Guest editorial

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Volume 18, Issue 2.

Due to the enduring attraction of the luxury fashion market our 2013 Special Issue (17.4) on the subject was so well subscribed with interesting and informative research we extended it to two parts over two years – what a luxurious position to be in! In this second part of the special issue on luxury fashion branding, the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management brings to you a series of high impact studies. Papers presented in this issue investigate personal gifting of luxury products, consumers’ expectations of service quality in luxury, and the consumer-brand relationships of step-down line extensions of luxury fashion brands. It also considers the ethical concerns of the use of animal fibres in luxury products, discusses the influence of country image on brand resonance in luxury fashion, touches on quality management in the luxury fashion brand space and closes with a compelling case study on the management and strategic planning direction of a high end luxury brand. What is luxurious to one may be fundamental to another – however, you perceive and interact with luxury brands we have something of interest for you in this issue.

The issue opens with a study examining consumer motivations behind the self-gifting of luxury fashion products. Kauppinen-Räisänen, Gummerus, von Koskull, Finne and Rindell explore the phenomenon of self-gifting, and their motivations to self-gift with luxury fashion brands. They employed a mixed-qualitative approach, and analysed the data through a process of triangulation. Their findings revealed that self-gifting of luxury fashion products is a highly experiential process, and is also a means of self-communication and social communication. Next, Kim and Kim provide interesting insights into the mind of luxury customers during their interactions with salespersons; investigating how their perceived value fulfilment can affect their loyalty to the salesperson and the store. The study was conducted across 22 luxury fashion brand stores in Seoul, South Korea. It is revealed that customers who valued self-respect, a sense of accomplishment and self-fulfilment were more likely to be loyal to the luxury fashion brand stores. Following this, customers who valued fun and enjoyment were more likely to be loyal to a fun and convivial salesperson at the luxury fashion store. Continuing with the theme of consumer behaviour, Hanslin and Rindell evaluate the consumer-brand relationships with step-down line extensions of luxury fashion brands. This study employed a qualitative approach using personal interviews; and identified 21 types of brand relationships, five of which are new: status enhancing, inspirational, impulse, rewarding and turncoat relationships.

Moving onto the realm of ethics in the luxury fashion industry, is a paper by Soutar, Lee and Sneddon. They examine the ethical concerns and preferences of consumers around the use of animal fibres in clothing, in this case, wool. This exploratory study found that ethical assumptions about wool are complex and warrant further research. It also found that wool apparel purchases tend to be prioritised less on the ethical attributes of the material and more on the product attributes. Following this, Jung and Lee examine the multifaceted influence of country image on consumer-brand resonance. Conducted in South Korea and the USA, it makes a comparison between the effects of country image and culture discrepancies on consumer-brand resonance. Jung and Lee emphasise the need for luxury fashion brands to develop localised marketing strategies in order to adapt to these discrepancies in culture and country image. While Moretto and Brun discuss aspects of quality control in the luxury sector influenced by supply chain organisation. Finally, this issue closes with a case study on the venerable luxury goods conglomerate – Louis Vuitton Moët-Hennessy and its brand, Louis Vuitton. Cavender and Kincade investigate the key dimensions of brand management operations that support the operations of a leading luxury goods company. Their findings revealed that a strong value strategy and long-term vision for the brand is among the key drivers of the brand's success.

Once again we thank the EAB and reviewers for their timely reviews. We also have to thank the authors who have contributed their high-calibre research to this special issue. I hope this issue provides some interesting perspectives and unique insights to stimulate future research.

Ian Phau and Min Teah
Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Steven Hayes
Department of Apparel, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK