The luxury market has steadily grown from the industrial revolution and onwards. Changes in society, trends and the increased living standards has enabled more people to consume luxury goods. The world is going through a major economic crisis at the moment. Studies shows that companies that have focused on added value rather than lowering prices has survived past financial crisis. It is also obvious that companies act very different during times of crisis. Adding to the problem is trends that point to a more careful consumption and environmental awareness. Different source suggest different opinions on the situation and future for the luxury market. The purpose of the study is to answer what strategies are important for luxury brands during a financial crisis. To answer this a qualitative study is performed on Swedish luxury brands to analyse what their strategies are during the current economic crisis and compare that to how ”exclusive” or ”luxurious” they are considered. This to investigate if there is a relationship between a brands exclusiveness and chosen strategy.

The co-branding strategies are gaining attention from research due to the special difficulties of implementing a collaborative strategy. Hence, this paper evaluates the effect of the co-branding strategy between a luxury brand and a high-street retailer on the luxury consumers’ brand equity of the luxury brand post-co-branding. Additionally, this study aims to find differences between the generation Y and X cohorts in terms of brand equity impact from co-branding. This effect was evaluated from three brand equity dimensions: perceived quality, brand image and brand loyalty. To conduct this research the data was collected at the department store Harvey Nichols in London where luxury fashion brands are sold. Later the data was analyzed with a regression, analysis and t-test. The consumers showed differences in terms of their attitude towards the co-branding strategies between a luxury fashion brand and a high-street retailer. In addition, this research found that all the brand equity dimensions suffer a direct influence from the attitude towards co-branding for all the consumers in the study. Direct influence means that the co-branding strategies may cause positive or negative spillover effects. Moreover, the results conclude that there is only a difference in the brand equity dimension of brand loyalty between the generation cohorts Y and X.

Research into the luxury debate in 18th century Sweden has focused on poetry and literature, the wording of decrees and the minutes of the Swedish riksdag. One source material largely left unexplored is the body of dissertations published by Swedish universities of the time. Not only is this an unfortunate omission as the universities were important intellectual centres, but also because they had a distinct culture, heavily influenced by Latin and the classics, in which luxury condemnations played a pivotal role. Building on the notion that ideas are best studied as arguments in debates, this master’s thesis examines twelve dissertations published in Sweden in the years 1722–1779 using models of conceptual change and argumentation analysis as theoretical approaches. The results indicate that the academic debate on luxury, through its focus on classical antiquity and conceptual definition, distinguished itself from other contemporary Swedish contributions to the debate, and that the interpretation of its characteristics must proceed from both the dissertation genre and the learned culture of university. The investigation furthermore stresses the importance of the university as a venue for reception of ideas in the latter part of the Early Modern Period and emphasises the dissertations as a central medium in this process.

The focus of this study is the role and function of country of origin (COO) in the creation and communication of the brand identities of Scottish premium/luxury brands. It applies the identity concept which is well developed in the branding literature to the COO literature where the focus on the consumer perspective of country image has resulted in the area of origin management being underdeveloped. Recognising the paucity of COO literature which examines the mechanisms and processes used by luxury brands to communicate COO, these are also analysed. The study uses an innovative two stage sequential mixed methods research design. In the first stage, the macro perspective is gained from the analysis of a database of companies compiled specifically for the study covering six categories of Scottish premium/luxury brands. Additionally a postal survey and analysis of company web pages gather a mix of qualitative and quantitative data to examine the role of COO. The second stage gains strategic insights from semi structured interviews with business elites achieving in depth understanding of the decision making process regarding the strategic advantages of COO in brand identities. The value of the study lies in the contribution to knowledge from frameworks which identify: the characteristics which differentiate companies within and across luxury sectors and organisational structure models which reflect the dominant ownership structures in the Scottish food and beverage, textiles/cashmere and whisky sectors; the dimensions of Scottish premium/luxury brands across a range of product categories; the motivations and drivers for adopting a COO identity; the criteria which distinguish COO brands; the COO communication process. The importance of COO as a key differentiating device which conveys competitive advantage is developed using the metaphor of COO as the anchor which locates the brand in a place which evokes symbolic, emotional and psychological associations and provides the brand with protection and security.

The luxury industry is one of the most powerful and solid industries of all times. In 2015, it surpassed €1 trillion in retail sales value, increasing year after year with a constant growth rate around 5% at constant exchange rates. However, the luxury goods market found a slowdown in its growth, national economies started to recover step by step after the 2008-09 economic crisis and the market keeps attracting wealthy Chinese tourist's. Indeed, they bought half of the luxury goods sold in 2015. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the Global personal luxury goods evolution over the years and the increasing role of Chinese consumers who fuel its continued growth. It provides an historical overview, summarizes the economic analysis of the industry, and includes a literature about the motivations of Chinese luxury purchases.

