This study addresses the problem caused by unhealthy = tasty intuition (UTI) when positioning innovative new categories of food products. Our research on Japanese consumers’ choice of soy meat hamburgers shows that UTI formed by the old category influences choices in the new product category.

With the expansion of various distribution channels in online and offline stores, TV, and mobile, consumers now have more information search and retail selection channels to choose from than ever before. Major retailers now use multi- and omni-channel strategies. This study focused on cross-channel consumption, which involves the use of different information search and purchase channels. Using crosschannel consumption, consumers can search for information online and then make purchases offline and vice versa. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between channel strategies and other consumer variables, and the study also assessed the effect of product type. To conduct this empirical study, the researchers developed a consumer questionnaire concerning three consumer channel strategies-on-on, cross, and off-off-and four product categories-clothing, cosmetics, books, and electronics. The results indicated that gender and marital status did not influence consumer channel strategies, but that age did have a significant influence. The analysis showed that consumers in their 40s preferred the cross channel strategy, perceiving it to be effective, satisfactory, and rewarding. Compared to other products, clothing products showed higher levels of cross channel strategies. Consumers indicated that they prefer searching for information online and then purchasing clothing offline. Overall, clothing products generated higher levels of channel satisfaction and channel switch intentions. Cross-channel clothing shoppers reported effective information retrieval times but longer delivery times.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the influences of channel assessments on the usage of multi-channels by product types, and the differences in the usage of multi-channels among product types in buying decision making process for fashion products. Data were collected from 510 consumers in their 20s to 50s with purchasing experiences through multi-channel distribution system and living in Seoul and Kyunggi province; 491 were analyzed after deleting incomplete questionnaires. Factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis by using SPSS 18.0. The results were as follows: 5 factors were extracted for channel assessment: utility, accuracy, risk, price benefit and sharing information. Price benefits, utility and sharing information for online channel tended to influence positively on the usage of online channel and online+offline channels. Accuracy and low perceived risk of offline influenced positively on offline and on+offline channel usages. The usage levels of on-line and off-line channels for cosmetics were significantly lower than the usage levels for clothes and accessories on information search, evaluation of alternatives, and purchase stages. Significant differences were also found in the usage levels of multi-channels (on+off-line) on information search and evaluation of alternatives stages. The usage levels of the multi-channels for clothes were the highest followed by those of accessories and cosmetics in order.

