High-end Brands Research Articles

Are luxury and fashion opposite concepts A cross-country empirical analysis

The term 'luxury fashion' is used to refer to a specific segment within the fashion category, but the intrinsic meanings of the words 'luxury' and 'fashion' have little in common. Although both luxury and fashion aim to ignite distinction and desire, they have opposite relationships with temporality. Moreover, the management of fashion brands differs fundamentally from the management of luxury brands. But how do consumers perceive these concepts? Do they perceive them as opposites? The authors analyse consumers' perceptions of 60 high-end brands from various sectors and across six countries (USA, China, Japan, Brazil, Germany, and France) to find that perceptions of products as luxury brands contribute positively to their desirability, whereas (with the exception of China) perceptions of products as fashion brands negatively affect their desirability. This study shows that luxury brands should be managed cautiously; if they become too fashionable, their pricing and desirability may be jeopardised over time.

Do the brand and packaging matter? The case of hotel bathroom amenities

PurposeCreating memorable experiences for customers at the individual property is one of the primary goals in hotel management across all segments. Adopting the concept of the ingredient branding, this study aims to attempt to identify the effects of bathroom amenity brands on customers' attitudes toward the hotel brand image and their behavior intentions toward a hotel brand. Specifically, this study assesses the importance of bathroom amenities on customer experience. It also examines the effects of bathroom amenity and their sustainable practices on hotel brand image and behavior intentions. Lastly, it provides suggestions for hoteliers in selecting right and appealing bathroom amenities while enhancing customers' hotel experience.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a 3 (hotel service level: economy, midscale, vs luxury) × 2 (bathroom amenity brand: luxury vs general) × 2 (bathroom amenity packaging: bottle vs dispenser) between-subjects experimental design. A total of 557 useable surveys were obtained to test the study's hypotheses.FindingsThe results reveal that customers had a better hotel image when high-end brand bathroom amenities in a bottle were offered. Specifically, when economy hotels provided high-end brand bathroom amenities, customers had a better hotel image, which lead to strong return intentions. Typically, bathroom amenities in the bottle were perceived better than those in the dispenser when it came to the hotel image.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study reconfirm that the level of hotel service, bathroom amenity brand and bathroom amenity packaging jointly affect hotels' overall image. Specifically, the generic bathroom amenity in the dispenser somewhat degrades the image of the hotel for economy hotels; however, the image of hotel is not significantly affected by the type of bathroom packaging when the hotel has luxury bathroom amenities. Thus, hotel management should pay more attention to selecting the bathroom amenity brand, which can offer more memorable experience for customers.Originality/valueLittle research has been documented on the effects of hotel bathroom amenity brands on customers' attitudes toward hotel brand image and their psychological behaviors in the hotel industry, lacking rigorous theoretical examinations. The current study provides several important contributions not only to the body of knowledge but to the hotel industry.

Does beauty have a price? The impact of a conceptualization of beauty on the price placebo effect in Turkey compared to New Zealand

PurposeMarketers of beauty products capitalize on consumers’ perception of beauty to enact a price placebo effect through setting high prices to insinuate a superior performing product. Yet, in the context of growing alternative beauty movements emphasizing inner beauty and self-acceptance, little is known on how the effect of price on a product’s perceived effectiveness and satisfaction is bounded by different modes of beauty conceptualization (BC). Hence, this study aims to investigate how distinct perceptions of beauty impact the effectiveness-based and satisfaction-based price placebo effects in Muslim-majority markets such as Turkey compared to markets largely driven by Western values such as New Zealand.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on a quasi-experimental factorial design based on the manipulation of the level of price for a beauty product and the observation of the extent of BC. The sample included 144 participants from Turkey and 147 participants from New Zealand.FindingsThis research finds that the manipulation of the price (low vs high) equally activates the effectiveness-centered price placebo effect in both countries. When expectations are taken into account, the (satisfaction-based) price placebo effect is non-existent in New Zealand, while in Turkey the higher price leads to an opposite effect: a significant decrease in satisfaction. It is also found that the effect of price on effectiveness is moderated by BC. In both countries, the price placebo effect is activated only when consumers narrowly conceptualize beauty, while this effect does not hold for broad conceptualizers. The effect of BC on the price placebo appears to be stronger in New Zealand in comparison to Turkey.Practical implicationsMarketing managers’ awareness of different perceptions of beauty and how these may influence the price placebo effect in different cultures would allow them to decide what strategies are most appropriate for different groups of customers. For example, by pursuing the movement toward inner beauty and its broad conceptualization, high-end brands are likely to compromise opportunities to capitalize on the price placebo effect. On the other hand, this alternative perspective may cultivate profound satisfaction in the long-term.Social implicationsThe price placebo effect disappears when people conceptualize beauty from a broad (inner) perspective. This suggests that public policymakers, to counteract the negative effects of misleading marketing and to create fair exchanges, must promote broad BC in society.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the body of the existing research on price placebo by offering unique insights into the boundary conditions of the price placebo effect underscored by BC in two distinct cultural-religious settings. Also, it proposes two different variations of price placebo, namely, effectiveness-centered vs satisfaction-centered. From a methodological point of view, it is the first project in the Islamic marketing discipline that applies the Islamic perspective on causality.

