ConsumerBehaviorofFemaleMillennialsintheCaseofLouisVuitton:ImplicationsforLuxuryBrandManagementPractices

BachelorThesisforObtainingtheDegree

BachelorofScience(BSc)

InternationalManagement

SubmittedtoLidijaLalicic

KristinaArtner

1521013

Vienna,11thMay2018

2

Affidavit

IherebyaffirmthatthisBachelor’sThesisrepresentsmyownwrittenworkandthatI

haveusednosourcesandaidsotherthanthoseindicated.Allpassagesquotedfrom

publicationsorparaphrasedfromthesesourcesareproperlycitedandattributed.

The thesiswasnot submitted in the sameor ina substantially similar version,not

evenpartially,toanotherexaminationboardandwasnotpublishedelsewhere.

Vienna,11thMay2018

Date Signature

3

Abstract

Thevalueoftheglobalmarketforluxurygoodshasbeenincreasingsteadilyfor

severalyearsnow(Bain&Company,2017).Thistrendisgoingtocontinueeven

furtherinthenearfuturebecauseoftwodevelopmentshappeningworldwide

currently.Firstly,becauseoftheso-called“millennialization”ofpotentialcustomers,

whichareevenmorelikelyandwillingtoinvestintopersonalluxuryfashionitems

(D’Arpizio,Levato,Kamel,&DeMontgolfier,2017).Secondly,thisgeneration

reachingtheirmainearningyearssoonconsequentlyleadstoincreasesinspending

powerforthisgeneration(Fry,2015).Theproblemhoweveris,thatduetothis

generationbeingshapedbycompletelydifferentcharacteristicsthananygeneration

before,prospectsaboutconsumerbehaviorarenotquiteclear(McGee,2017).

Accordingtoofficialsources,theluxuryfashionbrandLouisVuitton(LV),isrankedas

themostvaluablebrandintheluxuryfashionindustry(#20LouisVuitton)andis

proventobeparticularlypopularamongMillennials(D’Arpizio,Levato,Kamel,&De

Montgolfier,2017).Forthisreason,thispaperinvestigateswhichattributesofthe

luxuryfashionbrandactuallyattractsfemaleMillennials.Furthermore,thethesis

exploreswhichotherfactorsinfluencethedecisionmakingandpurchasingprocess

aswellasthepost-purchasebehaviorofMillennialsinthecaseofluxuryproducts.

Bydoingso,thethesisprovidesinsightsabouttheconsumerbehaviorofMillennials

withrespecttopopularhighfashionbrands.

EightinterviewswithfemaleMillennialshavebeenconductedleadingtotheresult

thatcompanyvaluessuchastraditionandaprestigiousimagemakeMillennialstrust

thebrandandconcludethatitdelivershighqualityproducts.Stillinordertobefully

satisfiedMillennialsareexpectingmuchmorethanjustbasicproductfeatures.The

overallpurchasingexperienceisincreasinglyimportantaswellasdeliveringproducts

thataddvaluetothecustomers´lifeintermsofhandinessandpracticality,evenin

theluxuryfashionindustry.Furthermore,thebusinessmodelofconsumerloyalty

doesnotapplyinthecaseofMillennialsinthesamewayanymore.Evenwhen

highlysatisfiedwiththeirpurchasingexperience,thegenerationislikelytoswitchto

otherbrands,forcingcompaniestoinvestheavilyininnovationmanagementto

succeedinthelongrun.Moreover,asetofsuggestionsaboutbusinessstrategies

relatedtohowtoattractandretainMillennialsascustomersaregiven.

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Acknowledgements

Firstofall,IwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetomytutorMs.LidijaLalicicforher

greatsupportandconstructivefeedbackwhilewritingmythesis.Alreadyduringthe

processofdefiningthetopicandscopeofmythesisMs.Lalicicproofedtobevery

helpfulaswellasherbeingveryendeavorstoanswerallthequestionthatcameup

onmypathandmademyoverallexperienceaveryinstructiveandenjoyableone.

Furthermore,Iwanttothankallofthegirlsthatdeclaredthemselveswillingtotake

part in the personal interviews, hence making my thesis and market research

possiblebecauseofsharingtheirvaluableandprivateinsightswithme.

Lastly, andmost importantly, I want to take this opportunity to greatly thankmy

parents.WithoutthemIwouldnotbewhereIamtoday.Thankyouforyoursupport

throughouttheyears,formakingitpossibleformetofollowmyveryownpersonal

dreamsandgoalsandalwaysbeingbymyside,nomatterwhichwayIamdeciding

togo.

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TableofContentsAffidavit......................................................................................................2

Abstract.......................................................................................................3

Acknowledgements.....................................................................................4

ListofTables................................................................................................8

ListofFigures..............................................................................................8

ListofAbbreviations....................................................................................8

1 ResearchObjective................................................................................9

1.1 Introduction.............................................................................................9

1.2 ProblemDefinitionandNeedfortheStudy............................................11

1.3 ObjectivesoftheStudy...........................................................................12

1.4 StructureoftheStudy.............................................................................13

2 LiteratureReview................................................................................14

2.1 TheStudyofConsumerBehavior............................................................14

2.1.1 ConsumerBehavior–TermDefinition...................................................14

2.1.2 PhasesofConsumerBehavior................................................................15

2.1.3 FactorsinfluencingConsumerBehavior.................................................15

2.2 MillennialsandtheirInteractionwithProducts/Services........................17

2.2.1 Millennial–TermDefinition...................................................................17

2.2.2 CharacteristicsofMillennials.................................................................18

2.2.3 ImportanceofMillennialsforCompaniesandBrands...........................20

2.2.4 Millennials´AttitudetowardsLuxuryProducts......................................21

2.3 Brands,LuxuryBrandsandtheirManagement.......................................23

2.3.1 Brands–DefinitionandImportanceforBusinesses...............................23

2.3.2 LuxuryBrands.........................................................................................24

2.3.3 BrandManagementPractices................................................................26

2.4 Consumer-Brand-Relationships...............................................................28

2.4.1 BrandAttachment..................................................................................29

2.4.2 BrandRelationshipsandSelfIdentity....................................................31

2.5 BrandLoyalty.........................................................................................33

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3 LVMH–MoëtHennessyLouisVuitton.................................................36

3.1 CompanyHistory....................................................................................36

3.2 LVMHToday...........................................................................................37

3.3 LVMHinFigures......................................................................................37

3.4 TheLVMHModel....................................................................................40

3.5 EthicsandSocialResponsibilityatLVMH................................................41

3.6 LouisVuitton(LV)...................................................................................42

4 Methodology.......................................................................................43

4.1 ResearchPropositions............................................................................43

4.2 ResearchMethodandDesign.................................................................43

4.3 Participants............................................................................................44

4.4 InterviewQuestionnaire.........................................................................45

5 Results.................................................................................................47

5.1 MainFindings.........................................................................................47

5.1.1 BrandImage...........................................................................................47

5.1.2 Associations............................................................................................48

5.1.3 Values.....................................................................................................48

5.1.4 TriggersforbuyingLVHandbags............................................................49

5.1.5 CriteriaforbuyingaLuxuryFashionItem..............................................50

5.1.6 SocialInfluences.....................................................................................51

5.1.7 ConsumerExpectations..........................................................................51

5.1.8 Self-ConceptConnection........................................................................52

5.1.9 BrandLoyaltyamongMillennialsintheCaseofLV................................53

5.2 Propositions...........................................................................................54

6 Conclusion...........................................................................................55

6.1 PracticalImplications..............................................................................57

6.2 StudyLimitations....................................................................................58

6.3 SuggestionsforFutureResearch.............................................................58

Bibliography..............................................................................................60

Appendices................................................................................................68

AppendixA–PersonalInterviewTranscripts...................................................68

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Interview1..........................................................................................................68

Interview2..........................................................................................................73

Interview3..........................................................................................................77

Interview4..........................................................................................................82

Interview5..........................................................................................................85

Interview6..........................................................................................................91

Interview7..........................................................................................................96

Interview8........................................................................................................100

8

ListofTables

Table1:ConceptualModelofDeterminantsandOutcomesofBrandAttachment...29

ListofFigures

Figure1:Valueofluxurygoodsmarketworldwidefrom1995to2017.......................9

Figure2:MillennialsarenowthelargestLaborForce................................................10

Figure3:OccasionswhenMillennialsconsiderpurchasinghigh-endfashionorluxury

items...................................................................................................................22

Figure4:ConceptualFrameworkaboutBrandLoyalty...............................................34

Figure5:2017Keyfiguresbygeographicregionofdelivery–LVMH.........................38

Figure6:2017revenuebygeographicregionofdelivery–LVMH.............................39

ListofAbbreviations

CBR.................................................................................CustomerBrandRelationship

CRM...................................................................CustomerRelationshipManagement

CSR...............................................................................CorporateSocialResponsibility

LV.............................................................................................................LouisVuitton

LVMH............................................................................MoëtHennessyLouisVuitton

POS..........................................................................................................PointofSales

USP......................................................................................UniqueSellingProposition

WOM...................................................................................................WordofMouth

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1 ResearchObjective

1.1 Introduction

AsvisibleinFigure1below,despiteashortdeclineresultingfromthefinancialcrisis

inthebeginningofthe21stcentury,thevalueoftheglobalmarketforluxurygoods

has been increasing persistently for more than two decades already. Hence, the

global market for luxury goods is representing huge opportunities for companies

addressingandservingthisbranchbecauseofbothitssizeandfutureperformance

predictions(Bain&Company,2017).

Figure1:Valueofluxurygoodsmarketworldwidefrom1995to2017(Bain&Company,2017)

When taking a closer lookat the global luxury goodsmarkethowever, it is clearly

visiblethatonegrouphassuccessfullybeentheleadingplayerinthisindustrysince

itsfoundation:theluxurygoodsconglomerateMoëtHennessyLouisVuitton(LVMH).

Their revenues have constantly been at exceptionally high levels with a total

revenueofmorethan37billionEurosin2016(LVMH-KeyFigures).Especiallytheir

fashion brand Louis Vuitton (LV) is performing particularly well and is currently

rankedas themostvaluable luxurybrand in theworld,henceevenoutperforming

theirclosestandprestigiouscompetitorssuchasGucciandSaintLaurent(#20Louis

Vuitton).

Year

Marketvalueinbillioneuros

77778585

9292 9696

108108

128128133133 133133

128128136136

147147

159159170170 167167

153153

173173

192192

212212218218

224224

251251 250250

262262

Valueofthepersonalluxurygoodsmarketworldwidefrom1995to2017(in

billioneuros)

AdditionalInformation:

Worldwide;Bain&Company;1995to2017

95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17*

Sources

Bain&Company;FondazioneAltagamma

©Statista2018

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

10

Causesforthoseincrediblegrowthrateswithintheluxurygoodsindustryincludethe

overallemergenceofnewmarketsduetotheriseofthemiddleclassaswellasnew

consumer groups spendingmoremoneyon luxury items in general, especially the

Chinese population. Furthermore, and most importantly, the so called

“millennialization”ofthetargetmarketisplayingakeyroleintheincreaseofluxury

goodspurchases(D’Arpizio,Levato,Kamel,&DeMontgolfier,2017).

Figure2:MillennialsarenowthelargestLaborForce(MillennialsarenowthelargestLaborForce,

2015)

ThetermMillennialsreferstothegenerationthatfollowsgenerationXandincludes

everyone comingof age in thebeginningof the21st century (Rouse).Whatmakes

thisgenerationparticularlyinterestingforbusinessesandespeciallyforluxurygoods

companies including LVMH, is the size of this generation as well as the set of

characteristics it is defined by. According to recent statistics Millennials are now

officiallythebiggestlivinggroupofpeopleworldwide,hencemakingupthebiggest

potentialtargetmarketforcompanies.Thevalueforbusinessesevenincreaseswith

thefactthatMillennialsaregoingtoreachtheirmajorearningstages in lifewithin

the next few years resulting in increased spending power from having more

disposableincomeathandthanduringrecentyears(Fry,2015).

Furthermore,asamatteroffact,theconceptofluxuryisofgreaterimportancefor

Millennialsthanitwasforpreviousgenerations,creatinghugeopportunitiesforthe

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luxurygoodsindustrytofurtherexpandtheirbusinessesthroughtheuseoftailored

business strategies (What Does The Rise Of Millennials Mean For The Luxury

Market?, 2016). In particular female Millennials tend to spend prevalently big

amounts of money on luxury fashion items, bags from European fashion brands

beingthemostpopularones(D’Arpizio,Levato,Kamel,&DeMontgolfier,2017).

1.2 ProblemDefinitionandNeedfortheStudy

In contempt of the enormous business and expansion opportunities coming along

withthosetendenciesandmarketdevelopments,somemajornewobstaclesariseas

a consequence that need to be addressed and overcome by luxury brands

successfully, at best within the near future. The following quote summarizes this

necessityadequately:

"Ifonethemedescribeshowadulthoodhaschangedoverthelast40years,it

isgrowingcomplexity."(CummingsW.,2017)

Serving and satisfying Millennials and building meaningful consumer brand

relationships (CBR) is a more complex task than it has ever been before. Due to

growing up in completely different conditions than any generation before

Millennialsnowhaveaveryuniquesetofbehaviors,interestsandskillsshapingtheir

expectations about product features, customer services and intangible values

receivedwhenplacingapurchase(McGee,2017).

Some people even go so far to say that Millennials contravene in nearly every

respectfromeveryothergeneration(CummingsW.,2017).Resultingfromthefact

thatmanyofthetraitsdefiningtheMillennialgenerationarenewandappearedfor

the first time so far, it is not yet completely clear if general consumer behavior

concepts, suchasbrandattachmentorbrand loyaltywillapply thesamewaythey

didwiththegenerationsbefore,makingbrandmanagementpracticesarathertricky

taskatthemoment(DeMers,2017).

AndeventhoughLViscurrentlyholdingthemarketleaderpositionwhenitcomesto

luxury fashion brands competition is not sleeping. As statistics show their closest

competitorGuccicanreportoutstandinglyhighgrowthratesbymanagingtocreate

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fashion hypes, hence putting pressure on LV to defend their position through the

successfuladaptiontonewconsumerpreferencesandneeds(Munzenrieder,2017).

1.3 ObjectivesoftheStudy

InordertofindanswerstothoseuncertaintiesinconsumerbehaviorofMillennials

so that companies can ensure to seize the opportunities rather than suffer under

those new circumstances, qualitative market research in the form of personal

interviewswillbeconducted.

The overall goal of the study is to providemore detailed predictions and insights

about consumer behavior ofMillennials in regards to the luxury fashion industry.

Withthepurposeofincreasingrepresentativenessaswellasprecisionoftheinsights

gathered, the study solely focuses on the leading brand of this sector, LV and in

particularonitsmostsolditem,theiriconichandbags.Giventhis,thestudyfocuses

onfemaleMillennialsowningaLVitem.

Thecentralresearchquestionofthethesisisthefollowing:

WhydofemaleMillennialspurchaseLVitems,whichfactorsareinfluencingthis

decisionandhowdotheyperceivetheLVbrandimageingeneral?

Thethesisaims todeterminewhattriggeredthefemaleconsumers interest inthe

luxuryfashionbrandLV,whatroleself-representationandbrandimageareplaying

in thedecisionmakingprocess aswell as howbrand attachment aswell as brand

loyalty is created through the formation of CBR’s between LV and Millennials in

general.

Aftercarryingouttheinterviewsitshouldbepossibletosuggestrecommendations

forluxurybrandmanagementpracticesforattractingandretainingMillennialsasa

customer group. Furthermore, amore holistic understanding about their decision

makingprocess fora luxury fashion item fromLVoverone from its competitors is

provided.

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1.4 StructureoftheStudy

ThestudyisdividedintoatotalofsixChapters.Thefirstoneintroducesthetopicin

general and portraits the problem the study is addressing as well as stating the

overallobjectivesofthestudy.Thesecondpartofthepaperoutlinesthenecessary

theoretical background information, namely theories such as consumer behavior,

distinction between brands and luxury brands as well as brand management

practices and finally themost important aspects of consumer brand relationships

includingselfconceptconnection,brandloyaltyandbrandconsciousness.

In Chapter three the reader gets familiarized with themost essential background

information on the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, including its history, its

importance and value today as well as its most significant business philosophies

followedbyasectionsolelyaboutoneoftheirstrongestluxuryfashionbrandsLV.

After that, inChapter four, themarket researchmethodsandparticipantselection

process will be described and the questionnaire that has been used will be

presented. The fifth Chapter features all the outcomes of the study, including an

overview of results followed by a detailed interpretation including possible

implicationsforbusinesses.

Lastly,inChaptersix,afinaldiscussionandsummaryaboutthethesiscanbefound

aswellasasetofstudylimitationsandfuturestudyproposals.

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2 LiteratureReview

2.1 TheStudyofConsumerBehavior

2.1.1 ConsumerBehavior–TermDefinition

According to theAmericanMarketingAssociation the studyof consumer behavior

canbedefinedasfollows:

“The dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behavior and the

environmentbywhichhumanbeingsconducttheexchangeofaspectsoftheir

lives.”(Bennett,1995).

To put it differently, consumer behavior deals with feelings and perceptions

consumersexperiencethroughoutthepurchasingprocessandeverythinghavingan

effectonthosethoughtsincludingmoreobviousinfluencessuchasadvertisements,

visual appearance of products and pricing strategies, but also rather subconscious

ascendancieslikeopinionsandcommentsofthirdparties(Peter&Olson,2008).

Whenaddressingthetopicofconsumerbehavioritisessentialtounderstandthatit

is not a static concept,which is easily applicable in the businessworld but rather

represents a dynamic and complex process spread over a longer period of time

(Solomon, 2016). Reasons for this include that every feeling developed by a

consumer and every action executed is obviously influenced from a variety of

confounding factors such as innovation and marketing practices having a rather

quickly changing nature, thus making the study of consumer behavior dynamic.

Furthermore, consumer behavior is heavily influenced by the interactions and

exchanges taking place between the different key players in all stages of the

consumptionprocess.(Peter&Olson,2008).

These processes also differ tremendously depending on how you define the term

consumeroronthecharacteristicstheconsumeriscarrying.Firstly,itisimportantto

consider the differentiation of consumers and customers, as those might not

necessarily be the same person. In both cases however the consumermight be a

private individual, a group of people that can be connected through private

purposes or on an entrepreneurial level and of course it might be a whole

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organizationorbusiness(Solomon,2016).Inthefollowingstudyitwillbefocusedon

behavioralaspectsofprivateindividuals,inparticularthegenerationofMillennials,

whichwillbefurtherdiscussedinsection2.2ofthethesis.

2.1.2 PhasesofConsumerBehavior

Theongoingprocessofconsumerbehavior isgenerallydivided intothreedifferent

stages:Pre-Purchase,PurchaseandPost-PurchasePhase(Solomon,2016).

The way in which consumers actually undertake their behavior during the pre-

purchasephaseincludesvariousfactorsthatwillbediscussedinsection2.1.3ofthe

thesis. When talking about the last phase of consumer behavior, which is taking

placeafterapurchasehasbeenexecuted, it is lessabout factors influencing itbut

ratheraboutanalyzingtheoutcomesandlong-termconsequencesofdifferenttypes

ofconsumerbehaviorthatmightappear.Dependingonwhathappenedduringthe

purchasingphase theconsumermightevaluate theprocessheor sheexperienced

differently. This creates the possibility for satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the

productandservicesreceived,henceanoverallperceptionforthebrandiscreated.

These feelings might further develop into either post-purchase dissonance or the

creationofbrandtrustandattachmentthatmightthenevenfurthertranslate into

consumer loyalty (Monger, 2013). Thoseoutcomes are further analyzed in section

2.4ofthepaper.

2.1.3 FactorsinfluencingConsumerBehavior

Whenanalyzingandtryingtounderstanddifferences inconsumerbehavioramong

differenttargetgroupsthemostimportantaspectsresearchersneedtofocusonare

the factors directly or indirectly influencing the processes undertaken prior to the

actual purchase. These cover a broad range of subjects and fields and in the

following section therefore only the most relevant parts for the study will be

outlined.

The factors firstly influencing behavioral tendencies of individuals are their

demographics.Dependingongender,currentageaswellaseducationallevelsand

the often correlated level of income, needs and requirements for products and

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servicesdifferandasaconsequenceafirstframeworkforconsumerbehaviorisset

(Pratap,2017).

Furthermore,astheorystates,thestudyofconsumerbehaviorunderliesanumber

ofotherdisciplinesthatimpacttheformofbehaviorthatisfinallyimplementedby

the consumer. These include psychology, economics, sociology, anthropology and

neuroscience(Blythe,2013).

Economistsandtheir theorieshavecreatedagoodbasis forunderstandingactions

takenbyconsumers(Blythe,2013).Conceptssuchopportunitycosts,whichrefersto

the fact that consumers have limited financial means at disposal so they will be

facedwithmakingachoicebetweensubstituteproducts,thusmissingoutonsome

of the opportunities also often compared with trade-offs (Peavler, 2017), can be

fundamentalreasonswhycertainproductsareboughtorneglected(Blythe,2013).

