본 연구는 시청자의 입장에서 국내 지상파 채널에서 방영되는 드라마의 주제와 스토리의 유형을 알아보고 스토리 유형과 스토리텔링 방식이 지상파 드라마의 만족도와 지상파 채널 브랜드 태도에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 탐색한 것이다. 연구 결과를 요약하면 수용자들 이 선호하는 스토리 유형은 사랑, 전통문화, 자극, 파격(막장), 성공, 영웅/신화의 6가지로 정리 할 수 있다. 이 중 국내 지상파 드라마의 만족도에 영향을 미치는 유형은 사랑, 파격, 전통문화 로 나타났다. 스토리텔링 방식 중에는 높은 완성도, 소재의 신선함, 배우의 연기, 배경 음악이 드라마 만족도에 영향을 미쳤다. 또한 스토리 유형들과 스토리텔링 방식은 채널별 차이는 있 지만 지상파의 채널 브랜드 태도에 영향을 미치고 있었다. 지상파 채널에 대한 태도 각각에 영 향을 미치는 스토리 유형으로는 MBC의 경우 자극, KBS와 SBS의 경우 공통적으로 파격이라 는 스토리 유형이 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 스토리텔링 방식 중에는 MBC에 영향을 미 치는 요인은 발견되지 않았고 KBS에는 높은 완성도, SBS에는 스토리의 표현력과 소재의 신선 함으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구 결과는 드라마 제작에 있어 스토리텔링 전략과 방송사의 채널 브랜드 관리 차원에서 시사점을 제공하고 있다.

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.

The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents of consumers' decision postponement on purchasing fast fashion brands. Ongoing search behavior, overchoice confusion, and similarity confusion were considered as antecedents. It was hypothesized that ongoing search behavior influences decision postponement both directly and indirectly through overchoice confusion and similarity confusion. Data were gathered by surveying university students in Seoul, using convenience sampling. Three hundred five questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis, which were exploratory factor analysis using SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis using AMOS. Factor analysis proved that ongoing search behavior, overchoice confusion, similarity confusion, and decision postponement were uni-dimensions. Tests of the hypothesized path proved that ongoing search behavior influences decision postponement indirectly through overchoice confusion. In addition, similarity confusion influences decision postponement. The results suggest some confusion reduction strategies for marketers of fast fashion brands. Suggestions for future study are also discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of store attributes on brand equity of and brand attitude toward Korean SPA brands. Data were collected from women living in Seoul in ages from 18 to 39 with purchasing experience at Korean SPA brands. A total of 554 questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis including factor analysis and structure equation analysis. The results were as follows: For store attributes, 8 factors were extracted: product assortment, fashionability, price, quality, store environment, service, convenience in location and advertisement. Two factors, brand awareness, brand image were extracted for brand equity, and brand attitude was derived as a single dimension. Product-related store attributes such as product assortment, price, quality have positive effects on brand awareness, brand image and brand attitude. Other attribute such as store environment has positive effect on brand awareness and brand image, Attribute such as advertisement has positive effect on brand awareness and service, convenience in location have positive effect on brand attitude. Moreover, brand image and brand awareness have positive effect on brand attitude. These results indicate the product-related attributes are important factors to consider for improving brand equity and brand attitude for Korean SPA brands.

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.

Next to brand manufacturers, retailers are increasingly incorporating ‘green’ issues in their store brands. Although a lot of studies are devoted to comparing store brands with national brands (e.g., Steenkamp et al., 2010), there is limited research that compares these two types of brands in a ‘green’ context. This study investigated what factors influence the consumption of ‘green’ store brands and national brands by focusing on three important determinants: brand equity, store image and brand identification.Different models are tested in which we incorporate both mediating and moderating effects of these constructs on green brand consumption. Using the context of organic food brands, we conducted a longitudinal online panel study among consumers in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the US. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire and, for each country, received either a questionnaire on store brands (n = 562) or on national brands (n = 302). Multiple regression analyses showed that for store brands, brand equity and brand identification had a positive direct effect on brand consumption. Additional analyses indicated that brand equity was not mediated by store image, but that store image moderated the effect of brand equity on brand consumption. For national brands, store image and brand identification had a positive direct effect on brand consumption. Mediation analysis showed partial mediation of brand equity by store image. We did not find a moderating effect of brand equity on brand consumption for national brands.Our findings indicate that for ‘green’ store brands, the relationship between brand equity and consumption is strengthened by consumers’ image of the store. In contrast, for national brands, the relationship between consumers’ brand equity and brand consumption is not strengthened but actually partially determined by the current image of the store where that brand is sold. In addition, identification with the green brand seems to play an important role in brand consumption for both store brands and national brands.

