Key Factors of Emerging Luxury Brand Construction

Paper:

Key Factors of Emerging Luxury Brand Construction:

Empirical Case Study of Korloff
Zhiqing Jiang and Shin’ya Nagasawa
Graduate School of Commerce, Waseda University
No.11 Building, 3F, 1-6-1 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Email: {zhiqing-jiang@ruri., nagasawa@}waseda.jp
[Received January 31, 2016; accepted April 29, 2016]

The luxury goods market has been expanding world-
wide since the early 1990s. In the marketplace, there
are new entrants (emerging luxury brands) reputed to
be leading luxury brands, especially designer brands,
which neither provide new luxury like Coach, nor are
similar to traditional luxury brands, such as Louis
Vuitton. In this research, an emerging luxury brand
also refers to a brand that provides luxury goods in
or above the intermediate level of the luxury goods
products hierarchy and was established in or after
the 1970s. The purpose of this paper is to propose
a conceptual framework for emerging luxury brand
construction. It (1) defines luxury and emerging lux-
ury brand, (2) reviews the theoretical basis of lux-
ury goods and the brand strategy of luxury goods, (3)
frames the nexus between luxury brand attributes and
brand image, (4) conducts consumer survey and data
mining, and (5) discusses and concludes the research.
This research includes qualitative research (a semi-
structured interview) and quantitative research (ex-
ploratory factor analysis and regression analysis). The
results show that the location and atmosphere of lux-
ury stores, E-commerce, online ads and newsletters,
origin, iconic products, symbols, and PR events have
positive effects on consumers’ impression of emerging
luxury brands.
Keywords: luxury, emerging luxury brand, case study,
Korloff
1. Introduction
Nueno and Quelch (1998) defined luxury brands as
“those whose ratio of functional utility to price is low
while the ratio of intangible and situational utility to price
is high” [1]. A luxury brand is timeless, modern, fast
growing, and highly profitable [2]; it is a brand that is
selective and exclusive, and that has an additional cre-
ative and emotional value for the consumer, according to
Chevalier and Mazzalovo (2008) [3]. For luxury brands,
symbolic associations and perceptions of exclusivity are
crucial. Luxury brand image resides solely in the mind
of the consumer and is subject to a wide variety of influ-
ences, including the individuals who wear a brand and are
seen wearing it [4]. An understanding of how luxury mar-
keters have built brands and maintained their positioning
has contributed to both the marketing and branding litera-
ture [5].
The expansion of the traditional luxury industry has
been significantly accelerated by the rapid growth of inter-
national luxury consumption. Many giant luxury brands
have their roots in the traditional industry of goods man-
ufacturing (e.g., watches, leather goods, and haute cou-
ture) over several decades, or even for more than a cen-
tury. The tremendous consumption of new luxury goods
as one of the drivers of international luxury consump-
tion growth, however, drew researchers’ attention from
traditional luxury to new luxury. Silverstein and Fiske
(2003) categorized new luxury into three major types: ac-
cessible super-Premium products, old luxury brand exten-
sions, and masstige goods [6]. In the marketplace, how-
ever, there are new entrants reputed to be leading luxury
brands, and especially designer brands, like Giorgio Ar-
mani. These brands neither provide the three major types
of new luxury like Coach, nor display similarity to tradi-
tional luxury brands, such as Louis Vuitton.
In the eyes of their customers, companies are increas-
ingly seeking strategies to differentiate themselves [7].
The general rules of mass marketing, however, are not
suitable for luxury brands [8]. While consumers of fast
moving consumer goods may be influenced by a brand’s
image, they will generally have priorities regarding func-
tionality and price; in contrast, consumers of luxury goods
will be primarily influenced by a brand’s image, while
considering functionality as a prerequisite [9].
The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual
framework of the luxury brand dimension of emerging
luxury brands from the consumer’s perspective. This pa-
per (1) defines luxury and emerging luxury brand, (2) re-
views the theoretical basis of luxury goods and the per-
ceived value of luxury goods, (3) frames the nexus be-
tween luxury brand attributes and consumption, (4) con-
ducts consumer survey and data mining, and (5) discusses
and concludes the research.

