fabrics were found to be negative (Beckham & Voyer, 2014). Millennials purchasing sustainable luxury goods using recycled materials may be viewed as paradoxical due to mixing prestigious luxury with disposable recyclables. Approach Impression Formation Theory (Asch, 1946) was used to determine how brand characteristics merge into a sustainable luxury brand impression. This study proposed the following hypotheses. H1a: As compared to millennials exposed to a sustainable luxury brand description, those exposed to a luxury only brand description will have a higher level of luxury impression. H1b: As compared to millennials exposed to a luxury only brand description, those exposed to a sustainable luxury brand description will have a higher level of sustainability impression. H2: (a) Luxury brand impression and (b) sustainable brand impression will positively influence the attitude toward the luxury brand. H3: Attitude toward the luxury brand will positively influence millennials’ purchase intention of its goods. Method Between-subjects experimental design was used to test the hypotheses. Two randomly assigned groups received an online survey via Amazon Mechanical Turk with either a luxury only (without the description of recycled materials) or a sustainable luxury brand (describing the use of recycled materials) description. The survey consisted of 5-point Likert-type scales measuring: brand impression (Aaker, 1997), brand attitude (Spears, & Singh, 2004), and willingness to buy luxury brand products (Dodds, Monroe, & Grewal, 1991). SPSS and MPlus were used to perform statistical analysis and multi-group SEM. Results A usable sample of 355 Millennial consumers was an average of 28 years of age (49% male and 51% female). The manipulation of brand description (luxury only and sustainable luxury) was successful. Reliability analysis revealed that all the variables had Cronbach’s α > .70 indicating an acceptable internal consistency. Hypotheses 1b, 2a, and 3 were supported, while hypotheses 1a and 2b were not supported. Conclusion The impression of luxury was the sole impression to significantly predict attitude towards the brand, and attitude positively influenced purchase intention for both brand descriptions. Luxury brands should consider using recycled materials and provide marketing communication that favors sustainable brand positioning.

This paper aims to identify the impact on self-satisfaction of shopping tendencies and purchase behaviors for luxury goods. The research was conducted by survey method using questionnaires. The subjects of this study were female consumers from 20 to years old with a high pusrchasing capability for luxury goods. Using the statistics program SPSS 21.0, factor analysis, reliability analysis, one-way ANOVA, and multiple-regression analysis were executed. The analysis results are summarized below. For shopping tendency depending on ages, pleasure pursuit tendency showed insignificant difference in 40~50s, but significant difference in 20~30s. For the self-satisfaction, the interpersonal satisfaction showed the difference by age group, which was much higher in the respondents in 30~50s than those in 20s. Individuality pursuit tendency and rational shopping tendency had impact on self-satisfaction and rational shopping tendency on interpersonal satisfaction in 20s. Pleasure pursuit tendency and rational shopping tendency had impact on self-satisfaction and interpersonal satisfaction and pleasure pursuit tendency on the economic satisfaction in 30s. Pleasure pursuit tendency had impact on self-satisfaction and economic satisfaction and rational satisfaction on interpersonal satisfaction in 40s. Pleasure pursuit tendency and rational shopping tendency had impact on self-satisfaction and interpersonal satisfaction in 50s. High quality had impact on self-satisfaction and economic satisfaction and practicality on interpersonal satisfaction in 20s. High quality had impact on self-satisfaction and interpersonal satisfaction in 30s. High quality had impact on interpersonal satisfaction in 40s. High quality had impact on all elements of self-satisfaction for the respondents in 50s, practicality had negative impact on interpersonal satisfaction.

The purpose of this study is to investigate which of the main social and personality factors affect the attitudes of consumers towards counterfeit products and their purchase intentions in one of largest counterfeit product market as much as the attractive one for the Global Luxury goods ,namely Turkey.

Most religious teachings support the idea that money and materialism are at the root of all evil. However, reality is not so rigorous and many times materialism seems even a blessing. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare religious and non-religious consumer on their perspective toward materialism, and through it, luxury brand and purchase intention. The total sample consisted of 491 university Asian students. Results show that religious consumers are not necessarily against neither materialism nor luxury brand possession. Consumers’ religiosity did not influence their perspective toward materialism or luxury goods. This creates an opportunity for managers to promote luxury brand toward religious consumers especially in Asia, where religion is more prevalent.

So far much of the academic literature on luxury goods has been written from a Western perspective, with the result that our understanding of luxury consumption in the Chinese context remains rather limited. This paper aims to close this gap by examining how reference groups influence contemporary luxury brand consumption amongst young aspirational middle class consumers belonging to the Post-80s generation. It explores from a socio-cultural perspective the role which luxury brands play in their everyday lives and how this impacts on how they construct their identity at both a social and an individual level. In East Asian societies there has traditionally been a Confucian emphasis on the ‘collective self’ being more important than the individual self, and the need to take into account face saving (mianzi) and its corollary shame when understanding consumer behavior. Indeed, according to Wong and Ahuvia (1998), it is this notion of the interdependent self and the importance of maintaining ‘face’ which explains the significance given to possessions that are public and visible such as luxury goods and designer fashion brands. The present study examines luxury consumption through the lens of Social Identity Theory (SIT), which posits that individuals define their self-concept in relation to their connections with particular social groups or organizations. As people make comparisons between themselves and groups, they judge themselves as being similar to members of those groups which they feel they belong to (i.e. in-groups) and different from those which they feel they do not belong to (i.e. out-groups) (Hogg & Abrams, 2001). Fifteen in-depth interviews lasting around one hour each were conducted with a convenience sample of luxury consumers aged between 20 and 25 years, who were studying at a private university in mainland China. They were asked about the role which luxury brands play in their life. Major findings revealed different reasons for their strong desire to engage in luxury consumption. Some want to stand out as a luxury consumer within the wider community, while others use their luxury purchases to stand out from members of their in-group. Equally, there was evidence of participants using luxury goods to fit in with others in their in-group, as well as using them to of distance themselves from various out-groups.