Thereasonsbehindthefinaldecisionforoneproductinsteadofanotherisoftennot

made rationally but rather subjectively because of personal reasons or influences

coming from surroundings (Cummings, Dhar, & Welch, 2015). For this part of

consumerbehavior thedisciplinesofneuroscienceandpsychologycome intoplay.

Both deal with analyzing and explainingmental processes and differences in how

brains work. This of course has major consequences for the way products and

brands are perceived and seen by consumers, again impacting their final decision

makingprocesses(Blythe,2013).

Inparticularwhen talkingaboutpsychologicalaspectsnumerousconceptsneed to

beknown to fullybeingable todeduce thedifferent formsof consumerbehavior.

The contributions from the discipline of psychology go way beyond the

interpretationof keymotivationdriversofproductpurchase traits. It also touches

thefieldofgoalandincentivecreationinfluencedbypersonalityandself-concepts,

which finally leads to perception and learningpatterns that formunique attitudes

(Blythe,2013).

However, human beings do not only take their own goals and values into

considerationfordecisionmakingprocessesbutadditionallyheavilyrelyandreferto

external groups of people for the formation of opinions and can therefore

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sometimes even lead to atypical final decisions of individuals (Nugent, 2013).

Especiallywhenitcomestobrandchoicesgroupbehaviorplaysanimportantrole.In

thiscontextithastobedistinguishedbetweenthedifferentkindofgroupspossibly

influencingthefinaldecision,whichmightbefriendsandfamilyaswellaspeersand

other reference groups including celebrities or even complete strangers. Other

sociological aspects influencing consumer behavior are the culture someone is

affiliatedwith,asitnaturallyaffectstheoverallsetofbeliefsandattitudes.Alsothe

socialclasssomeonebelongstoneedstobeconsidered,whichmightbelimitingor

forcingpeopletopurchasespecificproductsorbrands.Lastlyself-imageandtherole

eachindividualhastakenonwithinitssocialenvironmentformconsumerbehavior

tendencies(Blythe,2013).

All of those conceptswill be incorporated and referred to in later sections of the

paper,hencedeliveringabroaderpictureofconsumerbehavior.

2.2 MillennialsandtheirInteractionwithProducts/Services

2.2.1 Millennial–TermDefinition

TheTerm“Millennials”canbedefinedinthefollowingways:

“ThegenerationthatfollowsGenerationX,withbirthyearsrangingfromthe

early1980s to theearly1990s.Manyparentsof thisgenerationwere "Baby

Boomers," thusmaking it the largest generation since the boomers. … Also

knownasGenerationY.”(MillennialDefinition).

“Millennials (also known asGeneration Y) are the demographic cohort

followingGenerationX.Therearenoprecisedatesforwhenthiscohortstarts

or ends; demographers and researchers typically use the early 1980s as

startingbirthyearsandthemid-1990stoearly2000sasendingbirthyears.”

(Millennials).

“A person reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century.” (Definition

Millennial).

“Millennialsarepeoplebornbetween1982and1996,todaythey're21to35

yearsold.”(Kestenbaum,2017).

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Asitcanbeseenbythisselectionofdefinitions,theterm“Millennials”variesslightly

inhowitisdefinedamongdifferentusersandinterpreters.However,takentogether

the different explanations are all identical in the following aspects, which is that

Millennials are the follow-up generationofGenerationX aswell as beingbornno

earlierthaninthebeginningofthe1980sandnolaterthanintheearly2000s.Thisis

the definition it will be referred to throughout the thesis when using the term

“Millennials”.

2.2.2 CharacteristicsofMillennials

Millennials differ tremendously from the previous generations in many different

areas and characteristics that are eventually shaping their overall consumer and

purchasingbehaviorandwayofperceivingproductsandbrands(McGee,2017).

One of the most significant changes in characteristics however, is the attitude

towardsandtheexpertise intheuseoftechnology indaily life.Millennialsarethe

first technology native generation so far, meaning that they were born into and

consequently have grown up with technology resulting in strong tendencies of

turning to technology as a helping tool for nearly every part of their daily life,

including purchasing decisions, product and price comparisons and even payment

processes(McGee,2017).

With technology being something natural for Millennials that is speeding up

numerousprocessessuchasinformationgatheringandproductcomparisonsavery

fast-livedsocietyhasemergedandthereforeshapedthemindsetsandexpectations

ofMillennialsmakingthemaveryimpatientgeneration,thusratherdifficulttoserve

and satisfy. This impatience led to the emergence of an on-demand economy in

ordertobeabletofulfilltheexpectationsofMillennialsofimmediatesatisfactionof

theirneeds (TheListofMillennialCharacteristics,2017).According to theNational

Technology Readiness Survey of 2015 nearly 50% of the people representing

consumers of the on-demand economy belong to the generation of Millennials

(Colby&Bell,2016).

Theseshifts inconsumerbehaviorand importanceof technologyalsochangedthe

level of social interaction between consumers and brands.Millennials are sharing

their purchasing experiences online nearly in real-time and are also expecting the

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brands to react to the contributions made on social media. It is no longer about

simply sharing information but about engagement with the brand itself and

thereforeagaininoverallexperiencesreceivedwhendecidingtopurchaseproducts

fromaspecificbrand(McGee,2017).

Generally, it can be said that for the generation ofMillennials getting the highest

value out of a purchasing decision is of greater importance than ever before. An

innovationwill only satisfy consumers belonging to this generationwhen they are

provided with an incremental value that is easing their life. In other words,

Millennialsaredemandingtogivemoremeaningtotheproductstheyarespending

theirmoneyon.Moreover,itisnotonlyaboutgettingvaluefromtheproductitself

anymorebutinsteadpotentialcustomersarecarefullyweighingifitisgiventhatthe

reputationandsoundnessofacompany is in linewith theirpersonal setofvalues

(Murdough).

In addition to a growingwillingness of sharing their ownexperience it also seems

that Millennials increasingly value and listen to the opinions of friends, peers or

othersourcesofinformationperceivedtrustworthy.Millennialsarewaymorelikely

to become fans of products or brandswhen they are exposed to positive reviews

fromotherpeopleintheirsurrounding(Murdough).Theappreciationofopinionand

experience sharing results from this generation greatly valuing to belong to

communities,whetherthosemightbeonlylocalonesorevenonaglobalscale.This

communityorientedmindsetoriginatedfromgrowingupinamoreequalworldthan

anygenerationbefore,whererelationshipsandteamworkplayanimportantpartin

differentaspectsoflife(TheListofMillennialCharacteristics,2017).

Furthermore,Millennials are said tobe themost educated generationup todate.

More people than ever before are holding a bachelor´s degree, whereMillennial

women are even outperforming theirmale counterpart. According to statistics by

the “PewResearchCenter” 27%ofMillennialwomenagedbetweeneighteen and

thirty-three are holing a bachelor´s degree and 21% of Millennial men. These

numbershavebeensteadilyincreasingthroughoutthelastfewgenerationsandare

likelytorisefurtherinthenearfuture(Patten&Fry,2015).

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Anotherdifference in characteristicsofMillennials to theirprevious generations is

theirhighdegreeindiversityofbothraceandethnicityresultingfromglobalization

andracialintermarriage.Thenumberofnon-Hispanicwhiteshassteadilydecreased

now only being about 57%, while on the other hand the percentages ofminority

racessuchasHispanics,blackpeopleaswellasAsiansmakeupagreaterpartamong

theMillennialgenerationthanbefore(Patten&Fry,2015).

In conclusion it can be said that due to the fact that Millennials grew up in a

completely different environment because of globalization as well as drastic

improvementsintechnologythisgenerationhasotherpriorities,characteristicsand

values they stand for and are expecting to receive. This consequently also has an

impactonthewaytheyinteractwithcompaniesandbrands(Millennials-Comingof

Age).

2.2.3 ImportanceofMillennialsforCompaniesandBrands

Thesebeforementionedchangesincharacteristicswillhavealong-termimpacton

theworldeconomyanddailybusinessprocesses.Companieswillhavetore-evaluate

andre-design theirbusinessconceptsaswellas thepracticesofhowproductsare

purchasedand sold looking completelydifferently in a fewyears’ time. Thisposes

bothachallengeandathreattoanycompanyaddressingthesechanges(Millennials

-ComingofAge).

Anycompanythatwantstosucceed inthe longrunhastofacethis factsooneror

laterasinthemeanwhileMillennialsareofficiallythebiggestlivinggenerationeven

exceedingthegenerationofbabyboomers, thatcountedas thebiggestoneso far

(Andrews,2016).

Depending on which source is used the total number of people making up the

Millennial generation differs slightly ranging from 80 million people in the US

accordingtoForbesmagazine(Kestenbaum,2017)to95millionpeopleaccordingto

GoldmanSachs(Millennials-ComingofAge).InanywayMillennialsmakeupabout

25%ofthetotalpopulationandthereforehaveahugepurchasingpowerintoday’s

economy estimated at about 600 billion Dollars annually, thus representing an

important target market for companies of all branches and business sectors

(Donnelly&Scaff).Despitealreadyposingtobeanimportantforceinthebusiness

21

world Millennials are going to further gain importance when soon reaching their

main income and consequently spending years (McGee, 2017). As a result

Millennialswillhaveayearlyspendingpowerof1.4trillionDollarsby2020(Donnelly

&Scaff).

2.2.4 Millennials´AttitudetowardsLuxuryProducts

As it could be clearly seen in the previous section,Millennials have an enormous

impactontheeconomyduetorepresentingsuchahugepartoftoday´spopulation

and therefore having a large spending power. Moreover, Millennials do not only

make up a large proportion of total spending, but also have a strong positive

tendency towards spendingmoney on luxury goods, thus becoming amain target

customerforanyluxurygoodsmarketer.AsamatteroffactMillennialsarealready

spendingslightlymoreonluxuryproductsthanpreviousgenerations,withastrong

preferenceforEuropeanluxurybrandsincludingGucciandtheFrenchconglomerate

LVMH(WhatDoesTheRiseOfMillennialsMeanForTheLuxuryMarket?,2016).

Theprospectsforsalesintheluxurygoodsindustrylookhighlypromising.According

tostatistics fromtheglobalmanagementconsultingfirm“Bain&Co”numbersare

goingtoincreasebyupto6%,thisyearreachinganactualvalueofupto308billion

Dollars withMillennials representing themain trigger for this development when

accounting for 85% of the growth rates. Brands currently enjoying the highest

success and growth rates are primarily Gucci, LVMH and Saint Laurent (Williams,

2017). Additionally, Millennials are particularly interested in shoes, jewelry and

handbags when investing their money on luxury items. These items therefore do

makeupthebiggestpartofthemarketandreportthemostsignificantincreasesin

numbersduringtherecentyears(D’Arpizio,Levato,Kamel,&DeMontgolfier,2017).

Thesetendenciescanbeprimarilyledbacktotheoccurrenceofenterprisessuchas

Zarathatmadelookingfashionablepossibleforthemassesandsomethinguniversal

andconsequentlydiminishingthenecessitytobuythoseitemsfromluxurybrands.

In order to stand out and represent a certain status and lifestyleMillennials now

heavily focus on high-end luxury fashion accessories, in particular handbagswhen

settingthefocusonfemaleMillennials,againGucciandLouisVuittonbeingamong

22

thepeakofmarketerswithintheindustry(Biron,Drivenbyfastfashion,millennials

chooseluxuryaccessoriesoverclothing,2017).

With LVMH being the world-leader for luxury goods as well as the home of 70

differentHouses,oneofwhichisLouisVuitton–thebrandthat isoneofthemost

popular choices for luxury accessory purchases amongMillennials – the studywill

focusonthisparticularconglomeratewhenexaminingconsumerbehavioroffemale

Millennials in the luxury goods industry (The LVMH Model) and will be further

discussedlateroninsection3.

Thestatisticsportal“Statista”conductedasurvey in2017,observingtheoccasions

forwhichMillennialstendtoconsiderpurchasinghigh-endfashionor luxury items.

Slightlymore than 1,000Millennials aged between 20 and 30where surveyed all

overtheworldleadingtothefollowingresults:(OccasionswhenMillennialsconsider

purchasinghigh-endfashionorluxuryitemsworldwide2017,2017)

AsitcanbeseeninFigure3,abitmorethanafifthoftherespondentsstatedthat

theywouldconsideraluxuryitempurchaseforaspecialoccasionsuchasawedding

Figure 3: Occasions when Millennials consider purchasing high-end fashion or luxury items(OccasionswhenMillennialsconsiderpurchasinghigh-endfashionorluxuryitemsworldwide2017,2017)

23

orparty.Thesecondmostfrequentresponsewith18.5%wasMillennialswantingto

treat themselves followedbypurchasesafter the receiptofabonuson topof the

usualsalary,whichabout13%oftherespondentswouldconsiderdoing.Occasions

with the least popularity among the target groups include FashionWeeksor after

seeing friends with a special item, both having less than 4% (Occasions when

Millennials consider purchasing high-end fashion or luxury itemsworldwide 2017,

2017).Thus,marketersareadvisedtounderstandhowtomanageluxurybrandsand

design experiences that customers enjoy for those occasions. Therefore, the next

partoftheliteraturereviewwilldelveintothebasicsofbrandmanagementandin

particular,luxurybrandmanagement.

2.3 Brands,LuxuryBrandsandtheirManagement

2.3.1 Brands–DefinitionandImportanceforBusinesses

Generallyspeaking,theterm“brand”canbeinterpretedintwodifferentways,both

ofwhicharewidelyusedintoday´sbusinessworld.Theoriginaluseofthetermwas

simply a shorter substitute of what we call trademark or brand name today.

However,overtimemarketersrealizedthattotheconsumerabrandcanbemuch

morethanjustthenameofaproduct.Asaresult,themeaningofthetermhasbeen

extendedovertimeandisnowalsocapturingthepartsabrandisrepresentingthat

are not objectively definable but are rather intangible values and customer

perceptionsarisingwhengetting in touchwitha certainbrandname (McLaughlin,

2011).

Hence,abrandcanbeaspecificsign,symbolordesignoramixofseveralofthose

that has thepurposeof helping customers identify anddifferentiateproducts and

services from different companies.When getting in touch with brands customers

willhaveacertain image inmindaboutwhat typeofproducts,whichquality level

and reliability in termsof consumersatisfaction thebrandstands for.Therefore,a

brandcanhelpacompanybeingrecognizableandstandingout(Brand).

Subsequently, managing to establish a strong brand can benefit companies

significantly to increase their overall business performance. Branding makes it

easierforcustomerstorecognizeproducts,whichincreasesthelikelihoodthatones

productischosenoveranotherwhenthereisapositiveassociationwithonesbrand

24

name.Moreover,itmakesiteasierforcompaniestocompeteagainsttheirrivalsby

creating a unique position in the customers mind and therefore often leading to

customerloyalty.Nottoforgetthattheintroductionofnewproductswillbeeasier

with an existing brandnameand image as once it is perceived trustworthy, other

productsareperceivedthesameway,evenwithoutactualproofabout it (5Major

BenefitsofaStrongBrand).

A brand has become such an important influencing factor in a company´s success

that nowadays the additional values companies can generate from good branding

strategiesaretranslatedandexpressedinmonetaryterms.OnayearlybasisForbes

Magazineispublishingarankingoftheworld´s100mostvaluablebrands.For2017

LVwasranked20thwithabrandvalueof28.8billionUSDollars,havingthehighest

rankwhenitcomestoluxurybrands.WithinthisrankingGuccirepresentsthenext

closestluxurygoodsbrandonranknumber47andabrandvalueof12.7billionUS

Dollars,lessthanhalfofwhatLVhasbeenestimatedat(TheWorld'sMostValuable

Brands,2017).

2.3.2 LuxuryBrands

From the traditional point of view a luxury brand still has the same attributes,

characteristicsandpartlyalsothesamebenefitsasgenericbrandsdo.However,for

luxurybrandstheimageandperceptioninacustomers’mindisnormallyassociated

primarilywithahighquality-levelandpremiumpricesaswellasanuniquedesign,

rarity and representing prestigewhenwearing or using the products produced by

thisspecificbrand(Heine,2012).

Obviously, a luxurybrandneeds todeliver attributes and to transmit aperception

thatgenericbrandsdonotinordertobeworthyofcarryingthisname,tosomehow

justify the premium margins charged from the consumer and to satisfy the high

customer expectations. Most of the time this is done by luxury brands through

deeperemotionalrelationships,thusdeliveringthecustomerwithhigherandmore

valuesbeyondthebasicproductattributesthemselves(Passikoff,2014).

Furthermore,thedifferenttypesofbrandscanbedistinguishedbytheirpurchasing

occasions and the correlated decision-making process. While normal brands are

used and even bought on a regular basis without much consideration behind it,

25

luxury brand purchases are rather executed on special occasions as normally not

being fundamental or urgently required products. Luxury purchases can be

considered emotional and indulgent processes, in particular in the luxury fashion

industry(Premiumandluxurybrands).

Undoubtedly, over time the connections with and expectations for luxury brands

havechangedsignificantlyandarenowtouchingnewfieldsandbusinessoperating

areas that need to be covered successfully by companies serving this segment.

Luxuryisnolongerasynonymforrarity,extravaganceorcostliness.Itgoesbeyond

thetraditionalperceptionofstandingforclichéproductssuchasfancyfursorhigh-

endwatches. Luxuryhasbecomeaboutameaningful,high-qualityproductcoming

alongwith an overall satisfying customer experience that is delivered in a unique

way(Biron,Experience,notexpense:Theevolvingdefinitionofluxurybrands,2016).

Inorder tobeable todoso, luxurybrandsneed to tella story,and if theydonot

haveoneyet,theyneedtocreateone.Thisalsomeansthatbrandsinthehigh-end

industry cannot allow themselves to follow certain trends and tastes but instead

theyneedtocreatethembysettingtheirownstandards(Compton,2017).

Ultimately,itisessentialtoconsiderthattheterm“luxury”issomethingsubjective,

differing from person to person and therefore is a difficult one to generalize. For

companies thismeans to particularly focus on how their brand is perceived by its

targetmarketinordertofullyunderstandthepositiontheyareholdinginpeople´s

minds.SimplysaidandasMarketing-ExpertChipComptonputsit:oneman´sluxury

itemmightbeconsideredsomethingtrivialbyanotherone.(Compton,2017).

Evenamongexpertsandprofessionalsmostofthemhaveanindividualpointofview

anddefinitionofwhat characterizesa luxurybrand.For some luxury isall abouta

reliableandcrediblerelationshipbetweenthecustomerandthebrand,evenwhen

the product itselfmight not be a luxury good froma financial perspective. Luxury

nowadays is about the journey the customer takes before and after the purchase

andall theconnectionsmadeto thebrandduring thisprocess.Luxury isenforcing

self-expressionanddeliveringexperiencealongsidereliableproducts.Forothersthe

evolutionofthetermhasevengonesofarthattheformerperceptionofexclusivity

representingluxuryisnowreplacedbyeasyaccessibilityof innovativesolutionsfor

26

many.Ithasbecomerathersomethingabouttheappropriatefitbetweencustomer

andbrandthanaboutofferingsomethingsoexclusivethatonlyfewcanmakeuseof

it(Biron,Drivenbyfastfashion,millennialschooseluxuryaccessoriesoverclothing,

2017).

To conclude, it can be said that summarizing and defining the term luxury is

somethingverysubjective,howeverunquestionablyluxurybrandsmustoffersome

kindofadditionalvaluetotheirconsumers–mightthatbebymaintainingadirect

and reliable relationship with the customer or by creating uniqueness through

innovationor theexperience coming alongwith theproductpurchases (Compton,

2017).

2.3.3 BrandManagementPractices

Nomatterwhichtypeoftargetsegmentyouareseekingtoattractasacompany,

theplanningprocessesandexecutionofbrandmanagementpracticesplayacrucial

partinachievingwhatacompanyisaimingfor.Asdiscussedintheprevioussection,

brandsalwaysarouseacertainimageandqualityperceptioninthecustomersmind

throughoutthedifferentcustomertouch-points.Thus,thepurposeofbrand

managementistoensurethattheseperceivedvaluesarepositive,tothensustain

thispositiveimageinthelongtermandwhenapplicabletofurtherincreaseitover

time.Keepinginmindthatbrandmanagementandmarketingpracticesareclosely

relatedasthelatterfunctionsasabaseforthebrandingtactics.(Brand

Management).

Furthermore,brandmanagementcanbebrokendownintotangibleelements

directlyrelatedtotheproductitselfincludingpackaging,visualappearanceand

pricingoftheproductsandintangibleelementsincludingallimpressionsreceived

andfeelingscreatedwhenconnectingwithabrandasacustomerthatwillformthe

basisforhowcustomersareapproachingabrandinthefuture(Kalsotra,2017).

Whenexecutingbrandmanagementcorrectlycompanieswillbeateasetostay

competitiveinthelongrun.Firstofall,becausegenerallyspeakingbrandsare

outlastingproducts.Thisisattributabletothefactthatproductshaveforeseeable

lifecyclesthateventendtogetshorterandshorterthefurtherwegointime,which

increasespressureontheabilitytostaycompetitive.Ifproductscomealongwitha

27

strongbrandhowever,itiseasiertosucceedwithnewmodelsandinnovationsthat

carrythesamebrandnameandcorrelatedbrandmanagementpractices(Goodson,

2012).Moreover,inherentlyflawlessandoutstandingproductswillperformeven

betterwithgoodbrandmanagementpracticessupportingthem(Kalsotra,2017).

