Brand luxury index: a reconsideration and revision

Abstract

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to improve the original Brand Luxury Index (BLI) developed by Vigneron and Johnson to provide a practical tool for assessing consumer’s perception of the luxurious of a brand.Design/methodology/approach– The original BLI was revised through three stages: an initial scale-item generation employing a qualitative method (i.e. focus group interviews), scale purification process using statistical techniques (i.e. exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)), and scale verification process using CFA. Data (249 for scale purification, 253 for scale validation) were collected with the help of E-rewards, a marketing research company.Findings– The modified BLI contains five dimensions (i.e. quality, extended-self, hedonism, accessibility, and tradition). The number of the dimensions remained the same as the original conceptualization (i.e. conspicuousness, uniqueness, quality, hedonism, extended-self), however, the contents of those dimensions differed.Practical implications– The modified BLI can be used to monitor and manage a prestige brand in the market place. Not only can marketers of prestige brands use the index to assess consumers’ perception of the luxuriousness of their brands but also to position their brand along the desired dimension of luxuriousness.Originality/value– The modified BLI can be used to measure marketing performance of luxury brands.