Study on the Impact of Withdrawal of Subsidy Policy for NEV Enterprises and Coping Strategy

Against the backdrop of rapid withdrawal of the NEV subsidy policy, the paper has built a calculation model to evaluate the price increase pressure upon NEV under different levels. The study has found that BEVs are confronted with greater pressure of price increase than their plug-in hybrid counterparts, and SUVs will get rid of price increase pressure more quickly than sedans. In response to the upcoming non-subsidy era, enterprises are actively planning strategies such as building high-end brands, building product platform, conventional energy vehicles and new energy vehicle sold on different networks, surrendering part of the profits, joint promotion by governments and enterprises, innovative business models, etc. At last, the study has also proposed different strategic suggestions for different types of enterprises.

One-Way Substitution Newsboy Problem under Retailer’s Budget Constraint

One-way substitution means that when low-end brand goods are sold out, high-end brand goods can be offered to consumers as substitute goods, but not the opposite. In realistic economic activity, “shortage of funds” is a common practical problem for the retailer in making order decision. This paper proposes a nonlinear optimization model with the retailer’s budget to study the optimal order quantities and substitution discount for two one-way substitution products under a stochastic demand scenario, and the objective is to maximize the retailer’s revenue. We solve the model mainly according to the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) theorem and present the conditions of optimal decisions. Finally, through the numerical study, we analyze the influence of the budget constraint and other parameters on the optimal solutions.

Visible and Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Discriminant Analysis Applied to Brand Identification of Wine

High-end wine brand is made through the use of high-quality grape variety and yeast strain, and through a unique process. Not only is it rich in nutrients, but also it has a unique taste and a fragrant scent. Brand identification of wine is difficult and complex because of high similarity. In this paper, visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to explore the feasibility of wine brand identification. Chilean Aoyo wine (2016 vintage) was selected as the identification brand (negative, 100 samples), and various other brands of wine were used as interference brands (positive, 373 samples). Samples of each type were randomly divided into the calibration, prediction and validation sets. For comparison, the PLS-DA models were established in three independent and two complex wavebands of visible (400 - 780 nm), short-NIR (780 - 1100 nm), long-NIR (1100 - 2498 nm), whole NIR (780 - 2498 nm) and whole scanning (400 - 2498 nm). In independent validation, the five models all achieved good discriminant effects. Among them, the visible region model achieved the best effect. The recognition-accuracy rates in validation of negative, positive and total samples achieved 100%, 95.6% and 97.5%, respectively. The results indicated the feasibility of wine brand identification with Vis-NIR spectroscopy.

Investigation of Dynamic Incentive of Supply Chain under Information Asymmetry for Screening

More and more high-end brand companies are exploring new markets by extending low-end product lines. When selecting agents in new markets, a principal often faces the problem of identifying the promotional ability of agents. This paper aims to study the dynamic incentive of supply chain under information asymmetry for the information screening in long-term supply chain cooperation. Also, it pioneers the rhythm of information disclosure in the extant literature. By establishing three two-stage supply chain models, this paper analyzes the impact of agents’ information disclosure speed on the brand. We find that it is better to separate agents earlier out of the brand perspective; the semiseparated contract is beneficial for the brand to control information disclosure speed more flexibly and get more profits from the retailer. But, from the perspective of the supply chain, it is also possible to prefer the mixed contract. Under certain conditions, the pooling contract could also increase the profits of supply chain and improve the allocation efficiency of supply chain.