In early 2015, L’Oréal’s luxury cosmetics brand LANCÔME launched a product called Miracle Cushion™, a sponge soaked in liquid foundation. By integrating a cosmetic formula with a sponge in a compact case, it distinguished itself from other conventional makeup products, e.g., liquid foundation in a glass bottle or pressed powder in a portable compact. On Lancôme’s website, Miracle Cushion™ is described as follows: “a foundation revolution has arrived – liquid makeup in a cushion.” LANCÔME’s “revolution” actually originated from AMOREPACIFIC, Korea’s number one beauty group which had a sales revenue of KRW 4.7 trillion (USD 3.9 billion) in 2014. By launching Air Cushion® in March 2008, AMOREPACIFIC created a new makeup product category called “cushion.” By July 2015, the total cumulative number of AMOREPACIFIC’s cushion products sold in 13 countries was 63 million units. In 2014 alone, more than 26 million units were sold – one every 1.2 seconds. The sales revenue was KRW 641 billion (USD 542 million), which accounted for more than 13% of AMOREPACIFIC’s total revenue. AMOREPACIFIC launched Air Cushion® under IOPE, one of its premium brands. The company initially positioned Air Cushion® as sunscreen. Equipped with mass production facilities, AMOREPACIFIC sold 517,000 units of cushions in 2010, which accounted for KRW 14.5 billion (USD 12.2 million). Furthermore, the company started to automate the entire manufacturing process for cushions. With this automation, the sales revenue of Air Cushion® in 2011 reached KRW 33.6 billion (USD 28.4 million) - more than doubled compared to 2010. Obviously, it was a huge success for sunscreens under a single brand. From 2012, AMOREPACIFIC began to expand cushions for other in-house brands besides IOPE. Simultaneously, AMOREPACIFIC started to reposition cushion as makeup “foundation,” not “sunscreen.” HERA, AMOREPACIFIC’s luxury brand with a strong heritage in color makeup, took the initiative in repositioning cushion. This was also a strategic decision to diversify distribution channels: the main distribution channels of premium brands such as IOPE were Sephora-like specialty stores and discount stores whereas the primary distribution channels of luxury brands such as HERA were department stores and door-to-door networks. With HERA focused on domestic market expansion, LANEIGE, the most globalized brand of all in AMOREPACIFIC, pioneered the global market for cushions. Starting from its entry into Hong Kong and China in 2002, LANEIGE had already expanded its presence in more than 10 countries including Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Specifically, LANEIGE was perceived in most Asian countries as a cosmetics brand spearheading “K-Beauty” trends, part of the “Korean Wave” phenomenon. Thus, LANEIGE capitalized on its brand reputation accumulated over the years in the Asian market to expand cushions. LANEIGE designed a brand concept for its cushion as BB Cushion to make the most of the popularity of BB creams across Asia. In 2012, LANEIGE BB cushion was first launched in Singapore in January, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in March, and finally Taiwan in April, all prior to its release in Korea in May. Initially, it emphasized the brightening function to fulfill the demand for whitening products already popular throughout Asia. From 2013, LANEIGE started to offer a variety of product lines customized to different consumer needs from each country. For example, LANEIGE launched BB Cushion Pore Control for consumers in hot, humid areas of Southeast Asia and BB Cushion Anti-aging for consumers in extremely cold and dry areas of China. Starting with HERA and LANEIGE in 2012, AMOREPACIFIC continue to release cushions under other brands by stages - SULWHASOO, ETUDE HOUSE in 2013, and INNISFREE, MAMONDE in 2014, etc. Every cushion product launched under different brands was named “cushion.” For example, HERA UV Mist Cushion, LANEIGE BB Cushion, SULWHASOO Perfecting Cushion, ETUDE HOUSE Precious Mineral Any Cushion, INNISFREE Water Glow Cushion, MOMONDE Cover Powder Cushion, etc. With the consistent labeling, AMOREPACIFIC succeeded in categorical differentiation. Stimulated by the widespread popularity of AMOREPACIFIC’s cushion foundations, competitors followed. Among local companies, LG Household and Healthcare was the first to enter into the cushion market in August 2012. Among the foreign brands, it was Lancôme. This paper is trying to understand how to achieve breakthrough innovation and create a new product category in the mature market such as cosmetics by analyzing the case of AMOREPACIFIC’s cushion.

The limited available empirical evidence indicates that consumer ethnocentrism does not have a uniform effect on consumer buying (e.g., Klein, Ettenson & Morris 1998; Suh & Kwon 2002). The paper comes to address this gap by investigating the inconsistency of ethnocentric behaviours and the factors underlying such inconsistencies. More specifically, brand, product category and country of origin (COO) effects are examined for their impact on behavioural consumer ethnocentric bias. Contrary to the main stream of research in this area, which concentrates on general attitudes towards the products or buying intentions (e.g., Balabanis & Diamantopoulos 2004; Poon et al. 2010; Sharma etal. 1995; Shimp & Sharma 1987; Verlegh 2007; Wang & Chen 2004) this paper focuses on behavioural outcomes of consumer ethnocentrism. In addition, it adopts a more focused approach and examines the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on the purchase of specific brands, rather than the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on general product categorisations or simple foreigndomestic product dichotomies. Hypotheses are developed to explain observed differences in the behavioural effects of consumer ethnocentrism. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 468 US consumers involving purchases in 10 product categories, 432 brands and 22 countries of origin. Results confirm that product category is an important determinant of the behavioural effects of consumer ethnocentrism. Consumer ethnocentrism was found to have an impact on the purchases of the most expensive product categories rather than the frequently purchase convenient items. There is also some limited evidence regarding the moderating role of globalness of brands on the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and purchase behaviour. The cultural proximity of the country of origin of foreign brands was found to have no effect on the purchasing behaviour of ethnocentric consumers.