Digitalisation, luxury fashion and “Chineseness”: The infl uence of the Chinese context for luxury brands and the online luxury consumers experience

Serena Rovai 한국마케팅과학회 2018 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.9 No.2

The relationship between luxury and digitalisation, has been and still is problematic. Literature evidenced the challenging situation for luxury goods and online purchase with respect to exclusivity and identity. China has shown impressive orientation towards the digitalise world and a steady increase in Internet use in every business sector. Chinese market has its own socio-cultural norms and its luxury and fashion purchasing habits seemingly in constant evolution. The situation in China has indicated that luxury fashion brands and digitalisation have not fully revealed its development in relation to its “Chineseness” – or the specifi city of the Chinese luxury and fashion market. As a result of the very limited research on digitalisation, luxury and China, this study will try to provide an understanding on the emerging issues – derived from the Chinese consumer market – which infl uence digitalisation strategy for luxury brands in China.

MILLENIALS AND ON AND OFF LUXURY PURCHASING: FACTORS DRIVING THEIR CHOICES

Serena Rovai,Silvia Ranfagni,Simone Guercini 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2019 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2019 No.07

GLOBAL CONSUMERS CULTURE AND THE NEW CHINESE LUXURY FASHION BRANDS: EMERGING ISSUES AND NEW TRENDS FROM THE LOCAL “CHINA BRANDSCAPE”

Serena ROVAI 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2017 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2017 No.07

