• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.1-14
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• 2018

As interest and consumption of luxury goods have become more popular, luxury goods market is growing rapidly. Consumers can acquire psychological satisfaction with material abundance by purchasing and using luxury goods. Also, from the view of corporations, luxury goods have price inelastic characteristics, so they can enjoy price premium and it is good to produce good performance. That is the reason why they should pay much attention to securing luxuriousness. This study examined the establishment of brands luxuriousness in Korean SMEs. First, it examined the world market of luxury goods industry and the present condition of Korean market. Then it identified the constituents of luxuriousness by examining the prior studies and related literatures, and designed a research model based on the theoretical grounds to suggest the methods of brand luxuriousness building of Korean SMEs. Luxuriousness can be defined as the attribute of product that distinguishes luxury goods from other products by consumers' perceptions, and the factor that provides situational benefits that motivate consumers' purchasing behavior. In this study, I identified the sub-dimensions of luxuriousness according to whether there are product related attributes and consumers' benefit in consideration of the problems of existing studies. Product related luxuriousness are classified into superiority(functional benefit) and scarcity(experiential benefit), while non-product related luxuriousness are classified into differentiation(symbolic benefit) and traditionality(exclusive benefit). The following are the ways to build brand luxuriousness. First, company can use product factors. High quality, excellent design, high recognized brand with strong, favorable and unique images can enhance the luxuriousness of brand. Second, company can use price factors. Consumers tend to perceive luxury goods as high-priced items, so lowering the price of product can undermine the luxuriousness of product. Third, company can use distribution factors. It is effective for making consumers to perceive the differentiation and scarcity of luxuriousness through limited distribution channel. In addition, store atmosphere suitable for luxury brands should be created. Fourth, company can use promotion factors. The more consumers are exposed to advertisements, the more positive attitudes toward luxury brands are made, and consumers recognize luxuriousness higher. Price promotion negatively affects consumers' perception of luxuriousness. Fifth, company can use corporate factors. Consumer evaluations of products are influenced not only by the product attributes but also by the corporate association and corporate image surrounding the product. Considering the existing researches, it is possible to enhance the brand luxuriousness through high corporate competence and good corporate reputation. In order to increase the competence of the enterprise, it is useful to approach multidimensionally in relation with the knowledge creation capability. In corporate reputation, the external stakeholders' reputation is important, but the internal members' reputation is also important. Korean SMEs will be able to build brand luxuriousness by establishing marketing strategies as above and/or mix(integrate) them according to the situation.

• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.17-35
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits sought by luxury good customers contingent on product category, and to understand the relationship between the benefits sought and brand loyalty. A qualitative approach was used; therefore in-depth interviews were conducted with seven panels of professionals in the luxury industry. The findings are as follows: 1) Handbag customers mainly seek the social benefits in order to express their social status by purchasing well-known, easily-recognizable brands. 2) Shoe customers primarily seek the practical-functional benefits, which are comfort and function. 3) Small Leather Goods customers seek the social benefits for themselves and as gifts for others. 4) Brand loyalty for handbag customers is reported to be low, as their primary goals are the social benefits. Rather than devoting themselves to one specific brand, handbag customers prefer to purchase from various brands. 5) Shoe customers have reportedly higher brand loyalty, as they tend to come back to brands when they are satisfied with the benefits they pursue. The findings of this study provide more information on the practical implications of luxury good customer purchasing habits. Firstly, customers pursue different benefits depending on product category, and secondly, brand loyalty differs by customers' benefits.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.31 no.3 s.162
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• pp.475-485
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• 2007

The purposes of this study were to examine attitudes toward countefeits among fashion luxury brand consumers, and to investigate the influences or effects of brand loyalty on purchasing frequency of fashion luxury brand and the effects of brand loyalty on attitudes toward counterfeits. The subject used for this study were 214 female consumers who have purchased fashion luxury brand products. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, multiple regression, and ANOVA were used. As the results, first, the brand loyalty were classified into three factors; enduring brand loyalty, symbolic brand loyalty and famous brand loyalty. Second, the attitudes toward counterfeit was composed of four factors; comparison with genuine goods, counterfeits as alternative, approval of counterfeits purchase, and illegality of counterfeit manufacturers. Third, purchasing frequency significantly influenced on the attitudes toward counterfeits finally, higher brand loyalty group had more negative attitudes and lower purchasing intention toward counterfeits than other groups. Based on these results, prevention marketing strategies of counterfeit goods would be provided.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.195-215
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• 2010