This diploma thesis Comparative analysis of communication of the brands Louis Vuitton and Estée Lauder across selected periodicals in 2013 deals with the forms of communication the selected luxury brands on the platform of magazines use for addressing their existing and also potential customers. The theoretical part defines luxury and luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Estée Lauder and media, namely printed magazines Elle and Marianne, which together constitute the necessary basis for the subsequent research. Methodological part looks at the key persuasive, semiotic and pragmatic approaches, which, using verbal and non-verbal communication elements, participate in the construction of the examined texts, and submits related basic concepts, which are then used in the analytical part. Here, first, is realized a detailed description and analysis of the selected types of communication followed by the comparison and final evaluation of the findings obtained. Comparison in that is made not only within the individual magazines, respectively types of utterances placed in them, but also in connection with the specifics of the selected luxury brands. This diploma thesis aims to describe the selected utterances, analyze the contents they communicate, compare them and finally reveal the key communication methods...

Is luxury consumption incompatible with simple living? ... or not? For most of the people the question and the answer are obvious. On the first sight, it seems that there is no compatibility at all. How can luxury that is often connected and used as a synonym for opulence, excessive useless things and so on be even placed in one sentence with such a frugal concept as simple living? The purpose of this thesis is to define the framework and the issues that arise when putting the two concepts together. The findings of the thesis can be treated in deeper research that can follow and be inspired by this thesis. In order to prove and explain the analytical part, the findings are applied on real life examples. The theoretical part defines what luxury is, what its specific attributes are and why it stands apart from the "traditional" marketing approach. What is more, the impact of internalization and globalization on the luxury products and services is particular and cannot be treated in the same manner as for the mass consumption brands. The second analytical part treats the concept of simple living, the common misunderstandings and the philosophy of the concept. The two concepts are then put together in order to search for some for the points in common and the incompatibilities. The last chapter is dedicated to a practical illustration of the theory stated. Five star spa hotel and forest retreat Chateau Mcely is used as an example of luxury meeting simple living in some areas. The hotel is briefly introduced starting with the history of the building and then the modern history of the today's hotel after it was acquired by the actual owners, Inéz and James Cusumano. The mission statement and the principal idea of the project are detailed same as is the marketing mix of Chateau Mcely. And finally, the sustainability and ways of creating it are presented in order to underline the symbiosis of luxurious hotel and simple living, at least in some domains.

Ce travail doctoral introduit le nouveau concept de capital mode appliqué aux marques de luxe. Défini comme la valeur ajoutée de la mode aux marques, ce nouvel outil a été fondé sur quatre études empiriques, deux qualitatives et deux quantitatives. Les résultats ont permis de (1) définir le concept en sept dimensions, (2) d’identifier le rôle du besoin de conformité, de différenciation des consommateurs, et l’implication dans les vêtements comme étant des antécédents du capital mode, (3) de mettre en avant les variables modératrices du modèle que sont les besoins des conformité et de différenciation du consommateur, ainsi que le capital marque, et enfin (4) d’exprimer ses conséquences relationnelles et comportementales au travers de l’engagement, du bouche-à-oreille, de la volonté de payer un prix premium et de l’intention de ré-achat / This doctoral work introduces the new concept of fashion equity applied to luxury brands. Defined as the added value of fashion to brands, this new tool was developed based on four empirical studies, two qualitative and two quantitative. The results allowed to (1) define the concept along with seven dimensions, (2) identify as antecedents, consumers conformity and differentiation needs, as well as clothing involvement (3) highlight the moderating variables of the model as consumer conformity, differentiation needs and brand equity, and finally (4) express the relational and behavioral consequences of the concept through commitment, word of mouth, willingness to pay a premium price and intention to re-purchase