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Jiang, Z. and Nagasawa, S.
2. Brand Image, Identity, and Personality
The relationship of brand image to brand association is
a crucial concept. Keller (2003) defined brand image as
the perceptions of a brand reflected by the brand associ-
ations in terms of attributes, benefits, and attitudes based
on experiences of the brand [10]; brand image also rep-
resents the understanding that consumers derive from the
total set of brand-related activities engaged in by an orga-
nization [11]. Ditcher (1985) considered brand image to
describe not individual traits of the product, but the total
impression in the minds of the consumers [12]. In other
words, the image corresponds to the perceptions of the
various consumers who make up market segments [13].
Okonkwo (2007) argued that brand identity is the way
in which consumers perceive a brand [14], which in-
cludes two parts: brand personality and brand image.
Brand personality might be crucial to understanding brand
choice, [15] and a strong brand identity and personality
are invaluable when building brand equity [16]. Further-
more, brand personality is considered to be one of the core
components of brand identity [13, 17, 18]. A unique brand
personality can help create a set of unique, favorable asso-
ciations in consumers’ minds to build and enhance brand
equity [19].
Brand image is more of a tactical asset, while brand
identity fulfills a strategic asset role [20]. In other words,
brand identity represents how a brand wishes to be per-
ceived; it leads brand image and is located on the sender’s
side. Brand image is on the receiver’s side. The image
refers to the way in which these groups decode all of the
signals emanating from the products, services, and com-
munications offered by the brand [18].
3. Definition of Emerging Luxury Brand
In the marketplace, there are luxury brands like Dolce
& Gabbana and Hublot, which neither provide the three
major types of new luxury like Coach, nor display sim-
ilarity to traditional luxury brands, such as Louis Vuit-
ton. There is no clear definition of this kind of lux-
ury brand, which cannot be defined by either its brand
contents alone or its time of establishment, and no re-
search distinguishes the traditional luxury brand, new lux-
ury brand, and emerging luxury brand, even though they
are described in some studies as luxury brands. Alleres
(1990) builds on the dimension of socio-economic class
in the context of luxury goods and sees it as a hierarchy
consisting of three levels based on the degree of accessi-
bility [21].
This hierarchy is comprised of three levels:
• Products that are extremely high-priced, offering the
owner exceptional social prestige;
• Luxury products attainable by the “professional” so-
cioeconomic class in the intermediate luxury level;
and
608 Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence
and Intelligent Informatics
Fig. 1. A hierarchy of luxury goods products (Alleres, 1990
[21]).
• The accessible luxury level in which luxury products
are attainable by the middle socioeconomic class,
who are implicitly perceived as trying to achieve
a high social status via their purchasing behavior
(Fig. 1).
The first level, at the top of this hierarchy, is also
called “true luxury” or “obsolete luxury,” and the third
level reflects Silverstein and Fiske (2003)’s concept of
new luxury; the second level includes most luxury prod-
ucts provided by famous luxury houses, like Louis Vuit-
ton, Chanel, and Hermes. Accordingly, in this research,
to avoid misunderstanding new luxury, the emerging lux-
ury brand category is adopted to include a luxury brand
created recently and providing luxury goods in or above
the intermediate level. Additionally, the time of establish-
ment is a key criterion that defines an emerging luxury
brand. In the literature on luxury history, the 1970s are
usually considered important in the world economy and
as a turning point for the luxury industry. By the 1970s,
in more affluent societies, the material economy and po-
sitional economy were running in parallel (Hirsch, 1977
[22]). Since then, the economy of conspicuous consump-
tion has become more apparent. Thus, an emerging luxury
brand also refers to a brand providing luxury goods in or
above the intermediate level of the luxury goods products
hierarchy, which was established in or after the 1970s.
4. Exploratory Case Study
Korloff is a French jewelry brand established in 1978
by a Parisian designer, Daniel Paillasseur, who was an art
dealer before starting his jewelry business. In the begin-
ning, he dealt only with precious gemstones, until he got
the 421-carat rough black diamond, Korloff Noir. The
first Korloff store was opened in 1979, and, as it entered
the 1980s, the shop was named after the black diamond,
“Korloff.” Korloff, which began as a single boutique, is
now a global brand in over 70 countries, with more than
50 Korloff PARIS boutiques, located in more than 500
select retailers from Paris to Tokyo. Today, the brand
remains an independent and family managed company
under the second-generation leadership of Olivier Pail-
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 Key Factors of Emerging Luxury Brand Construction

Table 1. Korloff’s success in brand differentiation.

