This paper examines the phenomenon of co-branding in the context of luxury lifestyle co-brands. Specifically, it seeks to understand the viability of co-branding as a market strategy for prototypical luxury brands launching co-branded lifestyle products with other luxury brands. This study contributes to the co-branding literature by providing a perspective on the use of co-branding as a brand strategy for prototypical luxury brands.

The purpose of this paper is to examine affluent consumers’ emotions and loyalty toward luxury fashion brands’ flagship stores. A total of 138 participants were recruited. The results show product quality and other customers’ behaviors are the two factors that can affect affluent customers’ positive and negative emotions.

Past research has shown that the self-congruity effect (Sirgy, 1982) is an important key predictor for consumers’ responses (e.g., attitude, purchase intention, choice, satisfaction, and loyalty) toward various marketing stimuli such as brand, store, and product (Barone, Shimp, and Sprott, 1999; Sirgy, Grewal, & Mangleburg, 2000). The self-congruity effect refers to the match between consumers’ actual self-concept and the image of objects compared, such as brand image, product image, store image, and advertising materials (Choi & Rifon, 2012; Sirgy, Grewal, & Mangleburg, 2000). These relationships, however, have not been tested in the context of luxury brand products (Sirgy, 1982). Our purpose is to address this knowledge gap by investigating the relevancy of self-congruity theory to the purchase of luxury brands. In contrast to the long-standing self-congruity effect, we propose that actual self-incongruity and ideal self-congruity effects will work when consumers evaluate luxury fashion brands. A survey method was used to gather data. Data were collected through an online panel provided by E-rewards, a marketing research company located in the United States. A stratified sampling method was employed to obtain an evenly distributed number of participants from different income classes. The strata was identified by income. Three strata were developed: (1) more than $100,000; (2) $55,000 to less than $100,000; and (3) less than $55,000. The sample (n = 502, average age = 41) represented most demographic categories. We tested the influence of actual self-incongruity and ideal self-congruity on brand attitude, purchase intention, and perceived quality for 3 brands. Actual self-incongruity had a significant positive effect on brand attitude, whereas ideal self-congruity had a significant positive effect on brand attitude, purchase intention, perceived quality. Overall, the results supported our main hypothesis. We conducted an additional analysis to examine the moderating role of income. Specifically, for brand attitude, the influence of actual self-incongruity was significantly positive only for the low-income group. The influence of ideal self-congruity was significantly positive only for the low- and middle-income groups. For purchase intention, the influence of ideal self-incongruity was significantly negative only for the low-income group, whereas the influence of ideal self-congruity was not significant for the middle- or high-income groups. Finally, for perceived quality, the influence of actual self- and ideal self-incongruity was significant only for the middle-income group, whereas that influence was not significant for the high-income group. This research contributes to the self-congruity effect in the context of luxury brands. Our results show the positive influence of ideal self-congruity and actual self-incongruity on the evaluation of luxury brand products. This is the first study identifying that actual self-congruity has a negative influence on the evaluation of brands in a luxury market context, as opposed to previous findings. Our results provide important implications to practitioners in planning their marketing communication strategies or consumer relationship management for luxury brand consumers.