Exploring conspicuous compassion as a brand management strategy

PurposeCause-related marketing (CR-M) – promising to donate to a charity when consumers purchase specific products – is a popular brand strategy, particularly in the social media context. In light of Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption, the purpose of this experimental study is to test the impact of a brand’s level and the conspicuousness of a brand’s CR-M campaign on consumers’ brand-related responses. Results reveal a novel mechanism underlying the effects by showing that pride and guilt mediate results.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on two studies that used a 2 (brand level: high-end vs low-end) × 2 (conspicuous of CR-M campaign: conspicuous vs non-conspicuous) between-subjects experimental design with random assignment to conditions and manipulation checks.FindingsResults reveal that consumers respond more favorably when high-end brands participate in CR-M, particularly when the CR-M promotion is conspicuous. That is, when a high-end brand partners with a charity, especially under conspicuous conditions, it significantly improves consumers’ brand attitudes and intent to share with others. Moreover, pride and guilt are important mediators in effects.Practical implicationsThe results of this study offer strong implications for brand managers seeking to partner with charities in CR-M campaigns. Results suggest that implementing CR-M campaigns may be fruitful for brands, particularly high-end brands when they enhance the conspicuousness of their CR-M campaign.Originality/valueResults empirically extend the notion of conspicuous consumption by demonstrating that social status can be achieved by displaying not only acquired goods but also benevolence.

Research on the Marketing Strategy of Hengyuanxiang Brand Reshaping

Chinese time-honored brands, with their rich cultural heritage, are the founders of Chinese brands and have made important contributions to China's economic development.With the development of the times, the blend of Chinese and Western culture and commerce, many domestic young fashion brands have gradually developed and matured, and foreign high-end brands have quietly entered the Chinese market, controlling the consumer psychology of Chinese consumers with their characteristics. Therefore, how to maintain the vitality of the old brand in the complicated market, to obtain high customer loyalty and to attract the attention of the new generation is still a question worth pondering. This paper will take Hengyuanxiang, one of the representatives of China's old brands, as an example, and discuss the old Brand remodeling marketing strategy in depth.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Research on the future development prospects of sports products industry under the mode of e-commerce and internet of things

The situation of sports products aggregation under e-commerce and internet of things mode reflects the features of sports commodity industry agglomeration and its future development prospects in this field. Taking China’s e-commerce platforms, such as Taobao, Paipai, Suning etc. as research objects, after classified retrieval, statistics and analysis, it is considered that the delivering service places of Chinese sports products e-commerce and the internet of things mainly concentrated in the southeast coastal provinces and Beijing city; The well-known foreign sports brands occupy the middle and high-end market, while the sales of domestic traditional sports brand are poor; The equipment of outdoor exercise, leisure commodity and home fitness sale well, and consumers have a pursuit of improving performance, adding functions and cutting price. The future development prospect of sports products industry is: developing the outdoor sports and leisure industry vigorously to create the national high-end brand in this field; Turning the “extensive” development mode of the traditional sports products industry which pursues speed and quantity into the “intensive” development mode which pursues benefit and quality; Increasing the proportion of investment in research and development (RD Enhancing the national self-confidence of sports brands.

Corporate social responsibility and product quality: Complements or substitutes?

We examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) interacts with firm strategy, particularly product quality and price. In monopoly markets where consumers are willing to pay a premium for CSR and firms choose CSR optimally, we find that CSR is a substitute for product quality (i.e., lower quality firms invest more in CSR) under common market conditions such as when there is a sizable segment of consumers who value product quality higher than other consumers. We show that this relationship between CSR and product quality further extends to competitive markets. Specifically, in a duopoly where the quality differentiation is sufficiently large, the high quality product is offered with a lower level of CSR than the low quality product. Consistent with the theory, we report preliminary empirical evidence that suggests high end brands are significantly less likely than mainstream brands to acquire a strong CSR reputation. Overall, our research shows that the optimal commitment to CSR may vary depending on other elements of firm strategy such as pricing and product quality as well as market characteristics such as market composition, competition and product differentiation.

TWO APPROACHES IN HAGGLING A KOREAN MARKET PERSPECTIVE

TWO APPROACHES IN HAGGLING A KOREAN MARKET PERSPECTIVE

Chery Automobile

Chery, which used to be the leader of Chinese indigenous automobile manufacturers as well as the entry-level market, has been losing its leader position since 2010. Chery, founded in 1997, has experienced a radical expansion along with industrial liberalization and economic growth in China since 2000. In 2007, Chery started the internationalization strategy by launching two middle and high-end brands and developing a series of joint ventures consecutively. However, Chery has confronted various challenges since 2010 with the growing maturity of Chinese automobile industry, including declining domestic sales and market share, and thus was in a weak position under attack. Finally, Chery announced its tactical adjustments in April 2013. This case describes the co-evolution between the environmental transitions of Chinese automotive industry and the business strategies of Chery. Students are asked to analyze the development of Chery and provide specific suggestions of future directions on competitive strategy for Chery.