Attribute Factor Description

Innovation
Public presentation and internet
Internationalization
Technological scarcity∗
Natural scarcity
Limited edition
Craftsmanship/ Techniques
Aesthetic product
Symbolic design
PR event
Celebrities
Online promotion
Flagship shop in luxury area
Global expansion in 1980s
Korloff cut (patent)
High inlaid technology
Innovation in material, technology, design, etc.
Unique design in Lyon style
Symbolic design stand for richness, elite and
uniqueness
A series of PR event
Brand logo appeared in PR events
Success in Japan

lasseur, who continues in the footsteps of his father. Its
product line has expanded beyond diamond
and jewelry collections into timepieces, high-end jew-
elry, writing instruments, fragrances, and couture since
the 1990s. Jewelry and timepieces are the main products,
which make up about 80% of sales. Korloff is a typically
independent emerging luxury brand, with an entry price
of timepieces over 2,000, which is almost 4 times that
of Tissort. Thus, Korloff is an independent French luxury
house that satisfies all the requirements of an emerging
luxury brand.
A qualitative research interview seeks to provide both
factual and interpretation levels [23] and the interviewer
can pursue in-depth information around the selected
topic [24]. Unstructured interviews are used in studies
that require only textual data and in studies that require
both textual and numerical data; they can also be uti-
lized to develop formal guides for semi-structured inter-
views [25]. Consequently, this exploratory case study was
conducted in two phases: an unstructured interview and
a semi-structured interview. The unstructured interview
was conducted in October 2013 in Tokyo. We interviewed
a Japanese consultant of Korloff who has been serving
Korloff for over 20 years. During this phase, we discussed
the key success factors of Korloff and some general infor-
mation about the company’s brand identity. Three key-
words were derived from the interview to describe how
Korloff differentiated itself from other brands and led to
its success. One is “innovation,” which includes innova-
tions in design, craftsmanship, techniques, and so forth,
and which formed Korloff’s current style, including spe-
cific shapes and colors. The next keyword is “PR event.”
Through a series of PR events in the 1990s, an impres-
sive brand image was created in France, which stands for
richness and exclusivity. Catry (2003) demonstrated in
his rarity research that physical rarity, technology innova-
tion, and information-based rarity, such as events, could
increase the rarity of a luxury brand and make consumers
feel that it is unique [26]. Finally, “internationalization
and Internet” is the last keyword. According to the inter-
view, the 1980s to the early 1990s was the golden period
of Korloff brand expansion. Overall revenue grew at an
astonishing speed due to global economic prosperity and
two-digit growth in the Japanese economy. The global
expansion, however, is a result of economic growth and
a brand differentiation strategy. To gather more informa-
tion from a managerial perspective, a semi-structured in-
terview was conducted with the CEO of Korloff in March
2014, to modify our proposed conceptual model. We ex-
amined relevant attributes that contribute to Korloff’s suc-
cess in brand differentiation (see Table 1).
5. Hypothesis and Methodology
5.1. Hypothesis
Based on the exploratory study of Korloff, this study
draws on marketing aesthetics theory [27] to theorize
about luxury brand image building. Schmitt (1999) ex-
plained that experiential marketing is particularly relevant
to multinationals in their drive to build global brands,
and can be used to differentiate products from those of
competitors and create an image and identity for a cor-
poration [27]. In his study, he introduced seven tools
that are conducive to brand image building: communi-
cation, visual/verbal identity and signage, product pres-
ence, co-branding, spatial environments, websites and
electronic media, and people. Schmitt, Simonson, and
Marcus (1995) set up a Corporate
Expression/Customer Impression (CE/CI) framework,
based on their long careers in psychology, and introduced
identity elements into the apparel retailing industry, which
include properties, products, presentations, and publica-
tions [27]. Okonkow (2007) added people and position-
ing into the traditional 4Ps of marketing mix as a luxury
marketing mix. He stressed that celebrities are highly im-
portant and valuable to brands, especially in the luxury
fashion sector, suiting luxury brands very well because
such brands are restricted to “traditional” mass advertis-
ing and must find new ways to reach consumers [4].
A corporate brand can be impacted by external com-
munications through its visibility and reputation [28], and
the most promising opportunity to contribute to brand
identity is through “signature” architect-designed build-
ings [29]. Brand and distribution provide luxury com-

