Abstract
Numerous designer luxury brands have been interested in creating co-branding partnerships with the fast-fashion retailer H&M. Despite the recognition by some researchers of the value of examining whether consumer reactions to the co-partnering luxury brands will be affected by the collaboration, to the best of our knowledge, no research to date has examined luxury consumer reactions to such partnerships. Accordingly, this research specifically explores how the collaboration between a luxury brand and a fast-fashion brand impacts on consumer reactions to the luxury brand. Considering the exploratory nature of this study, thirty face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted in the UK to reveal insights into consumer reactions, given the limited knowledge on the subject matter. Six themes emerged from this study: (a) enhanced brand awareness, (b) impaired perception, (c) word-of-mouth, (d) consumer engagement, (e) perceived self-expressiveness and (f) brand avoidance.
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Appendix: Semi-structured interview questions
Appendix: Semi-structured interview questions
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1.
Have you ever purchased any of those luxury brands?
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Karl Lagerfeld
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Stella McCartney
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Viktor & Rolf
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Roberto Cavalli
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Comme des Garçons
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Matthew Williamson
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Jimmy Choo
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Sonia Rykiel
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Lanvin
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Versace
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Maison Martin Margiela
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Marni
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Isabel Marant
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Alexander Wang
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Balmain
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Kenzo
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Erdem
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2.
What do you think and feel about (this X luxury brand)?
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3.
Do you know H&M?
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4.
What do you think and feel about this brand?
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5.
Have you ever heard of the collaboration between [the X (selected) luxury brand] and H&M?
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(If Yes), have you purchased from it?
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(If No), what do you think and feel knowing that H&M have collaborated with [the X (selected) luxury brand]?
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6.
What did you feel when this collaboration was launched?
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7.
How would you describe this collaboration?
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8.
How was the experience?
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9.
After this collaboration, did you buy from (this X luxury brand) again?
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10.
If yes, did you have any different feeling when you bought it?
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11.
Does (this luxury brand) remind you of anything in particular?
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12.
Does (this luxury brand) make you feel connected to anyone or anything in particular?
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13.
When going for shopping, does (this luxury brand) comes first to your mind?
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14.
Do you feel like buying from (this luxury brand) again in the future?
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15.
How involved are you with (your selected luxury brand)?
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16.
How would you describe the feeling of owning an item of this collaboration?
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17.
How does (this luxury brand) fit your personality?
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18.
Did you recommend to others around you to consider buying from this collaboration?
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19.
Would you still recommend (this luxury brand) after buying from its collaboration?
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Mrad, M., Farah, M.F. & Haddad, S. From Karl Lagerfeld to Erdem: a series of collaborations between designer luxury brands and fast-fashion brands. J Brand Manag 26, 567–582 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-00146-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-00146-2