scholarly journals Achieving Business Excellence for Luxury Brands

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Pratap Chandra Mandal

Luxury brands possess specific characteristics which are different from that of other brands and require special considerations for marketing and promotion. The target market of luxury brands constitutes of high-end customers who have high aspirations and dreams which they wish to fulfill by possessing luxury products. Marketers of luxury brands require developing and implementing specific strategies for achieving business excellence. Luxury brands should have a strong customer focus and in-depth understanding of customers. Luxury brands require specific pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies. Pricing strategies include charging price premiums and having price-quality inferences. Luxury brands should communicate a unique value proposition and should justify high prices. Proper distribution strategies reflect exclusivity and uniqueness of luxury brands. Adopting and implementing such strategies will help luxury brands to convince their high-end customers, establish the brands, and achieve business excellence.

Author(s):  
Aslı Tolunay Kuşçu

With luxury consumption still growing fast despite various challenges such as increasing competition, rise in rental luxuries, and in counterfeits, luxury brands are challenged with an additional and complex development: consumers' interest towards inconspicuous luxury products. Being one of the major characteristics of luxury goods, conspicuousness is losing its value among some luxury shoppers necessitating a new definition for luxury and a new value proposition for luxury brands. This chapter initially provides a review on luxury and on the different motivations that determine luxury consumption. Next, socio-economic changes that trigger the shift from conspicuous to inconspicuous luxury consumption is examined briefly. And finally, a discussion on why inconspicuous consumption is valued by consumers is followed by a theoretical framework on the motivations for inconspicuous luxury brand usage. The chapter then concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.


2021 ◽  
pp. 183933492199950
Author(s):  
Canie K.Y. Chu Lo ◽  
Suzan Burton ◽  
Regan Lam ◽  
Paul Nesbit

Limited research has described a segment of consumers who prefer subtly branded luxury products, rather than conspicuous consumption. However, in comparison with the enormous amount of research mentioning conspicuous consumption, there has been only very limited research into “inconspicuous consumption,” leading to calls for more research in the area. In this article, we describe a discrete choice experiment examining the luxury product preferences of Chinese consumers, the largest market segment for luxury products. We describe and test a theoretical model investigating how product characteristics (logo prominence, price, and brand), peers’ attitudes and behaviors, and other individual characteristics influence consumers’ choice of a luxury bag. For each brand, a prominent logo was preferred, but a very large minority preferred a subtle logo. However, the effect of price, attitudinal and social factors varied across luxury brands. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesare Amatulli ◽  
Matteo De Angelis ◽  
Giovanni Pino ◽  
Sheetal Jain

PurposeThis paper investigates why and when messages regarding unsustainable luxury products lead to negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) through a focus on the role of guilt, need to warn others and consumers' cultural orientation.Design/methodology/approachThree experiments test whether messages describing unsustainable versus sustainable luxury manufacturing processes elicit guilt and a need to warn others and whether and how the need to warn others affects consumers' NWOM depending on their cultural orientation.FindingsConsumers experience guilt in response to messages emphasizing the unsustainable (vs sustainable) nature of luxury products. In turn, guilt triggers a need to warn other consumers, which leads to NWOM about the luxury company. Furthermore, the results suggest that two dimensions of Hofstede's model of national culture – namely individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity – moderate the effect of the need to warn others on NWOM.Practical implicationsLuxury managers should design appropriate strategies to cope with consumers' different reactions to information regarding luxury brands' unsustainability. Managers should be aware that the risk of NWOM diffusion may be higher in countries characterized by a collectivistic and feminine orientation rather than an individualistic and masculine orientation.Originality/valueConsumer reaction to unsustainable luxury, especially across different cultural groups, is a neglected area of investigation. This work contributes to this novel area of research by investigating NWOM stemming from unsustainable luxury manufacturing practices in different cultural contexts.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirreza Konjkav Monfared ◽  
Arefeh Mansouri ◽  
Negar Jalilian

PurposeBuyers of luxury clothing products usually place great importance on design because they can satisfy their personal needs. However, the underlying motivation for buying luxury products has not been fully understood. Therefore, identifying the factors influencing the choice of luxury products and brand loyalty can provide useful information to a better understanding of the customers' needs of these brands. In fact, in this article, we are trying to determine how personality traits (including the need for uniqueness and self-monitoring) and social traits (including self-expression and self-presentation) influence the importance of design and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was answered by 386 buyers of luxury clothing brands in Iran. Structural equation modeling was also used for data analysis. Data were analyzed by SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 24.0 software.FindingsThe results of this study show that people who need to be unique pay more attention to the specific designs by expressing their self-expression in their surrounding community, while self-monitors seek acceptance in the community by using common designs. Finally, the results show that the importance of design reduces customer loyalty to the brand.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first one to investigate the effect of personality and social traits on the importance of luxury clothing design and brand loyalty using statistical data analysis tools in Iran.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hussain

