The case study provides an analysis of the multi-brands management of multi-national enterprise, taking Acer group as an example. The objective of this study is to analyze the reason for Acer group to adopt multi-brands strategy, how Acer group implements the multi-brand strategy and the overview of the industry. Provide SWOT analysis on Acer after its implementation of multi-brands and follows with conclusion and recommendations in the end.

<p>A strong brand is important for all companies; however, it is imperative for the success of a luxury fashion house as the image is one of its core assets. As strategic alliances are increasing in popularity the effect they have on how customers look at the partner brands is both interesting for the general person, but also – and more importantly – vital knowledge for companies pondering such a strategic move. The major focus of this study is to answer the question of how luxury designers’ collaborations with high street retailer Hennes & Mauritz affect how consumers perceive the luxury designer brand’s image.Theories on both brand extensions and co-branding have been compared to both qualitative and quantitative research conducted for the purpose of this investigation. This comparison has been made by using a model depicting the relationships between the collaborating brands. Through both acquiring a broad scope using the survey and deeper thoughts through focus group interviews the authors were able to gain a more holistic view of how people regard the luxury designer brands. The factors mainly investigated were those of change in awareness and change in purchase behaviour or intention, as they would be indicative of how people felt toward the luxury designer brands.The result of the investigation showed that the general perception of the luxury designer brands after the collaborations was positive with consumers in all segments. The collaboration did not cause a significant backlash on the regular luxury consumers, as the majority of this consumer segment also stated that they were not bothered by the collaborations.The collaborations could be seen as successful for the luxury designer brands as they managed to garner a lot of attention from new consumer groups, whilst at the same time managing to retain their regular customers. The reason found for not having had a negative impact on the brand was the way in which the collaborations were performed. That the brands had chosen a suitable partner where the perceived fit was great; that the associations with the collaboration and the partner brand did not infringe on the associations with the luxury designer brand; and the time frame of the collaboration, all meant that the consumers generally did not lose confidence in the luxury designer brands.</p>

Esta tesis consiste en tres artículos de investigación independientes que analizan diferentes estrategias implementadas en los mercados con competencia imperfecta.El primer articulo presenta un modelo formal que explica algunas de las razones que determinan las empresas producir segundas marcas - productos de perfil relativamente bajo lanzados por las empresas de renombre que deciden introducir diferenciación vertical. El modelo que presentamos incluye dos versiones. En la primera, la competencia en el espacio horizontal tiene lugar entre rivales que producen bienes de calidad alta similar, con diferentes bases de consumidores potenciales. En este caso, la producción de segundas marcas por las empresas intermedias puede surgir como un equilibrio en un juego no-cooperativo. Este resultado está en concordancia con las observaciones empíricas sobre los productores de tamaño medio que producen marcas blancas para atacar al líder del mercado. En la segunda versión del modelo, la competencia horizontal viene de un rival de calidad baja. Aquí, incluso los lideres del mercado pueden producir segundas marcas para protegerse de la competencia en el segmento bajo del mercado. Esto es similar con el propósito de los "fighting brands" comentados en la literatura de management. Finalmente, incluimos un análisis de bienestar para los dos casos.El segundo articulo trata sobre si la entrada es socialmente deseable. Obtenemos resultados opuestos a los obtenidos en los estudios anteriores que apuntan a una tendencia de entrada excesiva. El supuesto crucial que lleva a estos resultados previos es la simetría entre las empresas que ya existen en el mercado y los entrantes potenciales. Nuestro papel, apoyado por las observaciones empíricas en los nuevos mercados privatizados de Europa del Este, permite a los nuevos entrantes que sean mas competitivos. En este caso, tanto para la competencia en cantidad como para la de precios, la entrada puede ser insuficiente desde el punto de vista social. Este papel propone también una herramienta original para regular la entrada.Finalmente, el objetivo del tercer capitulo de la tesis es estudiar los efectos de los costes de sustitución endógenos sobre la eficiencia económica y el bienestar de los consumidores en nuevos contextos económicos a los estudiados hasta ahora por la literatura. El principal resultado de este articulo es que los programas que premian la lealtad de los consumidores (las empresas que endogenizan los costes de sustitución) aumentan la competencia. Nosotros utilizamos un modelo de competencia monopolistica, que elimina el efecto estratégico encontrado en modelos previos de duopolio. El papel también demuestra que la forma de compromiso es irrelevante: una función lineal de descuentos es equivalente al compromiso en precios futuros. Finalmente demostramos que la presencia de costes de sustitución exógenos reduce los incentivos de las empresas de introducir costes de sustitución endógenos. / This thesis consists of three independent pieces of research analysing different strategies implemented in imperfectly competitive markets.The first article of the thesis presents a formal model that explains some of the reasons that lie behind firms' decisions to produce secondary brands. These are lower profile products that well-known brand names launch when decide to introduce vertical differentiation. Two versions of a theoretical model are provided. In the first one, competition in the horizontal space takes place between similar high-quality rivals with different potential customer bases. In this case, production of secondary brands by intermediate firms may emerge as the equilibrium of a non-cooperative game. This is in line with the empirical observations regarding medium size manufacturers that produce private labels in order to attack the brand leader. In the second version of the model, horizontal competition comes from a low-quality rival. Here, even market leaders may produce secondary brands to protect themselves from competition in the low-end of the market. This is similar to the scope of fighting brands discussed in the management literature. Finally, some welfare analysis is provided for the two cases.The second article deals with the social desirability of entry. Previous results in the literature, pointing to a tendency for excessive entry, are reversed. The crucial assumption leading to these results is the symmetry between incumbents and potential entrants. This paper, supported by empirical observations from the newly privatised markets in Eastern Europe, allows for more competitive entrants. In this case, both for quantity and price competition, entry may be insufficient. The paper also proposes an innovative intervention tool to regulate entry.Finally, the third chapter of the thesis analyses the effects of loyalty rewarding pricing schemes on market performance. Unlike previous results in the literature and against the believes of some policy analysts, the main finding of this paper is that these programs enhance competition. Strategic commitment effect, present in duopoly analysis, was crucial in determining the results of previous articles dealing with this issue. This effect is eliminated here by using a monopolistically competitive framework, which leads to a more realistic approach. The paper also shows that, the form of commitment is irrelevant, as a linear discounting rule is equivalent to committing to future prices. Finally, it is proved that the presence of exogenous switching costs reduces firm's incentives to introduce endogenous switching costs.

