Defining The Contemporary Labels Of China 's Youth Consumers

In Mark de la Vina's article, he addresses the issue of young adults spending money on high-end brands rather than an education, This issue he has brought attention to emphasizes the importance of what most adults prioritize. His evidence of ordinary people finding comfort in such high quality products prove that this is a completely normal habit to most of them. With this culturistic issue among the young generation, Vina's argument of the gold-collared generation hindering society is valid.

The cycle of consumerism and capitalism is a system that has been around for a long time. People are being subliminally advertised to, no matter where they go; there is always some advertisement that is trying to sell you something. People are willing to spend hundreds of dollars for Jordans and Polo, not because of what the product is, but because of the name brand and what it symbolizes. It symbolizes a type of lifestyle that we all try to reach and portray by buying these type of products. From food to clothes, whether it is a cheeseburger from Burger King or a dress from Forever 21, when a person sees the advertisement, they will be tempted to buy whatever it is. Hari Kunzru, the author of “ Raj Bohemian” and Andrea Chang, the author

The retail giant “Abercrombie & Fitch” (A&F) have produced their casual clothing products based towards the younger consumer base for decades. Abercrombie & Fitch originally built its business plan, “plan around what had been called the sexualized marketing of young, beautiful, and barely clothed models whose sculpted torsos and suggestive postures hinted at an anything-goes party scene” (Olson). This type of marketing consistently kept the company in hot water making the average consumer think as if they are not good enough for the A&F clothes and style.

Over the last decade China and India have adopted trends from western-styles. These are two heavily populated countries and their youth are gravitate more to western styles. There are many goods and services that can be offered to their marketers. This paper will describe the products that interest these youth markets. Compare and contrast the micro- and macro-environmental forces that influence the marketing strategies for these goods and services. Analyze the marketing strategies of these two countries and compare them with the U.S. consumption marketers. And finally, what opportunity for U.S. companies I might foresee.

This is an era of lifestyle where we are living right now there is no question about it. People are represented by their lifestyle preferences which relate to their personality and how do they want them to be seen by others. This report will go into detail about how and why individuals execute this. Bourdieu (1984) says lifestyle consumption is part of the late capitalism, in which goods are not valued for their use, but for the meaning of what they symbolize and what does it say about the person. This way consumer goods turned into signs which displays individuality through their tastes. “The modern individual within consumer culture is made conscious that he speaks not only with his clothes, but with his home, furnishings, decoration, car and other activities which are to be read and classified in terms of the presence and absence of taste. The preoccupation with customizing a lifestyle and a stylistic self-consciousness are not just to be found among the young and affluent; consumer culture publicity suggests that we all have room for self-improvement and self-expression whatever our age or class origins” (Winship 1983; Featherstone and Hepworth 1983).

teenagers become very brand-conscious. I even got caught up in that in middle school. If

Menkes begins describing several examples of traditional marketing tactics, such as the description of a hair spray commercial and a website know as Nowness.com. Nowness.com is a website created to personalize a consumer experience online, this is a profile on the interest the luxury companies have attain from the consumers interest. In her paper she introduces us to these luxury fashion brands with new marketing tactics that will improve exposure toward the Millennials. Furthermore she explains how if they do not change their marketing skills they will be lost to the recent generation. She continues, that the

Throughout centuries, luxury brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton had been highly popular among young Korean female consumers. However, after explosive growth since 2010 driven by Chinese consumers, there has been a clear sign of slowdown. To be more specific, Louis Vuitton’s sales growth has been decreasing at major department stores in Korea for years. The industry officials state that changing macro-trend in Korean market has contributed to such decline. There has been increase in individual lifestyle such as eating, drinking, and travelling alone, which led consumers to seek for their personal value rather than passively following the trend. Moreover, spending patterns of consumers have changed from ‘owning the product’ to ‘getting an experience’. In this regard, this paper aims to provide new guidelines for ‘Louis Vuitton’ to resolve its declining market share and regain its status as a truly ‘Myeong-pum’ brand in the Korean luxury market.

The following case study will evaluate the reach of promotional culture in relation to my chosen artifact, one of the most popular luxury sport utility vehicles (SUV’s) on the market the Range Rover Sport. Promotion is all around us and some even argue it is an unescapable aspect of our society. Society in the twenty-first centruy is known to be constructed off of promotion and commodification. In order to evaluate the impact of promotional culture on my chosen artifact as well as on me as a consumer, key concepts such as the society of the spectacle, aestheticization of everyday life and luxurification will be contrasted, compared and analysed alongside the artifact in order to show the unavoidable reach that promotional culture has on consumers today.