Research on the Cultivation of Tea High-end Brand Prototype Based on Origin Marketing

Brand Prototype is the general knowledge of consumers about a major brand, which reflects consumer expectation about How should brand. Tea is a regional characteristic agricultural product with natural endowment, historical and cultural characteristics. Origin element is an important part of tea brand marketing, therefore, to cultivate high-end tea brand Prototype should pay attention to the origin brand elements. Besides enterprise brand building, tea high-end brand Prototype cultivation compromises brand elements such as country of origin image, natural ecological conditions, and historical heritage, cultural customs etc. and collaborative management mechanism should be established.

Product attributes and preference for foreign brands among Vietnamese consumers

This research attempted to investigate important product attributes in purchasing fashion goods and the influence of these attributes on preferences for American fashion brands versus local fashion brands, by Vietnamese consumers. A web-based survey was developed to collect the data from Vietnamese consumers who reside in HoChinMinh City, which is the Vietnam's largest urban area. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. It was found that the functional attributes such as fit and comfort were the most important attributes when the Vietnamese consumers purchased fashion goods. Vietnamese consumers who put importance on the subjective norm and the symbolic attributes such as latest fashion, country of origin, and well-known brand preferred American fashion brands over local fashion brands. Vietnamese consumers indicated American fashion brands as more attractive, higher quality and more prestigious than local fashion brands. Quality, brand image, and material were indicated as advantages of American fashion brands while price was the only advantage of local fashion brands. American mass-market brands can be competitive in the Vietnam market with appropriate marketing. In order to better compete, American mass-market brands should actively promote their brands in Vietnam, offering quality products with good fit and comfort at lower prices than high-end brands.

Conceptualizing Sustained High Quality Fashion Products in a Devalue Dominated Marketplace

The current fashion system largely sustains an industry through excessive consumer consumption habits resulting in an environmentally unsustainable industry. Fashion trends coupled with mass-production strategies, predominantly within the lower and middle market sectors, is considered by many to have devalued fashion; and has impacted on the higher end of the market, forcing brands to reconsider their quality and price points to remain profitable, or to tolerate lower sales volumes. The online auction culture is a further consideration, with consumers having ready access to cheaper luxury goods, albeit second-hand, which supports the continuing growth of vintage and retro trends reinforced by trend forecasters and endorsed by those with an interest in a more sustainable lifestyle. This presents high-end brands with an opportunity to strengthen their position in a changing marketplace. This paper deliberates factors that contribute to the devaluing of quality before debating the opportunity that the new online culture presents to the high-end sector with the inclusion of a conceptual business model. While conceptual, after deliberating notions from fashion history and from current affairs, the paper proposes an optimistic future for luxury fashion brands and products if new technologies, such as online tools and facilities, and advancing consumer behavior preferences are embraced and utilized to full capacity. It is not to be suggested, however, that the conceptual business model is solely for the purpose of the online retail context.

Effects of Product Targeting on Non-Targeted Customers

The “non-target market” refers to the people who are not members of a group defined as the target market for a product by the product seller or marketer. When the product is purchased by the members of the non-target market, it is referred to as the “non-target effect.” This study investigated the response of the non-target group towards a target message that suggested that people of a specific social status were its targeted market. One’s social status has been noted as a factor that affects the acceptance process of advertisements, and the non-target group is important as potential customers and as a social variable that affects the acceptance pattern of the targeted group. Managing various market subdivisions and the implications were discovered by investigating the responses of the non-target market in this study. All the brands were categorized as a high-end brand or a generic brand according to where they fall in the price subdivisions, and the targeted groups were determined according to socioeconomic status (based on income level). Also, the subjects’ social identity (interpersonal sensitivity) and degree of reference group influence were considered as major variables and responses towards their self brand-connection were studied. Also, target messages proposing that the high-end brands were for upper-class people and that generic brands were for the general public were allowed to be seen or remained hidden, and the response of the non-target group was studied. The responses of members of the non-target group towards the target message differed according to their socioeconomic status, and the responses regarding the high-end brands and generic brands showed different results according to the variables of susceptibility to interpersonal influence and interpersonal sensitivity levels. Among the general public who were designated as the non-target market for the luxury brands, those with high susceptibility to interpersonal influence and interpersonal sensitivity showed a positive response towards the brand when the advertisement contained a target message. However, the upper class, designated as the non-target market for generic brands, showed a negative response towards advertisements containing a target message, according to their income levels. The idea that individuals form a self-brand connection was confirmed from studying the formation of consumption and purchasing behavior of the non-target group. That is, the general public formed a connection between self and the brand upon seeing a message targeted for the upper class and formed a positive attitude towards the message. However, members in the upper class formed a connection between self and the brand targeting the general public and formed a negative attitude towards the target message. Also, susceptibility to interpersonal influence and interpersonal sensitivity had an effect on the attitude towards the target message regarding socioeconomic status. Those with low susceptibility to interpersonal influence and interpersonal sensitivity showed no significant preference for target messages according to their socioeconomic status, while those with high interpersonal sensitivity showed a notable difference in their preference for target messages according to their socioeconomic status. People with high susceptibility to interpersonal influence and interpersonal sensitivity have a strong tendency to be conscious of other people and to strongly express their preference in a way that is expected of them or can enhance their image. The significance of this study is not only that it investigated the acceptance process of the group targeted by advertisement messages but also the acceptance process of the non-target market. The results suggest the need to have a new perspective on the non-target market and to check the self-brand connection process of the non-target group, who can influence the buying decisions of the target market as a reference group and are potential customers, when applying the concept of target marketing.