This research tends to answer the following question: How do multinational corporations transmit their service brand to the local employees of the host country? Service brand has been discussed from the point of internal marketing, which ensures that employees can demonstrate the authentic value of the service brand in their attitudes and behaviors. However, when a corporation attempts to transmit the service brand across borders, there needs to be a balance between globalization and localization. This research intends to build a systematic internal marketing mechanism from the viewpoint of internal marketing, international service branding and subsidiary brand-specific transformational leadership. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to conduct an in-depth case study and questionnaire survey. This research provides the following theoretical and managerial contributions. Firstly, it proposes a systematic internal marketing mechanism to transmit the service brand across international borders. This includes a brand-specific leadership with cultural sensitivity, a brand norm positively led by the leader and an organizational learning system, which influences the practice of the brand norms. Secondly, in order to transmit the international service brand successfully, this paper argues that subsidiaries’ leaders should have cultural sensitivity and demonstrate a brand-specific transformational leadership style. Thirdly, the paper finds and verifies that brand-specific transformational leadership has a positive effect on the brand norms and organizational learning, which in turn affect employee brand behavior and attitude toward the company’s core brand value. Managerially, the systematic internal marketing mechanism developed by this research can enlighten those service companies who intend to expand their international scope and ascertain their service brand value is transmitted accurately and executed locally.

Via an exploratory survey we decoded the interplay of the multiple points of attachment leading the consumer to the soccer field. Results indicate that local soccer player brands’ conceptual property which lies with the shared bond of team identification and is leveraged reciprocally, adds both to the human and the organizational brand equity.

Generation Y is becoming important to marketers. Since this consumer is disloyal, more value has to be offered to him. This value can be generated through “coolness” of a brand. By means of a mixed-method approach the German Generation Y consumer is characterized and his perception of cool brands elaborated.

Consumers receive two types of WOM (word-of-mouth) information: instructional- type WOM and information-type WOM. The instructional-type WOM is WOM information about brands that have not been purchased, while the information-type is WOM about brands have been purchased before. By receiving the instructional-type WOM, consumers come to understand the functional and psychological benefits of the brand. On the other hand, consumers learn nothing about the functional and psychological benefits from information-type WOM, since they already know these benefits through their experience. The information-type WOM about a brand informs consumers that the WOM sender has used the brand and wants to talk about his/her consumption experience of the brand. Although previous research has actively investigated the effects of instructional-type WOM (e.g., Jang, Prasad, and Ratchford 2012; Liu 2006; Zhu and Zhang 2010), the effect of informational-type WOM remains virtually unexplored. When receiving information-type WOM about a brand from friends or family members, consumers are more likely to use the brand in order to build a closer relationship, and therefore fulfill their need to belong. Information-type WOM about a brand from significant others can inhibit consideration of other brands. When a person has the goal of fulfilling the belonging need, only purchasing the same brand as significant others purchase will contribute to satisfying this goal. Purchasing other brands will hinder achievement of the goal, and this impedes their consideration of other brands. The author examined the effect of information-type WOM on consideration set formation using the survey data provided by Yomiuri Advertising Company. The empirical analysis revealed that (1) information-type WOM has a greater impact on consideration than ISP and advertising (i.e., positive own-effect) and (2) information-type WOM has the effect of blocking the entry of other brands into the considerations set (i.e., negative cross-effect). These results suggest that, even for major brands, it is important to generate WOM among consumers. Although information-type WOM might seem to be trivial, this type of WOM function as means to avoid competition in consumers’ consideration sets.

