Could there be a luxury brand originating from the Czech Republic? The case of the Czech watchmaker Prim

Abstract

Central Europe, due to its history, is not perceived as a region from which a luxury brand could originate while luxury is traditionally connected to Western European countries (such as France, Italy or Switzerland). Country of origin (COO) plays an important role in perception of any brand but for luxury brands the COO is usually even more important than for mainstream brands because it is an important part of the brands heritage. But despite their unfavorable origin we could observe in the last years that brands which originate from CEE region position themselves on the luxury market. The goal of this article is to investigate the COO effect for luxury brand originating in the Czech Republic- namely the watchmaker Prim- and its impact on the marketing strategy of this brand. The main research method used in this article is the case study method which combines the findings of in- depth interviewing and observations together with findings of the secondary research. The managerial implications mainly target brand managers of luxury or premium market brands originating from the Czech Republic and other countries in Central Europe.