Consumption involves individuals purchasing goods to achieve a meaning or value to the consumer, not simply for the material benefit it offers. Instead, ‘commodities are not just objects of economic exchange, they are goods to think with, goods to speak with’ (Fiske, 1989) (Cited in Bocock, 1993). This suggests that individuals use goods as symbolic props, as a way of creating and moulding their own identities. It is suggested that the individual has the ability to create their own narrative and can rely upon the novelties of consumer goods. However, the individual is still bound by the market and the mass commodities of Capitalism. For example: sports individuals purchase equipment, clothing etc, to encourage the identity they wish to

It is widely acknowledged that there is a relationship between fashion and identity. Kaiser (2013) claims that fashion is inseparably linked with how we construct and reconstruct our identity. It is through appearance styles that individuals express their personalities. They express “who they are or who they want or do not want to become”. This idea is supported by Richmond (2008) who claims that as individuals we are constantly looking for what is missing in our lives. It can be said that that individuals pursuit objects that are appealing for them. This objects, in this case clothes, can help them to create an image of how they want others to see them, and to make them being acknowledged. However, the problem is that individuals that use fashion to express themselves might be controlled by the fashion industry. Seo (2012) cited on Not Just a Label (2014), supports the above by saying that fashion is more commercial than ever before full of pre-existing designers and brands. These markets change every season, so if an individual follows a determined type of brand to express oneself and this brand is

The invisible competition will appear between families due to the conformity as well. Notably, family dinners are occurs often in China. Chinese like gathering together in a big hotel restaurant, where there are large round tables which can hold 10 to 20 people in a great amount of individual rooms. In these kind of dinner, it is usually the time for family members and relatives to show their “face” by ways of dressing or brand-carrying. The same norm applies to the circle of friends as well. When a rich person first buys luxurious products, his/her rich friends will then start to pay attention to luxurious consumption as well. The invisible brands competition thus exists. Those friends who may not afford the luxury, probably try every means to get a real one in avoid of being excluded from the group. Therefore, it is easy to see different groups of Chinese gather together and each group share their own similar fashion taste and dressing codes. For instance, Yang (1998) mentions that the main motivation for young people’s trend to dress in the latest fashions, drink imported alcohol and drive luxurious brand cars especially abroad, is not to express their own uniqueness, but to conform to the “contemporary mainstream norms”. (Yang,1998).

Another author Yann states that “self-esteem also appears to be an important motivator in purchasing luxury goods for self-directed pleasure” (Yann 560), which explains that the desire of gaining respect brings significant influence on consumer 's’ mind. Indeed, generation after generation of Chinese populations were raised by Confucianism, and this idea of gaining respect from others has been ingrained in people’s daily lives. After the 1978 Reforms that removed dictator Mao, the new leader, President Deng brought new patterns of lifestyles to China after a severe revolution in both political and economic aspects. However, “in today 's society, the need of respect is expressed in different ways, which conspicuous consumption being the easiest and fastest way to attract others’ attention” (Lu, 6). This natural instinct of desiring respect explains why Chinese consumers are willing to purchase large amounts of luxury goods; granted it is a sign of showing personal success and social status. Yet, the results of purchasing luxury products are the combination of both positive and negative attributes. Positively, purchasing luxury products becomes an objective; hence consumers will do what it takes in order to reach it. Negatively, the use of luxury products covers the true self. Some people may use artificial luxury products to fabricate their success; as a result, they only have artificial products in their

Abstract: This study attempted to identify differences in consumer’s pursued values when purchasing counterfeit luxury products using questionnaire and interview data. As brand names and brand logos of luxury goods significantly influence to customer buying behavior, this study focused on logos, an important element of brand and design. The hypotheses concern four value factors pursued in purchasing luxury products: conspicuousness, aesthetic appeal, durablility, and conformity. Data were analyzed using both

Second-hand trades have been growing rapidly in the past __ years. The second-hand industry grew at about 7% a year in 2014 and 2015, according to the National Association of Resale Professionals (Narts). Second-hand luxury goods, in particularly, has become a unique segment standing out among the rest of second-hand products. While companies like The Real Real and What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA) have been successfully enticed U.S. customers to sell and buy second-hand luxury, they might have left another huge group of potential customers behind – international college students from China, who carry a stack of cash to the US each year and share a strong enthusiasm towards luxury brands at a young age like most middle-class Chinese. This study intends to focus on Chinese students studying in the US, their culturally specific motivations and concerns for shopping second-hand luxury so as to provide insights for local second-hand stores to better attract them as potential customers.