跨地方品牌升级的影响因素与路径——ZARA广州案例

Empirical study of trans-local upgrading of ZARA

品牌地理是消费与文化地理研究的重要话题。全球化背景下,品牌突破既有地理边界向全球范围扩展,通过与品牌源地、消费地等互动实现品牌重塑。ZARA在西方具有消极品牌形象,却在中国实现品牌升级。基于文献综述与质性研究设计问卷,回收有效问卷149份,采用结构方程模型探讨跨地方品牌升级的影响因素与路径。结果发现:1国际快时尚品牌与全球时尚地方互动提升全球化形象;2国际快时尚品牌与全球时尚地方互动是感知质量的重要外部线索;3在地时尚环境对个人融入全球时尚程度的总影响最大,但对国际快时尚跨地方品牌升级的总影响却不显著;4感知质量是国际快时尚跨地方品牌升级最重要的影响因素。结论明确了地方维度在快时尚品牌跨地方升级中的重要作用,既认识到当今中国消费者受时尚审美偏好和经济购买力双重约束对ZARA跨地方品牌升级的促进作用,又承认自反性消费可能产生的消极影响。

The geography of brands is one of the most important research themes in both cultural geography and the geography of commerce. Influenced by intensifying globalization, brands have gradually broken out of physical geographical boundaries and thus expanded into the global scale. It can be described as a trans-local commercial process. Owing to the standard pricing policies, identical styles, and similar decorations and brand images worldwide, the fast fashion brands in westem developed countries have been associated with negative connotations. However, in a number of developing countries, such as in China, those fast fashion brands have undergone a process of upgrading, namely, the prices being boosted to higher levels. In this sense, it is an interesting research topic to find out what factors influence the trans-local upgrading of those fast fashion brands. Based on the case of one fast fashion brand - ZARA, this study puts together literature analysis and quantitative research methods, including questionnaire and structural equation model, to discuss how ZARA has been trans- locally upgraded in China. A conceptual model is proposed, which includes six variables, respectively, brand and fashion places, local fashion environment, perceived global brand image, personal involvement in global fashion, perceived quality, and trans-local upgrading of fast fashion brands. Overall, this systematic analysis draws from a literature review and qualitative research findings. Consistent with the scales utilized by previous research, incorporating qualitative texts, and drawing insights from opinions of experts specializing in cultural geography and business management, the questionnaire is finalized to include a total of 25 statements which reflect the measurements of the above six variables. Then, this study examines the factors that influence the trans-local upgrading process in previous studies, enters data from the 149 valid questionnaires that have been garnered through the SO JUMP website in November 2015, analyzes the collected data with SPSS 19.0, and tests the conceptual model with Lisrel 8.72. The main findings can be concluded as follows. First, the connection between brands and global fashion places helps to build the global image for fast fashion brands. Second, the connection between brands and global fashion places is an important external factor that has great impact on the brand quality perceived by consumers. Third, the local fashion environment has the biggest influence on personal involvement in global fashion while its influence is not statistically significant on trans-local upgrading of fast fashion brands. Fourth, the perceived quality is one of the primary factors that have impact on the trans-local upgrading of fast fashion brands. In so doing, this paper constructs a theoretical model of fast fashion brands＇ trans-local upgrading and empirically shows that place is an important dimension for brand upgrading. It on the one hand has testified the role and the significance of the dual constraints of aesthetic preference and actual purchasing power of Chinese consumers in promoting the trans-local upgrading of the fast fashion brands; on the other hand, it has also demonstrated that there may be negative implications of Chinese consumers＇ reflective consumptions.