Althoughbrandmanagementhasalwaysplayedanessentialroleinbrandingand

marketingitcanbesaidthatitsimportancehasbeenreachingnewdimensionsover

thelastfewyears,presentlybeingmorerelevantthaneverbefore.This

developmentcanpredominantlybeledbacktotheemergenceofnewmarketsand

rapidgrowthoftheworld´smiddleclass,increasingimportanceofcommunication

andrelationshipsbetweenbrandsandcustomersandthehighnumbersinbrand

switchingtendenciesintoday’ssociety(Goodson,2012).

Asamatteroffactbrandmanagementhaschangedduringthelastdecadesdueto

drasticandfastchangesinthebusinessscopeworldwide,whichhascreatedthe

followingnewrulesforbrandmanagementpractices:

Duetothefactthatnowadaysmanymarketshavereachedmaturityithasbecomea

keytaskstofocusondesiresandcravingsratherthanbasicneeds.Forbrand

managementpracticesthismeanstocreateasharedsetofvalues,tofocuson

innovationpracticesthatstillunderlinethosecommonalitiesandadheretothe

overallbrandimageandthuscreateloyalty.Inordertobeabletodosocompanies

needtoinvestintotheimprovementofforecastingpracticesandthequalityof

relationshipmaintenancewithcustomers(Kapferer,2004).

Furthermore,newbusinesstrendssuchethicsandsociallyresponsiblebehavior

needtobeconsideredwhenmanagingbrands.Thesetopicswereonceonly

consideredforbrandmanagementpracticesonaratherlowlevel,butarenowadays

anessentialpartofitduetorepresentinganecessityfornotonlyattractingand

maintainingcustomersbutalsotokeepthebusinessrunningsmoothlyby

correspondingtoinvestorexpectationsandcreatingsatisfyingconditionsfor

employeesandotherstakeholders(Kapferer,2004).

Moreover,theimportanceofbrandmanagementpracticesatthepointofsales

(POS)willgaininrelevance.Notonlyisthereamuchbroaderrangeofchoiceonthe

28

market,whichmeanseasierwaysofswitchingtocompetitionforconsumers,but

alsohastheconceptofconsumerloyaltybecomemuchmoredifficulttoachieve.

Therefore,theexecutionofintensebrandmanagementincooperationwith

customerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)hasbecomeanimportantwayof

sustainablebrandsuccessbyconsciouslyremindingcustomersofthesharedvalues

thatonceconvincedthemtochosethebrandoveranother(Kapferer,2004).

2.4 Consumer-Brand-Relationships

When it comes to relationships between brands, might that be generic or luxury

ones, and consumers many similarities to human relationships can be drawn.

Generallyspeaking,theyareaboutinteractionsbetweentwopartiesthatultimately

shouldprovidebenefits to bothof them if sustained andhandled accordingly and

throughwhichcertainassociationsinpeople´smindsarecreatedovertime(Aaker,

Building Strong Brands, 1996). Those associations will stimulate the consumer to

form a certain image of the brand he/she has engagedwith (Keller, 1998). These

images can takemanydifferent forms, however all ofwhich arebeneficial for the

long-termCBRwhenthereareperceivedcommonalitiesbetweenthebrandandthe

consumer. The greater the perception of similarity the stronger the connection

betweenthetwoactorswillbe(FournierS.,1998).

In general there are seven brand relationship aspects determining the strength of

theCBR:

1. Intimacy

2. PassionateAttachment

3. BrandLove

4. Self-Concept-Connection

5. PersonalCommitment

6. NostalgicConnection

7. PartnerQuality(Fournier,1994;1998)

The most important influencing factors for successful CBR’s will be outlined and

discussedinthefollowingpages.

29

2.4.1 BrandAttachment

Brandattachment canbe consideredas the conceptof consumers approaching to

bond and relating to specific brands (Schmitt, 2012). These bonding processes

include both emotional and cognitive bonding (Thomson, MacInnis, & Priester,

What´s in andwhat´s out:Questions on the boundaries of the attitude construct,

2006). Due to brand attachment being a rather subjective variable experts

developed the concept of dividing brand attachment into different emotional

bondingcategories,whichareaffection,passionandconnectioninordertobeable

toactuallymeasurethedegreeofattachment(Thomson,MacInnis,&Park,Theties

that bind:measuring the strength of consumers´emotional attachment to brands,

2005).

Commonlytheconceptsofbrandattachmentandbrandlovearemistakenforeach

other.However, experts stress topoint out that those twoneednot be the same

constructs but rather brand attachment is the basis that is required in order for

customers to actually develop brand love (Loureiro, Ruediger, & Demetris, 2012).

Thetheoreticalbackgroundofbrandlovewillbefurtherexplainedinsection2.4.2of

thethesis.

Determinants BrandAttachment Outcomes

Self-Congruity Emotions IntentiontoRecommend,PurchaseandRevisit

Experience Self-Connection ResiliencetoNegativeInformation

Responsiveness Importance ActofDefending

Quality

Reputation

BrandTrust

Table1:ConceptualModeloftheDeterminantsandOutcomesofBrandAttachment(Japtura,Ekinci,&Simkin,2014)

A study that was performed in 2014 asked consumers what brand attachment is

from their point of view,which showed thatmost of the participants agreed that

brandattachment ischaracterizedbyemotionalconnectivity,overallconnectionto

30

theselfandbytheimportancethebrandisplayinginsomeone’slife(Japtura,Ekinci,

&Simkin,2014).

AsvisiblefromTable1aconceptualmodelofbrandattachmenthasbeendeveloped

aftermarket research on the topic has been conducted,which led to the insights

that in general six determinants of brand attachment can be named. Firstly, the

concept of self-congruity plays an essential role, which refers to the brand giving

consumersasenseofidentitywhichcantakedifferentforms:actual,idealandsocial

congruence,meaningthecustomerfeelsthatconsumingorusingproductsfromthis

particular brand either aligns with who the customer already is in this state, the

state he or shewouldwant to be at in the future or the state the consumer has

within it socialenvironment (Sirgy,1982).Theconceptof self-representationgoals

through theuseofproductswill beoutlined inmoredetail in section2.4.2of the

thesis.

Secondly, brand attachment is highly determined by the experiences a customer

shares with a brand. Those might be at various customer touch points, such as

directly in the shop, through the website, customer-services or even through

campaigns and obviously the experience when using the product itself (Japtura,

Ekinci,&Simkin,2014).

Another determinant factor when it comes to brand attachment is the perceived

quality of the brand and its products relative to competitors and in regard of the

situationsneeded for (Aaker,1991).Thisvariable isplayingsuchacrucial factor in

the process that consumerswould even reject products once finding out that the

quality level isnotas itwasbelievedtobe(Japtura,Ekinci,&Simkin,2014)dueto

goodqualitystandingforpreeminenceandgreatness(Zeithaml,1988).

Furthermore,topicssuchasbrandreputation,whichresultsfromtheoverallbrand

strategyandfollowedbrand imagethat is transferredtotheconsumerthroughout

the existence of a brand, determine the occurrence of brand attachment (Park,

Jaworski,&MacInnis,1986).Butnotonlywhatkindofpromisesabrandstandsfor

isrelevantbutalsotheextendofbrandtrustthatconsumersbuiltisofimportance.

Onlywhenconsumers trulyhave faith inabrandand itscapability todeliverwhat

hasbeenpromisedtheywillgetattached inthe longrun(Chaudhuri&Holdbrook,

31

2001).Trustingabrandandconsequentlythevaluesitstandsforminimizesrisksfor

consumers and the probability of uncertain scenarios taking place, thusmaking it

moreattractiveforcustomerstobondwithabrand(Japtura,Ekinci,&Simkin,2014).

When consumers are actually getting attached to a brand it brings numerous

beneficialresultsforthebrand.Customersareconsequentlywillingtospendmore

money on products from this particular brand, are more likely to become loyal

(Thomson, MacInnis, & Park, The ties that bind: measuring the strength of

consumers´emotionalattachmenttobrands,2005)andtendtodismissanynegative

informationarisingabout thebrand (Schmalz&Orth,2012).Generally speaking, it

canbesaidthatbrandattachmentmakesconsumerswanttorecommendthebrand

bysharingtheirexperience,mostofthetimeintheformofpositiveword-of-mouth

(WOM) (Anderson, 1998). Moreover, they do not also tend to talk about past

experiencesbutarealsosharingtheirintentiontopurchaseacertainitemwithinthe

near future (Maxham & Netemeyer, 2002). Another consequence of brand

attachmentiswillingnesstorevisitthebrand,whichcanbedonethroughtherevisit

ofphysicalstoresandalsoonlinethroughthebrandwebsite,whichultimatelyoften

leadstotherepeatofapurchase(Jones,Reynolds,&Arnold,2006).Evenincaseof

negative experiences, people that are attached normally still stick to the brand

afterwards and are willing to give it another try despite their disappointment

(Japtura, Ekinci, & Simkin, 2014). The concept of customer loyalty is further

explainedinsection2.5ofthethesis.

Lastly,brandattachmentleadstocustomersabsorbingandinterpretinginformation

aboutthebranddifferently.Researchhasshownthatcustomersarenormallyeither

ignoringorsomehowjustifyinganynegative informationavailableaboutthebrand

(Bhattacharya&Sen,2003). Insomecasestheirattachmentevengoessofarasto

defendthebrandinfrontofotherpeopleasaresultoffeelingpersonallyoffended

once negative comments are made about this brand (Japtura, Ekinci, & Simkin,

2014).

2.4.2 BrandRelationshipsandSelfIdentity

As numerous studies have shown already a few decades ago brands are primary

tools for consumers to replicate what they believe of themselves and thereby

32

portraying their self-image through the use of certain brands and their products

(Levy,1959).Thecloserabrandistoaconsumers’personalidentityandvaluesthe

more meaningful and connected the brand-relationship gets (Escalas, Narrative

Procsessing:BuildingConsumerConnectionstoBrands,2004).

Oneformofputtingthoseconnectionsintomoreeasilydefinableandmeasureable

terms is the so-called theory of self-concept connection. The term self-concept

connection expresses the extent to which what a brand is representing coincides

with the consumer´s perspectives, ambitions and values (Fournier S. , 1998). This

processofidentifyingsharedvaluesandcharacteristicsbetweenaproductorbrand

andthecustomerhimselfleadstostrongCBR’s(Forunier,1994).Basisforconsumers

looking for commonalities with a brand is the phenomenon of self-expression

through product purchases (Swaminathan, Karen, & Gürhan-Canli, 2007). When

getting the feeling that shared values exist consumerswill positively evaluate the

brand (Fournier S. , 1998), even after exposure tonegative facts, andproudly use

theirproductsasexpressingtheirownintereststhroughtheproduct(Swaminathan,

Karen,&Gürhan-Canli,2007).

These tendencies apply even more in the case of luxury brands due to those

primarilybeingusedasdifferentiationtoolsandasitemsforexpressingfinancialand

socialstatus(Leibenstein,1950).Thepurposeofluxurygoodsisnotthesatisfaction

ofabasicneedbutrathertogetmoreoutofsuchpurchasesthanpracticality.What

consumers areoften looking for is thepossibility of self-expression and creating a

certainimageofyourselfwhenseenbyothers(Siverstein&Fiske,2003).However,

not only luxury can serve as a self-expression tool but also fashion in general is a

verycommonwayforconfirmingtoacertainstatus,imageandemotionbeyondthe

originalpracticalitytheitemmighthave(Belk,1988).

Selfconcept-connectionbringsseveralotherconsequencesforCBR’swithit.Firstly,

itcreatesemotionalattachment,whichisthedensityofthebondconsumershaveto

a brand that once created results in positive long-term effects when it comes to

consumerreactionsandbehavior.Thisisduetosuchbondsbeingaverydurableand

consistent framework forwhat canbeexpectedas a consumer response tobrand

exposure(Thomson,MacInnis,&Park,2005).

33

Secondly,itcantriggerbrandlove,whichcanbedefinedasseverepositivefeelingsa

person has towards a specific brand. The crucial aspect for brand love is that the

feeling towards the brand in question really needs to be intense and deep to be

considered as brand love. The depth can increase dramaticallywhen the brand is

perceived to serve the purpose of self-expression and sharing commonalitieswith

oneself.Thisoccurrenceplaysanevengreaterroleinthecaseofluxuryandfashion

products (Okonkwo, 2007). The concept of brand love is the one that increases

consumers’ willingness to pay premium prices for products as well as forgiveness

whenbrandsfail todeliverwhathasbeenpromisedandconsequentlygivingthem

timetomakeupfortheirmistakes(Fournier,Breazeale,&Fetscherin,2012).

Additionally, when talking about brands as self-identity expression tools it is

importanttokeepinmindthatpeopledonotonlyexpressthesocialclassandgroup

ofindividualstheyarealreadypartof,butitmightalsobethecasethatbrandsare

chosen inaccordance to certainaspirational groups the consumerwoulddesire to

beapartof.Therefore,ithastobedistinguishedbetweenself-identificationthrough

brands as confirmation and representation of social or financial status and self-

identity construction through brands due to orientation towards reference groups

(Escalas&Bettman,2003).

2.5 BrandLoyalty

As a result of positive CBR’s brand loyalty might be developed. In the context of

brand loyalty ithas tobedistinguishedbetweenbehavioralandattitudinal loyalty.

Attitudinal loyalty is all about the intensity of consumer brand commitment,

whereasbehavioralloyaltysimplyisabouttheprobabilityofacquiringproductsfrom

theidenticalbrandinthefuture(Chaudhuri&Holdbrook,2001).

When talking about brand loyalty in the connectionwith CBR’s, in particularwith

luxurybrands,itwillbereferredtoattitudinalloyaltyasbeingamorerepresentative

indicator in this context. A consumer could be very loyal to a brand in terms of

attitudewithouthavingrepurchasedproducts fromaspecificcompany,aspositive

brand associations do not necessarily imply numerous purchases (Dick & Basu,

1994).

34

Asdiscussedpreviously insection2.3.2 luxury isnota rationallydefinableconcept

but instead differs widely among people. Thus, emotional attachment to certain

luxuryitemsorbrandsmightnotbereplicabletoeveryone.Still,emotionalbonding

ofanyformseemstobeakeytriggerforloyalconsumerbehavior(Okonkwo,2007).

SoasrepresentedinFigure4itcanbesaidthatconsumerstendtobeloyaltoluxury

brands when self-expression through the idea of the self-concept connection is

possible,which is thenenforcinggreateremotionalattachmentandbrand love for

brands, consequently helping luxury brands to perform on a sustainable basis

(Hwang&Kandampully,2012).

A loyal customer base is one of the greatest contributors to excellent company

performanceasthisbreedofcustomersismakingupasignificantpartofrevenues

becauseof several reasons. Firstly, a loyal customerbase is supporting companies

and brands tremendously through intense positive WOM. Secondly, the money

received from repeat-purchases and customers is worth much more than from

newly gained customers as customer retention ismuch less costly than customer

acquisition(Mukundan).

Once a customer is loyal to a specific brandor company a reduction inmarketing

and advertising expenses can bemade aswell as aminimization of service costs.

Loyal customers are used to company practices and product features, hence are

familiar with every step of the purchasing process and therefore requiring less

assistanceandguidancebycompanyemployees(ImportanceofCustomerLoyalty).

Figure4:ConceptualFrameworkaboutBrandLoyalty(Hwang&Kandampully,2012)

35

According to a study from Harvard Business School an increase in customer

retentionratesofaboutfivepercentcanleadtoarise inrevenueof25percentor

more (Reichheld & Schefter). Furthermore, companies can enjoy a much higher

abilitytomakechangesinpricingstrategieswithalargeloyalcustomerbasedueto

decreasedpricesensitivity(Mukundan).

Additionally, you caneasily convince loyal customers touseotherproductswithin

the assortment, enabling companies to successfully apply cross- and up-selling

strategiesagain leading tohighersalesvolumesandconsequently revenues. Lastly

loyal customers form great suppliers of honest and constructive feedback. Due to

those customers wanting the firm to perform well they will more likely share

negativeexperienceswiththebrand,makingoptimizationandforecastingprocesses

morepreciseandeasier(ImportanceofCustomerLoyalty).

As it can be seen by the discussed concepts, creating positive CBR’s can lead to

numerousbenefitsforbothconsumersandbrandsmakingeveryparticipantbenefit

fromthe interactions. Inorder to fullyunderstand the relationshipsandoutcomes

between femaleMillennials and LV the following sectionof the thesiswill provide

the historical background of the conglomerate as well as a brief entrepreneurial

strategyandvaluedefinition.

36

3 LVMH–MoëtHennessyLouisVuitton

3.1 CompanyHistory

The enterprise Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) as we know it today was

created in1987withthemergerof the fashionbrandLouisVuittonand thespirits

house Moët Hennessy. However, its history and evolution goes far more back in

history:

It all started in 1593 when the Sauvage family got hold of the vineyard Château

d’Yquem, which was followed bymore than a century of family run, high quality

wineproduction.In1729businessoperationsstartedtoexpandforthefirsttimeby

the introduction of the very first champagne house, Ruinart. In the end of the

eighteenth century the house first started to enter the fashion industry with the

foundation of the luxury jewelry brand Chaumet and subsequently founding the

well-knownleathergoodsbrandLoewearound1850.Thenextsignificantmilestone

inthehistoryofLVMHtookplacein1854,theyearinwhichoneofLVMHgreatest

success-stories started: the luxury fashionbrand LouisVuittonwas founded in the

fashionmetropolisParis(Milestones).

Whatfollowedwereseveralyearsofbusinessexpansionsbothintermsofoperating

fields and brands as well as regions served. During the 90´s the house started to

secureitsplaceasamarket leaderanddevelopeditsprestigeimageas it isknown

today through events such as the world-famous British actress Audrey Hepburn

becoming ambassadress for Givenchy, cooperation in the creation of new designs

withtheexceptionalartistAndyWarholortheimplementationofthesnakeasthe

iconicsymbolofthejewelrybrandBvlgari(Milestones).

Also after themerger of Louis Vuitton andMoët Hennessy the conglomerate has

always been ahead of time, which is reflected by being one of the very first

enterprisesever toopenanonline shopping site,whichwasdonebyLVMHunder

thenameofthecosmeticsbrandSephorain1999.LVMHthenstartedtoexpandits

operationsmoredeeply toChina, and cosmopolitan cities includingNewYork and

London.OnlyrecentlyLVMHagainhasshownitscourageandspiritbyorganizinga

fashion show on theGreatWall of China, something no other company has done

37

before, again proving LVMH´s uniqueness and creativity. The most significant

developmentsduringtherecentyearsincludedtheintroductionoftheInstitutedes

Métiersd´Excellence,whereknowhowistransferredontoyoungergenerationsas

well as the so called LVMH prize that is given yearly to the new generation of

designersforoutstandingideasanddesigns(Milestones).

3.2 LVMHToday

LVMHisapubliclimitedcompanywithitsheadquartersbasedinParis,France

(LVMH).NowadaysLVMHcanbedefinedastheworld´sleadingluxurygoods

conglomeratethatisservingtheworldsluxurymarket.Meanwhileitisthehomeof

70differenthigh-endhousesandcanbecalledtheonlygroupservingallofthefive

primarysectorsintheluxurymarket,namelyWineandSpirits,FashionandLeather

Goods,PerfumesandCosmetics,WatchesandJewelryandSelectiveRetailing(The

LVMHModel).

SomeoftheirmostfamousandsuccessfulbrandsincludeBelvedere,DomPérignon,

MoëtandHennessywhenitcomestoSpirits,ChristianDior,Fendi,LouisVuittonand

MarcJacobsintheFashionindustry,GuerlainandGivenchyParfumsservingthe

Cosmeticsmarket,Bvlgary,FredandTAGHeuerforwatchesandjewelryandlastly

Sephorafortheirselectiveretailingsection(LVMHHouses).

ChairmanofLVMHistheFrenchbusinessmanBernardArnault,whowasnamedCEO

in1989whenbecomingmajorityshareholderofthegroupafterhehasbeenwith

thecompanyforseveraldecades(BernardArnault).Consequently,asbeingin

controlofmorethanfiftypercentoftheworldsleadingluxurygoodscompanyhe

cancallhimselfnotonlythefifthrichestpersonworldwideandrichestmanin

Francebutalsotheownerofanestimatednetworthofabout70billionUSdollarsat

theageofsixty-eight(BloombergBillionairesIndex).

3.3 LVMHinFigures

OnMarch14th2018theconglomerateLVMHhadanenterprisevalueof157.77

billionUSDollars,whichisjustslightlybelowtheirmaximumvalueoverthelastfive

yearsof164.88billionUSDollarsonFebruaryfirst2018.Theenterprisehas

constantlybeenperformingwelloverthelastyears,howeveraparticularlyintense

38

growthrateinenterprisevalueisvisiblewithinthelastoneandahalfyears(LVMH

EnterpriseValue).

ThesametendenciesseemtobeapplicablefortheLVMHsharepricedevelopment

withinthelastyears.Despitesomeshort-termeddeteriorationsoftheshareprices

onceinawhilewithinthelastfiveyears,thepriceshaveexperiencedatremendous

increase,especiallysinceJune2016.ByMarch9th2018thelastquotationliedat

245.95Euros,whichmeansthattheLVMHsharevaluerosebynearly24percent

withinthelastyear(ShareQuotation).