Titel: Stadsdelen som varumärke - Invånares uppfattningar om Gävles stadsdelar   Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi   Författare: Martina Engebretzen Jonsson &amp; Josefin Lundström   Handledare: Jonas Kågström   Datum: 2013 - Augusti Syfte: Syftet med detta examensarbete är att analysera hur varumärket för en stadsdel uppfattas i en medelstor stad och om undersökningar som tidigare gjorts på länder och städer kan appliceras och tas ned till stadsdelsnivå. Metod: I den här studien kommer en kvantitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats att användas. Vidare kommer det positivistiska synsättet att ligga till grund för utformandet av studien. En enkät har utformats, utifrån en modifiering av City Brands Index, anpassad för stadsdelar. Resultatet på enkäten har sedan sammanställts och analyserat i statistikprogrammet Minitab samt Excel där ett nytt index tagits fram. Resultat och slutsats: Vi kan se att det föreligger uppfattningar som gör stadsdelarna till ett varumärke. Det finns tydliga indikationer på vad som utgör en populär stadsdel och till en önskvärd plats att bo på. Ryktet har stor påverkan för såväl den positiva som negativa uppfattningen om stadsdelar som varumärken. Detta är något som både allmännyttan, fastighetsmäkleri, privata fastighetsbolag samt kommunens stadsplanering kan ha intresse av vid utvecklande av områden. Förslag till fortsatt forskning:Studien kan göras om efter ett par år för att se förändringen av uppfattningen kring stadsdelarna, och sedan jämföra med hur lång tid som krävs för stadsdelar gentemot den tid det tar för länder och huvudstäder att ändra sin brand image internationellt. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar till den forskning som finns inom områdena för place branding och city branding. Detta då det testas om tidigare forskning kring länder och/eller städer som varumärken även går att applicera på dimensionen stadsdelsnivå, samt att fokus läggs på invånarnas perspektiv.