It is certainly not possible to analyse the evolution of the global luxury consumers orientations for the new luxury Chinese brands without considering the essence and the impact of the “brandscape”. In the last decade, China has assisted to the surge of the “luxury lifestyle” for a multiplicity of consumer segments living in those coastal areas – and not only - filled with luxury and fashion brands, that invaded every city area from streets to airports from clinics to hotels where concept stores, luxury flagship stores, sponsorships for events and urban artefacts “add value to the symbolic production of an urban lived space” (Bellini and Pasquinelli, 2015). Luxury product brands are enriched by the synergy with the city brand and the diverse fashion and art city locations, activities and events. In the new luxury perspective that sees luxury in its experiential dimension and no longer only in desire of an exclusive object, the relation of luxury brands and city brand requires a specific focus, in particular in the new fast growing economies as China that sees the rise of the new experiential luxury lifestyle and new local luxury brands. In the fast growing luxury Chinese luxury market where new Chinese luxury brands are striving to acquire a brand identity and image first in the local market and then in the international one, city branding may be a conductive solutions for brand value and identity creation. Authentic luxury experiences in significant city contexts appear added value activities for luxury brands in particular for those with no consolidated heritage and identity as the new Chinese luxury brands. New retail formats such as pop-up stores, concept stores located in specific high value artistic or fashion related locations adds value (Bellaiche et al, 2012). For Chinese luxury brands with a very limited identity, a almost absent heritage and a ongoing value creation of the brand, in-store experience is increasingly important (Atsmon et al, 2012) and the shopping location certainly represent an important factor for the increasingly diverse and demanding luxury customers by being not only the instrument towards the desired subjects but also a value-adding experience on its own (Rintamaki et al, 2007, p. 628). The emergence of the Chinese luxury consumer did not mean the presence on a market where the consumers are gathered by the same tastes, desires and purchasing patterns. Reference to the global consumer culture and paradigm evidenced that consumers in diverse geographical contexts may have different and sometimes even conflicting opinions or shared desires and values expressed in similar behaviours or symbols towards a brand. Global brands sets the international standards and convey shared symbols (Holt, Quelch and Taylor 2004) and a myth of cosmopolitanism to which many consumers world-wide appreciate (Strizhacova, Coulter and Price 2008).Brands represent a form of culture and they relate to the way people live, think, eat and choose to wear as well, a form of seeing life and the world (Askegaard, Kjeldgaard and Arnould, 2009) . Luxury brands have become increasingly present in the Chinese consumer market and lifestyle and the role of purchasing luxury goods experiencing a luxury lifestyle has taken an unexpected importance and meaning in the Chinese social context. China has started to experience the consumer culture only after China's opening up to the market economy as a result of the economic reforms post-1979 that have given to aspirational consumers more freedom to develop a consumer culture partially away from political limitations but still permeated in the Chinese culture and its characteristics. Those reforms have also given rise to the private businesses and the birth of a consumer middle class, the new rich, in China. The birth of the Chinese middle class has fuelled the emergence of a highly diversified consumer class with different purchasing attitudes (Latham, 2006) and a new way to express their taste, their motivation for purchasing (Gillette, 2000) and in particular an increasing brand awareness, mode of purchasing and conceptualisation of luxury (Rambourg, 2014; Rovai, 2016). Distinctive aspects of luxury consumer culture have started to emerge in the late years, evidencing new desires for Chinese luxury consumers with respect to luxury brands, accompanied by the entrance in the market of Chinese luxury brands aspiring the capitalise on the increasing Chinese luxury desire but limited by their lack of specific characteristics of authentic luxury brands - heritage, identity and prestige amongst others. As a result, this research focuses on the analysis of Chinese luxury brands presence in the local Chinese urban context; specifically, it focuses on how the Chinese urban fashion context can help to support the creation of a luxury brand value and also reinforce a luxury brand identity and image in a Chinese luxury consumer culture that does not possess a luxury heritage. An analysis of two luxury Chinese brands and a local luxury and fashion concept store has been initiated together with further evidence from the Shanghai urban context, its activities, events and cultural specifics together with the following a qualitative method and in particular Yin (1989) case study approach. A series of 15 interviews have been held in late 2016 in Shanghai with the two Chinese luxury brands creative designers, owners and staff during one month together with observation and consulting of documents. Literature review has focused on the role of individual brands that, being somehow associated with the city become a collective brand (Pasquinelli, 2014), framing the complex network of associations, linking products, spaces, organizations and people (Bellini and Pasquinelli, 2015). Initially, an important attention has been oriented towards the geographical associations to the country-of-origin effect (Bilkey and Nes, 1982; Johansson et al, 1985) later on evidencing that a defragmentation into of smaller geographical units may be appropriate at urban level (Bellini and Pasquinelli, 2015) to highlight the relevance of the origin not simply in relation to a broad geographical context where the brand manufactures a product but also „the place, region or country where a brand is perceived to belong‟ (Thakor and Kohli, 1996, p. 26). The origin being not only a matter of product production but more of product conceptualisation, perception or consumption going towards the brand product usage context (Gerr et al, 1999). Brand product usage happen in those spatial circuits whose cities are part of and whose role may be conductive to the „local origination‟ of product brands, adding value to the birth and internationalisation of locally originated brands (Pike, 2011). Those local brands are developed from an ecosystem composed by relations and ownerships involving a multiplicity of stakeholders whose customers are an integral part (Power and Hauge, 2008). In the literature, Fashion capitals is a unique case of those ecosystems with a specific relationship between industry and spacial circuits is based on the urban context instrumental to fashion creation and also to consumption (Breward and Gilbert, 2006). The city as a part of the consumer culture and in particular as part of the brand product experience (Thrift, 2004). As a result of the literature review and the conceptualisation of fashion capitals as ecosystems conductive to the fashion creation and consumption, an exploratory study of: Which context related variables affect new Chinese luxury brands identity and value and how the China fashion capital ecosystem affects Chinese luxury consumers brand perception. The paper will show an insight of the instrumental relation of the brandscape Shanghai and the impact on the Chinese luxury brands value and identity acquisition with respect to Chinese consumers.

CHANGING PATTERNS OF LUXURY FASHION CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR THROUGH DIGITAL

Serena Rovai 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2015 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2015 No.06