Social media, Web 2.0 based social activity and powerful marketing tool, brought about a new paradigm for the 21st century culture and society. In line with the trend, the fashion industry is vigorously undertaking marketing activities on social media, seeking to build and maintain relationships with their customers through the Internet and mobile devices. The one-way provision of information by firms to customers has evolved to a symmetrical form of customers, whereby the customers also supply information to the firms share information with other customers. Through social media services, customers not only share their thoughts and experiences but also exchange tangible products and publicize the products, thereby directly participating in production and marketing activities of brands. Such participation of consumers offers inspirations for differentiated service on the part of the brands, for which proactive and long-term participatory activities of customers are required. Customer participation is of primary importance in current service marketing industry. Until now, related literature on customer participation has mostly centered on offline service situations. However, the advent of social media has simplified the process of participation for customers, and invoking voluntary customer participation has become the greatest challenge facing service industries, and, at the same time, the path to success. Those of us who live in the age of information technology are offered the opportunity to engage in two-way communication with other customers, the brand, and the media. Thus, customer participation is just as, if not, more important in an online environment. More and more customers are becoming directly involved in brand activities, which affect the brands as well as the customers themselves. Nonetheless, extant customer participation research focuses on developing constructs that are largely based on offline situations. Although such constructs correspond in part to the online setting, they fall short of meeting the unique characteristics of customer participation in social media. Therefore, in order to establish constructs for customer participation in social media, revision and supplementation of the offline-based constructs were found to be necessary. Based on interaction theory, this study explored the notion of customer participation in fashion brands’ social networking site (SNS) service by categorizing it into three types: customer-customer, customer-brand, and customer-media participation. In addition, it examined the external factors that influence customer social participation and how active social participation of customers in SNS affects trust and customer equity. The association between measurement variables according to the brand type was also closely examined. This study underwent two pre-tests to revise and supplement the survey items on customer social participation. A preliminary investigation was conducted on 516 respondents, and a total of 582 respondents participated in the main investigation. The respondents who were invited to participate lived in Korea, were in their 20s or 30s, and had previous experience in using fashion brands’ SNS service, SPSS 18.0 was used to conduct frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and t-test. Based on the results, AMOS 18.0 was used to undergo confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results of the study are summarized as follows. Based on the brand type (SPA and luxury) and the rate of sales, Uniqlo, a global SPA brand that boasts the largest number of SNS fans, and Louis Vuitton, a global luxury brand, were chosen for the study. The respondents consisted of consumers in their 20s and the 30s who, within the last six months, had previous experience in using the SNS service of the brands. The sample consisted of 40.7% male and 59.6% female, and 72.5% were in their 20s and 27.5% in 30s. A large percentage of the respondents were students (64.9%). The large proportion of university students reflects the trend of most active users of SNS being university students. Second, SNS service shopping context found positive association with customer-customer participation and customer-brand participation, but customer-media participation was insignificant. The results show that as the SNS is characterized by its linkage to different websites and platforms, customers are exposed to constant opportunities for participation. On the other hand, customer-media participation was found to be insignificant, which can be interpreted as indiscriminate constant supply of information that seeks to spur impulsive buying leading to antagonism of the customers. Such negative situations can be avoided by departing from indiscriminate provision of information to offering information that is customized to the needs and demands of each customer and invoking the customer to participate in information delivery. Third, SNS participation motivation and customer social participation were all positively associated. In particular, customer-media participation demonstrated the strongest influence, followed by customer-customer and customer-brand participation. As such, active participation of the customer with the brand is the most effective way to create collaborative, synergy effect or co-creation. Fourth, all routes from SNS user orientation to customer social participation were significant. SNS users in general possessed high levels of self-efficacy and tended to feel elevated as well as find altruistic pleasure in providing information that would help others. Such users participate through numerous ways such as customer-brand and customer-media participation but were the most active in customer-customer participation. Fifth, it was found that customer-customer and customer-brand participation builds trust of the customers toward the SNS service and the information or the information provider. However, customer-media participation did not indicate the same results. In order to build trust through participation, brands need to provide an inviting environment for customers to post comments and share information. Furthermore, marketing strategies, such as offering events and coupons to stimulate E-WOM activities of customers as well as creating a space for open communication are vital to building trust. Sixth, customer-media participation was positively associated with customer equity. Unlike customer-customer and customer-brand participation which requires constant physical effort of the customer, customer-media participation demands considerably less time and effort apart from the initial stages during which customization process is undergone to receive tailored information with just one click. Therefore, establishing convenient and practical system that targets the Y-generation in their 20s and 30s is emphasized in order to maintain a long-term relationship. Seventh, trust is positively associated with customer equity. Building trust is based on interactivity among people. This study found that customer-customer participation and customer-brand participation influence customer equity through trust, while customer-media participation leads to customer equity without being mediated by trust. Therefore, all three types of participation are equally important to customer equity. Eighth, brand type was a meaningful moderator to the relationship between SNS service shopping context, SNS service user orientation, participation motivation, customer social participation, trust, and customer equity. To summarize, the type of participation to encourage is based on the brand type, and as customers may have different expectations according to the brand, it is important to understand their orientations and provide customized information or an open space for communication. In addition, participation behavior has a strong potential to influence customer equity, but depending on the type of participation, trust may not necessarily positively influence customer equity. Therefore, it is recommended that brands offer credible and sincere information that customers can trust and follow. The significance of this study is that it is one of the first studies to examine customer participation in a social media environment. At a point in time where customers’ value creation is attracting increased attention, this study empirically revealed that customer-media relationship, which enables customer-customer and customer-brand participation on SNS, is also within the bounds of participation. Furthermore, this study identified the importance of relational marketing approach to brand and customer through customer social participation. By applying the concept of customer equity, which is in its fledgling stage in the area of consumer fashion marketing, it offers a basis for future research on long-term relationship building with firms The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed below. The sample of the study consisted of Koreans between the ages of 20 to 30. The limitation in the sample is inadequate to generalize the findings, and therefore, a comparative study with broader sample across culture and age is necessary. Moreover, this study observed customer participation on SNS environment. However, as there was a lack of preceding literature in this area, the measurement scales were revised and supplemented to fit the purpose of this study. The measurement instrument, therefore, needs to be further applied with different antecedents and consequences in subsequent research. Finally, due to the lack of previous literature on customer participation in SNS environment, the theoretical basis of the relationship between the variables lacked solidity. This study adapted a part of a theoretical framework to fit the context of the study to come up with the hypothesized relationship between the variables. Therefore, it is suggested that future research works toward developing and strengthening the theoretical framework of customer social participation.