As the rapid adoption of the Internet around the globe made digital marketing an indispensable means of gaining competitive advantage for many sectors (Leeflang, Verhoef, Dahlstrom, & Freundt, 2014), its appropriateness for luxury products remains debatable. The main lures to luxury products for many consumers are their exclusivity and rarity, two valuable attributes that are at odds with digital medias’ ubiquitousness and pervasiveness (Hennigs, Wiedmann, & Klarmann, 2012). The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of online promotion of luxury brands on different aspects of their brand image. Additionally, the paper checks how the impact of the Internet on luxuries’ brand image varies across different segments of luxury consumers and levels of brand luxuriousness. The main hypothesis of the study, that the Internet affects luxury brand image, is grounded in the McLuhan’s (1964) assertion that "the medium is the message". The congruence of the medium to the advertised brand has a positive effect on brand evaluations (Dahlén, 2005). Given that the Internet could serve as a tool for luxury firms to enhance their creative aspects (Okonkwo, 2009), the question arises as to how congruent the Internet is as a medium to luxury brands that sell on the basis of their exclusivity. The congruence of the Internet to the luxury brands is moderated by: the level of luxuriousness of the brand and the perceived luxury values. Dahlén, Granlund & Grenros (2009) have shown that the use of new media benefit more the “low reputation” brands rather than the “high reputation” ones. In high reputation brands consumers have expectations of higher standards from the medium and are more attentive to changes in the advertising medium. Moreover, by definition the higher the level of brand luxuriousness the higher its exclusivity and rarity. Hence, it is hypothesized that the Internet’s appropriateness as a medium will be negatively related to the luxuriousness of the brand. Luxury values influence consumer choices for luxury brands and brand image perceptions. Luxury value activation by contextual cues like the advertising medium is expected to align image perceptions to the expressed values. As a result, we expect brand image attributes that express specific luxury values to be influenced by the extent to which the medium promotes or inhibits the expression of such values. In luxuries, Wiedmann, Hennings and Siebels (2007) identified four categories of luxury values (financial, functional, individual and social) that are hypothesized to have a differential impact on the effect of the Internet to luxury brand image. To test the hypothesized relationships, an experimental design was used. Facebook was selected as a platform for “online” promotion and the stimuli were luxury watches. The results indicated online luxury promotion adversely affects luxury brand’s perceptions hedonism and uniqueness. The effects were more pronounced to the most luxurious brands and to specific luxury value segments. The results provide useful insights for the development of luxury brand strategies.

Context – The luxury market has, in recent years, continued to grow substantially and has been helped by the boost and growing appetite of emerging economies. Indeed Luxury is one of the fastest-growing brand sectors (Berthon et al., 2009). Due to the high supply and vast choice available in the various segments including luxury goods, consumers nowadays are no longer loyal to one single brand but they prefer to choose and have a demanding and critical attitude towards exactly what they want to purchase (Okonkwo, 2007). By looking at the recent transformations in the globalised and ever more connected world, we can see that the luxury market has expanded, from a limited availability to a select group of consumers (the few who could afford the price), to a market with more people of moderate means having access to the product and all its inherent passion (Okonkwo, 2009, Silverstein and Fiske, 2003). However, the concept of luxury, although defined widely (Dubois et al., 2001 and Vickers and Renand, 2003, among the most popular definitions), does not appear to have a consensus on the definition (Choi, 2003; Wiedmann, Hennigs and Siebels, 2009). It is crucial to understand the reasons why consumers buy luxury (Kapferer and Bastien, 2009; Keller, 2009) and the perception process (Tynan, McKechnie and Chhuon, 2010; Wiedmann, Hennigs and Siebels, 2007). Learning how consumers process their knowledge from the attributes of a luxury brand and attribute them a meaning (perception process) followed by a certain conditioned response (learning process experienced due to culture or brand’s marketing strategy), appears relevant to unveil the effectiveness of luxury brands across European consumers. Moreover this understanding should be framed in a cross-cultural context in order to be relevant for the sector (Dubois, Czellar and Laurent, 2005; Shukla, Shkula and Sharma, 2009). Purpose – The aim of this study is to measure the effectiveness of luxury brands strategies, through a cross-cultural comparison. By doing so, the authors attempt to develop a framework that intends to measure the perception process alongside purchase intentions, mapping it with the marketing strategies that have been proposed by brands at different segments. Design/methodology/approach – The methodological approach followed in this paper was to systematically review the academic literature on luxury brands and identify the different concepts of luxury as well as provide an overview of the segment from a European perspective. Through the analysis of the brand strategies used by different typologies of luxury brands (inaccessible, intermediate and accessible), the researchers intended to clarify the learning process and meaning transfer that takes place in the studied markets: UK, Spain, Germany and Italy. Motivations for buying luxury were also measured from a transnational perspective to fully understand matchability in the perception process and purchase intentions. This research has used existing theories based on the areas mentioned above to create hypotheses that were statistically tested using SPSS, evaluating if hypotheses raised can be supported or not. By deductive reasoning, established theories were used to develop and examine hypotheses in contemplation of the explanation of laws (Bryman and Bell, 2011), using a deductive research approach. Through quota sampling the results can be generalized to a larger population. Originality/value – Several authors have pointed out the need for further analysis on luxury value perception (Shukla and Purani, 2012; Tynan, McKechnie and Chuon, 2010; Christodouilides, Michaelidou, N. and Li, 2009; Vigneron and Johnson, 2004; Wiedmann, Hennings and Siebels, 2009) The knowledge on consumers’ perception of luxury should be enlarged and better methodologically oriented, making a transnational research project like this of greater importance. With this in mind, the findings provide valuable strategic insights for luxury brands to use across the different EU markets. Findings –We are running the research so to have the results and provide the expected contribution with this paper.