Neuromarketing: I Put Myself into a fMRI Scanner and Realized that I love Louis Vuitton Ads

In recent years, long-standing science, advanced technology, and complex management have come to a common ground that researchers and marketers are able to map science to marketing. Today, constant changes in consumer behavior and how they interact with the company in the world full of sophisticated technologies, alternative research methods are needed, fMRI could or could not be the right answer, but it is definitely a promising alternative research method. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative overview of neuromarketing using brain imaging techniques, particularly, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This paper is also an attempt to investigate its potential implications for market research, based on the author's experiences as a subject study in high-end brands advertisings. The discussion of neuromarketing, focusing on fMRI, as the application within the scope of managerial practice is provided by means of a literature review for to discussion as well as the investigation of existing problems and exploring the future challenges. A personal experience in fMRI as a study subject in high-end brands advertisings is also presented. Because this is an emerging field of marketing research and still controversial, the rising ethical issues are a challenge. Yet, fMRI offers a new cutting edge method that is able to shed light on subconscious processes which has a potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of advertising messages. This paper is written based on marketing literature and from the author's experience as a subject study and an apprentice in the fMRI company.

Parameters of High-Density Soft Breathable and Anti-Velvet Fabric Technology

At present, there are still drilling soft velvet jacket fabric, breathable, coated thick and many other issues, the clothing brand's lack of guidance on the technical parameters of the purchase fabric, so that the domestic high-end brands in soft single layer anti-velvet products domestic market share is far behind foreign brands. Based on the above situation, this paper on the international market of high-end brands such fabrics for data analysis, according to research data to buy produce like cloth, sewn jacket kind of clothing to complete the work and try to verify their anti-velvet, breathable performance, research findings provide proof fabric for further research fellow basic data, reference may be fabric or garment production company's procurement offer.

프리미엄아웃렛 이용객의 소비 행태에 관한 연구

최근 프리미엄아웃렛은 일반적인 아웃렛과 구별되는 새로운 형태의 유통시설로서 각광받고 있다. 소비자들의 고급브랜드 선호현상과 경제적인 소비를 추구하는 추세에 따라 여러 유통기업에 있어서 아웃렛 개발이 중요한 이슈가 되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 성공적인 프리미엄아웃렛 개발대안을 수립하기 위한 기초자료를 구축하기 위하여 잠재고객을 대상으로 소비행태를 심도 있게 분석하였다. 서울 및 수도권 거주자 1,300명을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였으며, PASW 18.0을 이용하여 분석하였다. 본 연구에서는 방문빈도, 방문이유, 동반고객, 출발지, 이용교통수단, 지출비용, 체류시간, 일반적인 쇼핑행동 등의 아웃렛 쇼핑센터의 이용객들의 다양한 쇼핑행동 특성을 보여주고 있다. 본 연구에서는 아웃렛 쇼핑객들을 프리미엄 아웃렛 이용객과 일반 아웃렛 쇼핑객으로 구분하여 그 쇼핑행동의 특성을 분석하였다. 본 연구의 분석결과들은 성공적인 아웃렛 개발의 의미있는 시사점을 제시하고 있다. The premium outlets have come into the spotlight as the new type of shopping facility different from the typical ones. Along with both the economical consumption trend and high-end brand preference of consumers, the development of outlet shopping center has become an important issue for many retail facility development companies in Korea, This study examines the shopping behavior of potential customers to build up the basic information (preliminary data) for successful development of premium outlet. To achieve this research purpose, this study surveys 1,300 consumers of Seoul and metropolitan area residents, and analyzes survey data by using PASW 18.0. This study shows various shopping behavior of outlet shoppers such as visiting frequency, reason for visiting, shopper group size, time spent in outlet, past shopping experience, luxury-brand shopping experience and so on. This study classifies outlet shoppers into premium outlet shoppers and general outlet shoppers and examines their shopping behavior. This study suggests meaningful insights for outlet shopping center developer.