Launched in 2008 and 2010 respectively, Instagram and Pinterest are two of the fasted growing social media platforms with 220 million users combined (Leverage 2014, Techcrunch 2014, Loren & Swiderski 2012). Their success is due to their simplicity and a focus on visuals rather than text, furthermore they are described as platforms with strategic potential for fashion brands (Wired 2012). Despite this, many fashion brands have been slow to engage with them. However the Huffington Post (2012) suggests that the visual social media has a wide appeal with respect to both brand positioning and increasing awareness. Recent research by Mashable (2014) highlights that referral traffic and spend is higher from Pinterest users than Facebook users, and this contributes to the rationale for study. The aim of this reseach is twofold, firstly it is to explore the reasons for the utilisation of visual social media platforms within a fashion brands marketing planning cycle, and second it seeks to identify the strategic and operational ways in which fashion brands can use them. For the purpose of this paper only Instagram and Pinterest are investigated. Using a qualitative and inductive approach, the study will use in-depth elite interviews with 6 UK fashion brands (2 Luxury, 2 mid-market, 2 value) alongside content analysis of their platforms. This will enable the research to also consider how each platform can be harnessed at different levels of the market therefore contributing to the lack of empirical applied research in this area.

In the first part we aim to present a new tool to better understand implicit consumer associations, perceptions and impact. The second one is to show how this tool uncovers new and often counterintuitive insights regarding emotional percepts of soccer megastars, including Lionel Messi. BIOCODE™ is a reaction time based method, determines the strength of implicit, i.e. instinctive, immediate, automated or emotional conviction people have to things they say, such as perceptions of a brand or a celebrity, reactions to an ad, liking of a product or intent to vote for a political candidate. It captures how consumers are impacted by brands, ads, products, packages and concepts in contrast to what they overtly say in a declarative, more considered, explicit realm. In essence, we ask to answer (on-line or central location) simple questions about a brand, a person or a product. Consumers’ explicit and rational statements are important but assessing those responses in the context of the time their brains need to produce an answer gives a new perspective and competitive edge. The standardized reaction time index reveals consumers’ true and unbiased reactions. Importantly, these implicit emotional reactions tend to predict actual behavior closer than explicit rational declarations. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) - the first method based on assessing reaction times - was developed in 1998 by Anthony Greenwald to finally capture racial prejudice and other sensitive issues. Before IAT traditional paper & pencil questionnaires due to overt or hidden distortions had hard time proving the existence of racism. What is the cognitive mechanism beyond reaction time based methodology? By recording how much time a consumer’s brain needs to produce an indication of an attitude or preference we discover how easily accessible (and thus how instrumental) such emotion is. The quicker the indication is, the more accessible it gets. The foundations of this neuropsychological phenomena were first described by Donald Hebb in his ‘Consolidation of the Memory Trace’ theory (1948) and then refined by Russell Fazio in his ‘Attitude Accessibility’ model (1989), Daniel Schacter’s ‘Implicit Memory’ theory (1992) as well as Mahzarin Banaji & Anthony Greenwald in their concept of ‘Implicit Social Cognition’ (1994). Rafal Ohme and his team began working with the original, academic form of IAT. Their goal was to bridge the use of the tool to market research applications. Now with over 15 years of subsequent R&D in this area, they have created simplified, user friendly research applications that are unequaled in their ability to measure previously unanswerable questions about the degree of emotional valence or “felt intensity” that is associated with what people say. BIOCODE™ is the second generation of latency measures. Comparing with IAT - the first generation of academic reaction time methods it is: easier, simpler, clearer, looks better and there is no need for repetitions which saves a lot of precious on-line time. BIOCODE™ is based upon highly refined technology that calibrate individual response speeds and eliminate biasing variables. The technology includes: noise reduction algorithm; quality control module; context procedures; calibration. It secures the highest validity of measurements. In the test – retest validation conducted on 11 studies held internally and externally in 2009-2013 the correlations obtained ranged from r = 0,840 to r = 0,960 (conducted on various target groups of high incidence that met all the criteria for the test; demographic characteristics were controlled and groups were homogenous. Together with Manabu Mori from Rakuten Research - one of the top on-line research company – Rafal Ohme have designed the first ever cross-cultural reaction time test on soccer celebrities. Nearly 900 on-line respondents from three continents: South America, Europe and Asia were asked to indicate (on a computer screen, using a regular mouse or a key-pad) whether they agree or disagree (5-point Likert’s scale) with the attitudinal statements on specific personality traits of soccer celebrities, eg. hard working, talented, famous, loving their country. This explicit rational response has been accompanied by implicit emotional reaction. The aim of the study was to by-pass the “rationality bias” and reveal true emotional reactions about soccer celebrities including: Leo Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Neymar jr, Shinji Kagawa. The selected findings will be disclosed during the presentation. Concluding, BIOCODE™ is a sensitive detector of consumer ‘lip service’ that is often driven by benefit of the doubt, political correctness and simple deference to leadership brands. If we want to understand consumers, it serves to know the gap between what people say and how they feel. It is a very promising, fast growing method with established advanced applications for copy testing, tracking, brand strategy, political polling, product, package and concept testing worldwide. Moreover it is effective as a module embedded within more traditional surveys for providing a seamless integrated perspective on both explicit and implicit aspects of consumer behavior to enrich our understanding of what consumers truly feel and what drives their behavior.

