Traditional luxury shops seem to have a natural talent in creating an atmosphere of old luxury. From a semiotic perspective, those shops use a complex texture of different signs for both creating a traditional luxury myth and addressing specific customers who are looking for this brand identity. In our study, we compile a semiotic concept for analysing a shop design which seeks to reflect old luxury and traditional heritage. While the desire for semiotic analysis in the marketing and management domain is increasing, theoretical approaches and case study analyses too often remain superficial regarding the possibilities of semiotic approaches. Our study aims to present a complex analysing concept to fill this gap and apply it to the field of luxury brand management consequently.

While semiotic research discusses many different approaches up to today, Peirce’s philosophy may be still regarded as one of the most complex concepts which allows the most precise analysis and classification of meaningful signs. On the basis of his three trichotomies and their major corresponding subcategories we analysed a traditional luxury shop design, discussing the different signs that produce simple to very complex structures of meaning with respect to approaches of creating a mythical frame.

The results of our study reflect the need of a shop design using different signs with a complex texture of meaning to support the idea of traditional luxury. From the perspective of communication theories, the semiotic patterns which are presented in our findings create a narrative frame which eventually leads to a specific myth of old luxury branding.

While Peirce’s philosophy offers a complex approach, contemporary studies in marketing and management only use the surface of semiotics. Our study may contribute a rather distinguished methodology, though further research will be necessary to apply semiotics more reasonably not only for fashion and luxury but for several fields of interests in marketing and management research.

For brand managers in companies with a traditional heritage, creating myths and classical frames must be of core interest. Our study offers several implications of using semiotic signs to create an aesthetic and old fashioned shop atmosphere.

As original values, our study compiles a complex semiotic concept to analyse mythical framing in traditional luxury stores. Our results present specific possibilities of creating specific meaning with respect to the need of representing brand identity within a shop. However, the concept may be also valid for other analyses in marketing and management such as advertising and brand semiotics in general.

• Jan Konig(Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany)
• Janina Haase(Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany)
• Nadine Hennigs(Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany)
• Klaus-Peter Wiedmann(Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany)