Co-creating luxury brands in an emerging market

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer meaning-making and brand co-creation and the role of brand value and the consumption context of luxury goods in the emerging South African market. Design/methodology/approach An extant segmentation approach that classifies luxury brand consumers into four different segments was used to guide the identification of a total of 16 luxury consumers with whom in-depth interviews were conducted. Findings The findings identify differences between four consumer segments’ levels of brand knowledge and indicate how these differing levels produce interesting meanings assigned to luxury brands which in turn co-create the brands. A framework is also proposed that maps each of the four luxury segments according to the value they derive from luxury brands and the context in which luxury consumption holds the most meaning for each segment. Practical implications Managerial recommendations concerning the implications of consumers assigning meaning and value to luxury brands and recommendations pertaining to the managing and positioning of luxury brands to each of the four luxury segments in this market are proposed. Originality/value The study provides interesting insights with regards to how consumers assign meaning and value to luxury brands in the emerging South African market. The proposed framework also uniquely demonstrates underlying behaviours within each of the four luxury segments and contributes to a better understanding of how and why these segments consume luxury brands.