The world market for brands and licenses is constantly growing and represents a very interesting economic field. Brands are constantly being sold, and brand ownership may change often completely unbeknown to the majority of consumers. Brands are in fact held as any other assets, either by individuals or by companies, as part of their balance sheet (Lucky & Giliberti, 2013). A multiple case study of independent luxury companies enables us to identify the following best practices: 1) Perfume = Survival Most brands achieve a long lasting market penetration once they successfully move into the fragrancies. Every case study confirms the assumption. 2) Perfume + cosmetics = survival and success It seems that the perfume business and cosmetics in general are the main boosters for a brand to keep on growing and gain if not “top of mind” at least “aided awareness”. 3) Less licensees = more business! As strange as this can be, most luxury brands that have succeeded in keeping a remarkable growth have made the decision not to expand their number of licensees, but rather to dramatically diminish them, selecting, in most of the cases, main licensing categories like: 1- Perfumes and cosmetics 2- Watches 3- Eye glasses 4- Limited ranges of accessories The cases show that massive licensing may have brought very interesting revenues obtained “the easy way” by the brands owners, but have then started a decline in revenues due to many practical reasons: The brand loses its appeal by becoming seen just about everywhere and applied to any type of possible product. The brand simply becomes less exclusive and therefore less luxury. Cases like Saint Laurent (new name used instead of Yves Saint Laurent) in France or Valentino in Italy, clearly indicate that the brands managers have decided to concentrate their core business within a very limited number of licensees making sure that the brand orientation strictly reflects the identity chosen by the (new) owners. The most impressive example of extremely massive licensing tending to pull the brand out of the luxury market is without doubt the one of Pierre Cardin.

The world of luxury is harboring an endangered species: that of the independent companies! In an increasingly-challenging and globalized luxury environment, companies are fighting to escape from the ever-growing clout of luxury “conglomerates” - Swatch Group, LVMH, Kering, and Richemont. As of 2015, these “big four” own more than 100 brands and are maintaining a constant pace of acquisitions , relying on vertical integration to secure supplies (and deprive competitors of them) which has particularly insidious consequences for independents. Most independents are struggling to survive and end up being acquired or going out of business. Interestingly, this same movement towards consolidation is rendering brands more and more uniform, thus creating opportunities for players able to craft unique offerings for niche luxury clientele. Innovation is the path to follow in this challenging journey. Based on a multiple case study analysis of innovative independent luxury companies, we have identified four innovation strategies (Hoffmann & Lecamp, 2015). “Back to the roots” include independent companies innovating in the essence of luxury: extreme quality and extraordinary craftsmanship to create the ultimate sensorial and emotional experience. For companies like Vignes, Thomas Mercer, Mirazur by Mauro Collagreco, Norlha and Brunello Cucinelli, luxury is rooted in a terroir and a sense of purpose permeates this endeavor. “Code breakers” are playing with product and societal codes to culturally innovate and build the icons of today and tomorrow. Examples include Martin Margiela and Miuccia Prada in fashion, Fernando & Humberto Campana in furniture design, and HYT in watchmaking. “Eagle in the aquarium” companies are disrupting the way luxury companies create, deliver and capture value. Globalization and digitization are powerful enablers to reconfigure resources at the levels of funding (e.g. crowdfunding), design (e.g. 3D design), manufacturing (e.g. 3D printing), distribution (e.g. online platforms), marketing and communication (e.g. online social networks). “Game changers” are building breakthrough innovations at the product and business model levels. Comme des Garçons, Etudes Studio, Iris Van Herpen, MB&F, and W Motors are independents taking bold initiatives in a fascinating and inspiring journey. Managerial implications and venues for future research will be highlighted during the conference.