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Jiang, Z. and Nagasawa, S.
panies with a crucial tool for communicating a luxury
brand [8]. Manuelli (2006) indicated that since the 1980s
luxury fashion brands have hired architects to distinguish
their brands and enhance their prestige [30]. It is bene-
ficial to understand the nature and role of flagship stores
and boutiques, not only as a means of product distribution,
but also as a means of brand consolidation [31]. Kapferer
and Bastien (2009) emphasized that luxury is in distribu-
tion and the multi-sensory aggregate of what is lived and
felt at each point of contact with the brand [8]. Recently,
distribution has become a strategic variable once again,
due to the concentration of companies in very large multi-
brand groups [32]. This change in luxury brand strat-
egy has led, generally, to the development of complex
distribution networks consisting of different types, such
as multi-brand stores, mono-brand stores, flagships, cor-
ners in department stores, and designer outlets [33]. Lux-
ury brand companies have taken greater control of their
businesses, gaining the upper hand over Japan’s once-
powerful department stores and giving birth to attractive
new shopping districts. Flagship stores are an effective
way to enter a new market or maintain market share [34].
The store is a screen for the projection of a brand’s his-
tory, but it is also a metaphor for the setting that places
an object of desire at a distance [8]. Spatial environments
including buildings, retail, and public spaces form expe-
riential environments that display “brand culture” [35],
and architecture and landscaping are the ways a company
perceives itself and the experience it wants to create for
its customers [36]. Product displays are crucial because
they enable customers to touch and feel a brand, and trade
booths and shows bring people into proximity with brand
messages in a virtual-reality setting [27].
Based on the above literature review, we derive the fol-
lowing hypotheses:
H1: Luxury brand image is positively related to the
perception of its distribution channels.
H1a: Luxury flagship store location enhances brand
image.
H1b: The exterior design of boutique or flagship stores
enhances consumers’ impressions.
H1c: Displays and atmosphere in a flagship store or
boutique enhance luxury brand image.
Furthermore, the Internet’s interactive capabilities pro-
vide an ideal forum for many companies to create ex-
periences for customers [27]. Web marketing combin-
ing brand visibility with positive brand exposure, because
today’s luxury consumers tend to be Internet-savvy and
extremely demanding of online services [37]. Undoubt-
edly, the Internet has become a new medium to commu-
nicate luxury brands, and its influence is increasing. Re-
searchers view the Internet as a very special place for lux-
ury branding. Luxury brands online, however, have the
task of increasing sales while facing the risk of overexpo-
sure and maintaining a fragile perception of limited sup-
ply [38]. Kapferer and Bastien (2009) insisted that a lux-
ury product can communicate via the Internet, but should
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not be sold there because, on today’s web, the personal
relationship disappears quickly due to the anonymous na-
ture of the Internet [8]. Accordingly, famous fashion
houses like Chanel operate their websites without offering
E-commerce; in contrast, another famous luxury group,
PPR, is developing an E-commerce platform. Based on
these findings, the following hypotheses are posited:
H2: Promotion on the Internet is positively related to
luxury brand image building.
H2a: Word of mouth from social networks (e.g., blogs,
Twitter, and Facebook) on the Internet enhances lux-
ury brand image building.
H2b: Corporate websites enhance luxury brand image.
H2c: E-commerce has a positive impact on luxury
brand image.
H2d: Online ads and e-newsletters enhance luxury
brand image.
In addition to distribution channels, luxury products al-
ways possess a functional side and a symbolic side [8].
People buy things not only for their functional side, but
also for what they mean; a symbol is appropriate when
it joins with, meshes with, adds to, or reinforces the way
consumers think about themselves [39]. Vickers and Re-
nand (2003) stated that, although luxury and non-luxury
goods can be conceptualized on the basis of functional
and interactional symbolic dimensions, luxury goods are
based on symbolic attributes, while non-luxury goods rely
mainly on functional attributes [40]. For luxury, it is im-
portant to master three concepts relating to products: the
separation of the dream aspect from the functional aspect,
holistic understanding of the competitive universe, and
management of the time relationship [8]. They also note
that exclusivity and rarity are the nature of luxury; accord-
ingly, brand managers should keep their customers out of
products to increase brand rarity. Additionally, culture
and national identity are explanatory factors in the con-
sumption of luxury goods [8], and consumers’ purchasing
intentions are higher when no country-of-origin (COO)
information is provided than when a moderate country
impression exists [41]. For developing and recently de-
veloped countries’ consumers, a very positive COO can
be an asset for a particular product category, but giving
COO cues to consumers should be avoided if COO does
not convey the most positive impression [42]. Based on
the works reviewed above, we derive the following hy-
potheses:
H3: The symbolic side of luxury goods is positively
related to luxury brand image building.
H3a: Country-of-origin is positively related to luxury
brand image.
H3b: Iconic goods are positively related to luxury
brand image.