The emergence of the luxury market has led numerous academic researchers, as well as marketers in the luxury market, to pay attention to both identifying luxury brand features and measuring perceptions toward luxury brands. Especially, Korea is a significant emerging market for luxury goods. Young consumers and male consumers are getting into the luxury market fast and these new segments will keep increasing. There are only a few studies related to distinctive definitions of luxury brands and measurement development for the Korean market. However, there are some limitations in these previous studies in that they did not capture the nature of luxury due to their inappropriate of subjects and approach in data collection and to lack of a perspective of Korean specific features. Thus, the purpose of this research is to identify Korean consumers' perceptions toward luxury products and, ultimately, to develop a reliable and valid measurement items for the luxury products' features for the Korean market. Defining the three high constructs(functional, emotional, and symbolic aspects) as a key needs and benefits on luxury brands, we looked at four stages of development for generating and deducting items by luxury industry experts and luxury consumers, as well as for testing measures by 20th~60th consumers. As a result, this study confirmed that luxury brands consists of high quality, high price, unique design, and luxury store; the emotional aspect construct combines craftsmanship, VIP service, and high social status; and the symbolic construct includes brand heritage and being a well-known brand. Finally, 22 measurement items (Measures of Luxury Brand for Korea: LBK) were developed for the conceptual features for luxury brands from a Korean perspective. This study provided understanding of Korean consumers' perceptions toward luxury brands from an academic perspective. For the managerial implication of this study, LBK can be utilized to judge both luxury brands and mass brands, to diagnose current a brand's luxuriousness, from the customer's point-of-view, and, finally, to measure a Key Performance Index (KPI) of luxury brand companies.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.475-504
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• 2009

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and investigate why and how these 4 factors (the images of country of origin, imported luxury brand, objective products' characteristics and Projective consumer's peculiarity) impact product preferences & purchasing intention of consumers who plan to buy "Imported Luxury Branded goods". For this study the research directions are: 1. To find each impact of Country of Origin and Brand image which influence "the preference of imported luxury brand items". 2. To analyze the difference of "the effects of Country or Origin" which impacts product preference when consumers buy imported luxury branded goods, which have different purchasing risks. 3. To verify the difference of products' characteristics that have different purchasing risks through comparing the image of country of origin and brand. 4. To analyze and compare "the purchasing behavior of Korean consumers" for achieving research universality. In order to verify that those 4 factors (the images of country of origin, imported luxury brand, objective products' characteristics and prospective consumer's peculiarity) impact on product preferences & purchasing intention of consumers, the linear structural equation model was developed. According to this research model, 9 hypotheses were designed.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.125-140
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to analyze e-commerce sites of luxury fashion brands in order to provide insights on how to enhance online site quality. For the research, forty-eight components of thirty-one luxury fashion brands' e-commerce sites were investigated during October 2013. For the analysis of clustering e-commerce site components and segmenting e-commerce sites of luxury brands, a hierarchical cluster analysis was applied through using the Ward's method and squared Euclidian distance for binary data. Further, Fisher's exact test was applied in order to distinguish three groups of characteristics in the luxury e-commerce sites. These analyses were carried out by SPSS 21. The result indicated that the components of e-commerce sites were grouped into three categories: basic elements, additional elements and elements of building brand identity. These components were categorized by whether their functions were basic and essential or additional and advanced. The other norm of categorization was related to brand identity. Furthermore, the luxury brands' e-commerce sites were segmented into three groups: a group of endeavoring to promote goods, a group of undistinguished performance, and a group of endeavoring to intensify brand identity. In this segmentation, brand identity or promotional aspects were decisive. Overall, luxury brands were trying to convey their traditional strength through their e-commerce sites. In order to achieve this purpose, brand identity or promotional aspects played an important role.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2010

During the past 10 years, sales of luxury goods increased significantly to more than US$ 130 billion in 2007. In this industry, more than half of the revenue comes from Asia where the average income has risen significantly, and the demand for luxury products is forecast to grow rapidly. Purchasing luxury brands appears to be an intriguing social phenomenon that is profitable for companies in this region. As a newly developed country, Korea is one of the most attractive luxury markets in Asia. Currently, a total of 120 luxury fashion brands have entered the Korean market, primarily in luxury districts in Seoul where the competition is fierce. The purposes of this study are to: (1) identify antecedents of attitude toward luxury brands, (2) examine the effect of attitudes toward luxury brands on customer equity, (3) determine the impact of attitudes toward luxury brands on customer lifetime value, and (4) investigate the influence of customer equity on customer life time value. Previous studies have examined materialism, social need, experiential need, need for uniqueness, conformity, and fashion involvement as antecedents of attitude toward luxury brands. Richins and Dowson (1992) suggested that that materialism influences consumption behavior relative to quantity of goods purchased. Nueno and Quelch (1998) reported that the ownership of luxury brands conveys information related to the owner's social status, communicates an image of success and prestige, and is a determinant of purchase behavior. Experiential need is recognized as an important aspect of consumption, especially for new products developed to meet consumer demand. Since luxury goods, by definition are relatively scarce, ownership of these types of products may fulfill consumers' need for uniqueness. In this study, value equity, relationship equity, and brand equity are examined as drivers of customer equity. The sample (n = 114) was undergraduate and graduate students at two private women's universities in Seoul, Korea. Data collection was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire survey in March, 2009. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis using SPSS 15.0 software. Data analysis resulted in a number of conclusions. First, experiential need and fashion involvement positively influence participants' attitude toward luxury brands. Second, attitude toward luxury brands positively influences brand equity, followed by value equity and relationship equity. However, there is no significant relationship between attitude toward luxury brand and customer lifetime value. Finally, relationship equity positively influences customer lifetime value. In conclusion, young consumers are an important potential consumer group that tries different brands to discover the ones most suitable for them. Luxury marketers that use effective marketing strategies to attract and engender loyalty among this potentially lucrative consumer group may increase customer equity and lifetime value.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.749-763
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• 2020

