Effect of Brand Image on Consumer Purchasing Behaviour on Clothing: Comparison between China and the UK’s Consumers
By Kwok Keung Tam
2007
A Dissertation presented in part consideration for the degree of “MSc International Business”
Table of Content
Page numbers Abstract i
Acknowledgements
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Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 The importance of brand image on fashion clothing 1.2 Background information of China and the UK clothing markets 1.2.1 China clothing market 1.2.1.1 Chinese spending habits 1.2.1.2 Impediments to China’s clothing brand development 1.2.2 UK clothing market 1.2.2.1 British spending habits 1.2.2.2 Characteristics of the UK clothing market 1.3 Theoretical framework 1.4 Objectives of the dissertation 1.5
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In addition, I would also acknowledge my school-mates for their help in the data collection process. They have devoted their precious time for the interviews voluntarily and their wholehearted support contributes to the success of this dissertation.
Last but not least, I would like to extend my gratitude to my family members, especially my father Chun Shiu Tam who has devoted himself to the clothing industry for nearly half a century. He has not only inspired me to do this dissertation, but also encouraged me to face the challenge ahead. This dissertation is dedicated to my family and I will try my best to do anything.
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Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 The importance of brand image on fashion clothing Clothing, as a matter of fact, is a kind of necessity that helps keep our bodies warm. Human beings cannot live without the protection from clothes in adverse conditions and this signifies how important clothing is for us. Nowadays, in addition to the basic functions, clothes can also serve as fashion items, which can tell how significant an individual is, express the status an individual has and what their personal image is like (O’Cass, 2000). Thus, clothing can help represent our personal identity.
Shopping for clothes is one of the popular pastimes among people from all ages, different genders and cultural backgrounds. Owing to the proliferation of brands in the clothing sector,
Listed below are statements about shopping behavior for clothes and clothing fashions. Please check one box for each statement to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each
Of the hundreds of named brand clothing that form part of the retail and fashion industry I chose to compare, for my analysis, Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21, American Eagle, and H&M. These stores are prominent, well-known for selling apparel, shoes, and accessories by the means of offering sales and promotions to their customers. This is a clever strategy for attracting customers, allowing them to believe that they bought goods at affordable, convenient prices – and not to mention the prestigious name prescribed to the clothing brands. Using keyhole.co as my main source, I obtained relevant and valuable information regarding the status of these brands. My intentions were to compare a period of 14 days, however, due to the limited access that I received from my free trial, the program only allowed me to see fewer of the dates than I anticipated. I want to take this opportunity and mention ahead of time that due to the various and distinctive products that are sold from these stores, when looking for the “spending capacity” I decided to focus on shirts/ jeans for men and women and compare the prices among them since each of these retailers carry those items and as a way to make this report easier to contrast and comprehend. Also, when approaching the section of “setting”, I screen-shotted some of the images on Instagram and made them into a collage to separate the type of clothes and trends that each of these brands sell currently. In the following modules
John Caldwell Calhoun was born March 18th, 1782 in Abbeville, South Carolina. In the year 1807, John Calhoun received admission to the South Carolina bar and practiced law. The year after, he was elected into the state legislature of South Carolina, where he served for two years leading to his election to the U.S House of Representatives in the year 1810. In 1817, John Calhoun was appointed as Secretary of War by President Monroe, in which during his term, he made substantial changes to the War Department. Calhoun served two terms as Vice President: in 1825 with John Quincy and in 1829 with Andrew Jackson. In 1832 he quit his Vice President position and returned to South Carolina as a Senator, a position which he held for eleven years. In
Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a
2. Richard M. Johns (2006). The Apparel Industry. 2nd ed. UK, London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. 1-124.
The fashion industry is rapidly growing and constantly generating new fashion trends almost weekly. Fashion for some may seem ridiculous and unnecessary; but fashion is not just a meaningless usage of article of clothing or farcical materials sew together for coverage. There is more to fashion than meets the eyes, fashion is precious and significant. It is a reflection of self-image, it speak the ream about who we are and how we review ourselves. Not only is fashion the reflection of self-image but also the reflection of our history as Coco Channel have said, “Fashion is not something that exist in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Fashion
‘style, branding, colour and fashionability’ of the clothing as a tool for the audience to
Shanghai Tang has been in the business of selling high quality retail items for men and women, clothing and accessories, since 1994. Their designs have been based upon Chinese cultural influence while also being modern and wearable in markets around the world. Although business has gone well under the leadership of Rafael Le Manse, the company is experiencing some new internal and external issues. Shanghai Tang’s competition is about to establish a market presence in China and in order to stay ahead in the game; Le Manse needs to figure out how to expand the existing customer base. Also, Le Manse’s long time creative partner, Joanne Ooi, is leaving
Fashion has been a prominent aspect of a woman’s life throughout time. Women of different times and cultures have turned the routine of picking out clothes and putting together different ensembles into a sort of art, or a way to express and promote themselves. Many women also see fashion as part of their identity, or a way to manipulate the way people see them. What a woman wears can drastically change the way society views her - it can increase her chances of getting a job, or make her gain respect (or rejection) from her peers (Sika n.p.).
Gucci is a multinational fashion brand based in Italy. The brand specialises in leather goods, clothes, and fashion accessories for both and women aged between 24 and 30 years. Gucci was founded in 1921 in Florence, Italy by Guccio Gucci (Gucci Official Site United States, 2016). The main purpose of this paper is to provide an in depth brand analysis of Gucci. The paper will investigate and evaluate Gucci’s vales and identity, and will discuss how successfully these are reflected by Gucci’s business model, supply chain management, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. In addition to that, the paper will critically evaluate Gucci’s brand identity (identity) in relation to its brand image (external).
Owing to the successfully accomplishment of " low price, quality assurance" and excellent online sales channels, UNIQLO sees itself as nicely positioned to weather the China's slowing economic growth (Roxburgh, 2016). Meanwhile, serious competition with other apparel retailers is the primary obstacle to the development of UNIQLO. In the view of Zhu (2013), the Chinese market is massive, diverse, and has enormous potential. For the sake of truly thrive in this market, there is a need for foreign brands authentically understand the changing characteristics of Chinese customers, and establish quality products and services to satisfy their requirements. One recommendation is because this report use the SWOT analysis and Marketing Mix to assess UNIQLO's marketing strategies in China, it is worthwhile for further researchers to utilize other marketing tools to evaluate UNIQLO such as Porter's Five Competitive
There Is a similar relation among the clothes. Several customers shop there based on the quality and prices as well as the features associated with the products. An advantage of the store is that it has a wide product mix and various offering in different categories and all these can be located at one place. This attracts a wide variety of customers. In line with their positioning of offering quality, trendy products, the brand is consistently updating its product line. The brand does not focus on innovation but rather on always leading trends. In relation to the product life cycle, clothing has a short life span from the first to last stage as tastes change easily. For this reason, it is important to constantly anticipate consumer tastes and preferences prior to launching a product so as to retain and possibly build customers loyalty. It is also necessary to develop a successful marketing strategy to display product offerings.
In the fashion industry, fashion brands are highly associated with branding, because of the intensive competitive fashion markets. Moreover, fashion brands are self-expressing to some extent (Carroll, 2008). Building creative brand image is important for the fashion brands. In addition, Carroll (2008) said that social responsibility and potential risks are the two aspects related to the fashion brands. Just as
During the information search stage of their decision-making process, the consumer stated that they constantly looked at online shops and magazines to improve their personal understanding of fashion. It was noted that the consumer’s awareness set consisted of ten different brands. However, the size of her