TheLVMHworkforcecomprisesabout134,000employeesandacurrenttotalof

4,370storesallovertheworld(LVMH-KeyFigures).Thecompany´srevenueand

profithavebeensteadilyincreasingforseveralyearsnow,reachingapeakin2017of

42,6billionEurosinrevenue,whichwasevenslightlyaheadofthecompany´s

growthpredictionsfortheyearinquestionof42.3billionEuros.Thesenumbers

showthatthecompanymanagedtocreateorganicsalesgrowthof12percent

withinatimeframeofoneyear(Agnew,2018).Thegreatestpartofthosenumbers

canbeledbacktotheextraordinaryperformancesoftheHousesintheFashion

industry.SolelytheFashionandLeatherGoodsHousesmadeupfor36%ofthe

revenueandamountedtonearly1,800storesin2017–seeFigure5(LVMH-Key

Figures).

Figure5:2017Keyfiguresbygeographicregionofdelivery–LVMH(LVMH,2017)

39

WhenhavingacloserlookatFigure6andthegeographicaldivisionofLVMHstores

andrevenueitcanbeseenthatin2017,whichiscoherentwiththeyearsbefore,the

greatestpartofrevenueandnumberofstoresiscreatedbyFranceandtherestof

Europewithatotalof1,664storesandanannualrevenueof12,172millionEuros.

OnlyslightlybehindinthosenumbersistheAsianmarketamountingto1,151stores

and11,877millionEurosinRevenue.

Whenfurthersplittingthoseregionsintosubcategoriesbyproductdivisionsitcan

beseenthatineverygeographicaldivisiontheFashionandLeatherGoodsIndustry

amountstothegreatestpartofrevenuewithaminimumshareof27%.Additionally,

thissectionoftheLVMHgroupseemstoparticularlyperformwellinEurope,where

nearlyhalfoftherevenuescanbeledbacktoFashionandLeatherGoods.

ThosenumbersarestressingonceagaintheimportanceandsuccessofLV,whichis

oneoftheykeydriversfortheFashionandLeatherGoodsdivisionandthusforthe

conglomerateLVMH.Nootherproductcategoryorbrandisperformingaswellinall

ofthegeographicalregions.

Figure6:2017revenuebygeographicregionofdelivery–LVMH(LVMH,2017)

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3.4 TheLVMHModel

“Our business model is anchored in a long term vision that builds on the

heritage of our Houses and stimulates creativity and excellence. This model

drivesthesuccessofourGroupandensuresitspromisingfuture.”

–BernhardArnault,CEOofLVMH(TheLVMHModel).

ThisquotegivesagoodimpressionofwhattheLVMHbusinessmodelisaboutand

why it has been successful for many centuries consistently. The enterprise

summarizes and defines all of its business operations in 6 columns that form the

basisforallstrategies:

1. Decentralized organization brings advantages for overall company

performance by enabling proximity to customers and thus immediate and

adequate decision making and further has positive effects on the LVMH

personnel.Ittriggerstheambitionofcreativityoftheemployeesandmakes

themfeelempoweredthroughoutthebusinessprocesses.

2. Organic company growth is enabled through LVMH employees as a key

driverforthelong-termcompanysuccess.

3. Additionally,throughverticalintegrationpracticesqualitycanbeensuredin

everystepofthesupplychain.

4. Resources needed and available across the LVMH Group are strategically

shared,which leads to beneficial synergies for all of the houseswhile still

remainingindependent.

5. Inorder tostaysuccessfulandgoalong theproposedpathway in the long

run it isessential forLVMHtomaintainandsurpassknow-how.Therefore,

the group is focusing on passing on their spirit and experience also to

youngergenerationssothatLVMHwillreachtheirlong-termvisions.

6. DuetothefactthatLVMHcanbedefinedasawidelyspreadconglomerate,

both in terms of geography as well as business units, the company has

developedawell-establishedbasiseasingtoconquerchangesorobstaclesin

theeconomicglobalenvironment(TheLVMHModel).

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3.5 EthicsandSocialResponsibilityatLVMH

Both for long-term goals and day-to-day business operations, ethics and social

responsibility play an important role in decision-making processes and planning

proceduresatLVMH.Itsengagementwithsocietyandsustainabledevelopmentare

key issues for the conglomeratewhen it comes to strategic processes (The LVMH

Spirit).Thosevaluesandethicalprinciplesareimplementedduringallstepsandare

valid for every stakeholderof the value chain. Thus, LVMHhasestablished special

codes of conduct for each of the major stakeholder groups, such as employees,

suppliers and partners, whichmust be signed and agreed upon before entering a

businessrelationshipwithLVMHinordertobeabletoensureresponsiblebehavior

withsocietyandtheenvironment(TheLVMHModel).

Those initiativesprooftobehighlysuccessfulandhavebeenawardedwithseveral

internationalcertificationssuchasthe“EthibelExcellence”sealofapprovalreceived

forshowingthemostoutstandingandefficientcorporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)

initiativesasperformingwell inemployerrankingforaseriesofseveralyearsnow.

In 2016 LVMH received among others the “Randstad Award” for being the most

attractive company in the “ConsumerGoods Industry” inFrancewhen it comes to

employment.TheconglomeratedivideditsCSRactionsintofourkeyareas:

1. Maintainingaconstantfocusonworkingconditions

2. Preventingdiscriminationandrespectingindividuality

3. Developingtalentandskills

4. Supportinglocalcommunitiesandregionaldevelopment(MoëtHennessyLouisVuitton,2016)

ThosearetheprioritiesthatfunctionasaguidelineforeveryoftheLVMHHouses,

leaving enough freedom for each of the subsections to decide individually which

other priorities or issues to focus on, depending on their own necessities and

differences in importance for addressing different needs. The company highly

believesthatrespectingpeople,theenvironmentandsociety ingeneral isacrucial

part of the company’s long-term success as not only helping individuals and their

rightsbutalsoenablingthecompanytoperformbetter.

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ChantalGaemperle,GroupExecutiveVice-President,putsthecompany´sstanceinto

thefollowingwords:

“Eachday, LVMHshows theamazing results that come from themeetingof

creative minds and talented craftsmanship. These creations could not exist

without the remarkable women and men who work at all our Houses. Our

commitment to exemplary social responsibility means respecting their

individuality, developing and transmitting our savoir-faire, and identifying

talentswhoshareourquestforexcellence.”(SocialResponsibility,2016).

3.6 LouisVuitton(LV)

LVwas one the founding companies of themerger in 1987 (Milestones) andwas

establishedin1854bythetrunk-makerLouisVuittoninParis(ALegendaryHistory),

where until today the company´s headquarters are based. LV is representing high

quality, creative and cutting-edge designs in combination with exclusivity and

sophisticationeversinceitwasfounded.Evenuntiltodaythebrandhasalwaysbeen

oneofthekeydriversofthecompaniessuccessbothinfinancialtermsandwhenit

comestoreputationandimage(LouisVuitton).

”Each day, all over the world, our customers enter our stores in search of

something truly extraordinary, something that Louis Vuitton has a unique

abilitytooffer.…”-MichaelBurke,CEOofLouisVuitton(LouisVuitton).

In2017thebrandvalueofLouisVuittonwasestimatedat28.8billionUSDollarsby

ForbesMagazine, thus ranked place 20 for the world´smost valuable brands last

year (TheWorld'sMostValuableBrands,2017).Consequently, LouisVuitton is the

mostvaluablebrandintheluxuryindustryandalsooneofthemostprofitableones

withaprofitmarginofmorethan30%(#20LouisVuitton).

The brand product range has been expanded over the last centuries, nowadays

including products for bothmen andwomen, ranging from bags over accessories

includingbelts, jewelryand sunglassesaswell as clothing, shoesandsmall leather

items like wallets and technical cases (World of Louis Vuitton). Most of those

product´s character is shapedby theworld-famousMonogramorCanvas thatwas

already created in 1896 and is now the brands distinguishing feature, famous all

overtheworldandwornwithpridebyLVcustomers(LouisVuitton-Icon).

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4 Methodology

4.1 ResearchPropositions

Priortotheexecutionandfollowinganalysisofthemarketresearchasetofresearch

propositions has been developed in order to be testified by the study. The

propositions are based on the theories presented in the literature review of the

paperandgoasfollows:

Proposition 1: For femaleMillennials the overall purchasing experience, including

theservicelevelsinthestoreisplayingakeyroleintermsofconsumersatisfaction.

Proposition2:Friendstendtobetheprimaryinformationandinfluencingsourceof

femaleMillennialsthroughoutthewholepurchasinganddecisionmakingprocess.

Proposition3: In termsof self-identity, femaleMillennialsuse luxury fashion items

primarilytoadheretoaspirationalgroupsratherthantorepresenttheiractualself.

Proposition4:FemaleMillennialstendtobeincreasinglylessloyaltoluxuryfashion

brands.

The goal of the study is to be able to afterwards either verify or falsify each

proposition and provide sufficient evidence for doing so. Later on it should be

possibletogivesuggestionsabouthowtoapproachfemaleMillennialsastheluxury

fashion brand LV in order to seize the hugemarket opportunitieswithMillennials

becomingadultswithinthenextfewyears.

4.2 ResearchMethodandDesign

Thequalitativedatagatheredinthisstudywillbereliantonprimarydataobtainedin

personalinterviews.Atotalofeightinterviewswillbeconductedtosubsequentlybe

able to draw conclusion related to Millennial consumer behavior and consumer

brand relationshipswhen it comes to luxury fashion items from the leading luxury

brandLV.

Fortheoutlineoftheinterviewsthesemi-structuredapproachwasselectedforallof

theinterviewswiththetargetgroup,forwhichanoverallguidelineofquestionswas

44

developedandusedduringtheinterview.Thisapproachenablestheinterviewerto

spontaneously adjust the process of questioning or further go into detail where

necessary or advisable, such as in cases where the interviewee has additional

knowledgeorinformationtoshare(Cohen&Crabtree,2006).

This approach is primarily used for research questions with the necessity to get

detailed personal insights about the topic from end-users and when certain

behaviors and relationships need to be explained. The semi-structured interview

approachhasanumberofbenefits incomparisontoanopen-end intervieworthe

opposite – a structured ethno-graphic survey. These benefits include greater

flexibility in combinationwhile still remaining consistentwith theoriginal research

goals and not getting off topic (McCammon). Furthermore, with the creation of

open-ended questions the possibility for the respondent is given to answer in

his/her own terms and phrases and might even lead to a greater accuracy of

responses than in thecaseofpre-determinedansweringpossibilities.Moreover, it

might even lead the conversation into a direction it might not have taken with

closedquestions,whichthereforecreatesreliablequalitativedatathatstillconforms

to the information requirements set by the marketer (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006).

Consequently, thesemi-structuredapproachwasconsideredtobe theappropriate

one,duetodeliveringthebestandmostaccurateresults,thusbeingselectedasthe

researchmethodforthestudy.

Theinformationgatheredfromthosepersonalinterviewsarerecordedandlateron

transcribed. The responses are clustered into related topic groups and finally

summarizedandinterpreted.Thefinalstepoftheresearchrelatestothedefinition

ofstudylimitationsthatoccurredaswellassuggestionsforfuturestudies.

4.3 Participants

In order to get a representative sample only participants meeting a set of

requirementswereallowedtotakepart inthe interview.Thecharacteristicsofthe

targetgroupwerefemaleMillennials,agedbetween18and25owningatleastone

item,preferablyabag,fromLV.Peoplefulfillingthoserequirementsareconsidered

todeliver themost significant results to themain researchquestion.Due to those

participantsalreadybeingcustomersofLV,theycanprovidemeaningfulreasonsand

45

explanations for their purchase decisions, what triggered their desire in the first

place and how they feel about the brand after their product acquirement all in

perspectivesoffemaleMillennials.

Intheendtheparticipantswhereallagedbetween19and23.Sixoutofeight

participantshadtheAustriannationality,onewasSerbianandonefromIndonesia,

howeverallofthemarecurrentlyresidentsinVienna,Austria.Intotaltheinterviews

lastedbetween25-40minutesandweredoneinperson.

4.4 InterviewQuestionnaire

Theinterviewwasstructuredaccordingtothestandardsmentionedintheprevious

sectionofthepaperandincludedaguidelineof12researchquestions.Beforethe

startoftheinterviewrespondentswereintroducedtothemethodandtopicand

wherethenaskedtoprovideinsightsabouttheirperceptionsandexperienceswith

thebrandLV.Thefollowingquestionswereasked:

1. Howmanyproducts,andwhichonesdoyouownfromLouisVuitton?

2. WhatdoesinyouropinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfrom

otherLuxuryFashionBrands?

3. CouldyoudescribemetheassociationsyouhavewiththebrandLouis

Vuitton?HowwouldyoudescribetheLVbrand?WhatdoesthebrandLV

meantoyoupersonally?WhichvaluesdoesLVstandforinyouropinion?

4. Whatwouldyousaytriggeredyourdesiretopurchaseandownanitem

fromLouisVuitton?

5. Whicharethemostimportantcriteriayoukeepinmindwhenyoudecideon

buyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasaLVbag?

6. Whoinfluences/influencedyourdecisiontopurchaseaLVproductandwhat

roledo/didthosepeoplehaveinyourdecisionmakingprocess(i.e.friends,

family,celebritiesorpeers)?

7. WhatwereyourexpectationswhendecidingtopurchaseabagfromLouis

Vuitton?

8. Wouldyousaythoseexpectationshavebeenfulfilled?Why,orwhynot?

46

9. InwhichwaydoesowingaproductfromLouisVuittonhelpyoutoexpress

yourselfandthevaluesyoustandfor?Whichvalueswouldthatbeandhow

exactlytheproductsupportingthem?

10. HowdoyouthinkisowningaLVbagperceivedamongyourenvironment

andhowimportantisittoyou?

11. WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?And

whichitemswouldthatbe?

12. Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketoaddonthetopicorconcerningyour

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

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5 Results

5.1 MainFindings

Afterconductingpersonalinterviewswith8femaleMillennialsmeetingthetarget

groupconditionsthefollowingfindingscouldberetrieved:

EveryparticipantownsatleastoneitemfromLouisVuitton,inanycaseabag.75%

of the interviewees however reported to havemore than one item from LV – in

some cases in the form of several bags and sometimes a variety of products

including scarfs, wallets and key chains. Interestingly among all the participants,

eventheoneswithonlyoneitemfromLVsofar,statedthatatleastoneitemcarries

oneofthetraditionalLVdesigns(eitherMonogramorCanvas).

5.1.1 BrandImage

Thisconclusiveresultisendorsedbytheanswersgivenwhenquestionedaboutwhat

makesthebrandLVstandoutfromotherluxuryfashionbrands.50%statedthatthe

Logo and Pattern is one of the aspects that makes LV special, as well as 50%

mentioningtheoveralldesignasamaindifferentialaspect. Inthiscontextabouta

thirdof theparticipantsalsodescribedLVproductsaseasilyrecognizable,which is

perceived positively among the Millennials. The main unique selling proposition

(USP)intheopinionoffemaleMillennialsseemstobethesimplicityoftheproducts

though.SixoutofeightintervieweesexplainedthatthebasicdesignofLVbagsand

thefactthatyoucancombinethemwithnearlyeverythingisoneofthekeybenefits

ofLVproducts.

Furthermore,factorssuchastheperceptionthattheproductswillnotgooutofstyle

soon due to the company and the products being something classic and even

traditional seems to have a positive influence of the brands image and decision

making among Millennials. Moreover, four participants mentioned their positive

feelingtowardstheirlargeproductrangewithinthisclassicaldesign.

Lastly,Millennials see the price as a competitive factor for LV, being described as

affordableluxurybyhalfoftheparticipants,whichmakesproductsmoreattractive

comparedtoother luxurybrandsassociatedwiththesamevalues. In thiscasethe

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connectiontotheluxuryfashionbrandChanelwasdrawnseveraltimesduetoalso

representingtraditionandbeingclassy,howeverhavingtospendmorethantwiceas

muchmoneyononeitem.

Foralloftheparticipantsqualityisanotherfactorthatisshapingtheexperienceone

gets from LV, yet clearly explaining that this is nothing that can make a luxury

fashionbrandstandoutfromothers,asnormallythisisgivenbyallofthem.

5.1.2 Associations

Whenasking theparticipantsabout theassociations theyhavewith thebrand the

most common answer was immediately luxury and high-end fashion, which was

givenbysixoutofeightpeople.Additionally,approximatelyonethirdexplainedthat

forthemLVisprimarilyassociatedwithbags,ratherthanwithalltheotherproducts

theyhave in theirassortment.Twoparticipantsstated that for themtheLVstores

arealsosomethingspecial intermsofdesignandfurniturethat issupportingtheir

imageofluxury.AlsoonepersonclearlypointedoutthatLVbagsstronglyserveasa

statussymbol.Again,whentalkingaboutassociationsinmanycasesitsubsequently

endedwithadiscussionaboutthepatternandlogoagain,whichseemstobeclearly

linkedinthecustomers’mindsasthefollowingquotedemonstrates:

“Immediately I am thinking about the traditional pattern, the LVmonogram

comes tomymind.Printedononeof their bagsor suitcases in thedifferent

shadesofbrown.”–Female,22

5.1.3 Values

Whendiggingdeeper andaskingMillennials about specific values that theywould

say describe the luxury fashion brand LV best, themost frequent answerwas the

imageofLVbeingabrandwithalotoftraditionyetmanagingthebemodern.Thisis

what 75% of the participants stated among descriptions such as LV being

trustworthy,havingclassicalandelegantproductsbutalsobeingverytrendy.Again

qualitywasplayingakey roleamong the intervieweeswith3participantsdefining

highquality standardsasoneof thevaluesandothers talkingabout the feelingof

those items lasting fora lifetime.Hereprobablyaconnectioncanbedrawntothe

repliesgivenpreviouslyonUSP’sofLV,wheretheperceptionwasexplainedthatLV

49

items will not go out of style soon. In combination with high quality levels,

trendiness and tradition Millennials feel that those aspects are justifying the

expenditureofbiggeramountsofmoneyononespecificitem,asitisworthwhile.

5.1.4 TriggersforbuyingLVHandbags

AnotherpurposeofthestudywastofindoutpossibletriggersforLVbagpurchases.

On this topic all of the participants agreed that the primary trigger ofwanting to

own a LV bag was seeing other people with those items. There were just slight

variations on who they sawwith those bags leading to their desire. The greatest

influence seems to be coming from strangers that are seen with the bags in

question.Theyhavebeendescribedasprettygirlsataroundthesameage,insome

casesalsoolder,thatyouwouldseewalkingaroundtownandwouldbeadmirable.

This strong tendency can be described as aspirational groups having a great

influence onMillennials. Also friends have beenmentioned as people that would

triggeryourwishtobelongtothegroupaswellbyowningaLVbag.

“Whenwalkingaround intown,goingtoplacesyou like,you justalwayssee

someonewithabag fromLouisVuitton.Alsosomeofmy friendshave those

products.Andyessomecelebritiesaswellwear thembut theydidnot really

triggermydesire,morethepeopleIseeallaroundthecity.”–Female,19

Another important influencing factor are family members, in particular mothers.

SevenoutofeightMillennialsmentioned that theirmotherowningabag fromLV

contributedtotheirwishofhavingoneontheirown.Ontheotherhandcelebrities

andbloggersdonotseemtoplayarolewhentalkingabouttriggers,butratherseem

to deepen the interest in certain products once the desire has already arisen

because of other factors. The following statement demonstrates the way social

mediaisaffectingconsumerbehavior:

“Ialsolookoutforwhatisinrightnowandwhatbloggerswearforexample.

And I think it is actually not that I lookout for thatonpurposebut you just

crossit–whenyouscrolldownonInstagramtherearebagsthatappearmore

oftenandaftersometime Inoticethat Iactually like thisone.Andyoukeep

seeingitmoreandmoreoftenandthisthenactuallytriggersyoutobuyitat

theend.”–Female,20

50

Generally,thisdesireofbelongingtothegroupofpeopletheyobservedwithintheir

environmentalreadyowningabagfromLVsupportsthetheorythatgroupdynamics

areofgreatimportanceamongtheMillennialgenerationduetohigherdiversityand

more situationswhere teambuilding is even expected fromMillennials such as in

theworkplace.Seemingly,Millennialsapplythesegroupbelongingtendenciestoall

aspectsoftheirlife.

5.1.5 CriteriaforbuyingaLuxuryFashionItem

Once the desire for a particular fashion item exists Millennials still have certain

criteria in mind, supporting or precluding the final purchase decision. The most

important one being good quality, which six out of eight interviewees listed as a

majorcriterionforluxuryfashionitempurchases,closelyfollowedbythedesignand

handiness of the product. Five Millennials expressed the importance of the

possibilitytousetheproductforseveraloccasions,differentstylesandfortheitem

being handy and simple both in terms of shape and design. This requirement for

luxuryfashionitemsamongfemaleMillennialsisperfectlysummarizedthroughthe

followingstatement:

“LouisVuittonhasreallyclassicdesignsyoucanwearwitheverything.WhenI

thinkofbagsfromotherbrands–theyareusuallyveryspecialintheirdesign.