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H3c: Symbols in luxury goods are positively related to
luxury brand image building.
H3d: Limited editions are positively related to luxury
brand image.
Communication, therefore, plays an important role in
transmitting information to consumers. Among all the
tools of communication, press relationships and public re-
lationships matter a great deal in the luxury market, and
everything a brand does should be “PR-able” [8]. Pub-
lic relations is a promotional tool used to persuade con-
sumers and the public of the authenticity of a brand, while
also facilitating understanding between the brand and the
public [14]. Furthermore, celebrities and ambassadors are
crucial to a luxury brand, because ambassadors provide
the brand with life, while celebrities generate extensive
PR leverage and opportunities for brands to reach a global
market. Consequently, this investigation examines the in-
fluence of public relations on luxury brands with the fol-
lowing hypotheses:
H4: Public relations is positively related to luxury
brand image building.
H4a: PR events (Charity events, etc.) enhance luxury
brand image.
H4b: Celebrity endorsers enhance luxury brand image.
5.2. Methodology
5.2.1. Sampling and Research Design
Research for this paper was conducted in Tokyo, the
capital city of Japan and the largest metropolitan area
in the world with nearly 29% of the Japanese popula-
tion. The total sample consisted of 73 respondents; of
that number, 61.7 percent were male. Informants rated all
items with points from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
agree). Pictures and short explanations related to Korloff
brand descriptions were shown before the questionnaires
were issued to help participants associate the brand with
the given information.
5.2.2. Data Analysis
Exploratory factor analysis was used to form the factor
structure of the study. Principal component analysis was
performed to test the factorial validity of the scale, and
varimax rotation was chosen with respect to the princi-
ple components, to differentiate the original variables by
extracted factor. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha, which
indicates reliability, was 0.754 with Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
0.608 and significance <0.001; thus, factor analysis could
be applied. This research included a decision criterion
to discard factor loadings of 0.5, and components with
Eigenvalues larger than 1.0 were retained. The analysis
indicated that 70.59% of all 13 factors were contributed
by four estimated factors; we defined the four estimated
factors as experiential identity and signature, online pro-
motion, public presentation, and social influence (see Ta-
ble 2).
Vol.20 No.4, 2016 Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence
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Key Factors of Emerging Luxury Brand Construction
We used hierarchical multiple regression analysis to ex-
plore the interfere structure among the independent and
dependent variables. The variance inflation factor (VIF)
and tolerance of each independent variable was checked,
and all were within the range of 1.25–5.06 and 0.196–
0.780; thus, multicollinearity did not pollute the results of
the multiple regression analysis.
The results of each of the hypotheses are shown in Ta-
ble 3. This analysis indicates that the location (H1a) and
store atmosphere (H1c) of a luxury store, E-commerce
(H2c), online ads and newsletters (H2d), origin (H3a),
iconic products (H3b), symbols (H3c) and PR events
(H4a) had positive effects on consumers’ impressions of
luxury brands, and the hypotheses were supported. How-
ever, the exterior design of a luxury brand store (H1b)
and corporate website (H2b) were negatively related to
luxury brand image with β = −0.467, p<0.05 and β =
−0.277, p<0.05; consequently, H1b and H2b were not
supported. Meanwhile, although social networks on the
Internet (H2a) and limited editions (H3d) were positively
related to luxury brand image, their effects were quite in-
significant and limited (β = 0.091, p>0.1, β = 0.088,
p>0.1). Thus, H2a and H3d were not supported.
6. Discussion and Conclusion
The exploratory case study of Korloff forms the ba-
sis of our hypotheses and, through exploratory factor
analysis and hierarchical multiple regression, we found
that the location and store atmosphere of luxury stores,
E-commerce, online ads and newsletters, origin, iconic
products, symbols and PR events have positive effects on
consumers’ impressions of luxury brands. However, these
results are derived from a study of Korloff; whether these
findings can be applied to other emerging luxury brands
should be discussed.
6.1. Discussion
Among the above-listed influential factors, location and
store atmosphere of luxury stores, origin, iconic products,
symbols, and PR events are widely adopted by scholars
and utilized in various luxury branding theories. Recently,
debate regarding the impact of E-commerce and online
content has drawn the attention of academic researchers.
Kapfere and Bastien (2009）emphasize the negative ef-
fects of luxury E-commerce and insist that online distri-
bution may damage brand image [8]; in their latest papers
regarding luxury strategy, however, they focus much of
their discussion on the influence of online democratiza-
tion and consider E-commerce as a double-edged sword
that can generate considerable profits but also loss of a
brand’s intangible equity. Research regarding luxury and
the Internet concentrates mainly on consumer attitudes to-
ward e-retailers [43, 44], brand authenticity and reliability
[45, 46], the dilemma of accessibility and scarcity [47],
and brand communication strategy [48].
The interview to Korloff brand manager revealed that
for an emerging brand it is crucial to determine how to
611
Jiang, Z. and Nagasawa, S.