This article addresses the potential of reputable brands to overcome the lack of tangibility that characterizes the process of e-commerce. In a sequential argument, the authors propose that (1) the brand becomes more important in online than in offline channels, as a consequence of the intangibility or lack of physical contact in online purchasing processes; (2) the limitations associated with the need for touch and the lack of access to the physical product during the buying process does not have equal importance across all product categories; and (3) the role of the brand in online channels thus is more relevant if the product category is associated with a higher need for touch. To provide empirical evidence regarding the hypotheses, we performed an experiment that combined three treatments: (1) leader versus non-leader brand, (2) online versus offline channel, and (3) product category with higher versus lower need for touch. We show that the most recognized brands exert a positive effect on product evaluations, regardless of the technical characteristics and other objective product attributes. This advantage may be greater in online channels, though only for product categories for which the lack of physical contact with the product during the purchase process is an important limitation. In such cases, brand associations can compensate for intangibility during purchase.We also confirm that the product categories differ in their level of need for touch and the extent to which consumers desire physical contact with the product during the buying process. These results demonstrate that building strong brands is a key competitive advantage for manufacturers. Brand reputation becomes even more crucial when selling products in electronic channels, at least if the product itself entails a greater need for touch prior to purchase. For such products, strong brands can make up for the intangibility of e-commerce, so this effort represents a key competitive strategy in such channels. Moreover, leading brands can leverage their competitive advantage to enhance their performance in the increasingly prominent realm of e-commerce. E-retailers need to make careful decisions regarding the configuration of the assortment, taking into account the nature of the product category. They should strengthen their focus on developing highly recognizable brands, because the lack of physical contact is an important purchase inhibitor in this shopping channel. However, the brand criterion may be less important if the choice between online and offline shopping is not particularly affected by the opportunity to touch or feel the products.

The origins of modern Consumerism can be traced back to the eighteenth century, whereby the concept ofconsumer societies began to flourish in the European block (Stearns, 2001).These were the economies that formed the hub of commercial activities, having had an access to the global products. Furthermore, post Second World War culminated into the ‗economy of abundance‘ as has been rightly suggested by Galbraith in his book ‗The affluent society‘, (1958). This affluence was the result of industrialization and technological revolution in United States and other developed countries that led to the mass production of goods and henceforth increased individuals‘standard of living. 21st century witnessed mushrooming growth in branded goods and consumer‘s aspiration to endlessly spend on luxury goods items. Since then there has been a continuous temptation on consumers end to spend extravagantly and acquire prestigious goods to appear more urbane, chic and sophisticated. Consumers choice of luxury brands is also considered as social indicators that also serve as an artifact for the reflection of their status, eminence and position in Society (Power and Hauge, 2008) Consumers incessant desire to spend on high end luxury brands such as Channel, Burberry, Gucci and Rolex have compelled researchers to understand the prime motivators and determinant factors that instigate consumer behavior towards branded goods. This paper seeks to understand the factors that influence consumer‘s selection of luxury brands in Pakistan and specifically those attributes on the basis of which different product categories are selected. The subsequent text reflects on the literature review related to consumer behavior towards conspicuous goods consumption with specific reference to luxury goods market in Asia and Pakistan.