Over the past decades, researchers devoted considerable attention to the impact of store environments on shopping behavior (e.g. Baker et al., 2002; Kotler, 1973; Turley & Milliman, 2000). More recent, practitioners and academics alike have argued that a greater challenge for brands is the creation and enhancement of compelling shopping experiences along, and beyond, the entire path-to-purchase (Interbrand, 2014; Shankar et al., 2011). In a luxury brand context, where the shopping experience is a significant motivator for purchases (Yoon, 2013), the interaction of multiple retail environments greatly affect consumer behavior towards the brands. Accordingly, brand experiences is created at both ends of the marketing supply chain, by brand manufacturers and retailers. Yet, although research has developed fruitful areas for new perspectives on the relationships between manufacturers and retailers (Ganesan et al., 2009), the vast majority of existing research predominantly focuses on consumer response to brand experiences with respect to manufacturer cues (Dolbec & Chebat, 2013; Tynan et al., 2010), store cues (Baker et al., 2002), or retail settings (Möller & Herm, 2013). The evolving business world needs to implement more comprehensive and holistic approaches (Choi et al., 2014), where integrated strategies must emerge. The objective of this study is to present an explanation of luxury brand experiences across manufacturer and retailer’s settings. By overviewing the literature on the interaction between brand management, store atmospherics, and consumer behavior, and applying qualitative methods, the authors provide relevant insights for academics and practitioners toward a more comprehensive understanding of the luxury brand experience. Customer experience and luxury brands In the field of contemporary marketing, customer experience has been defined as a construct which “encompasses the total experience and may involve multiple retail channels” (Verhoef et al., 2009, p. 32). It includes the search, purchase, consumption, and after-sale phases of the experience. In a holistic brand perspective, this definition enlightens the key role of luxury brands in delivering the same brand promise and brand message across each connection between the consumer and the brand. Among the characteristics of luxury brands, consumers are willing to pursue luxury products as these products provide psychological benefits rather than functional benefits (Kapferer, 1997). Further, luxury brands are associated with status, wealth, exclusion, and pride (McFerran et al., 2014). As result, strong experiences with luxury brands derive when consumers develop deep emotional bonds with brands (Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011). From a marketing perspective, consumers that develop deep emotional relationships with a brand have a lot of positive and strong associations (Yoo et al., 2000), such as the perception of the brand uniqueness and inimitability, and loyalty to the brand. However, when it comes to analyze the brand experience, research confers a conceptually different meaning from other brand constructs. According to Brakus et al. (2009), brand experience has distinct dimensions from evaluative, affective, and associative brand constructs, such as brand attachment, brand attitudes, customer delight, and brand personality. The concept of brand experience encompasses multiple dimensions, which refer to the sensorial, affective, intellectual, and behavioral sphere (Zarantonello & Schmitt, 2009). More specifically, the intrinsic concept of luxury brands as hedonic products with high symbolic value, holistically incorporate manufactures and retailers in fulfilling these various dimensions of brand experience. By assuring consistency across the manufacturer and retailer’s settings of the luxury brand, customer experiences evoke the exclusivity of the brand and transfer the authenticity of the brand message. From a consumer’s perspective, consumers reach brand authenticity when they perceive both the internal consistency, which focuses on maintaining the luxury brand standard and style, honoring its heritage, preserving its essence, and avoiding its exploitation, and the external consistency, which pertains to appearances and claims of the brand (Choi et al., 2014). Similarly, consumers tend to perceive the exclusivity of the luxury brand when they encounter consistent experiences across multiple brand touch points. Accordingly, in the experiential view, the principle of consistency and contiguity proposes that sensations, imagery, feelings, pleasures, and other symbolic or hedonic components are paired together to create mutually evocative consumer response (Holbrook & Hirschmann, 1982). The integration between the marketing and consumer’s perspectives suggests that luxury brands create and maintain powerful customer experiences when there is consistency across the manufacturer and retailer’s environments. However, in the landscape of luxury brand management, the conceptualization of customer experience requires the understanding of how consumers respond to luxury brand messages. This investigation is particularly important when examining brand experiences emerged in the manufacturer versus retailer physical environment. Existing literature on brand experiences, retail atmospherics, and luxury brands cannot fill the gap we address. Prior studies aiming to investigate the brand experience have analyzed the phenomenon of this construct from a theoretical perspective (Verhoef et al., 2009), case study analysis (Payne et al., 2009), or focused only on the direct relationship between manufacturer and consumer (e.g. Dolbec et al., 2013; Kim, 2009). For example, Dolbec et al. (2013) have studied in-store brand experiences on consumer response to flaghship vs. brand stores, and highlighted how their study suffers from not considering the continuity between current, previous and future experiences. Regarding the impact of store atmospherics and retailer’s settings on customer experiences (e.g. Baker et al. 2002; Bloch, 1995), research has found that specific combinations of atmospherics elements influences consumers’ perceptions about merchandise, service quality, and the overall store image. More recently, Möller & Herm (2013) showed how retail settings may shape consumers interpretation and evaluation of the brand, and in-store bodily experiences transfer a metaphoric message to customers’ perceptions of the brand. However, the authors empirically tested a mono-brand fashion retail store, and stressed the importance of examining the interaction between brand and store personalities in transferring meaning “from the product to the retailer and the other way around” (Möller & Herm, 2013, p. 8). The retail landscape has dramatically changed the dynamics of consumer-brand interactions in the physical encounter. The main challenge of these interactions concerns the effective integration of multichannel brand experiences into an exciting, emotionally engaging, and coherent brand experience. However, in-depth studies on consumer perceptions to these multi-environment experiences have not yet emerged. In this paper, we aim to fill that gap. By addressing the attention to the customer’s sphere, we specifically investigate how consumers perceive luxury brands in relation to brand experiences across various retail settings. Method and studies Owing to the lack of relevant research, this study applies a direct qualitative and exploratory approach to develop deep insights of consumers response to luxury brand experiences in different retail settings (Creswell, 2012). Two sequential studies investigate consumer cues of brand experiences across various environments. Study 1 provides the identification of luxury brand elements that are pivotal in the creation of exciting shopping experiences. In study 1, respondents named a luxury brand which they had frequently experienced in the last year, and to which they felt being in a deep relationship across multiple retail touch points of the brand. Respondents were asked about what elements of the brand they were more engaged to. The authors imposed no constraints on the elicitation. Following the categorization of luxury brands (Jackson, 2004) which comprehends fashion, perfumes and cosmetics, wines and spirits, and watches and luxury, respondents chose whatever brand they wanted. One of the authors provided the instructions to respondents. This study includes in the first sample a variety of 35 consumers from various age (20 to 65 years old consumers), as well as various education levels. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and evaluated with content analysis, following quality criteria of Kassarjian (1977). The luxury brand elements emerged from Study 1 were used in Study 2 as thematic basis for investigating how these elements provide exciting experiences across multiple retail setting of the luxury brand. The same interviewer of Study 1 undertook in-depth interviews with eight of the above respondents, two from each consumer profile identified in line with the hedonic profiles of Arnold & Reynolds (2003). Each interview discussion lasted between 30 and 45 minutes, was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The text was analyzed by the authors following the generalized sequence of steps of data reduction and transformation, data display and conclusion drawing/verification (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The code development followed thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998), and coding was multivariate within subjects. With multiple ideas per respondent, we extracted a large list of properties. We sorted thematic elements into logically related clusters and assigned representative headers. The authors now describe results regarding respondents’ perceptions of luxury brand experiences in multiple retail environments. Results and discussion Consumers identified a wide range of experience factors that they seek in luxury brands, and highlighted how the brand and retail environment fulfill these expectations. They considered the brand evocation to exclusivity and authenticity as the primary reason for purchasing luxury brands. One of the respondents stated: “I buy brand X because it is a nice and deeply authentic brand to have. When I use the brand X I feel I am wearing something very exclusive. And I feel exclusive”. Regarding experiencing luxury brands in the stores, respondents stressed the importance of “finding the same brand appealing in the monobrand store as well across retailers’ stores”, and added that when they did not perceive this coherence of message they often switched to other brands in the purchasing stage. Another determinant element of holistic experiences concerns the products presentation of the brand in various settings, which has to be very similar and related across the brand touch points. Respondents explained to feel confused when they visit one store and encounter “colorful display with a charming presentation of the brand Y in the store of retailer 1”, while finding in store of retailer 2 “black and white displays and an awful presentation for the brand Y”. Concerning the specific impact of the retailer’s environment on luxury experiences, we identified that the overall store setting of the retailer influences the luxury brand even when consumers do not experience the brand in the specific. For example, one respondent highlighted that “If I have to buy brand Z, I never go to retailer 3. I know that brand Z does not feel luxury at all in retailer 3 because of its very old fashioned store”. This study shows how consumers respond to luxury brand strategies across manufacturer and retailer’s brand setting. By providing deep insights on their relationship with luxury brands, consumers contributed to understand key elements for living consistent luxury brand experiences. They stresses the pivotal role of a coherent brand exclusivity. This is an evident implication to motivate consumers in purchasing the luxury brands. Retailers can also make important considerations from our study. They must create more appealing and overall exciting store images. By enhancing luxury experiences in the store, retailers can leverage opportunities of stronger connection with consumers. Simultaneously, brand manufacturers can build upon retailers enhanced in-store experience to magnify the holistic luxury brand experience. Finally, this study is one of the first explorations concerning the cross-effect of brand experiences and store atmospherics. In an empirical context, the authors investigate the conceptualization of consumer experiences in a multichannel view, and provide relevant contributions to analyze the brand and the environment as interdependent elements. Further research may test empirically our findings on the interaction between luxury brands and multi-retail experiences.