Les lits funéraires de l’époque romaine sont issus d’une tradition ancienne dont les origines, au-delà des Grecs, remontent aux périodes historiques les plus reculées, en Égypte et au Proche-Orient. Depuis le XIXe siècle, les fouilles ont livré de nombreux vestiges chronologiquement situés pour la plupart entre le IIe s. av. et le IIe s. ap. J.-C. ; ils font écho à ceux découverts en contextes domestiques, certes moins nombreux, mais dont l’étude autorise des comparaisons intéressantes et une meilleure compréhension du sujet. La grande variété des modèles répertoriés m’a donc conduit à l’élaboration d’une typologie détaillée, incluant les formes les plus anciennes jusqu’à celles de la période romaine. Les publications consultées ont fait évoluer de manière significative notre connaissance des lits ornés de bronze et ceux rehaussés de décorations en os sculpté. En revanche, les attestations de lits en ivoire demeurent extrêmement rares, que ce soit en Italie ou dans l’ensemble du monde romain. La découverte à Cumes des restes de trois exemplaires, dont les décorations étaient sculptées en ce matériau précieux, constitue par conséquent un témoignage essentiel et de premier ordre. Les fragments étaient mélangés aux ossements des défunts et contenus dans des urnes, elles-mêmes déposées au sein d’importants mausolées. La remarquable qualité de facture et la grande finesse d’exécution, bien visibles sur certaines pièces conservées malgré la destruction engendrée par la crémation, ainsi que les thèmes iconographiques mis en scène, attestent des intentions ostentatoires des propriétaires, soucieux de montrer aux vivants leur statut social, leur richesse et leur vertu. La mise en contexte de ces trois lits et leur étude approfondie, au regard des occurrences connues, a permis pour chacun d’entre eux d’aboutir à une proposition de restitution graphique, préambule indispensable à une analyse iconographique et iconologique. Les résultats obtenus, mis en regard des mausolées dans lesquels ils furent découverts, ont conduit à une compréhension plus précise de la place prépondérante qu’occupaient ces lits dans le cérémonial des funérailles. / The funerary beds of the Roman period come from an ancient tradition, whose origins, beyond the Greeks, can be traced to the earliest historical periods, in Egypt and in the Near East. Since the 19th century, excavations have produced many vestiges, most of them dating back to between the 2nd C. BC up to the 2nd C. AD ; they echo pieces found in domestic contexts which, though less numerous, allow interesting comparisons and a better understanding of the topic. The large variety of the identified models led me to develop a detailed typology of these forms, from the most ancient ones up to those of the Roman period. The consulted publications significantly changed our knowledge of the beds adorned with bronze as well as those adorned with bone carvings. By contrast, instances of ivory beds are extremely rare, whether it be in Italy or in the whole Roman world. Thus, the discovery at Cumae of the vestiges of three ivory beds, adorned with this precious material, serves as essential and unique testimony. The fragments were mixed with the bones of the deceased and placed in urns, themselves located in important mausoleums. Their remarkable quality and meticulous workmanship, clearly visible upon some pieces, which survived the destruction caused by the cremation, as well as the iconographic staged patterns, testify to the conspicuous intentions of their owners, anxious to show their social status, their wealth and their virtues to the living. The contextualization and close study of these three beds, along with a comparison with the known examples, led for each of them to an attempt at a graphic restoration, as a prerequisite for an iconographical and iconological analysis. The achieved results, correlated with the mausoleums where they were found, led to a much more precise understanding of those beds and of the prominent position they enjoyed at the funeral ceremony.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T14:10:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 adrianaleite.pdf: 4599202 bytes, checksum: 49fac7ef4c4d20f3ac114f205900b5e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-24 / The broad purpose of this work is to study some issues that serve to support the relationship among consumption, communication and identity. It seeks to understand the relations between communications and consumption, as from the formation of the identity of female consumers of national luxury articles, obtaining these relations inside the group itself. For that purpose, we will investigate some representations of consumptions of national brands by a social group of the elite, which can influence new tendencies and be followed by other social groups. We will look after the profile of this consumer and how his choices are made. The specific purpose of this work is to analyze the relations among communication, consumption and formation of identity, understood as a continuous social process, where the agents are actives in their choices. Therefore, this work proposes a study of the reception, which is inserted at the research line that studies the socio-cultural impacts of the communication oriented to the marke of the Communication and Consumption Practices Master Program of ESPM. In the process of investigation, we will conduct a bibliographical research, under a theoretical nature, in order to look for references that will help to build the object, enriching the reflections over the proposed relations and the analysis of the data to be collected in field researches. We will also conduct a research of secondary data over the fashion world. / O objetivo amplo desse trabalho é estudar algumas questões que servem de pano de fundo para a relação entre consumo, comunicação e identidade. Procura-se entender as relações de comunicação e consumo a partir da formação de identidade das mulheres consumidoras de artigos de luxo nacional, buscando estas relações junto ao próprio grupo. Para tanto, investigaremos algumas representações de consumo de grifes nacionais por um grupo social de elite que pode influenciar novas tendências e ser seguido por outros grupos sociais. Busca-se identificar o perfil deste consumidor e como suas escolhas são feitas. O objetivo específico é entender as relações entre comunicação, consumo e a formação da identidade entendidas num processo social continuado, em que os agentes são ativos em suas escolhas. Portanto, este trabalho propõe um estudo de recepção, que se insere na linha de pesquisa que trata dos impactos sócio-culturais da comunicação orientada para o mercado do Programa de Mestrado em Comunicação e Práticas de Consumo da ESPM. No processo de investigação, será realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica, de cunho teórico, com o objetivo de buscar referencias que ajudarão a construir o objeto, enriquecendo as reflexões sobre as relações propostas e a análise de dados a serem coletados em pesquisa de campo. Também será realizado um levantamento de dados secundários sobre o mundo da moda.