Global high-value luxury brands manufactured domestically: customer beliefs and attitudes in low-income emerging economies

Abstract

Faced with market saturation in developed countries, high-value luxury brand manufacturers are aggressively targeting populous emerging economies. Market development in these low incomes countries has been slow. Local production could reduce costs, improve price competitiveness and accelerate market development. However, customer proclivity to associate quality with a country's level of economic and technological advancement, symbolism associated with consuming imported brands and ethnocentric beliefs could constrain market development. Using car purchases by affluent customers in India as a surrogate indicator, this study analyses customer beliefs and attitudes towards high value luxury brand purchases manufactured domestically. The results reveal that customers are influenced by 'country-of-brand origin' rather than 'country-of-manufacture' or 'country-of-assembly' and do not have ethnocentric beliefs and attitudes. Consequently, high value developed country luxury brands can be manufactured and successfully marketed in low-income countries such as India.