The evolution of technology, on one hand, and the transformation of consumers’ behaviors, on the other hand, are taking marketing communication strategies, together with instruments and actors involved in their planning process, to the need of confronting themself with a huge change must consider the consumer polarization and different media attitudes at the same time. This research project assumes that companies should change their strategic action, if they want to communicate with their changing target. What happens in luxury mature markets? The intent is to empirically and qualitatively examine how luxury brands communication strategies have been evolving during the latest years towards a stronger relationship with a huge variety of different audiences at the same time. The interaction must follows a continuous path and the contents sharing must be the center of every communication effort in order to enhance the experience of consumers and to establish a strong relationship with the audience. The present research on 75 cases shows that players who have the most authority and esteem are the ones using social media tools and counting a higher number of impressions on social networks and a higher frequency of video views and shares content online.

Introduction Luxury brands have been well known for its exclusivity (Daily Mail 2013). However, as more consumers own luxury brands, the idea of just owning recognizable symbol becomes insufficient. In light of this, limited edition products are produced at a relatively higher price (Arora 2013), allowing consumers to fulfill the desire for exclusivity and differentiate themselves for others (Clark, Zboja, & Goldsmith 2007). Motivation This proposal aims to provide a conceptual framework, as underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), to determine the purchase intention of limited edition of luxury brands. Further, supported by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the relationship between the personality factors and subjective norms towards attitudes on limited editions of luxury brands is also investigated. This study closes various gaps as identified by the literature (i.e. Catry 2009, Amaldoss & Jain). Methodology A self-administered survey instrument is designed using established scales to collect data through the “mall intercept” in downtown shopping area where luxury brands are retailed. The stimulus focuses on a specific and non-fictitious brand to increase ecological validity. Statistical techniques, namely Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), multiple regression, and structural equation modelling, are used to analyse the data. Findings Align with TPB model, attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control positively influence the purchase intention of limited edition of luxury brands. Supporting SCT, personality traits (personal gratification, status consumption, and consumers’ need for uniqueness) were found to positively influence the attitude towards limited edition of luxury brands. Further, these findings verified the positive relationship between subjective norm and attitude. Significance Theoretically, this study apply TPB model in limited edition of luxury brands context. Methodologically, the use of real life consumers improved the ecological validity of the study (d’Astous and Gargouri 2001). Managerially, the results contribute in segmenting the market to profile the limited edition of luxury brands consumers. Limitation This study is limited within the fashion industry. Other luxury brands or product categories should also be examined. Future studies should include other contributing variables, such as value consciousness, brand image and, emotional value.

A survey of 570 adolescents reveal that attitudes toward luxury fashion brands rely on a balance between desires for assimilation (i.e., susceptibility to peers’ influence) and individuation (i.e., need for uniqueness); innovativeness mediates these relationships and culture plays a moderated mediation effect.

Nearly 70% of the Swiss luxury watch market is represented by major groups, bringing together worldwide well-known brands. In order to stand out from concurrence and to get a place in this highly competitive market of reference, independent (often unknown) companies have to find other vectors of marketing differentiation.

This study aims to investigate the effects of price promotions on the perception of a brand in the mind of consumer in luxury market. This study extends the previous literature on price promotional strategy and brand equity (brand awareness, brand image, and brand loyalty) by focusing on how a consumer perceives functional value and psychological value to create brand equity in luxury products.

There is relatively little evidence on how social media marketing activities influence brand equity creation and consumers’ behavior towards the brand. We explore these relationships by analyzing pioneering brands in the luxury sector (Burberry, Dior, Gucci, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton). Based on a survey of 845 luxury brand consumers (Chinese, French, Indian and Italian) who follow the five brands studied on social media, we developed a structural equation model that helps to address gaps in prior social media branding literature. Specifically, our study demonstrates the links between social media marketing efforts – measured as a holistic concept incorporating five aspects (entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization and word of mouth) and their consequences (brand preference, price premium and loyalty).