The celebrity status is seen in a wide variety of domains that ranges from entertainment, to sport, to politic communities. It operates as a way of providing distinctions and definitions of success within those domains (Marshall, 1997). The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the paradigmatic elements of celebrity negative information across different celebrity domains. The word paradigmatic is used because over the years we have seen celebrities killing their careers as consequence of their wild behavior. In the other hand we have also seen celebrities booming their careers. This thesis is an attempt to improve our understanding on which factors are of relevance when celebrities’ meltdown causing potential sources of troubles to stakeholders related with them. In summations the objective is finding patterns among the paradox and inconsistencies over the years of real life celebrity cases. We first analyze how the consumptions of celebrity offering yields different type of values to consumers that construct an OVP optimal value point. This OPV can be seen as a combination of enabling attributes and enhancing attributes. Enabling attributes such as “quality and efficiency” are a must for a human brand to even achieve celebrity status. The enhancing type of attributes such as “ethics or charity” bring that extra mile or added value not necessary to obtain success but beneficial to their overall image. In addition a discussion if celebrity negative information caused by illegal or immoral behavior can lead to value destruction affecting consumption patterns is presented whereas a qualitative study based on real life cases was carried out. The results showed that “consistency” with the celebrity previous behavior and image are crucial to anticipate how the consumers will react to a case of negative celebrity information. The celebrity “domain” revealed some tolerance bringing or blocking effect towards negative celebrity information. In conclusion this exploratory study is a good starting point to prove that not all negative celebrity information is negative to a celebrity and thus there is no general recipe to study these incidents. By bringing a framework like the one presented it is easier to isolate and study one case at a time. At the end of the paper we applied the framework and anticipated the response of Swedish consumer’s to a real drugs case scandal involving a singer.

I dagens samhälle finns reklam överallt och de flesta innehar en attityd gentemot både reklam och de varumärken som florerar i den, vare sig den är omedveten eller medveten. En målgrupp som ses som lättpåverkad, men ändå har en stark medvetenhet om olika varumärken är ungdomar. Som ung gäller det att passa in men ändå stå ut, att hitta sig själv trots grupptryck och påtryckningar från omvärlden. En inte obetydlig del av detta inflytande kommer från olika sorters marknadsföring som alla utsätts för varje dag. Denna studie ämnar undersöka ungdomars attityd till olika varumärken och hur attityden till enskilda varumärken kan påverka samarbete i form av co-branding, men även hur den upplevda passningen kan påverka resultatet. Respondenterna är elever på Skärgårdsgymnasiet i Åkersberga och med snöbollsmetoden som urval har 24 semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. De medverkande har fått ge sin åsikt om fyra olika varumärken, två företag och två personer. Därefter har de fått se en reklamfilm där ett företag och en person har ingått i ett samarbete och slutligen har respondenterna återgett sin attityd igen angående varumärken, samarbete och hur väl de anser att varumärkena passar ihop. Studiens resultat visar hur faktorer som en positiv eller negativ attityd drastiskt kan förändras av att de varumärken som ingår i alliansen inte passar ihop i respondenternas ögon. Positiv attityd överförs i viss grad, men även fall där de två delarna sågs som negativa kunde efter avslöjandet om samarbete ge respondenterna en positiv attityd. Tillsammans med tidigare forskning inom området co-branding kan uppsatsen tillföra ytterligare kunskap i denna forskning om konsumenters attityd gentemot varumärken.

A strong brand is important for all companies; however, it is imperative for the success of a luxury fashion house as the image is one of its core assets. As strategic alliances are increasing in popularity the effect they have on how customers look at the partner brands is both interesting for the general person, but also – and more importantly – vital knowledge for companies pondering such a strategic move. The major focus of this study is to answer the question of how luxury designers’ collaborations with high street retailer Hennes &amp; Mauritz affect how consumers perceive the luxury designer brand’s image.Theories on both brand extensions and co-branding have been compared to both qualitative and quantitative research conducted for the purpose of this investigation. This comparison has been made by using a model depicting the relationships between the collaborating brands. Through both acquiring a broad scope using the survey and deeper thoughts through focus group interviews the authors were able to gain a more holistic view of how people regard the luxury designer brands. The factors mainly investigated were those of change in awareness and change in purchase behaviour or intention, as they would be indicative of how people felt toward the luxury designer brands.The result of the investigation showed that the general perception of the luxury designer brands after the collaborations was positive with consumers in all segments. The collaboration did not cause a significant backlash on the regular luxury consumers, as the majority of this consumer segment also stated that they were not bothered by the collaborations.The collaborations could be seen as successful for the luxury designer brands as they managed to garner a lot of attention from new consumer groups, whilst at the same time managing to retain their regular customers. The reason found for not having had a negative impact on the brand was the way in which the collaborations were performed. That the brands had chosen a suitable partner where the perceived fit was great; that the associations with the collaboration and the partner brand did not infringe on the associations with the luxury designer brand; and the time frame of the collaboration, all meant that the consumers generally did not lose confidence in the luxury designer brands.

