The communication of foreign products in China through the store: an empirical analysis

Abstract

In China foreign brands are faced with brand origin confusion, which creates benefits for local brands. Therefore, marketers should provide information related to the COO by using not only products and promotions, but also distribution. In particular, stores could be an important starting point to communicate the brand origin and image, as they represent evidence of the brand world and a powerful setting for storytelling. In order to analyse how the COO has been used by foreign (Italian) brands in the Chinese market, we examined 45 points of sale in China to check whether Italy is somehow recalled in their hard elements or during the shopping experience by using the mystery shopping research technique. The results highlight a relatively traditional, marginal, and iconic use of the COO in a market that is new, important, and highly dynamic. Some managerial implications will be discussed Classification-JEL: H12 Keywords: Country of origin; Store image; Retail; Mystery shopping; China; Foreign brands; Italy.