<p>This study concerns retail brands in the food retail industry and focuses on premium products. The research is investigating how ICA can best use premium products to increase their profitability. The study is thus based on their brand ICA Selection and investigates three sub purposes concerning the customers’ perception of the products, their purchase behavior and their willingness to pay a price premium.</p><p> </p><p>To investigate, theory concerning brand resources was utilized, involving both brand equity and brand management. To measure brand equity, the authors adapted a customer mind set and utilized Aaker’s framework and the specific industry developments made by Anselmsson, Johansson and Persson. Accordingly, this theory is based on five brand equity attributes: perceived quality, brand associations, loyalty, awareness and uniqueness. These attributes were thereafter developed to explain food premium products. The brand management theory used was Kapferer’s brand management strategies, in order to assess ICA’s strategic advantages and disadvantages.</p><p> </p><p>The research was quantitative and the authors utilized a visit self completion questionnaire, in order to describe and investigate the purpose. The questionnaire was handed out according to a systematic sampling method, to customers at the 4 different concept ICA stores in Umeå.</p><p> </p><p>Based on the findings, the authors concluded that in order to increase the profitability of ICAs food premium products, the following strategies should be considered. First, the customer awareness of ICA Selection must be increased and the customers must be educated about the benefits of the product. Moreover, the premium brand should aim to provide value for money, high intrinsic product quality (i.e. taste, ingredients etc) and an improved store image. These factors will help defend the price premium.  Furthermore, to attract buyers, the brand has to have a high enough brand status and a sufficiently attractive and functional packaging. This research has therefore concluded how to efficiently allocate the resources and obtain an increased customer satisfaction. This may in turn increase the profitability of ICA Selection. However, it is of course important to also take into account the external environment, such as the recession and competition, when deciding on the brand strategy.</p>

This study concerns retail brands in the food retail industry and focuses on premium products. The research is investigating how ICA can best use premium products to increase their profitability. The study is thus based on their brand ICA Selection and investigates three sub purposes concerning the customers’ perception of the products, their purchase behavior and their willingness to pay a price premium.   To investigate, theory concerning brand resources was utilized, involving both brand equity and brand management. To measure brand equity, the authors adapted a customer mind set and utilized Aaker’s framework and the specific industry developments made by Anselmsson, Johansson and Persson. Accordingly, this theory is based on five brand equity attributes: perceived quality, brand associations, loyalty, awareness and uniqueness. These attributes were thereafter developed to explain food premium products. The brand management theory used was Kapferer’s brand management strategies, in order to assess ICA’s strategic advantages and disadvantages.   The research was quantitative and the authors utilized a visit self completion questionnaire, in order to describe and investigate the purpose. The questionnaire was handed out according to a systematic sampling method, to customers at the 4 different concept ICA stores in Umeå.   Based on the findings, the authors concluded that in order to increase the profitability of ICAs food premium products, the following strategies should be considered. First, the customer awareness of ICA Selection must be increased and the customers must be educated about the benefits of the product. Moreover, the premium brand should aim to provide value for money, high intrinsic product quality (i.e. taste, ingredients etc) and an improved store image. These factors will help defend the price premium.  Furthermore, to attract buyers, the brand has to have a high enough brand status and a sufficiently attractive and functional packaging. This research has therefore concluded how to efficiently allocate the resources and obtain an increased customer satisfaction. This may in turn increase the profitability of ICA Selection. However, it is of course important to also take into account the external environment, such as the recession and competition, when deciding on the brand strategy.

Bakgrund: Tiden är en av de äldsta mänskliga konstruktionerna och ett fenomen som människor alltid velat mäta. Detta har människan gjort genom alla tider med hjälp av allt från solur, astronomiska ur till mekaniska ur. I dagens moderna samhälle där människor har en ständig tillgång till displayer som visar hur mycket klockan är, fortsätter den Schweiziska klockindustrin att exportera för miljontals Schweiziska franc och efterfrågan tycks inte påverkas av de elektroniska prylarna och ”smartphones”. När tiden inte är det relevanta längre eller det som konsumenter strävar efter vid köp av en klocka, ställer vi oss frågan om vad det är som driver folk till att vara villiga att lägga ner så mycket pengar på en sådan produkt? Vad är det för värde som huvudsakligen uppfattas och varierar de mellan konsumenterna beroende på klockans syfte? Genom att undersöka faktorer inom de olika värdekategorierna Socialt-, Hedonistiskt- och Funktionellt värde, och med hjälp av två olika konsumenttyper, har författarna som avsikt att slutligen klargöra vilka faktorer som är mer eller mindre värdeskapande. Studien bidrar till en kartläggning och en kunskapsspridning om vilka faktorer som är mest värdeskapande, inte bara gällande klockor, men även för hela premiumindustrin. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera vilka faktorer som är av vikt och har betydelse för konsumenters uppfattning om värde när det gäller premiumprodukter. För att utreda detta har vi valt att fokusera på klockindustrin där vi avser undersöka och fastställa vilka faktorer som till högre eller lägre grad har betydelse för konsumentens uppfattning om vad som genererar ett värde. Genomförande: Studien har ett interpretativistiskt synsätt och är en deduktiv studie som karaktäriseras av ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt. Empirin har samlats in genom ett bekvämlighetsurval med inslag av målstyrt urval. Sammanlagt har 9 intervjuer med privatpersoner genomförts. Slutsats: Studien visar på att de värdeskapande faktorerna varierar beroende på konsumenttyp samt deras syfte med köpet. Orsakerna till hur konsumenter uppfattar faktorer som värdeskapande beror på vad konsumenten strävar efter, hur insatt konsumenten är i ämnet samt dess bakgrund. De värdeskapande faktorerna går även att väva samman och utgör ofta ett ökat värde tillsammans. / Background: Time is one of the oldest constructions created by humans and a phenomenon that humans always wanted to measure. This has been done by humans throughout all ages, using everything from sundials, astronomical watches to mechanical watches. In today's modern society, where people have constant access to displays showing the time, the Swiss watch industry continues to export for millions of Swiss francs and the demand does not seem to be affected. When time is neither the factor nor the reason why people are buying a watch, what is causing people to spend money on such a product? What types of values are essentially perceived and do they vary between consumers depending on their purpose of the watch? By examining factors within the different categories of value; the Social-, the Hedonistic- and Functional value, and by using two different types of consumers’, the authors have the intention to clarify which factors are of more or less value- creating. The study contributes to a mapping and dissemination of knowledge about which factors are the most value creating ones, not only regarding watches, but for the entire premium industry. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify which factors are important and of significance to consumers' perception of value in terms of premium products. As a case for investigating this issue, the authors have chosen the watch industry where they intend to investigate and determine which factors are of higher or lower importance to the consumer's perception of what has generated value-creation. Completion: The study has an interpretative approach and is a deductible study characterized by a qualitative approach. The empirical data has been collected through a convenience sample with elements of a target sample. A total of 9 interviews with private individuals have been conducted. Conclusion: The study shows that the value-creating factors vary depending on the consumer type and their purpose of the purchase. The reasons for how consumers perceive factors as value creating depend on what the consumer strives for, how committed the consumer is to the subject and the consumer’s background. The value-creating factors can also be put together and often constitute an increased value.

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