Varumärken är viktiga för företags vara eller icke vara. Ett företag vars varumärke är dåligt eller döende kan gå samma öde till mötes som varumärket. Därför är det förvånande att, enligt en undersökning gjord av en varumärkesbyrå publicerad i en branschtidning, marknads- och informationschefer i Stockholm har dålig koll på sitt varumärke. I vår studie undersöks vilka problem som kundföretag oftast har när de söker hjälp av en varumärkesbyrå. Vi försöker sedan att identifiera varför, och möjliga lösningar för att lösa eller förminska dessa problem. För att kunna göra detta har vi genomfört fyra intervjuer med varumärkesbyråer i Stockholm, varav vissa är erkänt bland de bästa i Sverige. Resultatet är att de vanligaste problemen som varumärkesbyråerna identifierat egentligen inte har med varumärkena i sig att göra, utan mest är av organisatorisk och kunskapsmässig art. Exempelvis gör företag för många undersökningar utan att veta vad dessa ska leda till, varumärkets och företagets värderingar är relativt okända inom företaget, företaget har ett kortsiktigt synsätt, och marknadsföringsavdelningar har för bristfälligt samarbete med ledning samt lite makt att kunna styra nödvändiga förändringar. Vi menar att dessa problem kan lösas genom högre utbildning av dem som har hand om varumärket, brand managers, en generell kunskapshöjning inom marknadsföringsavdelningen vad gäller marknadsföring, och en mer integrerad marknadsföringsavdelning som tar plats med ledning för ökat samspel.

In recent years, the size of the sporting goods industry in mainland China is developing so rapidly that led many Chinese national sports brand to the market. Among them, the most representative brands, Li Ning and Anta, not only have outstanding performances in the Chinese market, but more gradually into the international sports market. But sporting goods industry as a mature market, especially under the domination of international brands such as NIKE and ADIDAS, it is very difficult for a new luxury brand to survive as a late-mover. In this research, based on New Business Model (Hamel, 2000) and Second-Mover Advantage Theory (Varadarajan et al, 1992), developing a structural model to discuss how could a new sporting goods brand succeed competing with existing brands and go international. Li Ning and Anta, two new China sproting brands, are taken as our study cases. Several important findings are as following: 1. The national character is the competitive advantage of the sporting goods company. Companies should integrate into the China element in the product, and also go to explore the spirit of China's unique culture. 2. Differentiation from competitors through brand positioning, to find their own niche markets. 3. Through continued sponsorship of international competition, the well-known players, not only can produce international visibility, and better able to establish its brand image. 4. China's overall environment provides the opportunity to develop sporting goods company. Key Words: Li Ning, Anta, Sporting Brands, Second-Mover, Competitive advantage

The purpose of this study is to gain an insight into Chinese brands and branding strategies, with a particular focus on the manufacturing sector. This study will explore the value of existing brand management theory as related to Chinese brand building. In order to gain answers to the research questions, analyses of the secondary data and in-depth interviews with top Chinese banding consultants are conducted. The data is then analyzed using constant comparative and coding methods. This study comprehensively analyzes all the possible factors which directly or indirectly influence Chinese brand building. The research findings show that Chinese companeis, especially manufacturing companies, lack a clear brandoriented culture and sustainable investment in branding. Chinese companies’ brand builing lacks a systematic theoretical system, as well as lack professional brand knowledge, experience and skills-set. Moreover, external factors in terms of industry structure, government policy/regulations, and the market environement also have further specific impacts on Chinese companies’ brand building. This research highlights that currently the most important aims for Chinese companies are to remove their production-orientated mind-set, and to change the poor image of ‘Made in China’ in terms of poor quality, weak R&D and a poor level of marketing skills. In addition to such self-discipline, the government should strengthen relevant legislation in order to promote a better brand-building environment and to encourage independent innovation. Furthermore, this research suggests that Chinese companies should not be too hasty to enter foreign markets unless they are fully prepared. The domestic market provides a good opportunity for Chinese companies to learn to grow gradually by developing their ability to build brands. This study generates a better understanding of the current situation of Chinese brands and branding, which could result in positive improvements for those Chinese companies and policy makers, in that they will be able to undertake more effective action and employ greater sophistication in future brand creation. The research findings have also complemented the previous literature, and lay the foundation for future research focusing on Chinese band building. Meanwhile, the research findings support existing theories of brand management. This study addresses the importance of the application of brand management theory in Chinese branding practices. The existing brand management theories provide a comprehensive systematic guideline for Chinese companies, and they are fundamental to Chinese companies’ brand building.