China has become a key market for the luxury fashion industry. Yet the relationship with the role of digital marketing is still mostly unexplored. The increase of Internet in China has been Impressive. A report from CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center) indicated that Chinese netizens increased to around 0.632 billion. Internet has a deep impact on people’s life, changing their lifestyles and consuming behaviours. For luxury brands entering Chinese market, the competition becomes fiercer. Despite the traditional marketing model, an increasing number of luxury companies are orienting their strategy towards the blue ocean—on-line market. On-line luxury fashion commerce has become a creative joint of Internet technology and business operations. Despite the fact that the Chinese market is regarded as potentially the fastest growing market for the luxury industry, many challenges exist nowadays since China is a young player in both luxury industry and e-commerce field. Some experts in the field believe that the limitation of customers’ experience is the most essential problem, and some others assert it would be difficult to do on-line marketing for luxury products. Besides, there is still an ongoing debate on the key factors that determine the success of on-line sales in luxury industry. Luxury Fashion customers are mainly composed by elder segment, while luxury consumers are increasingly becoming a younger segment (about under 40 years old) in China. In particular, their consumption concept is very different from that of traditional customers. A survey from McKinsey & Company indicates that there are almost 90% of Chinese Internet users living in tier1, tier2 and tier 3 cities have enrolled in a social-media site. Moreover, Chinese people are regarded as the world’s most active social-media population, around 91% of respondents telling they visited a social-media site in the previous six months, followed by 70% in South Korea, 67% in the United States and 30% in Japan (Chiu, Lin, & Silverman, 2012). This article is based on an exploratory study analysing the current situation of Chinese online market and the online shopping websites. Through interviews with customers who already had online luxury shopping experience and a questionnaire to about 150 potential customers of online luxury shopping websites, this paper tries to identify some of the key factors affecting the purchasing behaviour of Chinese customers of luxury fashion products. Based on the understanding of the current situation and the innovative role played by the digital orientation of purchasing behaviours in luxury, this article will introduce some hypotheses in order to verify the assumptions associated to key challenges and success factors in the Chinese market which can be the reference for luxury companies to fix their on-line marketing – pricing, distribution network, fashion brands variety. The exploratory study in the field has already showed specific results. With respect to pricing strategy for online purchasing, results showed clearly that besides the fact that traditional luxury purchasers are not price-sensitive also in relation to the fact that luxury products high price is a symbol of exclusivity; the modern luxury fashion Chinese customers, mainly composed by people younger than 30-years old, enjoying the wealth accumulated by their parents and other family members, have better education backgrounds which makes them have little conceptions about the purchasing power of currency. Logistics, which contain the products’ packaging, delivery mode and time and comprehensive quality of it appeared to be the one of the most important way to present the e-retailers’ services for online luxury customers. Through customers purchase luxury products online, the majority of them are still expected to enjoy the luxury experience and services just like in the traditional luxury boutiques. Based on the knowledge and the previous studies of luxury consumers and Chinese e-commerce two hypotheses will be proposed and verified in the empirical study. Furthermore, Supply channel for online luxury shopping websites have also shown to be also particularly relevant as the product quality and the modes are the most attractive factor for customers. A qualified supply channel will guarantee the products’ quality and variety for customers. Chinese market has its own characters and Chinese citizen shopping habits are also distinct, obviously, the current situation in China has indicated that luxury brands and e-commerce still in the run-in period. Through there are some successful cases in western countries which can partly provide some key factors for Chinese market, it is impracticable for luxury brands and some retailing websites copy their experience and follow those “rules” in China. It is quite critical for both luxury brands and e-commerce companies recognize the difference existed in this market, understand the real situation and then modify their marketing policies. This study has only analysed some of the key issues affecting the purchasing patterns of luxury fashion customers. Consequently more quantitative and qualitative research in the field that analyses it from different perspectives it is suggested.

SMM AND CUSTOMER PURCHASING EXPERIENCE: THE CHINESE WAY

Serena ROVAI 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2019 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2019 No.07

LUXURY BRANDS AND CONSUMERS: THE NEW WAY

Serena Rovai,Cecilia pasquinelli,Ian PHAU 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2020 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2020 No.11

CONSUMER RESPONSES TO AI APPLICATIONS IN OMNICHANNEL LUXURY RETAILING: AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY

Serena Rovai,Cecilia Pasquinelli,Camen Teh 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2023 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2023 No.07

Despite the orientation towards online retailing journey accelerated by the application of new-age technologies in the pandemic context, the role of the physical store still has a central role in luxury shopping in the digital omni-channel perspective. Digital technologies have increased their impact on consumers (Evanschitzky et al., 2020; Klaus & Zaichkowsky, 2020; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2020; Davenport et al, 2020; Huang and Rust, 2021a; Pantano et al, 2022). In today’s digital age, AI is one of the new-age technologies raising growing interest for their potential disruptive impact on marketing and retailing in different sectors (Forbes, 2022).

FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW LUXURY AND FASHION CAPITALS: CONCEPT STORES EVOLUTION IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE

Serena ROVAI,Cecilia Pasquinelli 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Introduction In the last decade, the luxury industry has witnessed strategic changes in its concept, essence and operation modes resulting from different factors and, in particular, digitalisation and democratisation in luxury fruition. As a result of those changes, luxury consumption has started to be perceived not simply in a conspicuous purchase perspective of goods or services, but as a 360 degrees experience, where cities - in particular in the emerging fast growing economies - have started being filled with luxury and fashion brands, invading every city area from streets to airports, from clinics to hotels and with concept stores, luxury flagship stores, sponsorships for events and urban artefacts, adding value to the symbolic production of an urban lived space (Bellini and Pasquinelli, 2016). In this new dimension of luxury, the underlying hypothesis of this paper is that luxury product brands are enriched by and, hence, draw value from the synergy with city brands and diverse fashion and art city locations, activities and events. This statement is based on that luxury perspective seeing luxury more in its experiential dimension than in the one of a pure desire for an exclusive object purchase and ownership. Accordingly, to what extent is the relation between the luxury brand and the city brand functional to the boosting of luxury brand experiential content? From our point of view, this deserves more specific focus. Based on these premises and with respect to the current evolution of fashion luxury cities and the retailing scenario, this paper will specifically focus on the evolution and different forms of concept stores with particular attention to their interaction with the urban context. The case of concept stores is particularly relevant due to the crisis of this retailing model caused by the rise of luxury e-shops which are becoming dominant brand channels also for luxury segments. In the case of the concept stores we can, in fact, see if and to what extent the value of ―offline stores‖ is rooted in their physical presence in an urban environment that is rich in history and cultural heritage. Two case studies will be carried out, XXX in Shanghai and Luisa Via Roma in Florence, Italy, thus including two different urban contexts characterised by a different relation with fashion and luxury industries, historically and nowadays. Authentic luxury experiences in relevant city contexts (that is in city contexts with which fashion brands succeed in establishing a meaningful, credible and so valuable relation) may add value to luxury brands, in particular to those brands with no consolidated heritage and identity, as in the case of the new Chinese luxury brands. In general, for those luxury brands with a very limited identity and an almost absent heritage, in-store experience is likely to be of special relevance and of increasing importance (Atsmon et al, 2012). Without neglecting the rise of online brand channels and the vibrancy of virtual fashion spaces, the shopping location certainly still represents a crucial factor for the increasingly diverse and demanding luxury customers, for whom the shopping location is not just an instrument of purchase but also a value-adding experience on its own (Rintamaki et al, 2007). Fashion City: An Evolutionary Perspective Historically luxury and fashion have been linked to some specific cities in western countries such as Paris, London, Milan and New York, the so called capitals of luxury and fashion (Breward and Gilbert, 2006); those capitals are considered to be the places where luxury fashion production and consumption cross each other providing economic value for the sector and a unique experience for the consumers. More recently, the scenario has been changing. The ‗fashion city‘ has strated being one of the ‗brands‘ of economic development, seen as capable of strategically boosting attractiveness for the repositioning of a diverse set of cities across the world (Breward and Gilbert, 2006). Urban authorities, policy-makers, and various academic approaches have devoted attention to this phenomenon. The concept of the fashion city has started being part of urban plans and municipal promotional activities trying to reposition cities as attractive destinations for firms, human capital and especially for the ―creatives‖, investors, consumers, and tourists. An increasing number of developing and fast growing countries have achieved the status of ‗second-tier‘ cities of fashion (Larner et al., 2007) such as Antwerp, Shanghai, Beijing, Istanbul, Melbourne, Moscow, Vienna, as centres of reference of a highly diversified fashion context of culture, design, manufacturing and consumption. Although these cities have very different economic and cultural background and history, they indicate the evolution and the interaction between fashion and fashion players - including concept stores - and the urban context. Academia has started clarifying what a fashion city was, what constitutes a traditional fashion city and the interaction between luxury fashion and the fashion city. However, the interaction and evolution of luxury fashion cities and some of the urban players, such as concept stores, is far from being fully clarified and understood. The same can be said regarding the characteristics of the emerging luxury fashion cities. In particular, with respect to the differences characterising those new luxury fashion cities, there is still a very limited research. This article is aimed to make a contribution in this field by discussing the relation between fashion players (i.e. concept stores) and the urban landscape. This will also lead to define a set of characteristics of the contemporary luxury fashion city, based on their functional role in supporting luxury brands‘ value creation processes. In fact, it is certainly not possible to