Luxury product to service brand extension and brand equity transfer

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to establish a framework for the study of luxury brand extension and to discover whether the brand equity of the parent product brand can be transferred to the extended service brand. Despite many benefits achieved by implementing successful brand extension strategies in the luxury industry, there are several obstacles that negatively influence both the extended brand and the parent brand. Because a negative effect of the vertical brand extension was found in past studies, this study focused on the horizontal brand extension to evaluate and predict possible positive outcomes in the horizontal brand extension process. Thus, this study investigates the role of brand equity, especially when the luxury brand was used to introduce upscaled service brands, in relation to a theoretical framework of brand equity. Additionally, the difference in the purchase intention among demographic groups was examined as it might offer an opportunity for developing a new strategy.