2.0 Introduction
As identified in the first chapter of the dissertation, this study will seek to examine the elements of luxury goods positioning and branding. This will aim at examining the cultural settings in purchasing these luxury products in the British and Kazakhstani contexts. This literature review will analyse authoritative sources and ground-breaking definitions that relate to core concepts and theories in the area of luxury fashion and branding.
2.1 Positioning Strategies for Luxury Brands
“Brand vision and the culture, personality relationships and presentation are key components of corporate branding that builds brand identity” . Luxury fashion and products are branded for various reasons. This is based on a framework of brand identity that creates a relationship between the producer and consumer.
“Brand positioning identifies ways that a [luxury] brand should choose a relevant way to be identified and differentiated in the consumer’s mind with respect to its competitors”. This implies that brand positioning enables a company to stand out from other entities that provide similar products. This creates a sense of uniqueness that ensures that a company’s brand can be distinct and easily identifiable. The main elements of branding in luxury fashion include:
Brand Loyalty
Brand Positioning
Brand Equity
Brand Awareness
Brand image is about the identification of something unique and distinct which represents a particular corporate or product identity. This is something that creates a visual impression and brings to the fore, the philosophy of a particular brand. Brand image makes it easy for brand loyalty to be established and create a connection that causes consumers to buy and connect to the product.
Brand positioning is about what a given brand represents and how it seeks to satisfy the needs of consumers. This leads to brand equity which happens when a company converts potential consumers to actual consumers by way of the brand. Where there is no actual conversion, brand image and brand positioning can lead to brand awareness which might have a favourable long-term implication on the consumer.
Brand value propositioning is fundamentally, the market value created by the brand. This is because every brand is meant to communication the value and solution that a product achieves. Thus, in the context of luxury fashion, brand value proposition is based on the kind of feeling and sensitivity that a luxury fashion product will create for consumers.
Brand positioning in luxury fashion is based on Design and Style Versus Tradition and Heritage. This is done by presenting a unique design and fashion identity that comes with the products of a specific production house. Also, traditions and a heritage creates some kind of corporate identity that consumers can identify with. This weaves into the unique nature and processes that a firm utilises to provide luxury fashion to different consumers on the market.
Most companies focus on building a strong brand, maintaining quality control and opening a flagship store in high-end parts of major cities. Flagship stores lay the foundation for star architecture strategies for branding. This is because such shops are able to present the different brands for consumers and enable products to be displayed to clients and connect with the brand equity aspirations of a given luxury fashion brand. Flagship shops lead to clustering which causes flagship shops to be opened in certain parts of cities.
2.2 Shopping Behaviour in Buying Luxury Brands
There are numerous views on luxury brands and how consumers think and formulate ideas in the purchase of these expensive products. This can be viewed from the perspective of the realities in purchasing choices and in other mental images that consumers form in their minds in the purchasing process.
Basically, “ the role of luxury is to create social stratification social stratification has a time dimension”. This means that luxury fashion is based on what is in vogue and what is ostentatious. This spans within a certain timeline. And it is based on what people consider to be a good design and a respected product at a particular point in time. Therefore, shopping behaviour is based on what consumers with the potential resources to make purchases consider to be most appropriate and most durable at a given point in time.
Another element that plays a major role in luxury fashion is about the durability of an object of luxury fashion. This is because durability increases the value of the product and the product continues to appreciate in worth over time. Therefore, it shapes the decision to buy a given luxury product as opposed to other forms of fashion which might be less durable.
The discussion on durability also gives impetus to the need to focus on something that differentiates a luxury fashion product from a mass-produced item. This is because mass produced items are often cheaper and are not of the same quality as luxury fashion. Hence, they are to be differentiated from luxury fashion.
A luxury fashion producer demonstrates the genuine understanding of the customer’s lifestyle, dreams and ambitions to convince customers that their brands are life enriching. Therefore, luxury fashion purchase choices are influenced by the ability of the product to generate and reflect the kind of perception they have concerning the presentation of some things that are already in the subconscious minds of consumers. This is called the double-coincidence of intent on the path of the producer and the consumer. This is the desire to work and create some kind of connection between the designers and the consumer buying the product.
“Variables like fashion, lifestyle, perceived social/emotional value, perceived utilitarian value and perceived economic value significantly influence the buying behaviours of consumers to pay for luxury fashion brands”. This includes an embodiment of many qualities that consumers look at in purchasing luxury fashion.
There are issues like fashion and lifestyle. This is because luxury fashion is considered appropriate and acceptable if it is fashionable and in vogue. Also, it must reflect the kind of lifestyle the consumer wants or expects. Furthermore, there are major perceived emotional and social values that must be connected to the products. This way, the consumers are able to meet a social class and social status that goes with the product.
Utilitarian value shows the level of satisfaction that a consumer gets from a particular fashion product. This includes the perceived economic worth and what people think a given luxury fashion product. These are based on notional views of costs and what a particular article of fashion is worth. Society places price on the product and this sends a kind of wave to the consumer and defines the totality of the worth of a given product. This helps to formulate a conception of value and worth that each product must go with.
There are several motivating factors that get consumers to make decisions and choices in buying luxury fashion. This includes:
Affectional – need to love and be loved
Ego-bolstering – build our self esteem
Ego-defensive – protect our weak ego and reputation
Affectional elements in luxury fashion is about finding a way of expressing the level of love a person has for a loved one. Thus, the concept of ostentation plays a role in this process and defines the way and manner in which luxury fashion is used as a basis of self-expression.
Ego is important because luxury fashion boosts self-esteem and self-confidence. This is because the reputation of an individual is enhanced and improved significantly when they have luxury products. On the other hand, where a person has a bad or weak reputation, wearing luxury fashion provides a high level of ego boost and improves the level of reputation a person has at a particular point in time.
In purchasing luxury fashion products, there are some things consumers normal do in order to verify the best and most appropriate product including:
Product information
Product reviews
Price comparisons
Consulting family and friends
A person who seeks to buy luxury fashion products will have to seek product information. This is to be done through the presentation of major details of the product. This is often done by checking trends and processes online and the evaluation of different reviews by other consumers. There is also the comparison of prices to ensure that prices of luxury products, which have extremely different fluctuations across brands and designers. Also, it is evident that people prefer to consult with trusted associates like families and friends to gather information about high end luxury fashion products.
There is also the tilt towards counterfeit risk perception based on personal integrity of shop or outlet, reputation and moral judgement. This is because there is the need to check a product to ensure that it is not faux. This means that it will have to come from a shop that is authorised and a buyer must understand and appreciate that a product is a true reflection of the designer’s original work and it has gone through a standardised production process. This helps to assure and guarantee that the products are from a specific source and is truly what the sellers are presenting it to be.
In recent time though, luxury fashion has been linked to ethical production and corporate social responsibility. This is because, luxury fashion is viewed in a way that promotes the best interest of the wider society. Luxury fashion is expected to be produced in ways that does not infringe on the human rights of people. This is due to the fact that things like human trafficking and slavery causes ostentation to be tainted with a degree of distrust and other reputational issues. Therefore, consumers will want to ensure that the ethical matters are taken seriously and the supply chain is one that does not abuse or misuse various stakeholders and their actions in contribution to the manufacturing of a given product by a particular designer or supplier.
.2.3 Luxury Fashion – London (Britain) and Almaty (Kazakhstan)
There are different countries and jurisdictions that has different patterns in consuming luxury fashion products. This is because luxury fashions have unique markets and they have different features that causes the demand and supply of luxury products to occur. Each country has its own elites and rich people who have different actions and pattern of thought that inform the way the buy and consume luxury fashion products.
Kazakhstan discovered oil and national wealth is expected to increase each year by 6% until 2020 so it is expected that demand for luxury fashion will improve. This new trend implies that Kazakhstan is going to increasingly become rich and there might be major tastes that will develop that will cause the demand for luxury fashion will change significantly to meet the changes in lifestyle and procedures.
In Kazakhstan, post-Soviet and traditional clothes that are remade in the local sphere form a market for luxury fashion. This forms the main framework for luxury fashion that has existed for several years. This is because under Soviet and Russian influence, the luxury fashion industry in Kazakhstan has been under a high degree of modification after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The presence of modern luxury fashion is in the form of multi-branded boutiques that sells a wide array of foreign and international brands.
Luxury fashion is for elites in the nearby regions of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan who come to Almaty to purchase luxury products . This luxury fashion becomes a symbol of status and separates between the rich and powerful and the poor and commoner.
London luxury fashion is global in outlook – shoppers from around the world and space and art blend to promote high quality fashion. This is marked by a demand trend and pattern that is much higher in scope. There are many flagship shop common in the UK since 1970s. These shops are common and popular in certain high-end sections of the country and this allows for luxury fashion to exist with a high degree of diversity.
2.4 Gaps in Research
Branding is generic and some writers believe that these generic processes create links in ordinary fashion as well as luxury fashion. Other scholars argue that branding in luxury fashion must express specific tastes and desires before consumers’ needs can be meet for high-end products.
Luxury shopping behaviour is influenced by many mental elements and images. This includes ostentation which gives a notional value and worth to normal products which are seen as being of a higher worth. Some authorities on the other hand state that luxury fashion is influenced by certain realities including time, durability and authenticity of products. This is alongside some rather new and emerging trends like corporate social responsibility and ethical sourcing of luxury fashion.
Product information is gathered by shoppers of luxury products from different sources. This includes product review and product comparisons. Others identify that ego and affection play the main role in shaping the demand for luxury fashion products in most situations and contexts. Also, counterfeit detection risks is viewed as important. As well as ethical practices of manufacturers and designers. This plays major roles in decision-making and choices of consumers.
Kazakhstan is viewed as a country emerging from the Cold War and it is opening up to international world-class luxury fashion. However, in London, there is a lot of diversity in luxury fashion and it has many international connotations.
This literature review has provided several perspectives on luxury shopping behaviour. The areas covered in the review includes ostentation and realities like time, durability and authenticity. Product information from different sources, product reviews and product comparison as well as counterfeit detection shape shopping behaviour. The next chapter will apply these key concepts in the formulation of data collection tools and the application of these ideas for the interpretation of findings in the study.
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