So if youwear them you can of course also stand out but you cannotwear

thosebagstoasmanyoutfitsasitisthecasewiththeLouisVuittonbag.That

is thereasonwhy I really liketousetheLouisVuittonbagalso indaytoday

situations.”–Female,2

Onlytwooftheparticipantsmentionedpriceasacriterion,stillexplainingthatitis

notreallyacriterionbutratheranaspectthatissettingcertainboundariesinones

decision making. Generally speaking it seems that just overall trends that are

intensifiedbywhatbloggersshareandperceptionsofbrandsandproductsseemto

be considered byMillennials as well as the visibility of the brand on the product

itself.

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5.1.6 SocialInfluences

Among the general criteria and product attributes influencing the purchasing

decision respondents were asked which people are primarily playing a role

throughoutthewholepurchasedecisionmakingprocess–whichpeoplewereasked

foropinionsandpickedasreferences.Sevenoutofeightparticipantsincludedtheir

mother in theirdecisionmakingprocessaswellas twoparticipantsalsoturningto

other family members for consultation, making family members the greatest

influencinggroupamongMillennials.Halfoftherespondentstalkedtofriends,both

friendsalreadyowningLVbagstoretrieveinformationabouttheirpastexperiences

aswell as friend groupsnot yet owning an item from LV.Alsohalf of participants

indicated that socialmedia and blogger accounts have been used for information

gathering purposes, hence influencing their decision-making. Furthermore, half of

theparticipantsusedtheInternet,primarilythecompany’swebsite,togetinformed

aboutproductfeaturesandoptionsavailable.

5.1.7 ConsumerExpectations

When finally deciding to acquire a product from a certain luxury fashion brand

Millennialsprimarilyexpectedthispurchasetobeconnectedwithexcellentservice

provision.InthiscontextitisimportanttoexplainthatforMillennialsitgoesbeyond

goodsupportbyemployeeswithinthestores.Accordingtoparticipantsofthestudy

theoverallexperienceisakeyaspect,whichisreflectedbystatementssuchasthat

they really appreciate how special they feel in the stores. Participantsmentioned

featuressuchasreceivingaglassofchampagne,aboutemployeesputtingontheir

white gloves before showing items to them and the possibility of trying all the

differentproductswithouttimepressure.Someputitevenundertheexplanationof

feeling like a queenwhile in the store consequentlymaking it a great experience.

Theexpectationsregardingserviceprovisionalsoincludedoneparticipantexplaining

their wish for quick product delivery in case of taking advantage of personalizing

items such as getting initials engraved. This aligns with the statistically proven

tendencies ofMillennials heavily contributing to the emergence of an on demand

economy,inthemeanwhileseeminglyevenspreadingtotheluxurygoodsindustry.

52

Obviously, they also expect the products to meet the quality standards they

expected them to have and for about a third of the participants one of their

expectationsincludedtogetattentionandbeperceivedbeingtrendywhenwearing

LVproducts.

Every interviewee stipulated that all of their expectations have been fulfilled,

indicating a high consumer satisfaction amongMillennials with the luxury fashion

brand. Also with the service provision all of the participants were extremely

satisfied,whichwasexpressedthroughstatementssuchasthefollowingone:

“IthinkthatLouisVuittonhasanexceptionallywellserviceprovision.Wealso

ownotheritemsfromLVwithinourfamilyandeachtimewewenttothestore

itwasareallygreatexperience.”–Female,22

5.1.8 Self-ConceptConnection

Unanimously, theparticipantsagreed thatowninga LVbagdoesnot in someway

helptoexpresssomepersonalvaluesorpersonalitytraits.Thisisperfectlyreflected

bystatementasthefollowingone:

“FormethebagisagreataccessoriesbutIwouldnotreallysaythatwearing

the bag is expressing the values I stand for. It is not about highlightingmy

personalitybyusingtheproduct.”–Female,22

Thus,theyagreedthatitisoftenusedbyotherpeopletocreateanimageaboutyou.

OnethirdevendescribedLVbagsasaclearstatussymbolwithintoday´ssocietyand

threeMillennialsdescribedtheirfeelingofotherpeople,inparticularadults,taking

themmore seriously when wearing luxury fashion items. However, others stated

that they would be careful about which occasion they would use the bags for in

ordernottobejudgednegativelywhenwantingtoconformtocertainstandards.

More than half of the interviewees said that wearing a bag from LV definitely

attracts attention and theother part described it a bit less intensebut still saying

thatpeoplerecognizethatyouarewearingabagfromthisspecificbrand.Fiveoutof

eight Millennials feel like among their environment owning LV products is not

considered to be special anymore due tomost of the girlswithin their age group

53

wearing thoseproducts.Hence, thereareno certainperceptionsaboutowning LV

productsanymore;ithasratherbecomesomethingnormal.Stillwhentalkingabout

other people, not direct friends but rather strangers, all Millennials feel like it is

perceived negatively in some cases. 50% of the participants described it as other

peoplejudgingyouforit,twoparticipantsgetthefeelingthatpeoplethinkofyouas

beingspoiledandoneparticipantevenusedthewordenviousness todescribethe

perceptionofothers.

5.1.9 BrandLoyaltyamongMillennialsintheCaseofLV

Thelastpurposeofthismarketresearchwastofindoutaboutbrandloyaltyamong

Millennials. All of the participants stated that they would eventually repurchase

fromLV.However,fiveoutofeightwouldconsidergoingbacktoLVatsomepoint

forsureduetogenerallybeingsatisfiedwithLV,stillwantingtotryoutotherbrands

inbetween.Onlythreeparticipantswouldconsidertoimmediatelyrepurchasefrom

LV. The reasons for the possibility of repurchasing from the same luxury fashion

brandincludedhighsatisfactionwithproductqualityandserviceprovisionaswellas

withtheoverallproductdesigns.Therefore,purchasingdifferentsizesandshapesin

thesamedesign–apossibilitythatnotmanyluxuryfashionbrandsofferbesidesLV

–soundslikeagoodoptiontothosewillingtorepurchase.Overall,thismeansthat

withintheconceptofbrandloyaltyMillennialsstilldevelopattitudinalloyaltytraits,

however behavioral loyalty is on the decline within the generation having severe

negative consequences for any company. Attitudinal loyalty is good to have,

however only the execution of repurchasing items from a particular brand, hence

behavioralloyalty,iswhatbringsthecompanymoney.

AbouthalfoftheparticipantsalsotalkedaboutLV´scurrentchange inbagdesigns

and how those new models are not really appealing to them. According to the

participants the complete elimination of the traditional Monogram and Canvas

designisnotbeneficialasitisoneoftheirUSP’striggeringMillennialstopurchaseLV

products.Duetomanyofthenewdesignsbeingrathercolorfulandwithadifferent

logoiteliminatesoneofthebenefitsofsimplicitythatwasvaluedamongthetarget

groupandalsothegoodvisibilityoftheLVlogoisdiminished.

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5.2 Propositions

As a consequence to those results the following conclusions to the previously

stipulatedresearchpropositionscanbedrawn:

After the study proposition 1 could verified. As a matter of fact, the overall

purchasingexperienceandserviceprovisionareofgreatimportanceforMillennials

whendecidingtopurchaseluxuryfashionitems.

Proposition2on theotherhand couldnotbe supportedby the study results. The

interviews showed that even though friends represent one of the information

sourcesforMillennialsitcannotbeseenasthemostimportantone.Primarilyfamily

membersareusedforreferencesandgettingholdofexternalopinions.Moreover,

socialmedia is having nearly the same impact on the decisionmaking process as

friends, again not supporting the proposition that friends are themost significant

influencingfactor.

Proposition 3, which was suggesting that in terms of self-identity,Millennials use

luxury fashion items primarily to adhere to aspirational groups rather than to

represent theiractualself,couldbeverified.100%of thestudyparticipantsstated

that theywouldnotseeLVbagsasa representationof themselvesbutmentioned

celebritiesoradmirablepeopleonthestreetinfluencingtheirpurchasingdecisions.

AlsoProposition4couldbeconfirmedthroughtheinterviews.Millennialstendtobe

increasingly less loyal to luxury fashion brands. Even tough repurchases are a

possibilityformostofthecustomersitisnotgiventhattheywillstayloyaltosolely

one luxury fashion brand, but rather will consume several ones throughout the

years.Theresulting implications, inparticularforbusinesseswillbeoutlined inthe

followingparagraphs.

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6 Conclusion

Overall,thethesisshowsthatluxuryfashionitemsareplayingakeyroleinthelifeof

Millennials.WhenplacingsuchpurchasesMillennialswanttoreceivemorethanjust

a flawless product however. Aspects such as service provision and an overall

memorable experience as well as products that really deliver value in terms of

designandusefulnessareneededtosatisfythegenerationofMillennials.

The generation of Millennials indeed is expecting more from their product

purchases.Featuressuchasmeetingtheexpectationsintermsofvisualappearance

becomethebasiccondition,whereasadditionalproductfeaturessuchashandiness,

shape and size of the bags become increasingly important. Thus,Millennialswant

more value for their money. Furthermore, the overall purchasing experience is

increasinglyessentialandmakeupagreatpartoftheirsatisfactionandpurchasing

experience. This means that companies need to progressively focus on product

development as well as delivering value through the creation of a unique

atmosphere within the stores and excellently trained staff so that the purchasing

experienceisasflawlessastheproductsshouldbe.

ItseemsthatespeciallyforluxuryfashionbrandsevenamongMillennialstraditionis

highly valued as it is transmitted into a brand image that can be described as

trustworthyandclassical.LuxuryfashionbrandssuchasLouisVuitton,havingarich

history, should leverage those traditionsandcommunicateand transmit them ina

modernway.Combining thoseaspectswillmake the targetgroup trust thebrand,

yetfind itappealingduetomodernandtrendyaspects.Millennialsseemto justify

their huge investments through the traditional values of a company that is often

connectedwithprovenqualitystandards.

Pricing also plays a key role in decision-making. Therefore, companies need to

specificallyfocusonthispartoftheMarketingMixaswell. Itseemsthatpricesets

certainboundariestowhichproductstheywouldactuallyacquire.Millennialsinfact

arewillingtospendproportionallyhighamountsofmoneyonluxuryfashionitems,

howevertheamountneedstoalignwiththecompanyimage,productfeaturesand

shouldnotchangewithinabrandsproductsrangedrasticallyovertime.

56

It seems that the key to trigger thedesireof aMillennial toowna specific luxury

fashionitemiscontinuousandlong-termexposuretothatproduct.Thekeytriggers

among participants included seeing strangers among their physical environment

with certain products, which was then supported through continuously being

exposedtothesameproductsonsocialmedia,inparticularInstagramandpictures

of celebrities. Therefore, companies need to increasingly consider product

placements,testimonialsandtheirsocialmediaappearanceaspartoftheirbusiness

strategy.

Moreover,familymembersarepresentingakeyaspectbothintriggeringdesireand

influencing thepurchasingdecision. In this context, theongoinghistory connected

with traditional values and high quality standards is benefitting Louis Vuitton

comparedtocompetitorsthatareperceivedtoberathernewandtrendy.LVshould

build on this existing importance of the LV brand within families to lure younger

generationsintotheirpoolofcustomersandkeepthemthroughgraduallychanging

single elements so that products adhere to the traditional expectations, yet

becoming more modern for future generations. Millennials value LV products for

their simplicityand thepossibility towear themwithmanydifferent styles. Itwas

clearly pointed out that they prefer other brands for more extravagant designs,

however theywouldnotoftenmakesuchpurchases.Thismeans that stayingwith

basicdesignsinseveralsizes,shapesandbasicpatternswillmakeMillennialscome

backmoreoftenthanextremelyextraordinarydesigns.

Anotheraspect thathasbeenmentionedamongparticipantswasthepossibilityof

personalizingitems.Whenstickingwithsimilarpatternsanddesignsforalongtime,

for some target customers the problem of lack of specialty or uniqueness occurs.

This can be overcome by offering additional possibilities to personalize items,

making the products really their own and again adding superiority to the over

experience.

Intermsofself-identityconcepts,Millennialstendtoparticularlypurchaseitemsdue

totrendssetbyaspirationalgroups.Inordertocontinuouslybeperceivedastrendy

and lure consumers back for repeated purchases luxury fashion brands need to

invest their resources in the identification and later on attraction of aspirational

groups that will later onmake the large group of potential customers follow the

57

trend. Bags are used as status symbols among Millennials and to reflect current

statusortheonetheywanttobeabletohaveinafewyear’stime.

Stillitisimportanttoconsiderthatcompaniescannolongercompletelyrelyonthe

business strategy of consumer loyalty in the luxury fashion industry. Even though

attitudinal loyaltymight be given among consumers it does not necessarily imply

that behavioral loyalty is applied aswell – at least not immediately. Hence, Louis

Vuitton needs to heavily focus on maintaining values that make customers come

back as often as possible and creating new designs and experiential aspects

frequentlywhile not changing attributes that customers so highly value about the

brand.

6.1 PracticalImplications

Furthermore,thecompanywebsiteneedstobeoptimizedasmostoftheMillennial

consumers use the Website as one of their tools for information gathering even

before entering the store. Familymembers are the primary source for references

along with friends and bloggers. These tendencies show that experiences are not

onlysharedviaWOMbutalsoelectronicallyinrealtimeandshouldbekeptinmind

foranybusinessstrategy.

Companies need to find ways to compensate for a lack of brand loyalty among

Millennials throughthemanagementofcontinuouslysettingnewtrendsthatneed

to be placed among aspirational groups first and later on be broken down to the

masses. There is a thin linebetweencreating innovativeandmodern trendswhile

stillmeetingtheperceptionsabouttraditionalvaluesofthebrandtosucceedinthe

long term. Furthermore, any design needs to be catchy enough to be recognized

easily by others asMillennials seenopoint in spendingmoney if thebrand is not

clearlyvisibleontheproduct.

WhenluxuryfashionbrandsmanagetoleverageonthewillingnessofMillennialsto

spend bigger amounts on fashion items than generations before by investing in

Research & Development for creating classy trends as well as developing

outstanding experiential journeys for their customers they will be able to greatly

benefitfromthetakeoverofthegenerationofMillennials.

58

6.2 StudyLimitations

Even though the study has delivered accurate results with an obvious strong

tendency there still are some limitations that are applicable and need to be

consideredwhengeneralizingtheresults.

Firstofall, themajor limitation is thestudyscopeboth in termsofgeographyand

characteristicsof the interviewparticipants.Theconsumerbehaviorhasonlybeen

observedandanalyzedfromMillennials living inAustria, inparticulartheregionof

Vienna. This means that the results of the study might not prove to be relevant

outsideofthisareaandmightbedifferentinothercountriesorevendifferentcities

within Austria. Moreover, only female Millennials have taken part in the study,

whichmeans that results cannot be generalized to the whole generation. Results

maybecomelessrelevantindifferentenvironmentsresultingindifferentinfluencing

factorsandcharacteristicsofMillennials.

Secondly,limitationsapplywhenitcomestodatagatheringandanalysisprocesses.

Participants for the interviews where not selected through a totally random

selection process and hencemight lead to distortion of the results. Furthermore,

evaluationof the results has beenexecutedmanually, so thepossibility of human

errorcannotbeexcludedcompletelyandalsotheprocessofclusteringanswersinto

related response groups is not completely subjective in nature. Lastly, for data

analysistherealwaysisthepossibilityofunknownconfoundingfactors.

6.3 SuggestionsforFutureResearch

EvenwithinthedefinedtargetgroupofMillennialstherearenumeroussubgroups,

each of which is characterized by different attributes. Therefore, it would be

recommended to conduct further research on consumer behavior of Millennials

whenitcomestoluxuryfashionitems,suchaswhatthetendenciesofthemalepart

of the generation are. Furthermore, similar studies can be conducted in different

geographicalareas,possiblyalsoona largerscale inordertobeabletogeneralize

the resultsmore broadly and excluding the possibility that external factorswithin

Austriahaveinfluencedstudyresults.

59

Finally,deeperstudiesontherelationshipofMillennialswith luxurybrandscanbe

performedsuchaswithhigherfocusondifferentproductgroups,butpossiblyalso

inrespectofchoosingdifferentbrandsthanLouisVuitton.Forexamplethebiggest

competitorintermsofluxurybagsalestoMillennials,Gucci,couldbeselected.

60

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Appendices

AppendixA–PersonalInterviewTranscripts

Interview1

ThefollowinginterviewwasheldinGermanandlaterontranslatedtoEnglish.

Q:Howoldareyouatwhichnationalitydoyouhave?

A:Iam22yearsoldandAustrian.

Q: Okay so lets get to the first question: Howmany products do you own from

LouisVuittonandwhichonesarethey?

A:AtthemomentIownoneproduct,whichisabagfromLouisVuitton.It’sasmaller

bag,withtheclassicLVmonogramdesign.

Q: Alright and if you now think of the brand Louis Vuitton; what does in your

opinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfromotherLuxuryFashionBrands?

A:Well forme it is in the first place the Logo,Design. Its very unique and special

comparedtothevisibilityofotherbrandlogos.

Q:SoyouarealsohavinginmindthatformanyLouisVuittonproductstheLogois

placedallovertheproductinsteadofjustonce?

A:Yeswell,Imeantherearedifferentversionsofhowthelogoisshownandplaced

inLVbagsbutinanycaseitiseasilyrecognizable.FurthermoreLouisVuittonreally

hashighqualityproducts.Andreallyincomparisontootherbrands,Ialsowouldsay

that Louis Vuitton has an extraordinarily well cost-benefit-ratio. Well, of course

there are also immensely expensive pieces you can buy from LV, still there are

productsthatareavailableforanamountthatisaffordable.

Q: So if you nowhear the brandname LouisVuittonwhat is the first thing that

comestoyourmind?Whichassociationsdoyouhavewiththebrand?Whatdoes

thebrandLVmeantoyoupersonally?

69

A:ImmediatelyIamthinkingaboutthetraditionalpattern,theLVmonogramcomes

to my mind. Printed on one of their bags or suitcases in the different shades of

brown.

Q:Soforyouitconsideredpositivelythatmostproductsdohavethispatternonit

andyouseeiteverywherewhenwornbyacustomer?

A:Yes,yesverypositively.Itswhatmakesthemdifferenttootherbrands.

Q:Whatwouldyousay triggeredyourdesire topurchaseandownan itemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A: Well, I think I can say that somehow I followed a certain trend. It is kind of

common to own a Louis Vuitton bag nowadays, many people do. That´s when I

startedthinkingofgettingoneaswell,becauseIalsowantedtoownaLouisVuitton

bag.

Q:IfyouaretalkingaboutLouisVuittoncreatingatrendandmanypeopleowning

productsfromLV,areyoutalkingaboutfriendsandcloselyrelatedpeopleormore

aboutcelebrities,influencer,peopleyoudon’tactuallyknow?

A:No,mainly itwere friends that had products from LV. That’swhen I started to

reallygetinterestedinthebrand,startedtodoresearchonitandonlythenIstarted

to realizehowmanyotherpeopleactuallyhaveLVbags,asLVdoesnotonlyhave

productswith the LVmonogramon it, butalso less visiblebranddesigns. Soafter

research Iwas informed inmoredetail about thedifferentdesignsandonly that I

actually started to actively sense on social media such as Instagram, that many

bloggersandfamouspeoplepurchaseLVbags,howevermanyofthemwiththeless

presentdesigns.

Q:Whydidyouintheendstilldecidetogetabagwiththemonogramonit?

A:Becauseformeitwassomethingthatclearlyshowsthatmybagactuallyisfrom

LouisVuitton,thispatternformeispartofthebrandLouisVuitton.Thereforethese

designsaremostappealingtome.

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Q:Sogenerallyspeakingnow,whenyoudecideonbuyinga luxury fashion item,

suchasaLVbag,whatarethemost importantcriteriayoukeep inmindfor this

decision?Primarilyitisabouttheprice.Sopriceisthemostimportantcriteriafor

you?

A: No, it is not the most important one, however it sets the first boundaries on

whichitemsImightbuyandwhichonesnot.Evenifeverythingelseaboutthebrand

Ilikebutthepriceishorrendouslyhigh,Iwillnotpurchaseit.Pricekindofcreatesa

ceilingwithin thosemanyoptionsavailable. Forexample thebrandPhilippPlein. I

reallylovethebrandandthepieces,butIwouldneverbuyitbecausethepricesare

simply toohigh.Andothercriteriaare thatafter lookingwhat is inmypricerange

thequalityisveryimportant.

Q:SoifyoufindoutthatthequalityfromLouisVuittonisactuallynotasgoodas

youthought,wouldthatchangeyouropinionaboutthebrand?

A:YoumeanincaseIhearstoriesaboutit,orifIpersonallyexperiencethis?

Q:Both.

A: If I am just getting stories told about problem concerning the quality of LV

products Iwouldnot listen to that,only if I personallyamdisappointedabout the

qualitylevelIwouldheavilythinkaboutspendingmoneyonaLVproductagain.

Q:WhoinfluencedyourdecisiontopurchaseaLVproductandwhatroledoordid

thosepeoplehave inyourdecisionmakingprocess?Thiscouldbefriends, family,

celebritiesorpeers.