This study examined how viewers perceived luxury haul videos, what factors made them experience vicarious pleasure and gain relative deprivation when watching them. This study conducted an interview with 20 viewers of luxury haul videos. The content obtained from the interview was analyzed by classifying it into academic terms. Cases of vicarious pleasure arose when viewers had sufficient empathy when watching videos, which was intensified by YouTubers' behavior and visual stimulation in videos. A person's relative deprivation due to her financial capabilities or appearance occurred when she compared herself with YouTubers. The more viewers perceived luxury haul as a source of information, the more they felt relative deprivation; in addition, the more they perceived it as entertainment, the more they felt vicarious pleasure. Viewers who had a high level of involvement in luxury goods tended to feel vicarious pleasure; however, viewers with a high level of involvement in YouTubers tended to feel relative deprivation. This study helps luxury brands and YouTubers understand viewers' perception of their products and programs as well as helps in the development of fashion haul videos that are beneficial to viewers.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.64-71
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• 2019

Climate change and global warming are the biggest challenges of the current generation. Every industry has contributed to the climate change and global warming. Even the apparel industry cannot avoid the criticism regarding fast fashion and its contribution to the pollution. The transition to the decarbonized economy is in progress. All aspects of business functions are influenced by climate change. Sustainable development and climate change are closely linked, and business plays the key role in addressing and finding solutions to the challenges of climate change. Luxury brands are the trendsetters and tastemakers. They are the leaders in the fashion industry and therefore responsible for improving on sustainability as well. Even luxury business cannot avoid environmental issues. The relation between luxury and sustainability is explored with the Burberry case based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework. There are various ways for luxury brands to excel in sustainability and affect other companies' practices. The companies can incorporate the concept of sustainability in their brand stories as part of the branding process. They can also improve demand planning accuracy and produce upcycled goods. Centering on Burberry's case, this paper aims to explore the current sustainable practices of luxury business along with its future direction toward sustainable development. Its contribution and directions for both researchers and business practitioners are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.57 no.4 s.113
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• pp.173-187
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to analyze the fetishist characteristics and the aesthetic values of glamour style based on the premise that fetishism is the theoretical root of glamour style expressed in fashion throughout history. The following results are from analysing fetishist characteristics of glamour style. First, luxury was analysed from an angle of commodity fetishism. Every culture develops images and stories that portray a world in which its ideals are realized: a paradise, a utopia, a golden age, etc. Consumer goods often serve as 'bridges to these ideals'. People thus can fantasize about owning the perfect life. Crucially, however, they must never get everything they picture. That is why luxuries often take on displaced meaning. Glamour gives the displaced meaning visual form, making it beautiful and real. Second, the attention on the glamour of luxury goods as a bridge to ideals is connected to the glamour icon who is simultaneously a consumer of these luxury goods and a producer of cultural goods. Glamour icons including the courtesan of the late 19th century, the actress of the 1930s' Hollywood golden age and today's celebrities appear to efface the traces of production and create fetishist images in culture. Through this artificial principle, the commodity-cum-glamour icon comes to life as a splendid image of spectacle. Third, masquerade and seduction were analysed from an angle of sexual fetishism. A magnificent image of masquerade as sexual fetishism is often equated with femininity, especially in Hollywood movies, because the artificial seduction of the feminine -namely glamour- can be effected by the absence or silence of being. That is to say, the aesthetic revelation of femininity coincides with the fleshing out of artificial signs. Masquerade and the seduction of the feminine are connected with glamour's artificial sensuality from this point. Fourth, since 1980's when homosexuality as sexual deviation resurfaced as a hot topic, sexual ambiguity and bisexual image have gained attention as perverse sexuality. Next came queer theory, which reduced gender itself to a matter of surface rather than depth. According to queer theory, gender itself can be revealed as a kind of drag act. Drag's imitative performance may reveal that womanliness is just about 'dragging up'. Queerness as a decadent play makes a connection with the wicked origins of glamour. From these characteristics, four aesthetic values were deduced: ostentatious luxury and mysterious idolatry by commodity fetishism, artificial sensuality and playful queerness by sexual fetishism.