Repeat purchasing has now become a critical factor for marketers, especially in the luxury goods market. Repeat purchasing not only saves costs (as opposed to attracting new customers), but increases sales as well. Both past and current researchers have been keen in investigating what drives consumers to repeat their purchase. The purpose of this academic research is to examine the relationship between Hedonic Value (HV), Satisfaction (S), Consumer Inertia (CI) and Product Attribute (PA) with the Repeat Purchase Intention (RPI) for luxury brands among Generation Y consumers in Malaysia. As such, eight luxury brands have been selected to investigate the consumer behaviour of consumers in Malaysia, in relation to the repeat purchase intention. This is a quantitative study that collected data from 134 respondents. Findings reveal that Hedonic Value and Satisfaction have positive and significant correlation with Repeat Purchase Intention, with Satisfaction being the strongest predictor of Repeat Purchase Intention. The findings can be used by marketers in Malaysia to aid them in creating marketing strategies to maintain their current customer base, as well as attract new customers to purchase their luxury brands within their target market. This study can also motivate current researchers to further investigate in the field of luxury brands, in an attempt to bridge the gap between luxury brands and Repeat Purchase Intention.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don Schultz ◽  
Varsha Jain

Purpose – Luxury brands’ marketing efforts have traditionally focussed on developed nations since that has comprised the majority of consumer demand. However, double-digit growth in developing nations such as India and China, have attracted the attention of most luxury brand managers. Using cue utilization theory, the authors conducted a qualitative study in two phases comprised of first, focus group discussions (FGD), structured observations (SO) and second, In-Depth Interviews (IDI) to understand the effects of country of origin (COO) on Indian consumers’ current day purchasing behaviors with luxury products. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Using cue utilization theory, the authors conducted a qualitative study in two phases comprised of first, FGD, SO and second, IDI to understand the effects of COO on Indian consumers’ current day purchasing behaviors with luxury products. A conceptual framework has been developed that should help luxury brands formulate marketing strategies for this booming market. Findings – Further, this study found that COO affects the exploration of luxury brands and this process is carried out digitally and primarily with friends. Luxury brand managers can insert detailed information about COO on web sites and can understand the keywords used in the search engines to facilitate consumers using appropriate consideration data. This research also found that COO is compared on the basis of quality, features and innovation. Research limitations/implications – The results of this study are only from one emerging country, i.e., India. Similar studies should be carried out in other emerging nations. Additionally, developed countries can also carry out comprehensive research in this domain as their behavior is also changing for COO and luxury brands. Originality/value – This insight can be used by the brand managers and they can develop apps and web sites that would help the consumers to compare the COO for their products. Additionally, this research found that COO helps the luxury consumers to evaluate the brands and how they associate it with consumer images. Luxury brand managers need to be conscious when their countries products/ brands have been rated low by the consumers as it could result in consumers simply discarding them from their consideration set.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ketsuree Vijaranakorn ◽  
Randall Shannon

Purpose This study aims to develop a theoretical concept by examining the country image effects on luxury value perception, a matter past studies have overlooked. Multiple facets of country image, cognitive and affective dimensions, have been developed to evaluate perceived luxury value and purchase intention. However, no prior studies have considered all the types of perceived luxury values: utilitarian value, hedonic value, symbolic value and economic value, considered in relation to cognitive and affective country image in an emerging country’s market. Accordingly, this study has attempted to explore the ways Thai luxury consumers perceive the image of the country and the influence of the perceived value of Thai luxury brands, to learn which country attributes strengthen the luxury brand’s value and customers’ purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach A total of 407 Thai respondents, who were luxury-product consumers who knew and previously had bought either Thai luxury brands or global luxury brands, comprised the final sample examined. Structural Equation Modeling was employed in this research to test the research hypotheses. The structural model proposed a causal relationship between two endogenous constructs, cognitive and affective country images, and five exogenous constructs: utilitarian value, hedonic value, symbolic value, economic value and purchase intention. Findings The findings confirmed that countries are like brands in that the perceived image of each country’s aspects, cognitive and affective, influences the perceived value in each dimension differently, and so affects purchase intention. This implies that the evaluation of perceived quality or perceived value for money, as in past studies, cannot accurately demonstrate what particular benefits consumers receive when they utilize the country-image cue. Country image has both symbolic and emotional significances for consumers. The findings have provided a more precise measure of the effects of country image as well as important information on country positioning the in the world market. Research limitations/implications There are some limitations in this study. The reliance on Thai samples from one city has limited the generalizability of the findings. Moreover, this study considered only one country of brand origin, and only one product category has been chosen as the stimulus, which together are the major limitations of this study. Future research could also consider further testing country image effects on value perception with other extrinsic attributes, rather than using a single cue, as this study did. Additionally, antecedent variables that may have an influence on country-image effects should be considered in future studies. Practical implications The relation of country image and value perception could help both governments and companies support their national brands more effectively, or to export products in accordance with the image aspect that most strongly impacts consumers’ positive perception of value. Moreover, it would be valuable for companies producing luxury products to know which country attributes strengthen the brand’s value. Luxury-brand managers will have to take these aspects into consideration when developing their communications strategies (Krupka et al., 2014). Originality/value There is a lack of research as regards the impact of a brand name’s perceived origin on the luxury perception associated with that brand (Salciuviene et al., 2010). This research is the first to investigate the theoretical framework of luxury value perception found in relation to cognitive and affective country images. From an academic perspective, this study sought to increase the theoretical research relating to the ambiguous conceptualization of the country-image effect on consumers’ perception of value in luxury products. Additionally, the relation of country image to luxury value perception could help both governments and companies support their national luxury brands more effectively, or to export luxury products in accordance with the image aspect that most strongly impacts consumers’ positive perception of value.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahar Teimourpour ◽  
Kambiz Heidarzadeh Hanzaee