Purpose: Brand and line extension represents an essential vehicle for growth and is currently one of the most applied marketing strategies within the luxury sector. Though it has its advantages, there are several risks associated with pursuing such a strategy. Consequently, this paper attempts to understand the reasons for brand and line extensions as a way of growth in the new era of luxury expansion. Theory: The study extends the literature of brand and line extensions through an empirical study. Methodology: An integrative model of key success factors behind brand and line extensions is proposed by combining current research with empirical findings obtained through an explorative and qualitative research design based on primary data from eight semi-structured interviews with managers from luxury brands. Findings and Contribution: We identify five key success factors: (1) add value through originality, (2) stay at the level of the brand regarding price, quality, style and image, (3) create relevance to core business and be aligned with DNA, (4) stick to the vision of the founder and (5) assure consistency in brand identity and image. Sig-nificantly, the predominant themes are alignment between the parent brand and the extension and the extension in itself, which resonates with the existing research on the field. Further, drawing on the notion of alignment, this thesis also finds evidence of the importance of consistent brand cues such as storytelling, values, heritage, tradition and visual icons. Practical implications: It is suggested that the five success factors identified in the empirical data to the greatest extent possible should apply to any future brand extension and that resources should be allocated to reinforce the alignment between extension and parent brand. Research limitations: It would be insightful to conduct additional interviews with top managers from other brands to further elaborate on the identified success factors.

Mass customization refers to a strategy whereby online retailers provide individually tailored products and services to their customers and has been implemented by many retailers with the Internet technology. Many luxury brands such as Bottega Venetta, Louis Vuitton, and Salvatore Ferragamo, provide customization programs to better serve their customers, from engraving their initials on a product to creating a new design of a product. However, the expansion of the customization program to the luxury brands raises potential risk, such as loosening the brand identity and inability to satisfy customers. Despite high interests in mass customization programs and popularity of luxury brands, the effect of mass customization in luxury brands has not been explored. Addressing this gap in the literature, this study attempts to investigate how customized products of luxury brands influence perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty. In addition, this study explores how consumers’ past loyalty toward a luxury brand influences perceived value of the customization. Hypotheses of the study were (1) Perceived value of a mass-customized product has a positive influence on satisfaction with product customization; (2) Satisfaction with product customization has a positive influence on brand loyalty; (3) The influences of perceived value of a mass-customized product on satisfaction and brand loyalty are different as a function of a customer’s past loyalty; (4) The influences of perceived value of a mass-customized product on satisfaction and brand loyalty are different as a function of a customer’s need for uniqueness. The research strategy of this study was survey methodology and the sample of the study was online shopping consumers. Online questionnaires were collected by an online survey firm. After visiting ‘BURBERRY BESPOKE’, a mass-customization program of a luxury brand, survey participants were asked to answer the questionnaire. The instrument tapped perceived value of a mass-customized product, satisfaction with product customization, past/future brand loyalty, and need for uniqueness. A total of 304 female online shoppers participated in the survey. The result of structural equation modeling found the positive effects of hedonic value and utilitarian value on satisfaction with product customization and the positive effect of the satisfaction on brand loyalty. The result of multiple group comparison analyses revealed the moderating roles of past loyalty and need for uniqueness in influencing the effects of perceived value of a mass-customized product on satisfaction. These findings of the study contribute to the literature in luxury brand retailing fields and suggested managerial implications to luxury brand retailers.

