Chinas Luxury Goods Market - Dissertation Example

With an increased spending power among Chinese consumers along with reduced government restrictions, luxury brands from foreign countries have experienced the pressure of strengthening their commitment to the Chinese mainland to maintain a competitive advantage and avoid losing to rivals. Luxury is a subjective concept that is constantly developing, hence its varied definitions. Nonetheless, luxury has typically been used to characterize a state of great comfort or a desirable item (Park, Rabolt, and Jeon 2008).

Luxury brands significantly differ from others in such a way that these entail a premium with no clear benefits over their counterparts. However, consumers remain willing to pay for a significant price as such brands exhibit unique attributes in terms of reputation, quality, and recognizability. Luxury brands do not only express high stands of superiority but also represent a social code that suggests access to desirability and exclusivity. The luxury market has, thus, gained considerable interest from many due to its representation of a hedonistic and somehow irrational form of consumption with which individuals purchase goods for the pleasure these provide regardless of financial costs (Phau and Teah 2009).

The luxury brands that are in operation within China are mainly from Europe and include a wide range of retail sectors, including jewellery, fashion clothing and accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and automotive. The following sections then focus on the Chinese consumption behavior towards luxury brands, particularly the unique characteristics of Chinese consumers, the strategies for promoting luxury brands in China, as well as the possible challenges that Chinese companies may face in promoting such luxury brands.

Product Brand: An Overview A brand is considered as a guarantee to the consumer of better quality or performance as compared to a product’s generic counterpart, in regards to both the physical and technical aspects. When companies market a branded product, their statements ensure qualities that cannot be acquired through using generic or alternative brands. In most cases, brands are illustrated to depict an individual’s preferred lifestyle. Product branding caters to products alone, whereas corporate branding is the strategy of utilizing the name of the company to represent a certain product or service (de Chernatony 1999; de Chernatony 2001).

Products are manufactured in warehouses and factories, but brands are what consumers are after. Consumers make purchases to take hold of a product’s statement and the distinction of one product from another, as personified through brands. Products can be identical and they can be seen in any shop, but the incorporation of a specific brand gives a product a personal touch that would be difficult for competitors to imitate. Though products can be outdated, brands that are successful are always cherished by their loyal customers.

In branding, it is imperative for the presentation and the package to look their best. It is not necessarily grandeur, but it depends on the statement that the firm wants to communicate about the product. It is important that all the necessary details and information are presented to the target market (Olins 2000). In the market, there are a lot of products that claim to be the most efficient, ideal, and best to be purchased and used by consumers. Each has its own qualities and features.