Chinese nationals already make up one quarter of global luxury consumption and therefore represent the biggest group of luxury consumers worldwide (Bain & Co, 2012). It seems that there exists a considerable imbalance between the Chinese consumption and production of luxury. Many Western luxury consumers can hardly name a single Chinese luxury brand. However, although it is not on the radar of many experts and most consumers yet, the luxury business community in China is already emerging in big steps. China became an important manufacturing hub for semi-finished luxury products, which already helped building-up industry-specific know-how. The country is also best representing the entrepreneurial spirit in the luxury segment; there is a variety of Western and Chinese market players setting up China-specific luxury brands. New Chinese luxury brands include, for instance, Longio (watches), Mary Ching (shoes), NE Tiger (wedding dresses), Qeelin (jewelry) and Shang Xia (apparel, interior decoration; Heine and Phan, 2013). For the last decades, consumers and marketers strongly believed in the basic principle: Western stuff is hot – and Chinese stuff is not (O'Cass and Siahtiri, 2013). So are Chinese consumers actually ready for Chinese luxury brands? The objective of this paper is to analyze the challenges and strategies of Chinese luxury start-ups – with reference to the attitudes and preferences of Chinese luxury consumers. As Chinese luxury consumers and brands are still underexplored objects of investigation, which cannot be understood adequately by mere quantitative research, we employ an explorative approach with reference to the Grounded Theory. Based on a selection of (potential) Chinese luxury brands, we derive criteria that help answering the question: What are actually Chinese Luxury Brands? The “Chineseness” of a luxury brand depends, for instance, on the location of its headquarters (Mainland, Hongkong or even Taiwan) and the nationality of key people involved including the founders, designers, artisans and the CEO. Based on an analysis of potential Chinese luxury brands, we identified nine major types of players in the Chinese luxury market and their strategies to create Chinese luxury brands. Major Chinese luxury players include, for instance, Western luxury corporations, Chinese designers and Chinese (state-controlled) corporations. It already became quite common for Western luxury corporations to set-up their own more or less “Chinese” luxury brand. For instance, Hermès created Shang Xia and Estée Lauder Osiao (cosmetics). Other options for Western luxury brands include taking over Chinese luxury ventures (such as Shanghai Tang by Richemont) or acquiring Chinese premium brands or traditional Chinese handicraft brands in order to upgrade them into luxury brands. This is done, for instance, by LVMH group, who acquired a majority share in the time-honored winemaker Changyu. Many well-known Western luxury brands such Chanel or Dior were set up by designers. Accordingly, there exist already some successful Chinese fashion designer brands such as NE Tiger (since 1992 by Zhifeng Zhang), Maryma (by Mary Ma since 1999), Rose Studio (by Guo Pei since 1997), and Xander Zhou (since 2007), who may develop into (international) luxury brands. Similar to entrepreneurs, some big Chinese (state-controlled) corporations corporations aim expanding into the luxury segment because they expect attractive business opportunities, but may also aim to improve their corporate and/or brand image. Examples include Shanghai Vive by Jahwa group and SheJi-Sorgere by China Garments group. The combination of market players and their desire and strategies in creating country-specific luxury brands is truly unique to China. For instance, big luxury houses such LVMH never perceived another market such as Germany or the US as that specific and above all relevant enough to set up a specific luxury brand especially for that market. In the subsequent section, the paper shifts its focus to the Chinese luxury consumers. At the very core of this discussion lie the mobile and multi-faceted (and sometimes ambiguous) associations of China with luxury perception (Rovai 2014). These relate to both consumer behavior (the Chinese market for luxury) and production (the reputation of Chinese producers of luxury goods and services). Based on a content-analysis of current literature and press, we categorize and discuss the factors that may impact the attitudes of Chinese consumers towards Chinese luxury brands with reference to the major luxury consumer segments in China. These factors include, for instance, the increased sophistication of consumers, the international exposure of Chinese consumers, the rejection of “potlatch behaviour”, the empowerment of women in Chinese society, the emergence of a creative class in China, the slow fashion movement, the reversal of intergenerational influences, and the “sinofication” trend – the New Cultural Revolution led by the “young emperors” (or “Sugar Generation”), the generation born after 1978 (Wang and He, 2014). Subsequently, we are analyzing the attitudes and preferences of Chinese luxury consumers with a small-scale qualitative survey. We concentrate on the “young emperors” generation and especially on the segments of white collar workers and the second generation rich. We conducted several in-depth interviews about their luxury preferences and then, following an empathic research approach, we went shopping together with the respondents to develop a better and real-life understanding of these luxury consumer segments. The results are content-analyzed and presented with reference to case studies of Chinese luxury brands. On the one hand, the sophistication and sinofication trends of the Chinese creative class may threaten the big Western luxury brands, but on the other hand, they create a basis for the development of Chinese luxury start-ups and increases the chances of Western luxury SME’s and connoisseur brands in China. Based on our analysis of the Chinese luxury consumer behavior, the paper concludes with some recommendations for the development of luxury brands in China.