The purpose of this paper is to explore underlying motivations relating to the purchase of counterfeit luxury brands. Due to an increased demand for counterfeit goods in the luxury sector, understanding the motivations and determinants of counterfeit purchasing behaviour is becoming increasingly important for both academics and managers (Wee et al 1995; Perez et al 2010; Bian and Moutinho 2011). Counterfeit products rely on original brand features and leverage the brand’s evocative power and symbolic values, even if they don’t possess its intrinsic attributes and original materials. Therefore, consumers might choose a specific brand (and the associated brand values) and in the meantime compromise on the functional values of the product itself, because they are attracted more towards the symbolic features of recreating a brand experience (Gentry et al. 2001). This “brand importance” in counterfeit consumption represents for Grossman and Shapiro (1988) the possibility for consumers to “unbundle the quality and prestige attributes of branded products”, so that counterfeit consumers can “enjoy the status of displaying a prestigious label without paying for a high-quality product” (Grossman and Shapiro, 1988, p.98). Wiedmann et al (2012, p. 554) highlight the need to “examine the reasons why consumers choose the counterfeit over the authentic product,” arguing that an understanding of counterfeit purchase behaviour has to be informed by an understanding of the motivational value dimensions related to genuine luxury brands and goods. This paper uses their luxury value framework to explain the values related to counterfeit consumption. This study focuses on European consumers of luxury products, specifically Italians and Germans. Using a qualitative research approach we were able to evaluate consumers’ multidimensional luxury and counterfeit consumption decision making patterns. Since counterfeit is ultimately an illegal trend, there was a risk that consumers might not want to discuss their perspectives in front of other peers (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Hence, in order to avoid the appearance of potential bias linked to social desirability issues, this research has been structured around in-depth interviews. These semi-structured interviews were informed by existing literature (Saunders et al., 2009). Overall, the sampling frame had to exhibit different socio-demographic psychographic characteristics, so to give a more widespread overview on the response type. Therefore, the sample consisted of consumers with a differentiated educational and employment background and different lifestyles. All respondents were domiciled in larger cities, which increased the possibility for previous interaction with the counterfeit market. Analysis focused on the key themes and patterns that that emerged throughout the interview process (Yin, 2011). Findings have shown how there are major differences in how German and Italian respondents value and engage with counterfeit consumption. Indeed, the research has underlined the presence of varied counterfeit value dimensions that are linked to a consumer’s own luxury values (Wiedmann et al., 2012). Moreover, while luxury consumption is motivated by a consumer’s intrinsically and extrinsically driven desires, counterfeit consumption has been assessed to be motivated more by the values attached to the financial or functional dimensions of a counterfeit product, which complies with past researches on consumer’s value consciousness and on the possibility to engage with short-term trends without the economic investment of purchasing a genuine product (Geiger-Oneto et al., 2012). The research outcome emphasises how consumers from both countries are stimulated to engage with counterfeit goods according to the values they attach to. Since the evaluated consumers are mainly also active luxury goods purchasers, who therefore are aware of and can recognise the difference between a genuine and non-genuine good, it appears as restrictive and ineffective to highlight differences between luxury and counterfeit goods. Additionally, as highlighted by Hieke (2010) and Hart et al. (2004), the more consumers grow familiar with purchasing counterfeit goods, the more they reduce dramatically the consideration they have for the illicitness of this purchase behaviour. The contribution of this study is twofold; theoretical and managerial. Using Wiedmann et al’s (2012) framework we develop theory by delineating motivations of counterfeit buying behaviour. We present practical suggestions to managers for mitigating against the negative impact of counterfeiting on legitimate luxury brands.

Global luxury jewelry brands had begun to launch their direct businesses in Korea since the 1990s, and have attained fast growth by holding events reflecting their philosophies. The purpose of this study was to analyze the background of their growth by examining the types and roles of events in Korea held by luxury jewelry brands. For the research method, the quantitative and qualitative analysis were performed about domestic events of Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Bvlgari, Chaumet, and Van Cleef & Arples during the period from 1990 to 2013. Also, theoretical study was reviewed. The results are as follows. The events are largely classified into jewelry exhibitions, jewelry shows, wedding fairs, and hybrids. The roles of such events were, first, the artification of products and, second, the contemporization of traditions. According to the findings of this study, luxury jewelry brands transmitted new emotions and values to their customers through their events in Korea, and extended their influence continuously over the Korean high-end jewelry market.

Tiffany & Co. had been recognized so highly in Korea even before its official advance to the country in 1991 that a successful jewelry company was called 'Korean Tiffany'. The purpose of this study was to explain how American brand Tiffany had been spread and recognized among Korean people by analyzing related articles and advertisements during the period from the Liberation to the 1989. The research method used in this study was the articles of newspapers and relevant literature. This is the result that, with the run of movie 'Breakfast at Tiffany's in Korea in 1962, the trade name and trademark of Tiffany were used illegally not only by jewelry traders but also by other businesses. Other luxury jewelry brands in the same period could not enjoy indirect advertising and spillover effects as good as Tiffany. As a result, a successful jewelry company was called 'Korean Tiffany' in 1989, and the expression is still valid in the country.