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the challenges and opportunities of the luxury market in Iran as an Islamic country. The focus is on religion as a factor that can make some challenges for luxury products, and then to find opportunities or similarities in Muslim markets due to the luxury consumption. Design/methodology/approach – As it is a literature review article, the authors used past research works and compared different perspectives that exist about the topic. Findings – It was concluded that although implementing a market-oriented culture is central to the marketers’ success, it is not right to just focus on religion as a separating factor that can isolate the Muslim’s market. It was suggested to change one's viewpoint and analyze the market with a broader vision that can bring innovative ideas and also find similarities and differentiations between Islamic luxury markets with non-Islamic luxury markets. Originality/value – Muslim consumers have a huge purchasing power in countries such as Egypt, Iran, India, Malaysia, Morocco, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. However, there is limited academic literature addressing luxury products in the context of these markets. Luxury purchase motivation is predominantly based on Western thoughts and markets. As Iran as a Muslim country can be an appropriate target market of luxury goods, analyzing the challenges and opportunities can be a useful guide to be successful in this market.


Author(s):  
Mohanbir Sawhney

This case focuses on Cisco Systems' innovative probe-and-learn approach to using social media to launch its ASR 1000 Series Edge Router. The company had decided to eschew traditional print and TV media in marketing the new product and had decided instead to focus its efforts entirely on digital marketing and social media to attract the attention of its target market. The case discusses Cisco's bold plan to launch the ASR 1000 Series “virtually, visually, and virally” and the digital tactics employed by the Cisco Systems marketing team to accomplish this ambitious goal. Business marketers normally adopt a more serious and traditional approach to marketing its products but in this case Cisco had decided to buck that trend by exploring digital tools and social gaming avenues which its target client—the technical community—were increasingly frequenting. Cisco's challenge lay in whether this new approach and resultant value proposition would resonate with its technical audience and give the ASR 1000 Router the kind of publicity it needed to have. The case is set at a time when social media was burgeoning as a promising way to engage consumers more deeply with brands and products, but marketers were still experimenting with the tools and tactics of social media for marketing.Understand the relevance of social media for product launches as a function of contextual factors such as nature of product, media habits, and company credibility. Learn about the applicability of social media for business marketers in terms of its uniqueness, advantages and challenges. Recognize the relationship between campaign objectives and the value proposition for the product. Understand the evolution of social media marketing from a probe-and-learn approach to a strategy-driven process. The initial test and learn approach must be enhanced and become more strategic in the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng-Shan Sharon Wu ◽  
Cheng-Hao Steve Chen ◽  
Bang Nguyen

Purpose – It is generally agreed that marketing campaigns developed for western markets may not be appropriate for consumers living in eastern cultures, particularly with respect to strategies for promoting luxury brands. While consultancy reports and media commentaries show that rising levels of disposable income are driving increasing demand for luxury goods in China and Taiwan, for example, the academic literature offers very few consumer research findings clearly elucidating the different luxury purchasing behaviour of eastern and western consumers. The purpose of this paper is to compare the consumption of luxury products and luxury fashion purchasing habits in Taiwan and the UK, with particular reference to the fashion sector, focusing on a strategically important emerging market segment: young consumers of luxury brands. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the study’s objectives, questionnaires were administered online in each of the two countries to females aged 18-26 years, who had made more than two luxury purchases in the year preceding the survey. Employing a two-wave survey, respondents were selected via social media and personal contacts in the UK and by means of snowball sampling in Taiwan. Findings – The study found one major point of difference among many similarities: the Taiwanese buyers scored significantly higher on indicators that they were treating luxury brands as a means of developing their self-identity and communicating their social standing: an important part of maintaining “face” in Asian cultures. These findings contain important strategic implications for luxury fashion brand managers developing marketing campaigns for the promotion of their brands in the distinctive cultures of Taiwan, Mainland China and their neighbours. Originality/value – The study reported in this paper compares the consumption of luxury products in Taiwan and the UK, with particular reference to the fashion sector. The study contributes to existing knowledge by evaluating differences and similarities in: first, the luxury fashion purchasing behaviour of young women in Taiwan and the UK; and second, the ways in which the two sets of consumers use luxury fashion products as an extension of their selves.


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