Table 2. Results of exploratory factor analysis.

Factors Measurement items Factor loading

Experiential identity and Shop location 0.801
signature Exterior and interior design 0.777
Country-of-origin 0.733
Iconic products 0.682
Symbols 0.593
Store atmosphere 0.589
Online promotion Online Ads and newsletters 0.888
E-commerce 0.774
Corporate website 0.531
Public presentation Limited edition 0.861
PR-events 0.851
Social influence Social network online 0.787
Celebrities 0.630
Cronbach’s alpha 0.754
KMO 0.608
Sig. 0.000

Table 3. Results of hierarchical multiple regression.

Dependent variable Clear impression of the brand

Constant 1.705∗ 0.396 −0.227 −0.570
H1a Shop location 0.583∗∗ 0.723∗∗∗ 0.364∗ 0.160∗
H1 H1b Exterior design −0.467∗∗ −0.406∗ −0.256∗ −0.102∗
H1c Store atmosphere 0.385∗∗ 0.240∗ −0.044∗ −0.265∗
H2a Online social network 0.091 −0.134 −0.103
H2b Corporate website −0.277∗∗ −0.344∗∗∗ −0.423∗∗∗∗
H2 H2c E-commerce 0.129∗ 0.136 0.234
H2d Online ads and newsletters 0.336∗∗ 0.260∗ 0.319∗
H3a Origin 0.163∗∗ 0.135∗∗
H3 H3b Iconic products 0.326∗∗ 0.348∗
H3c Symbols 0.272∗ 0.455∗∗
H3d Limited edition 0.088 −0.128
H4a PR-events 0.691∗∗∗∗
H4 H4b Celebrities −0.517∗∗∗∗
R 0.414 0.533 0.696 0.817
R2 0.171 0.284 0.485 0.668
Note: ∗ p<0.10; ∗∗ p<0.05; ∗∗∗ p<0.01;∗∗∗∗ p<0.001

utilize communication strategy and social media to por-
tray the brand as reliable and luxury. To confirm this, we
reviewed the interview records and a case study on Tod’s
conducted in 2012.
Tod’s is an Italian brand most famous for driving shoes,
as well as other shoes and leather goods. Tod’s shoe-
making business was created as a lifestyle brand in 1979.
It was listed in the Italian stock market in 2001, and Tod’s
now has numerous stores around the world. We inter-
viewed the PR manager of Tod’s Japan. Thus, the in-
formation that we discuss here is based mainly on the
Japanese market. The key factors discovered in the study
of Tod’s almost match the results in this research. The
initial challenge in entering the Japanese market is to in-
crease consumer awareness, and the most effective way
to do that is by using PR events and connecting to cus-
tomers via the Internet. The influence of traditional me-
dia in Japan is still powerful, but the astonishing growth
of the Internet is threatening traditional media’s position,
especially in relation to the young generation. The inter-
view subject stated that the basis for an emerging luxury
brand is its superiority and cultural content (e.g., symbols,
iconic products, and origin), but that all of these should
be communicated to the public efficiently. Fierce com-
petition and the great change in communication caused
by Internet democratization in a mature market like Japan
makes it quite difficult for an emerging brand to be ac-
cepted by consumers. It is still the PR managers’ task to
find the solution.
In the academic field, some research has been con-
ducted relating to this topic, but few studies have re-
ally explored the causation of online communication and
brand association for an emerging luxury brand. In the
future, the Internet’s impact on brand awareness and con-
sumer recognition will be a research direction for luxury
brand research.