Purpose The current rapid growth of internet-based commerce is putting pressure on brick-and-mortar retail outlets due to an urge to redefine the role of store spaces from sales channel to, among others, a branding instrument (Hines & Bruce 2008, Nobbs et al 2013). Differentiation in the fashion business being mostly based on non-tangible, emotional, produt attributes, fashion brands recognise the importance of offering a three dimensional environment in order for people to ‘experience’ the brand (WGSN 2014, Lea-Greenwood 2013, Easey 2008). The increased amount of flagship and (or) concept stores must be understood in this context. However, given the need for a clearly identifiable brand identity, one could argue that, depending on a brand’s idiosyncratic identity, sometimes a flagship store might be superfluous, or else it should present different features and chatracteristics. So for instance the introduction of what are commonly know as ‘third spaces’ in stores goes at the expense of space where garmets could be stocked, and thus impacts an important metric like turnover per square meter. Hence, in the context of flagship stores, the questions arise of 1) should every fashion brand have a flagship store? or else: 2) given that a brand has a flagship store: is there a relationship between its symbolic value some flagship store’s characteristics? Design/Methodology The methodological stance in this paper is mainly interpretative, as we aim at a richer understanding of the relationship between branding and retailing. At first a large number of qualitative data (22 interviews and 678 store observations) have been collected about characteristics of flagship stores around the globe. Afterwards the brands, owners of the stores, have been classified according to their Glue Value, i.e. according to the benefits that the symbolic value of the brand implies. We have then looked for a corrispondence between the store features and the brand that would reflect the Glue Value dimension. Findings We have found partial evidence of a correspondence between the glue value of a brand and its flagship store’s characteristics. We hypothesise this might be due to two main reasons 1) brands with a lower glue value tend to profile emotional rather than functional values, and attempt to portray that in a store with mixed results (literally). Secondly it is clear that the location and ownership of the store has a major impact on the need to fulfill ‘harder’short term financial goals (like e.g. turnover per square meter). Limitations One main limitation in this study is the self-selection bias. As normally brands with a higher glue value feel the need for a flagship store , the data could be richer and results more valid if we did include data from a wider range of store typologies. Social/Managerial implications The outcomes suggest that brand owners are seldom aware of the longer-term strategic function of their stores. Especially given the growth of internet based transactions, we offer a framewokr for brand owners to rethink the role of their stores in the context of their branding strategy. Also we suggest that, as with strategy (cfr Michael Porter) making a unique and definitive choice about the role and function of a store is increasingly important for the perception of a brand’s identity. Originality To our knowledge som eauthors suggest a relation between branding and distribution strategy, but little work has been done that tends to infer a relationship between a brand’s characteristics and the physical characteristics of its retail outlets.

Sales of luxury goods have increased drastically in the Asian marketplace over the past decade and therefore imply high potential for further future developments. While Japan has been an important market to luxury brands for a longer period of time, especially China and South Korea have gained in importance due to high sales volumes and increased desire to purchase luxury goods. Especially due to the economic crisis in Europe, luxury brands have to focus on the potential of these emrging Asian countries. In order to adapt and improve the marketing communication strategies successfully to the respective countries, an intensive analysis of the local luxury market, local competitors and the performance of leading luxury brands have to be examined. This is especially crucial to luxury brands since consumers are highly sensitive to the brand image and identitty which is why marketing strategies and brand positioning have to be considered carefully. The purpose of this study is 1) to examine the current luxury market in Japan, China and South Korea according to major fashion industries; 2) to analyze the critical success factors and marketing strategies of leading and aspiring local and global fashion luxury brands in the respective country 3) to give meaningful implications for existing and aspiring luxury brands. For that, after giving an overview of the luxury market in the respective country, case studies on leading and aspiring luxury brands in the major fashion cities (Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo) will be conducted to examine critical success factors. By that, we will give an overview on the market entry and marketing strategy, such as social media, the usage of IT, and general ads as well as retail trends and communication channels. The findings indicate the current trends of luxury fashion brands in China, South Kore and Japan. Through this data review, case studies and suggestions, both academia and industry will gain important insights of the current tendencies of brands and consumers. Global marketers will understand the Asian luxury market better; local brands may find implications of how to enter other Asian markets and aspiring brands can learn about the critical success factors in the market.