A:Thefirstsourceofinformationandconsultationhavedefinitelybeenfriends.

Q:DidthosefriendsalreadyownproductsfromLVornot?

A:Both.IaskedfriendsowningLVproductsabouttheirsatisfaction.Mymotheralso

ownsseveralbagsfromLV.SoIstartedtotalktoheraboutmywishofalsoowninga

bagfromLV.That’swhenwestartedtohaveconversationsaboutLVbeingaluxury

brand and that I should carefully consider all aspects before deciding to purchase

own.Howeverintheend,thefinaldecisionitselfwasdowntome.

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Q:Soyouwouldsaythatwhoactuallyownedabagwithinyoursurroundinghad

ratherlittleinfluencethroughoutthedecisionprocess?

A:Yes, I think so. If otherpeopledon’t like thebrand thiswouldnothaveahuge

effectonmydecision.Thereareother factorssuchas thereputationof thebrand

thatwouldhavelargerconsequenceswithinmydecision-making.

Q: Good. So after deciding that you will get a bag from LV - what were your

expectationsforthebrand,theproduct?Whatdidyouwanttoactuallyreceive?

A:Well of course that thehighquality level is as I perceived it to be,wouldhave

beenreallydisappointedifIwouldhavehadproblemsafterafewtimeswearingthe

bag.Alsogoodconsultationintheshop,thattheyanswermyquestionandthatIfeel

welcomed in the store. And in the long term Iwould expect that in case I still do

have problemswith the bag that I have a guarantee that they will take care if it

immediately.

Q:Andthoseexpectationshaveallbeenfulfilled?

A:Yes,definitely.

Q: In which way does owing a product from Louis Vuitton help you to express

yourselfandthevaluesyoustandfor?Orwouldyousayitishelpingyoutobepart

ofacertaingroupofpeople?

A:IthinkthatowningaLouisVuittonproductsisrathersomethingotherpeopleuse

to judge someoneor createan imageaboutaperson,but lessbymyself to joina

grouporsendamessage.

Q:SowouldyousayLouisVuittonisreflectingyourpersonalityatall?

A:Honestly,thatisdifficulttoanswer.ButIwouldsaythisisgenerallyrathernotan

issueforme.

Q:Soyousaiditisabouttheperceptionotherpeoplebuildwhenseeingyouwitha

LVbag,howdoyouthinkitisperceivedbyothers?

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A:Wellisvariesextremelydependingontheotherperson.Iwouldsaythatpeople

thatcannotaffordsuchproductjudgeyouforwearingit.Iamratheryounganddo

notearnmyownmoney so they just think it is unreasonable thatmyparents are

supporting it and sponsoring such a behavior. I think you can even say that you

experienceenviousness.

Q:Doyouthinkthatsomepeoplealsolookuptoyoubecauseofyouowningsuch

abag?

A: Well the thing is that the friends that can afford it anyway don’t look up to

someonejustbecauseofherowningabagfromLV.Thosepeopledohaveabagon

theirownanyway.Soitisconsideredtobenormal.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?

A:Yes,definitely. Iamveryhappywiththebagandthequality.Andofcourseyou

canneverhaveenoughbagsasawoman.

Q:Soforyournextpurchaseofabagfromaluxuryfashionbrand,wouldyouagain

pickLouisVuittonorwouldyouwant to tryoutotherbrands firstandonlyafter

sometimespendmoneyonLVproductsagain?

A:IamveryhappywithLouisVuittonandmyexperienceswithit.AlsoIfindmostof

theiritemsveryappealing,whichisnotalwaysthecasewithotherbrands.LVbags

havepracticalformats,inalldifferentkindofsizes.Buteventhebiggerbagsarevery

light, which is something I really like about them. Also with the monogram it is

always visible that I spent a certain amount of money on that bag. That’s why I

wouldchooseLouisVuittonimmediatelyagain.

Q: Is there anything else youwould like to add on the topic or concerning your

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:IthinkthatLouisVuittonhasanexceptionallywellserviceprovision.Wealsoown

otheritemsfromLVwithinourfamilyandeachtimewewenttothestoreitwasa

reallygreatexperience.

Q:Thankyouagainfortakingthetimeforansweringmyquestions!

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Interview2

Q:Firstly,pleasetellmeyourageandyournationality.

A:Iam19yearsoldandSerbian.

Q:Allright,howmanyproductsdoyouownfromLouisVuittonandwhichones?

A: Ihave fourdifferentbags, twopairsof shoes,onebelt,awallet,abraceletand

twoscarfsfromLouisVuitton.

Q:Andthosebagsareallindifferentsizes,colorsanddesigns?

A:Yes,welloneof them isbigger inwhite, then Ihave two in regular sizes in the

typicalmonogramdesignandasmalleroneaswell.

Q: From your point of view, what does in your opinion make the brand Louis

VuittonstandoutfromotherLuxuryFashionBrands?

A: Louis Vuitton has its very own unique design that is standing out. Also the

products basically go with everything so I can wear the products to nearly

everything.Andthequalityisreallygood.Becauseeventhoughitisnotleather,the

traditional canvasmonogramdesign, it has the samequality level as leatherbags.

LouisVuittonhasa largevarietyof theproducts, likemanydifferentsizes, shapes;

alsomanychoiceswhenitcomestothingslikehandlesevenifyouwanttostickto

the traditional design. And the price is not toohigh. It is just that I feel like Louis

Vuittonwillnevergooutofstyle.That’swhyitisworthpayingtheprice.BecauseI

knowIwillusetheproductsforalongtimeandtheywilllastformanyyears.

Q: If you hear the brand name Louis Vuitton –what is the first thing you think

about? What are your associations, your perceptions about the brand Louis

Vuitton?

A:Ithinkofluxury.LikeIstartimaginingthebagsandthestores.Eventhereitfeels

luxurious,becauseofthedesignofthestores.Everything is ingoldandpretty.But

mostlywithLouisVuittonIthinkofthebags,that’swhatthebrandformeisabout.

Q:AndwhatwouldyousaywhichvaluesdoesLVstandforinyouropinion?

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A:It’sahighqualitybrand.LouisVuittonispopular,famous.Itisknownalloverthe

world.Alsothebrandisbothtraditionalandmodern.Ithasbeenexistingforquite

sometimenowsoithassometraditionalvaluesandmakesittrustworthybutitis

stillverytrendy.Ilikethismixture.

Q:Whatwouldyousay triggeredyourdesire topurchaseandownan itemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A:Iwouldseeproductseverywhere-onpictures,onpeople.Andthensuddenly

yourstartrecognizinghowoftenthebrandnameappearssomewhereinthemedia

orwithinyoursurrounding.AndIfeltlikethatIalsowanttohaveoneofthosebags.

That’showitallstartedafewyearsago.ThenaftermyfirstbagIfeltlikeIamreally

happythatIboughtitandthatitwasagoodinvestment.

Q: When you say you see the bag everyway – could you describe that more

detailed.

A:Whenwalkingaroundintown,goingtoplacesyoulike,youjustalwayssee

someonewithabagfromLouisVuitton.Alsosomeofmyfriendshavethose

products.Andyessomecelebritiesaswellwearthembuttheydidnotreallytrigger

mydesire,morethepeopleIseeallaroundthecity.

Q:Soasyouarepointingout:becauseof theirdesignandthe logobeing largely

placedallover thebagsyoualwayseasily recognizewhensomeone iswearinga

LouisVuittonbag.Wouldyouconsiderthisattributeassomethinggoodornot?

A:Tomeitisnotanimportanttopic.Liketherearealsobagsthatdonothavethe

monogramonitwhereitismoredifficulttoactuallyknowthatthisisaLouisVuitton

bagandIwouldalsobuythem.FormeitisnotabouteveryoneknowingitisaLouis

VuittonbagwhenIambuyingtheoneswiththecanvasmonogram.Itisjusta

traditionalbuttrendydesignthatIlike.

Q: Generally speaking, which are the most important criteria you keep in mind

whenyoudecideonbuyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasaLVbag?

A:Ifit’sabagIwouldpreferittobeleather,oratleastatsimilarquality.Because

thenIknowitwilllastalongtimeandwillnotlookusedquickly.AndeventhoughI

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knowthatbagsfromLouisVuittonaremostlynotmadeofleatheritisproventobe

goodqualitysothisfineformeaswell.Iamlookingforsomethingthatwilllasta

longtimewhenIambuyingluxuryitemsandwhenspendingsomuchmoneyonone

item.AlsoIwanttheitemtobeinadesignthatIcanpairwithalotofmyclothes.IfI

spendbigamountsofmoneyonitIalsowanttobeabletowearitregularly.Also

whenthedesignistooextraordinaryIwillnotlikeitforthatlong.Idonotwantto

getboredofitafterafewmonths,thatwouldbeabadinvestmentthen.

Q:Who influenced you throughout the whole purchasing decision process? Like

wheredidyougetrecommendationsfrom,who inspiredyou,andsoon.Thiscan

befriends,family,celebrities…

A:Actually,Ididn’treallytalktootherpeople.LikeIdidnotactivelyasksomeone

“howdoyouliketheproductsfromLouisVuitton?Isitagoodbag?Isitagood

purchase?”.MainlyIwastalkingtomymombecausewesometimessharestuffso

shealwayshelpsmetodecide.Butnoonereallygavemetheadvicetobuyabag

fromLouisVuitton.Itwasmyownwishandopinion.IfIlikeitIwillthinkaboutit.

Q:Andwhataboutpeopleyoudonotpersonallyknoworothertouchpointswith

thebrandthroughcelebritiesandsoon?

A:Itwasnotasimportant.Butyesofcourse,ifIseeapictureofanicebag

somewhereandthenIrecognizeitinothersituationsaswell–againandagain–I

startedtokindofliketheproductevenmore.SometimesIdon’tevenseethe

productIbuyinthestore,butIseeitinthepicturesandthenwanttohaveit.

Q: So social media sometimes is influencing your decision or triggering your

interestinaspecificproduct?

A:Yes,forsure.Ifoundsomereallyniceproductsthroughsocialmedia.

Q:OtherpeoplesharingthattheyareusingLouisVuittonproductshasapositive

influenceonyouroverallperception?

A:Yes,itdoes.Thosepeoplekindofgivemeinspiration.

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Q:What were your overall expectations when deciding to purchase a bag from

LouisVuitton?

A:HmIamnotquitesure.ImeanIknewIwouldwearthisbagalotoftimes.SoI

obviouslydidnotwantittoimmediatelyfallapartorgetdamaged.Butthequalityis

kindofgivenforLouisVuitton.

Q:Sotheexpectationsyouhadaboutthequalityhavebeenfulfilled?

A:Yes.Theproductsreallylookniceforalongtime,evenifyouusethemregularly.

Q: In which way does owing a product from Louis Vuitton help you to express

yourselfandthevaluesyoustandfor?Doesitmaybereflectyourpersonality?

A:Wellitiskindofshowingsocialstatus.ButalsodependsonhowIpairit,likethe

restofmyoutfitchoices.Butnotthatmuchhonestly.ButIdonotthinkIcandraw

connectionsfromthebrandtomypersonality.Ijustliketohavethoseitemsas

accessories.

Q: How do you think owning a bag from Louis Vuitton is perceived by your

environmentthen,whenyousayitisshowingyoursocialstatus?

A:Idonotthinkthatpeopleareactuallylookinguptomeorsomethingbecauseof

thisbag.Theymightjustrecognize“ohshehasanicestyle”butIdonotthinkthatit

makesmelooklikeIaminahigherpositionthanothers.Manypeopleinmy

environmentdohavebagsfromLouisVuittonontheirownanyway.StillIhaveto

admit,Iamnotcompletelysurehowitwasafewyearsago,butIthinkthatluxury

bagshavebecomemoreofastatussymbolthatithasbeenbefore.

Q:Whydoyouthinkisthatthecase?

A:Iamnotsure.Icannotevensayhowotherpeopleseemebecauseofacertain

bag.IjustknowthatIalwaysrecognizewhenanothergirlhasanicebag.AndthenI

oftenwantitaswelltobelongtothegroup.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Whyorwhynot?

77

A:Yes,ofcourse.IliketotryotherbrandsaswellbecauseIliketoseethe

differencesinmaterials,styles.ButstillIwouldalwaysgobacktoLouisVuitton

again.Imeanthereisthisthingaboutpublicity.Ifthereissomethingreallynegative,

likethoseproductsareessentiallyharmingtheenvironmentorsomething–this

wouldmaybechangemymind.ButIdon’tthinkthiswillbethecase.AlsoIwas

reallyhappywiththeservicesyougetinthestores.Liketheyhelpyoudecideor

preorderproductsforyou.Thestaffisjustreallypoliteandhelpful.Thisalsoplaysa

role.

Q: Is there anything else youwould like to add on the topic or concerning your

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:No,Ithinkwehavetalkedabouteverythingthatisimportant.

Q:Alright,thenthankyoualotagainfortakingyourtimetoday!

Interview3

Q:Firstly,Iwouldneedyourageandnationality.

A:Iam19yearsoldandIcomefromIndonesia.

Q:Howmanyproducts,andwhichonesdoyouownfromLouisVuitton?

A:Ihavethree.IhavealittleminipurseandthekindofbucketbagandhmmIdon’t

reallyknowthenameofthethirdonebutitisjustlikeamediumbag.Allofthemin

thetraditionalLouisVuittondesign.Thetraditional,brownlogo.

Q:WhatdoesinyouropinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfromother

LuxuryFashionBrands?

A: I think Louis Vuitton is something really classic. And sometimes when I see it

somewhere,aslikethedesignis…letssaycomplicated,soitisnothingyoucansee

withotherbags.Butthisstyle is justreallyclassic.Andthat iswhy I like it.And,at

leastuntilrecently,theydidnothaveanystrangedesigns,orcolorslikeblack,there

weremainlythosetypicalbrownones.

78

Q: So you like the fact that Louis Vuitton really has a strong emphasis on this

traditionalstyleanddesign?

A:Yes,Ithinkitlooksgoodanditiswhatdifferentiatesthem.

Q:Whenhearingorgetting in touchwith thebrandnameLouisVuitton,what is

thefirstthingthatcomestoyourmind?

A:Luxury!

Q:What are further associations you havewith the brand?Which valueswould

yousaydoesLouisVuittonstandfor?

A:FormeLVdefinitely isa luxurybrand.So Idonotuseall theproducts fordaily

activities.TherearesomebagtypesthatIalsouseforcampusforexample.ButalsoI

pickthebagsforspecialoccasions.

Q:Whatwouldyousay triggeredyourdesire topurchaseandownan itemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A:Tobehonest,Ididnotpurchaseallofthosebags.Becauseitwasactually,twoof

thebagswereagiftfrommymom.AndthenoneofthemIthoughtIwanttohavea

smallbagtogoout,forhanging–wellnotreallyforhangingout–butforgoingout

atnight.AndIthinktheonesfromLouisVuittonarenice,sothatiswhyIchosethe

bag.

Q:Butalsowhenyourmotherpurchaseditforyou–whydidshebelievethatyou

wouldwantabagfromLouisVuitton?

A:Well it isabouttheprice.Becausebagsfromotherbrandsareimmediatelyover

1000 Euros ormore. Forme a thousand euros is something you know. Somaybe

thatiswhy.Maybeshethinksthisiswhatsuitsherforherageatthemoment.My

momknew thebrandLouisVuittonbecause she lived inMilan.AndMilan, as you

knowislikethisfashionworld–sothatiswhysheknowsit.AndsoIknewaboutthe

brandbecauseofher.BecauseshealreadyownedbagsfromLVbefore.

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Q: Generally speaking, which are the most important criteria you keep in mind

whenyoudecideonbuyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasaLVbag?

A:For sure thedesign. Iprefer simple,not toomuchwithall thosegoldelements

and colors and everything. I like it simple. And then price for sure. And then the

shape–Imeanthesizeofthebag.

Q:Sointermsofshapeandsize,doyoulikethataboutLouisVuittonbags?

A:Yes.Youcangetallthebagsinmanydifferentformats,sizesandshapes.Butallof

theminthesamebasicdesign–thetraditionalone.Ithinkthatisnice.It isoneof

theiruniqueaspects.Youcangetsomanydifferentthingsbutallofthemhavethe

samestyleinit.

Q:Soyoudon’tneedmuchvariationinthedesign?

A:IthinknowLouisVuittonisalsomodern.Asnowtheyarealsoonthemarketwith

those new colors and designs. I think a lot of other luxury brands made it very

competitivewithallthosepoppingcolors.ButforsureLouisVuittonshouldstillkeep

theiruniquelogo.

Q:Who influences/influenced your decision to purchase a LV product and what

role do/did those people have in your decision making process - this could be

friends,family,celebritiesorpeers.

A: Mostly it came from within my family. From cousins, aunts and of course my

mom.Ialwaysaskthemforreferences,alsoinsteadofmyfriends.

Q:Soyouneverconsultwithyourfriendsabouttopicslikethat?

A:No,notreally.

Q:Whynot?

A:Idonotknow.Itisjustthatsometimeswhentheysay“thisbagisnicer”iffeellike

someday I see them wearing this particular bag. So I just ask my family instead.

Therethiswillnothappen.

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Q:SodomanyofyourfriendshavebagsfromLouisVuitton?

A: As far as I know there are quite a few. Especially on campus I see many.

SometimesIlikethatandsometimesIdon’t.Itisreallyboth.Becauseinsomecases

whenIseethemwearingitIkindofstartreflectingthatthisisprobablythewayIam

lookingaswellwhenwearingthebag.Butsometimes Idon’treally–donotknow

exactlywhy.Butintheendisfine. Ithinkeverygirldeservesaprettybaglikeone

fromLouisVuitton.

Q:Whatelseinfluencedyou,otherthanyourfamily?Dothingslikesocialmediaor

celebritiesimpactyourdecision?

A:SofarIdonotthinkso.Iamnotreallyusingthebloggersonsocialmediatohelp

me make a decision. Of course it somehow feels great if you think that you are

wearingabagthatacelebrityisusing.Butitisaveryfamousbrand,soIthinkmost

ofthecelebritiesusethebagsanyway.Sothisisnotnews.

Q: What were your expectations when deciding to purchase a bag from Louis

Vuitton?

A:Mostly, ifyou thinkabout luxurybrandsand their shops, I image thosepersons

with gloves on working there. Helping you with your decision and showing you

around.Ithinkthisisveryspecialanddifferentfromotherkindsofstores.Iexpect

theemployeestoreallyhelpme.Itevenhappenedformylastbagthatbecauseof

therecommendationsinstore,thatIboughtadifferentsmallbagthanIintendedto

inthebeginning.

Q:Wouldyousaythoseexpectationshavebeenfulfilled?Why,orwhynot?

A: Iamquitehappy.Thebagsactually last really long. Imeanoneof thebagshas

beenuseda longtime.Howshould Isay– it is likeagenerationthing. Ithasbeen

givenbymygrandmothertomymomandnowshegaveittome.Andevenforthis

bagthequality isthesameuntilnow. Ithinkthatthis isgreatalsowhenyouthink

aboutthepriceaswell.Becauseitreally isanicefashionitem.SoIamhappywith

theproduct.

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Q:Asyou said LouisVuittonbagsareevenpasseddownwithinyour family.The

brandmustplayanimportantroleforallofyouthen?

A:Yeskindof.ButIthinkmymomjustthinksthattheitemisalsoverysuitablefor

youngpeoplesoshewantedmetohave it.Becauseshecanwearotherbrandsas

well.

Q:Doesowingaproduct fromLouisVuittonhelpyoutoexpressyourselfandthe

valuesyoustandfor?

A:Notreally.WhenIamwearingabagIhavenointentionofshowingoffthatIam

owningabagfromthisparticularbrand. Iamwearing it formeandbecause it fits

my outfit. Also Iwould not say that it ismaking you belong to a certain group of

people.

Q:Buthowdoyou think isowningaLVbagperceivedamongyourenvironment

andhowimportantisittoyou?

A: So far no one really appreciated ormentionedmewearing this bag from Louis

Vuitton.NooneisdoingthatsoIdonotreallyknow.Ithinkitisnotthatspecialin

myenvironment.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?Andwhich

itemswouldthatbe?

A:Fornownot.Becausetherearealsootherbrandsthatareappealingtome.There

areothersthatalsohavereallynicedesigns.

Q:Whichbrandswouldthatbeforexample?

A:IwouldlovetohaveaChanelbag!ThedifferenceisthatChanelismoreelegantin

awayforme.IdonotseeasmanypeoplewithChanelbagsinmyenvironment.

Q: So lets say youactually buy your Chanel bagnow.Would you consider going

backtoLouisVuittonafterwardsagain?

A:Iwouldprobablygobackagainsomeday.BecausegenerallyIamhappywiththe

brandsothereisnoreasonnottorepurchasefromthem.

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Q: Is there anything else youwould like to add on the topic or concerning your

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:IthinkLouisVuittonisreallytryingtofitinwiththetrends-gowiththefashionof

brightcolors,bagsinonlyblue,onlyorange.Formeitisnicebutisnottheiridentify.

IpreferLouisVuittonbecauseof their traditionaldesign,notbecauseof theirnew

trends.Iftheydonotmaketoodrasticchangesandstillalsosticktothedesignthey

alreadyhavebutthentheycanmakeotherproductsmoreappealing.Productsthat

arenotthesameitmightmakemeinterested.Butthetraditionisstillimportant.It

iswhatmakesthemunique.