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and Intelligent Informatics

6.2. Conclusion and Future Direction
First, the exploratory case study of Korloff forms the
basis of hypotheses and, through exploratory factor anal-
ysis and hierarchical multiple regression, we found that
the location and store atmosphere of luxury stores, E-
commerce, online ads and newsletters, origin, iconic
products, symbols, and PR events have positive effects on
consumers’ impressions of luxury brands.
According to the results of quantitative analysis and
interviews, Korloff is concentrating on experiential iden-
tity and signature, as well as public presentation, to build
a strong brand image as the Japanese luxury market be-
comes mature and more competitive.
The limits of our research, however, are in the accu-
racy of exploring influential factors and image descrip-
tions. In this research, we examined 13 influential factors
of luxury brand image through a quantitative study. Lux-
ury brands intend to create an impressive and consistent
image, in line with the image in Japan and the countries
of origin, but there can be differences in response to lux-
ury strategies in a cross-cultural country. We only tested
one emerging luxury brand, Korloff, which has not built a
strong image in Japan. In this discussion, we also found
that the Internet’s impact on brand awareness and con-
sumer recognition will be a research direction for future
luxury brand research.
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614 Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence
and Intelligent Informatics
Name:
Zhiqing Jiang
Affiliation:
Research Associate at School of Commerce,
Waseda University
Address:
1-6-1 Nishi-waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan
Brief Biographical History:
2007-2010 Received her M.Eng degree in Donghua University- Shanghai
2011- Research Student in the Graduate School of Commerce in Waseda
University
2013- Doctoral Student in the Graduate School of Commerce and
Research Associate at School of Commerce in Waseda University
2016- Research Associate at School of Commerce in Waseda University
Main Works:
• Her current research interests include luxury brand strategy, brand image
and consumer cognition analysis.
• “A Model Study on Emotional Communication in a Mono-brand Fashion
Store -Application of the Lens Model in the Fashion Industry,” J. Watada
et al. (Eds.): Intelligent Decision Technologies, Vol.2, SIST 16,
pp. 171-179, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2012.
• “Luxury fashion brand image building: the role of store design in Bally
and Tod’s Japan,” Management Decision, Vol.52, No.7, pp. 1288-1301,
2014.
Membership in Academic Societies:
• Japan Society of Kansei Engineering
• KES International
Name:
Shin’ya Nagasawa
Affiliation:
Professor at Graduate School of Commerce and
Waseda Business School, and Director of the
Luxury Branding Institute, Waseda University
Address:
1-6-1 Nishi-waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan
Brief Biographical History:
1980,1986 Received M.S and Ph.D from Waseda University
2008-2009 Visiting Professor of ESSEC Business School, Paris
2012-2015 Held LVMH Moet Hennessey-Louis Vuitton Chair
2014 Visiting Professor of Sciences Po Paris
Main Works:
• “Luxury fashion brand image building: the role of store design in Bally
and Tod’s Japan,” Management Decision, Vol.52, No.7, pp. 1288-1301,
2014.
• “Customer Experience Management: Influencing on Human Kansei to
Management of Technology,” The TQM J., Vol.20, No.4, pp. 312-323,
2008.
• “Product Innovation of Shinzaburo Hanpu and Regional Characteristic of
Kyoto,” J. of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent
Informatics (JACIII), Vol.15, No.4, 2011.
Membership in Academic Societies:
• Luxury Research Journal (Board Member)
• Journal of Global Fashion Marketing (Board Member)
• Journal of Quality and Service Sciences (Advisory Board Member)
• Luxury: History, Culture, Consumption (Advisory Board Member)
• International Society of Management Engineers (Life Fellow)
• Japan Society of Kansei Engineering (Former Vice President)
• Association of Product Development and Management (Executive
Director)
Vol.20 No.4, 2016