The luxury market has expanded out of its traditional niche of elite and hit the middle-class consumer; this is part of the brand extension strategies. The goal of the research is to examine whether consumers perceive different degrees of "luxuriousness" among luxury brands using different brand name extension strategies. Kowalczyk (2010) proposed that a downward vertical extension is related to the dilution of the mother luxury brand. Corroborating this idea Kim, Lavacke and Smith (2001) indicate that the introduction of any vertical brand extension, whether up or down, has a negative impact on consumer evaluation of the parent brand. The results of Hennigs et al (2013) are not clear about the effects of downward extension. This exploratory study presents a quantitative approach; a survey was conducted with consumers who had purchased one luxury goods in the last 12 months (judgement sample). The hypothesis are: H1- The consumer perceives different levels of prestige among luxury brands; H2 – consumers evaluate differently a brand using different brand name strategies in brand extension. Results reveal that consumers perceived different degrees of prestige among brands (F = 19.260, sig.000). The results showed that the Chanel is the brand with a higher degree of prestige with an average of 8.01, the second luxurious brand was the Giorgio Armani (7.40), followed by Emporio Armani (6.28), Diesel (6.13), Armani Jeans (5.77), Calvin Klein (5.43) and finally the less prestigious degree was the Armani Exchange (5.22).Although these are data cannot be extrapolated to the whole population there is evidence that Brazilian consumers evaluate luxury brands inside a range of perceived luxuriousness. Further studies should use a conclusive method to verify the impact of brand extension on the degree of perceived luxury. Chanel (mean = 8.0111, Sd = 2.60393) and Giorgio Armani (mean = 7.4028, Sd= 2.59494) brand are identified as possessing the highest degree of luxury. So this exploratory study can raise the hypothesis to be tested in the future that the strategy of the name being used does not impact on the degree of perceived luxury brand mother. The trademark dilution may occur in the group of lowest degree of luxury (such as Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange.

Despite the recent economic downturn, the worldwide sales of luxury fashion brands have increased. The luxury fashion market may have become more profitable and yet, at the same time, more competitive. The relationship between consumers and a luxury fashion brand is the type of relation that starts with an affinity towards a particular brand name and is manifested through the purchase of the goods (Okonkwo 2007).Luxury consumption generally involves purchasing luxury products and brands which can symbolise luxury values to an individual. Even though luxury consumption has always been associated with prestige-seeking behaviour, it goes beyond that. Consumers nowadays are looking for luxury brands and goods that are able to fulfil their own functional and emotional values or, specifically, perceived luxury values. Advertising is essential in selling luxury brands and most luxury brands are willing to invest in advertising. One of the main objectives of luxury brand advertising is to help consumers develop a good understanding of the perceived values that luxury brands can offer as compared to non-luxury brands. Only after perceived luxury values are well understood, will consumers be persuaded to purchase the brands. Luxury fashion brands are one of the most profitable and fastest-growing luxury sectors, yet at the same time most researchers tend to agree that the value perceptions associated with luxury fashion brands are poorly understood and under-investigated. Values in general can be regarded as beliefs that guide the selection or evaluation of desirable behaviours or end states (Schultz & Zelezny 1999). Luxury values explain why consumers desire and purchase one luxury brand rather than another. This is because luxury values associated with a specific luxury fashion brand influences consumers’ preference over another brand. There is a wealth of models for perceived luxury values and many researchers have attempted to measure perceived luxury values. Previous research has revealed that luxury values may consist of multiple dimensions. For example, luxury values may involve exclusivity, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand identity (Phau & Prendergast 2000). Vigneron & Johnson (2004) proposed five perceived luxury values which comprise conspicuous value, uniqueness value, quality value, hedonic value, and extended self-value. Subsequent to the study done by Vigneron & Johnson (2004), Wiedmann, Hennigs & Siebels (2007) extended and summarised nine perceived luxury values in relation to luxury fashion brand consumption which are: price value, usability value, quality value, uniqueness value, self-identity value, hedonic value, materialistic value, conspicuousness value and prestige value.Gender, in particular, has not been carefully examined in the luxury context. Since many luxury fashion brands are purchased as gifts for the opposite gender, good understandings of the gender differences in perceptions towards key luxury values becomes essential in this luxury market. Extended from Wiedmann et al.’s study (2007) and using a two (male and female endorser) by two (male and female consumer) factorial and quasi-experimental design, this study examines the impact of gender on consumer responses to seven key luxury values, including the appearance, quality, uniqueness, materialistic, hedonic, conspicuous, and prestige value. The sample included more than three hundred young consumers in Australia. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the validity and reliability of each value construct. T-tests were conducted to examine the difference between the male and female consumers with regards to each of the luxury value. The study found that, when exposed to the male-endorser advertisement, male and female consumers have significant different perceptions towards only three key luxury values including appearance, hedonic and prestige value. However, when exposed to the female-endorser advertisement, male and female consumers have different perceptions on all of the key values examined except the materialistic and quality value. The results reveal that gender is a key consideration in luxury brand marketing, particularly in the context of new luxury brand advertising. On one hand, the same advertisement may lead to different consumer perceptions on the luxury values of the advertised brand. On the other hand, some key perceived values (such as quality or materialistic) may not be influenced by gender (neither the gender of the endorser or the consumer). The findings of this study are important as they enable luxury marketers to understand the impact of gender in luxury brand marketing. The implications go beyond luxury fashion brands to other sectors of the luxury market.