Q: Thank you again for being here and taking the time for answering my

questions!

Interview4

ThisinterviewhasbeenheldinGermanandwaslaterontranslatedtoEnglish.

Q:Howoldareyouandwhereareyoufrom?

A:Iam23yearsoldandAustrian.

Q:Howmanyproducts,andwhichonesdoyouownfromLouisVuitton?

A: In total I have fiveproducts fromLouisVuitton.Bags indifferent sizes and two

wallets.

Q:WhatdoesinyouropinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfromother

LuxuryFashionBrands?

A:Ithinkthemostdifferentialaspectisthepattern,likethelogothatisalloverthe

bags.Otherbrandsdonotplaceitasprominentlyandalsonotasconsistentlyover

so many years already. It is always the same basic style on every bag. So you

regularlyseeitanditreallystaysinyourmemoryquickly.Oftenyouseeprettygirls

with thosebagsand thenyour remember thedesignpositively. Iwould say this is

themain difference. Because I guess in terms of quality all the luxury brands are

83

moreorlessthesame.Forthosepricesitwouldbebadifthatisnotthecasetobe

honest.

Q:CouldyoudescribemetheassociationsyouhavewiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A: For some reason I associate those bags with travelling and the beach. Even

thoughIamnotusingthoseproductsfortheseoccasions–Iwouldnevertakesuch

anexpensivebag to thebeach.But somehow I just connect itwith– let´s just say

withgoodtimes.

Q:Howwouldyoudescribe theLVbrand?Whatdoes thebrandLVmean toyou

personally?WhichvaluesdoesLVstandforinyouropinion?

A:IcouldnotsaybuyheartwhichvaluesLouisVuittonstandsforprimarily–or

whichwaytheytrytorepresentthemselvesthroughadvertisements.ButIguessitis

alotabouthighqualitystandards.LouisVuittonhasexistedforaverylongtimenow

–sothebrandhastradition.Thosearejustbagsyoubuyonceanduseforalifetime.

AndLouisVuittonisalsousingmanyfamouspeopletorepresentthemselves.

Q:Whatwouldyousaytriggeredyourdesiretopurchaseandownanitemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A:Forsomereason,alreadyinschool,ithasalwaysbeenmygoaltoonedayown

andbeabletoaffordaLouisVuittonbag.IalwaysusedtosaytomyMomthatfrom

myfirstwageIamgoingtogetabagfromthere.Ithasalwaysbeenawishofmine.

Inmyschoolsomegirlshadthosebags,myMomaswellandIsomehowwantedto

havethataswell.Ijustalwaysthoughtthatthosebagslookprettyandthereisa

generalfascinationamonggirlsforthosebags.Eventheshopsarereallyfascinating

soyoualwayswanttogointhereonedayandbuysomething.Alsoitfeltlikemainly

prettygirlswalkaroundtownwiththosebagssoyoukindofadmirethem.And

whenyoufinallygetyourfirstLouisVuittonbagitislikeexpensivejewelryforyou.

Youownanduseitforaverylongtime,andyoukindoftakecareofit.Thosebags

aresomethingspecial.Youdonotpurchaseoneofthosebagseveryyear.

Q:Whicharethemostimportantcriteriayoukeepinmindwhenyoudecideon

buyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasaLVbag?

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A:ItstillneedstobeusefulandhandyandIhavetoknowthatIamgoingtobe

treatedwell–sotheserviceisimportanttome.Whenpurchasingsuchabagitkind

ofisaboutthewholeexperienceyougetwiththeitem.AndIjustthinkofhaving

suchabagforalongtime.

Q:WhoinfluencedyourdecisiontopurchaseaLVproductandwhatroledo/did

thosepeoplehaveinyourdecisionmakingprocess(i.e.friends,family,celebrities

orpeers)?

A:Iwouldsayprimarilyitwasmymother,whoalsoownsseveralproductsfrom

LouisVuittonandmyfriends.LikeevenifsomeofmyfriendsdidnothaveaLouis

Vuittonbagbuttheyalsowantedone–thiskindofpushedyouinthedirectionof

alsowantingabagfromthisbrand.AndsomealreadyhadLouisVuittonproductsso

youwantedtobepartofthisgrouptoo.

Q:WhatwereyourexpectationswhendecidingtopurchaseabagfromLouis

Vuitton?

A:Iexpectedthebagtohaveflawlessquality,butIthinkthatisnothingthatis

surprising.IfsomethingwouldeasilyripoforbreakIwouldbereallydisappointed.I

alsodonotwantittolookused.AndasImentionedbefore:theserviceinthestore.

Iexpectedittobereallygoodwhenspendingthatmuchmoney.Ifsomethingbreaks

Iexpectthemtorepairitformeandtobefriendly

Q:Wouldyousaythoseexpectationshavebeenfulfilled?Why,orwhynot?

A:Yes,definitely.IhavetoadmitIdonottakecarethatmuchofmybags.Ialways

putalotofstuffinthem,alsoreallyheavythingsfromtimetotime,likebooksI

needforuniversity,andtheystilllookperfect.

Q:InwhichwaydoesowingaproductfromLouisVuittonhelpyoutoexpress

yourselfandthevaluesyoustandfor?Whichvalueswouldthatbeandhow

exactlytheproductsupportingthem?

A:Iwouldnotreallysaythatthebagishelpingmetoexpressmyself.Eventhough

youcanwearthisbagfornearlyeveryoccasionIwouldevensaythatthereare

certainsituationswhereIwantpeoplereallytotakemeseriouslyforwhoIamand

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notthinkofmeasaspoiledgirl–inthosesituationsIwouldevenprefernottouse

myLouisVuittonbag.IthinkifitwouldperfectlyreflectthevaluesIstandforthis

wouldnotbethecase.IwouldsayifyourwearluxuryproductslikeLouisVuitton

bagsyouarerarelythemostsympatheticpersonforeveryone.SoIkindofcarefully

selectwhichoccasionsIamusingmybagfor.

Q:HowdoyouthinkisowningaLVbagperceivedamongyourenvironmentand

howimportantisittoyou?

A:WellwithinmyenvironmentquitemanypeopledohaveLouisVuittonproducts

themselves.Especiallysincewehavereachedacertainagenow.Afewyearsbackit

werenotthatmany.ProbablybecauseowningorgettingaLouisVuittonbagis

nothingyoudowhenyouarethirteen.Oratleastinmycase.Itwassomething

ratherspecialtofinallygetoneofthosebags.Youjusthavetoknowwhenitis

appropriatetowearthebagandwhenitisnot.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?Andwhich

itemswouldthatbe?

A:Forthemomentnot.IalreadydohaveafewproductsandIthinkyoudonothave

toexaggerate.Maybeinafewyearstime.

Q:Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketoaddonthetopicorconcerningyour

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:No,notatthemoment.

Q:Thankyouagainforbeinghereandtakingthetimeforansweringmy

questions!

Interview5

Q:Howoldareyouandwhichnationalitydoyouhave?

A:Iam20yearsoldandIamactuallyAustrian.

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Q:Howmanyproducts,andwhichonesdoyouownfromLouisVuitton?

A:Abag,aclutchandakeychain.Sothreeitems.

Q:ArealloftheminthetraditionalLouisVuittondesign,likewiththetraditional

patternonthem?

A:Yes,eitherwiththemonogramorthesquaresthatarealsotypical.

Q:WhatdoesinyouropinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfromother

LuxuryFashionBrands?

A:Youmean,whytheyarefamous?

Q:Justwhatyouthinkthisbrandhaswhatothersdonot.OrwhatmakesLouis

Vuittonspecialcomparedtootherbrands.

A:Formeitisthepatterntheyhave.Ithinkitwasquiteintohavesomethingwith

thosepatternsonit.Likeafewyearsago.Ithinkpeoplejustlikeditandthatiswhy

theygotfamousthroughthat.

Q:Ifyousay“itwasfamousafewyearsago”.Wouldyousayitisnotanymore?

A:Ithinkitisnotaspopularanymoreasafewyearsback.

Q:Whydoyouthinkthatis?

A:Wellotherbrandshavenicebagstoonowadays.AndthatiswhyhonestlyIwould

notbuyaLouisVuittonbagatthemoment.Iamnotatallregrettingit.Butthereare

manymoreoptionsnow.

Q:CouldyoudescribemetheassociationsyouhavewiththebrandLouisVuitton?

Whatdoyouthinkofwhenhearingthebrandname?

A:Luxury.Expensive.

Q:WhichvaluesdoesLVstandforinyouropinion?

A:HonestlyIdonotreallyknowanyvalues.

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Q:HowwouldyoudescribetheLVbrand?

A:Goodqualityproducts.AndIknowtheyuserealleatherIthink.OrIdonotknow

forsureactually. Imean Iguessyouknowthat.Yes, sogoodquality,nicedesigns.

TheyhavealotofdifferentstylesIthink.Fromyoungtoold.Andjustgenerallyquite

abigrange.

Q:WhatdoesthebrandLVmeantoyoupersonally?

A: IguessLouisVuittonwithinmyfamilywasalwayspopular. IknowmyMomhas

LouisVuittonbagsandwallets,andscarfs.AndforsomereasonIthenwantedittoo.

Idonotknow.Andinmyfamilyitwasalwayslike“Wowitisexpensive”soyoujust

getitasarewardinmyageIwouldsay.Likeifyouareasyoungasmeandyoucan

not afford to just buy something like that – my parents always bought me such

productsfromLouisVuittonasarewardorforaspecialoccasion.

Q:Whatwouldyousaytriggeredyourdesiretopurchaseandownanitemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A:IthinkforthemostpartbecauseIsawtheproductsonsomeoneelse.Ilikedita

lotbecauseIjustlikethistypeofbag–likeshoppersingeneralandIwantedagood

brandedone.Onethat Icouldusefora longtime.AndIpersonallyreally likedthe

pattern.SoIgotmyfirstLouisVuittonbagformybirthdayonceafewyearsago.

Q:AndyoualsomentionedyourMomowningLouisVuittonproductsbeforeright?

A:Yes,shehadbagsalready.AndIlikedthemandsoIalwayswantedtohaveone.

Q:Generallyspeaking,whenyoudecideonbuyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasa

LVbag,whicharethemostimportantcriteriayoukeepinmind?

A:Ithastohavegoodquality.WhereasIhavetosaythatnormallymostluxurybags

havegoodquality.BecauseIhaveneverexperiencedbadqualitywhenitcomesto

expensivebags.Andalso lookoutforwhat is inrightnowandwhatbloggerswear

forexample.AndIthinkitisactuallynotthatIlookoutforthatonpurposebutyou

justcrossit–whenyouscrolldownonInstagramtherearebagsthatappearmore

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oftenandaftersometimeInoticethatIactuallylikethisone.Andyoukeepseeingit

moreandmoreoftenandthisthenactuallytriggersyoutobuyitattheend.

Q:BeforeyousaidyousawpeoplewearingLouisVuittonbagswhichleadtoyou

wantingthebag–whensaying“people”areyoutalkingaboutfriendsandfamily

orratheraboutpeopleyoudonotknowlikecelebrities?

A:Hmmbothbutrathercelebrities.AndinrealityitisnotlikeIamthinkingtheyuse

itsoIhavetobuyittoo.ButIjustfeellikeifyouseetheproductmoreoftenandyou

likeditatfirstsightthisproductalwaysisonyourmind.IhonestlythinkthisiswhyI

boughtit.

Q:Sothroughoutyourwholedecisionmakingprocess–whichinfluencedyouand

yourdecisiontopurchaseaLVproductandwhatroledo/didthosepeoplehavein

yourdecisionmakingprocess?

A:Obviously, I talked tomyMom.Becauseshewas theonepaying for itandalso

becauseshehadLVproducts.AndalsotomyclosefriendsthathaveaLouisVuitton

bagabouthow they like it and if they think it ismadeof goodquality and if they

would buy it again obviously. Then I would also look on theWebsite and in that

stageIdidnotgospecificallyonsocialmediabecauseIalreadyknewfromtherethat

Iwanted thisparticularbag.But if Iwould look forany luxurybag– like todecide

which one I wanted I would also go on socialmedia, on Instagram in particular I

think.

Q: What were your expectations when deciding to purchase a bag from Louis

Vuitton?

A:IexpectedagoodserviceattheLouisVuittonstore.Likegoodandniceservice.I

alsoexpectedeverythingtobefast–thewholeprocessofbuyingthebag–because

Ialsohadmyinitialsprintedonthebag,whichhappenedreallyfast.Usuallyittakes

afewdaysbutinmycasetheyevengaveitbacktomeatthesameday.Atthattime

I lived in Vorarlberg and there is no Louis Vuitton store there so I had to travel

somewheretobuythebag–whichwasViennainmycase.ThatiswhyIthinkthey

gaveitbacktomeespeciallyquickly.Thatwasareallygoodandspecialservice.You

feellikespecialwhentheydosomethinglikethis.

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Q:Wasitanimportantfactorforyouthatitwaspossibletopersonalizetheitem

orwouldyouhaveboughtthebaganyway,alsowithoutyourinitialsonit?

A:IthinkIwouldhavethoughtaboutthepurchasemorecarefullythen,becauseso

manypeoplehave thisbag. Soatonepoint I just reallywanted it tobemine so I

wantedtopersonalize it. Idonotwantthat foreverbag Iownbutespeciallywith

LouisVuittonbagsitfeelslikeeveryonehasthemsoitisnicetohaveyourinitialson

thebagtokindofstillmakeitspecial.ButImeanIthinkIstillwouldhaveboughtit

butIlikedthepossibilitytogetitdone.

Q: So you already said that the fact that many people own Louis Vuitton bags

triggeredyourdesiretohaveoneaswellbutnowyoualsomentionedthatithasa

negativesideaswell…

A:Yesitdefinitelyisboth.Italsosometimesisnegativeforme.SometimesIfeellike

LouisVuittonanditspatternisconnectedtofakebags.Whenyouthinkofbranded

fakebagsI feel likethosearemostlyLouisVuittonimitates.ForsomereasonI feel

likeifsomeonehasafakebagitis“from”LouisVuitton.

Q: Does that influence your opinion about the brand or if you hear something

about counterfeit products in connection with Louis Vuitton – does that change

yourperception?Ordoesn’titmatterbecauseyoupersonallyknowthatthebrand

hashighqualityproducts,etc.?

A: A friend of my Mom had some bad experiences with Louis Vuitton products

becauseofthemanyfakeitemsavailable.Ifeellikebecauseofsomethinglikethat

thisdoesnot immediatelymeanthat IwouldneverbuyaLouisVuittonbagagain.

Butitstillkindofinfluencesyouropinionaboutit.IfIonlyhearstoriesandrumorsI

reallydoIthinkaboutitbutitdoesnotaffectmeasmuchaswhensomeoneinyour

environmentactuallyexperiencessomethingnegative.

Q:Alright,soletustakeonestepback.Wetalkedaboutyourexpectationswhere

you said service provision would be an important aspect. Would you say those

expectationshavebeenfulfilled?Why,orwhynot?

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A:SinceIknewwhichbagIwantIjustwenttothestoreandsaidthatIwantedto

particularone.SotheygaveittomesothatIcouldlookatitandtryiton.Butin

caseIwouldnothaveknownwhichonetochooseIwouldalsowantthemtohelp

memakeadecision.ButIwasreallyhappywiththeserviceIgot.Alsomy

expectationswherethatthebaghastohavethequalityIexpected.Itshouldnotget

scratcheseasilysothatyouseeitisausedone.Inowhavethebagquitelongandit

looksasifitwasnew.

Q: In which way does owing a product from Louis Vuitton help you to express

yourself and the values you stand for? Which values would that be and how

exactlytheproductsupportingthem?

A:IfeelthatifyougosomewherewithaLouisVuittonbagpeople,especiallyin

luxurystores,respectyoumoreforsomereason.Especiallywhenyouareyoung

thenIfeellikepeoplearemoreawarethatyouactuallycouldbuysomethingand

treatyoudifferently.AlsootheryoungpeoplerecognizethatyouhaveaLouis

Vuittonbag.Sometimesitalsofeelsliketheyjudgeyouforowningsuchabag.

Q:Judginginsolelyanegativeway?

A:Ithinkboth.Itdependsonwhojudgesyou.Butmanyofthemquicklyputyouinto

thisfolder–likeohsheiswearingaLouisVuittonbag.ThatiswhysometimesIfeel

uncomfortablewearingit.

Q:Howdoyouthink isowningaLVbagperceivedamongyourenvironmentand

howimportantisittoyou?

A:AsIsaid,itreallydependsonwhoyouaretalkingto.Itcanbebothpositiveor

negative.Ihavedifferentfriendgroups–fromuni,fromschool,private.Ithinkthat

mostofmyfriendsdonothaveaLouisVuittonbag.Afewdoownone.Andthatis

whyIwouldnotsaythatthisbagsomehowmakesmefitintoagrouporsomething.

Butforme–Igotthebagsfrommyparents–soatsomepointIjustwanttobeable

toaffordthemmyself.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?Andwhich

itemswouldthatbe?

91

A:Well,theydohavemanynewdesignsandbagsatthemoment.HonestlyIwould

notwantoneofthose.TheyarejustnotthestyleforabagthatIamlookingfor.I

likebasicdesignsandcolors.Theydohavemanybrightcolorsnowtoo.Imeanthey

alsohavereallybasicones–likeblackbagswithanLVsignonit.Buttomeitjust

fellslikeitisnotworthittobuyareallysmallbagfornearlydoublethepriceofa

bagthathastheLVpatternonit.Ifyoubuyadesignerbaganditdoesnothavethe

brandonitIwouldnotwantitanyway.Idonotwanttosaythatotherpeoplehave

toseethatitisanexpensivebagbutifithasnothingonitatallanditlookslikea

simpleH&MbagIdonotseethesenseinbuyingit.ImeanIamsureyoualsopayfor

thebrandwhenitcomestosuchproducts.SoImaybewouldgetasimplebagwitha

logoonitbutIwouldrathergetthepattern.

ButgenerallyspeakingIwouldrepurchasefromLouisVuitton.Istilllikethepattern.

SomaybenotanotherbagwiththepatternonitbecauseIalreadyhavesomebut

maybeotheritemswiththepatternonitlikeafolderforyourpassportor

something.Ijustdonotwanttogetsomethingverysimilar.Somaybeasmallerbag.

Ilikethateverythingmatches.

Q:Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketoaddonthetopicorconcerningyour

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:TomeitsometimesfeelslikeLouisVuittonproductsgotmoreexpensive.Imean

the difference is not that much and the older you get the less important pricing

probablyistoyou.ButifyouareyoungandyouareonlytogetonebagIdoconsider

thepricemorecarefully.Ithinkifitgetsmoreandmoreexpensiveyoumightrethink

thechoiceofyoufirstluxurybrandbag.

Q:Thankyouagainforbeinghereandtakingthetimeforansweringmy

questions!

Interview6

ThisinterviewwasheldinGermanandwaslaterontranslatedtoEnglish.

Q:Howoldareyouandwhatisyournationality?

92

A:Iam22yearsoldandAustrian.

Q:Howmanyproducts,andwhichonesdoyouownfromLouisVuitton?

A:Ihaveonebag,thespeedy35inmonogram.

Q:WhatdoesinyouropinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfromother

LuxuryFashionBrands?

A:Youimmediatelyrecognizethepattern,nomatterwhereyouseeit.LouisVuitton

hasreallyclassicdesignsyoucanwearwitheverything.When I thinkofbags from

otherbrands–theyareusuallyveryspecialintheirdesign.Soifyouwearthemyou

canofcoursealsostandoutbutyoucannotwearthosebagstoasmanyoutfitsasit

isthecasewiththeLouisVuittonbag.ThatisthereasonwhyIreallyliketousethe

LouisVuittonbagalsoindaytodaysituations.

Q:SoforyouthefactthatLouisVuittonbagsareeasilyrecognizableisconsidered

positive?

A:Yes,sure.Thatiswhyyoubuythebaginthefirstplace.

Q:CouldyoudescribemetheassociationsyouhavewiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:Formeitiskindofastatussymbol.Ipersonallythinkofpeopleinthefirstdistrict

inViennaandclassyladies.Toputininanutshell:Ithinkofclassicalelegance.

Q:HowwouldyoudescribetheLVbrand?WhatdoesthebrandLVmeantoyou

personally?WhichvaluesdoesLVstandforinyouropinion?

A: Louis Vuitton has a lot of tradition. It represents a certain prestige. For me

personallyitwillalwaysbemyfirstluxuryfashionbagthatwasexpensiveformeat

thetimeandthatIboughtfrommyownpocketmoney.

Q:WhydidyouchooseaLouisVuittonbagoveranotheroneinthiscase?

A:BecausewhenIboughtit,itwasimportanttobethatthebaghastherightsize–

like it had to be big enough for my schoolbooks to fit inside. And this particular

modelwasjustreallypopular.EveryonewaswearingitandIalsolikedthedesignso

93

I just reallywanted tohave thisbag.Also itwasoneof thebags thatwas kindof

affordable. Honestly, Iwould not have been able to afford a Chanel bag. Alsomy

styleisnotthatextravagant,itwouldratherdescribemystyleandmyselfasrather

conservativeandLouisVuittonalso fitswiththosecharacteristics.Thiswaskindof

coined from my family. I think you could even say it is in some way this snob

behaviortowantandbuyaLouisVuittonbag.Itsoundsweirdbutforsomereason

youwanttobeliketheolderonesandkindofshowprestige.

Q:Whatwouldyousay triggeredyourdesire topurchaseandownan itemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A:Simplysaid:becauseeveryonehadit.Ijustalsowantedtohaveatleastthisone

bagthatwouldbeinmywardrobeandthatIcouldbeproudofwhenIseeitthere.

Thatwasa reallybigwishofminetohavethisbag.Andwhen I finallygot it Iwas

reallyproudaboutit.

Q:Whensaying“everyone”hadaLouisVuittonbag–whichpeopleareyoutalking

aboutinthiscase?

A: Mainly about friends. Actually no. Primarily because of people you just see

walkingaroundonthestreetsintownthatwereapproximatelythesameageasme.

Q:Which are themost important criteria you keep inmindwhen you decide on

buyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasaLVbag?

A:Iwouldsayit is importantthatIcanusethis itemforseveraloccasions. Iwould

notwanttobuyit if Icanonlyuseitreallyseldombecauseit istooextravagantor

special.Goodqualityisanotherfactor.Itcannotbethatthebaggetsdamageseasily.

AlsoIwantthebagtobehandy.Ifnothingfitsintothisbagandsheisjustprettyto

lookat–worstcaseIcannotevencloseit–thatIwouldnotbehappywiththebag.

Q:WhoinfluencedyourdecisiontopurchaseaLVproductandwhatroledidthose

people have in your decision making process – for example friends, family,

celebritiesorpeers?

A: I talked tomygrandmother. Shealsoownsbags fromLouisVuitton.Also some

friendsthatalreadyownedaLouisVuittonbag.Iaskedwhichonestheythinktobe

94

good and handy, how much fits in there and just there general experiences.

Normally celebrities andalso socialmediapersonalitiesdonot really influencemy

decisionbecauseinmanycasesIknowthatIcannotaffordthoseproductsanyway.I

lookatthepicturesfromthosereallyfamousbloggersbecauseIfindtheimageitself

appealingbutnotbecauseIfindtheirclothesespeciallygreat.OfcourseI liketheir

stylebutastheygettheproductsasgiftsandIcannotaffordtobuymanyofthose

thingsanywayIamnotreallyactivelylookingatit.Maybewhatlessfamousbloggers

wear is influencingmeabit.Withcelebrities it reallydependson theproduct.For

example just because everyone is wearing supreme right now, I would never

consider buying one of those products. But from time to time there are single

productsthatIlikewhenIseethemonfamouspeople.

Q: What were your expectations when deciding to purchase a bag from Louis

Vuitton?

A: Iwanted tobe treatednicely in the store. Iwouldnot like tobe lookedat ina

strangewaywhenenteringthestorejustbecauseIamnotwearinghigh-endfashion

brandsallovermyoutfit.ThatwasnotinanywaythecaseattheLouisVuittonstore

however.Allemployeeswerereallyfriendlyandweresupportingmeinagoodway.

Ikindoffeltlikeaqueenwhilebeingintheshop,whichwasnice.Theyevenoffered

mechampagne.Itisalsoimportantformethatitispossibletoactuallytryoutand

look at all the different products, to just get inspirations and to have time to

evaluatethedifferentoptionsavailable.

Generally, frompurchasingthisbag I think Icansaythat Iwantedtogetattention

fromit.Tokindofhaveeyesonmewithmybag.Especiallywhenyouareyoungerit

feelslikeyouneedtofitinbybuyingbrandsandproductsthateveryoneishavingor

thatareperceivedtobetrendy.ThisisnotasmuchthecaseanymoresinceIstarted

goingtouniversity,butinschoolthiskindofpressurewasreallyintense.Whenyou

alsohadoneofthosebagsyouwereconsideredtobepartofthegroup–samething

as with having an iPhone. I mean I would still buy a Louis Vuitton bag now as I

personally really liked thedesign itselfand thebagasawholebut the reasons for

purchasing it would be different now. I would not be about impressing others

anymore.Iwouldjustdoitformyself.

95

Q:Wouldyousaythoseexpectationshavebeenfulfilled?

A: Yes, all of them. I was really happy with everything and there was nothing to

complainabout.

Q:InwhichwaydoesowingaproductfromLouisVuittonhelpyoutoexpress

yourselfandthevaluesyoustandfor?

A:FormethebagisagreataccessoriesbutIwouldnotreallysaythatwearingthe

bagisexpressingthevaluesIstandfor.Itisnotabouthighlightingmypersonalityby

usingtheproduct.

Q:HowdoyouthinkisowningaLVbagperceivedamongyourenvironmentand

howimportantisittoyou?

A: If youhaveabag fromLouisVuittoneveryonenotices it. The first thingpeople

thinkisprobably“wowshecanaffordaLouisVuittonbag”.Butratherinanegative

way I think. Especially inmyagepeople think I just got it frommyparents forno

reason. Even though I actually bought itmyself. I honestly do not like that at all.

BecauseinmycaseIdonotgetthatmuchfrommyparentsbutinsteadIworkhard

formymoneyonmyown.Sowhenpeoplethinkofmelikethatjustbecauseofthat

bag–Ithinkitisnotalright.SomefriendsalsohaveproductsfromLouisVuittonand

among them it is just normal I guess. So it does not really get appreciated or

something.ItwasratherthatIfeltverycoolbecauseofthebagbutnotthatmuch

thatotherpeoplelookuptomeorsomething.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?Andwhich

itemswouldthatbe?

A: Yes, definitely. If I have a proper job one day andmoremoney for sure. I just

really like theirproductsandthecolorsof thetraditionaldesigns.Brown isacolor

thatfitswithmostofmystuff.Youcanwearthosebagswithsomuch.AndIlikethe

pattern.Andofcoursemanypeopledohavetheproductssoyoucannotstandout

thatmuchanymore,butwhenitissuchasfamousbrandlikeLouisVuitton,itisnot

weirdtoseetheproductsonmanypeople.Forme,ifIseealotofpeoplewithone

particular itemfromH&Mforexample, Iwouldnotenjoywearing itanymore.But

96

when itcomes tosuch famousand luxuriousbrands itdoesnotmatterhowmany

people already use this product. It might even be that it increases the value of

reputationofgainwhenalsohavingoneofthoseitems.

IfIbuyanotherproductfromLouisVuittonhowever,IhavetosayIwouldnotpick

items fromoneof their limitededitions. Iwould rather stickwith their traditional

designs. If one day I actually have so much money that I do not have to think

carefullyaboutwhichbagtochooseIwillmaybealsopickasimple,plainbagwhere

it is not even visible that it is from Louis Vuitton. But for now, where price is

somethingIthinkofbeforeIactuallypurchasethebag,Ialsowantotherpeopleto

seewherethebagisfrom.

Q: Is there anything else youwould like to add on the topic or concerning your

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A: Louis Vuitton products attract attention. And they look good on pictures. I am

postingalotonInstragramandfunnilythepictureswiththeLouisVuittonbaginit

alwaysgetthemostlikes.Assoonasyouwearitemsfromluxurybrandsyoupicture

ismuchmorepopular.Itseemslikepeopleenjoylookingatdesignerclothes.

Q: Thank you again for being here and taking the time for answering my

questions!

Interview7

ThisinterviewwasoriginallyheldinGermanandlatertranslatedtoEnglish.

Q:Canyoupleasetellmeyourageandyournationality?

A:Iam20yearsoldandfromAustria.

Q:Howmanyproducts,andwhichonesdoyouownfromLouisVuitton?

A:Ihavetwobagsandawallet–alleitherinthemonogramdesignorthechecked

pattern-andIwanttobuyanotherbagsoon.Probablyforgraduation.

97

Q:WhatdoesinyouropinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfromother

LuxuryFashionBrands?

A:LouisVuittonkindofislikeabasicthingtohavewhenyouownluxuryfashion

items.AlsoLouisVuittonisnotusingrealleatherfortheirbags–wheresomepeople

mightsaynowthattheyareactuallyrubbishbags.Butduetothefakeleather

materialthebagsareveryresilientanddonotlookusedevenafterwearingthebag

formanyyears.

Q:WhataretheassociationsyouhavewiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A: Iamthinkingofbags.That Iwant tobuy thosebags.Theyhavemanydifferent

productsbutformebagsarethefirstthingthatcomestomymind.AndeverytimeI

enterthestoreIseeanitemthatIwouldliketohave.Idonotalwaysbuyitinthe

endbutstilltheymanagetomakemewantmanyoftheirbags.

Q:Thisneverhappenstoyouwithotherluxurybrands?

A: No not really. Frommy point of view Louis Vuitton is a luxury brand but still

affordable–thebrandisrightsomewhereontheedge.WhengoingtoChanelyou

willnotfindasinglebagthatischeaperthan1000or1500EurosthatIwouldwant

tohave.InthecaseofLouisVuittonhowevertherearebagsinthatpricerangethat

lookluxuriousandthatIactuallywanttohave.

Q:HowwouldyoudescribetheLVbrand?WhatdoesthebrandLVmeantoyou

personally?WhichvaluesdoesLVstandforinyouropinion?

A:IthinkyoucansaythatLouisVuittonisaclassicalbrand.Mymotherforexample

alwayssaystomethatonedayIwillinheritherLouisVuittonbags.Formethebrand

hasaveryconsistentvalueandprestige.Iconnectthebrandwithhighqualitybags.

Q:Whatwouldyousaytriggeredyourdesiretopurchaseandownanitemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A: IhavetoadmitthatmanyyearsagoIownedafakeLouisVuittonbagthat Igot

fromoneofthosesellersatthebeach.IalwayswantedtohaveaLouisVuittonbag

sowhen Iwas little I just firstgot this fakeone,because I thought that’sprobably

98

fineaswell.ButthenIwaskindofembarrassedforhavingafakebag.Soforoneof

mybirthdays I thengota real LouisVuittonbaga fewyears later. I think the idea

firstcametomymindbecausemymotherownsseveralLouisVuittonbags.

Q:Whicharethemostimportantcriteriayoukeepinmindwhenyoudecideon

buyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasaLVbag?

A:Formetherecannotbesomethingonthebagwhereitisvisibletootherswhich

yearIboughtthebag–likewhenforsomespecialeditionsitsaystheyear2017on

thebagorsomethinglikethat.Itshouldbecomprehensiblethatthisisahighquality

bag.Alsothebagshouldnotlookusedeasily.AndIwouldpreferittobeabagthat

belongstoabrandthatiswellknownandthatalreadyhasexistedforsometime.A

brand that has been well known for some time already and still will be famous

probablyforsometime.

Q:Soitshouldbeclearlyvisiblewhichbrandthebagisfrom?

A:Yes,Ithinkso.ImeanIwouldnotspendsomuchmoneyonaplain,blackbagthat

hasnothingspecialonit.ItdoesnothavetobeveryprominentbutIwouldpreferif

youcouldseesomewhereatleastthatitisaluxurybag.

Q:WhoinfluencedyourdecisiontopurchaseaLVproductandwhatroledidthose

peoplehaveinyourdecisionmakingprocesssuchasfriends,family,celebritiesor

peers?

A: I talked to my mother about it and I had a look at the different bags on the

Internet,attheLouisVuittonwebsite.Ialsowenttothestoretoseetheproductin

reallife.

Q:Whataboutcelebritiesandsocialmedia?Didithaveaninfluence?

A:Probablyabitaswell.Imeanwhenyouseethepicturewithabaginiton

Instagramandyoufeellikethislooksreallynicethenyoukindofwanttohavethis

bagaswell.

Q:WhatwereyourexpectationswhendecidingtopurchaseabagfromLouis

Vuitton?

99

A:Forme,if isspendsomuchmoneyonabag,Iamexpectinggoodserviceatthe

store. I am expecting sufficient consultation and that employees really take their

time,Iwouldnotwanttofeelpressuredorstressedinthestore.Insomecasesthe

informationgiventomebyemployeesmightintheendevenchangewhichbagIam

buying.Theseconversationsarequiteimportanttome.

Q:Soonlinepurchaseswouldnotbeanoptionforyou?

A:No. Iwould alsobeway to scared that I donot get theproduct or that it gets

damagedduringdelivery.Goingtothestoreispartofpurchasingsuchabag.

Q:Wouldyousaythoseexpectationshavebeenfulfilled?Why,orwhynot?

A:Yesdefinitely.

Q:HowdoyouthinkisowningaLVbagperceivedamongyourenvironmentand

howimportantisittoyou?

A:Itfeels likeLouisVuittonbagshavebecomesomethingsomundane,evenwhen

you think of the fake bags, so I do not believe thatmanypeople think something

special of you anymore when you own a bag from Louis Vuitton. So I think for

strangersonthestreet–theydonotthinkmuchaboutitanymore.Butmaybeifyou

enter a new circle or group of friends and no one there owns a bag from Louis

Vuitton– theymight recognize it and compliment you for having such abag. This

actuallyhappenedwhenIstartedworkingatBankAustriarecently,thatoneofmy

co-workersapproachedmejusttotellmethatmybagisreallypretty.Andforsure

thereare certainpeople thatdonotunderstand thewishor thenecessity toown

suchanexpensivebag,sotheymightjudgeyou.

Q:SoitcouldbesaidthataLouisVuittonbagkindofisastatussymbol?

A:Yes,Ithinkso.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?Andwhich

itemswouldthatbe?

100

A: Yes, I am planning on getting another bag really soon – for my bachelor

graduation.But Iwillpickabagagainwith the traditionaldesign.Thosenewones

they now have in their product range are exactly such pieces that I would never

spendsomuchmoneyon.Thosespecial colorsusedanduniquematerials– these

are products that are just in for one season and everyone knows which year

approximatelyyoubought thebag.Whenchoosingoneof theclassicand timeless

designsnoonecanevertellhowoldthisbagactuallyis.Idonotwanttobeableto

tellwhichyearthisspecialeditionisfrom.

Q:Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketoaddonthetopicorconcerningyour

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:InthestoretheytoldmethatLouisVuittonistryingtogetridofthisluxurymass

marketbrandimagethattheycurrentlyholdandsoinmanycasestheydonothave

thetypicalproductsinstock,butinsteadyouhavetopre-orderthemfromandmake

adownpayment. I donot think that this ishow it shouldbe. Imean sometimes I

havenotevenseenthisbaginreal lifesofarandmightnotbecompletelysureif I

willlikeit–butthenIalreadyhavetoensurethemthatIwillactuallybuythatbag.

Q:Thankyouagainforbeinghereandtakingthetimeforansweringmy

questions!

Interview8

Q:Howoldareyouandwhatisyournationality?

A:Iam21yearsoldandAustrian.

Q:Howmanyproducts,andwhichonesdoyouownfromLouisVuitton?

A: I do have one bag – the Speedy 35 –, a diary in the monogram design and a

keychain.

Q:WhatdoesinyouropinionmakethebrandLouisVuittonstandoutfromother

LuxuryFashionBrands?

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A:Formeotherbrandsdohaveniceproductsbutthesearenormallytrendsthat

tendtolastshorterthanforLouisVuitton.WithLVitfeelslikethateveninafew

yearstimethebagswillbeconsideredtobefashionablesoyouhavemorereasonto

justifyyourinvestment.Alsoyoucanwearthosebagsforsomanyoccasions,evenin

officialsituationswithoutbeingjudged.IwouldnotuseaGuccibagforabusiness

setupforexamplebutwithaLouisVuittonbagIcouldevengothere.

Q:CouldyoudescribemetheassociationsyouhavewiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:Ithinkoffashion,youngergirls–eventhoughthebrandhasalotoftradition.I

thinkofclassypeopleandadvertisementsinmagazines.LouisVuittonbagsarejust

thisbasicitemyoucannevergowrongwithwhenwearingit.

Q:HowwouldyoudescribetheLVbrand?WhatdoesthebrandLVmeantoyou

personally?WhichvaluesdoesLVstandforinyouropinion?

A:FormeLouisVuittoniskindofthebrandyoubeginwithwhenyoustartspending

moneyonluxuryitems.Evenifyoudonotknowmuchabouttheluxurygoods

marketorthedifferentbrandsavailable–youdefiantlyknowLouisVuittonandthe

patterntheyhave.Ithinkifyoutrulylikethebrandyouwillpurchasetheirproducts

lateronaswell.ButIfeelliketherearealsomanypeoplethatjustgetthisoneitem

fromthereandevensavealltheirmoneyforitbecauseyoujustneedtohavea

LouisVuittonbagasagirl.Formepersonallyitwillalwaysbethefirstluxuryfashion

bagIgot–Ithinkformy16thbirthday.ButsomehowIkeptgoingthereasIwas

reallysatisfiedandyoucanjustgeteverythingthere.Soyoucankindofcreateyour

ownpersonalcollectionofitemsthatfittogether.

Q:Whatwouldyousaytriggeredyourdesiretopurchaseandownanitemfrom

LouisVuitton?

A:Ithinkmainlyitwasthatotherpeopleinmyenvironmentoroldersistersfrom

friendsownedbagsfromLouisVuitton–kindoflikethe“coolkids”.Orwhen

walkingaroundtownyoujustsawthosegirlsyouwouldlookuptowiththosebags

soIkindofwantedoneaswell.AlsoIthinkmyMomhadabagbeforemeaswell

butthatwasjustafactontheside.ThemainreasonIwantedonewasbecauseof

peoplethesameageasme.Itwasjustconsideredtobecooltohaveone.

102

Q:Whicharethemostimportantcriteriayoukeepinmindwhenyoudecideon

buyingaluxuryfashionitem,suchasaLVbag?

A:Thequalitymustbegood,especiallywhenspendingsomuchmoneyonit.Ialso

wantthebagtobehandyinsomekindofway–eitherthatalotofstufffitsinsideor

thatitiscomfortabletocarryorsomethinglikethis.Ifitjustlooksprettybutevery

otherfeatureisnotreallyusefulIwouldnotbuyitintheend.AndIguesskindof

alsotheoverallreputationofthebrand.ForthemainpartobviouslyIhavetolike

thebrand.ButifIknowthatbymostofthepeoplethisbrandisperceivedtobe

somethingnegativeIguessthiswouldinfluencemeaswell.

Q:WhoinfluencedyourdecisiontopurchaseaLVproductandwhatroledidthose

peoplehaveinyourdecisionmakingprocesssuchasfriends,family,celebritiesor

peers?

A:Italkedtomymotheraboutit,bothbecauseIvalueheropinionandbecauseshe

hasLouisVuittonproductsaswell.IknowthatIhadalookontheInternetseveral

timeswhereIcomparedthedifferentmodelsandIpurposelylookedoutforpeople

inmyenvironmentwearingthoseproductsbutIdidnotaskthemdirectlyabout

theiropinion.Itwasmorelikeobserving.

Q:WhatwereyourexpectationswhendecidingtopurchaseabagfromLouis

Vuitton?

A:ObviouslyIexpectedittobeofgoodqualityandalsokindofIwantedtobe

recognizedbecauseofthisbag.Anditactuallywasthecase.Likepeopleinmyclass

oralsostrangersonthebusreallyactivelyrecognizedthatyouhaveaLouisVuitton

baginyourhands.

Q:Wouldyousaythoseexpectationshavebeenfulfilled?Why,orwhynot?

A:Yestheyhave.WiththequalityandthebagitselfIwasreallyhappy.Icoulduseit

formanydifferentoccasionsanditfeltgoodwearingit.

Q:InwhichwaydoesowingaproductfromLouisVuittonhelpyoutoexpress

yourselfandthevaluesyoustandfor?Whichvalueswouldthatbeandhow

exactlytheproductsupportingthem?

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A:IwouldnotsaythatitisrepresentingthevaluesIstandforormypersonality.I

justthinkthatincombinationwithanoverallgoodappearanceandattitudeithelps

youexpressacertainsocialstatusandwayofliving.

Q:HowdoyouthinkisowningaLVbagperceivedamongyourenvironmentand

howimportantisittoyou?

A:SomepeopledonotreallycareIthinkbutIfeelthatifyougotocertainplaceslike

restaurantsorshopspeopletakeyoumoreseriouslywhenshowingupwithacertain

styleandcertainbrands.

Q:WouldyouconsiderrepurchasingfromLouisVuitton?Why,whynot?Andwhich

itemswouldthatbe?

A:YesIwould.IamthinkingofgettingasmallerbagfromLouisVuitton.Iamvery

happywiththequalityandthehandiness.Thebagjustgoeswitheverythingandin

everysituationandsoIwanttohaveasmallerbagaswell.Minesometimesjustis

toobigwhenIwanttouseitformyfreetime.

Q:Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketoaddonthetopicorconcerningyour

personalexperienceswiththebrandLouisVuitton?

A:Ihavegotthefeelingthatbagsreallyhavebecomeoneofthemainstatussymbol

amonggirls.Eventhoughmostaredenyingit–itkindofislikeboyshavethatwith

watchesorcars.AndLouisVuittoninmanycasesisjustthefirstoneyougetand

thenyoustartgettingmoreandmoreexpensiveones.

Q:Thankyouagainforbeinghereandtakingthetimeforansweringmy

questions!