analyse the impact of the global luxury capitals on luxury brands without considering the evolution in city branding, i.e. the way in which cities are represented in order to create an image of the place. Fashion and Luxury in the Urban Branscape As said, ‗fashion city‘ has evidently been considered as potential device to reposition ‗second tier‘ – either large or small - urban contexts. If on the one hand fashion design has been integrated into urban policies in order to boost local economies (Martinez 2007), on the other hand fashion marketing seems to have integrated its luxury fashion strategies into the ―urban brandscape‖ (Bellini and Pasquinelli 2016). Fashion branding has, then, gone clearly in the direction of actively pursuing an appropriation of the city image whose value is drawn by corporate brands (Tokatli 2013). This last aspect, however, has received rather limited attention in literature. In the last decade, the fashion city has enhanced its economic and cultural importance specifically thanks to the economic value generated by the creative process and cultural value of cities (DMCS, 2001; Scott, 2002; Power and Scott, 2004; Breward and Gilbert, 2006; Rantisi, 2011; Bellini and Rovai, 2018). Initially, fashion cities and their fashion design component had only been considered with respect to the creative industry in relation to the mix of physical and symbolic processes involved in the current fashion industry. This combined a highly globalised manufacturing chain with a designer fashion sector mostly concentrated in fashion‘s world cities, together with other image-producing activities that contribute to the creation of place-based symbolic narratives (Williams and Currid-Halkett, 2011). However, the evolution towards new luxury fashion cities has shown a diversification of their meaning and positioning (Mart?nez 2007). The delocalisation of fashion manufacturing in offshore urban centres together with the digitalisation and IT component in the process have modified the fashion industry (Segre Reinach, 2005), in parallel with the changes in the economy of media, marketing and the symbols associated to them. Accordingly, it is important to stress how the geographical origin, connection or association of fashion brands to places is simply constructed and negotiated (Pike 2010, 2011), until becoming a pure matter of perception in some case (Thakor and Kohli 1996). Moreover, it is important to notice – and this paper is engaged with this issue – how the fashion brand connection to a city can be built through the creation and exploitation of ―a status market‖ in which the brand is located (Hauge et al. 2009): think, for instance, of how fashion brands capitalize on the presence of prestigious urban assets such as cultural heritage and fine arts (Bellini and Pasquinelli, 2016). This is particularly relevant if thinking that fashion luxury‘s world cities also can count on valuable frameworks of cultural players such as museums, theatres, libraries, festivals, and academic institutions reinforcing their attractiveness (Volont?, 2012). Also relying on such mechanisms, a new wave of luxury and fashion capitals has emerged, i.e. the so called ‗not-so-global‘ cities of fashion, exemplifying new forms of symbolic economy and manufacturing that are not included in the usual classification of luxury fashion cities as New York, Milan, London and Paris (Rantisi and Leslie, 2006; Larner et al., 2007). Such ―not so global cities‖ largely contribute to reshaping the global geography of fashion capitals, which can be redefined as the result of the multiple and highly diverse typologies of links a city succeeds in establishing with products, firms, events and fashion stores, by drawing values and symbols from them (Jansson and Power 2010 ; Power and Jansson 2011). Research Design and Methodology The urban dimension of luxury and fashion brands characterising the emerging geography of fashion has not been extensively analysed. In this direction, this article will focus on the analysis of two international luxury fashion urban centres, i.e. Florence and Shanghai, which will be framed as brandscapes interacting with fashion players that are locally based. Particular attention will be drawn to concept stores by analysing their evolution and their changing relation with the surrounding urban contexts, notwithstanding a clear acknowledgement of the growing relevance of e-shops and digital platforms. A qualitative methodology, based on a review of internet sources, in-store visits and in-depth semi-structured interviews with store managers (to understand the concept store‘s strategy) and various local fashion players (to frame the urban brandscape and its relation with fashion), will be adopted to build a comparative framework. Reputable key players in the respective cities as concepts stores, i.e. Favotell in Shanghai and Luisaviaroma in Florence will be selected as case studies. That is, the study will highlight the synergies between fashion brands and city brands by focusing especially on concept stores, their interaction with the urban symbolic ecosystem and their evolution in the geography of contemporary emerging luxury fashion capitals. Expected Results Below the key propositions that we expect to discuss as a result of the presented study: ? The urban brandscape is mirrored by the concept stores which tend to narrate the connection of their brand to the city ; ? The concept store goes out into the city pushing its visible and distinctive presence in the urban symbolic ecosystem ; this mechanism is rich in symbolic content benefiting the fashion brands whose local, physical and tangile presence in specific urban settings has a strategic role in global value creation ; ? The concept store has developed from a purely physical setting to including the online store ; also throughout such development, it maintains the physical location – its style, taste and connection to specific urban settings and local heritage – as reference and vividly alive ; ? The global travelling of the concept store-city connection – also but not exclusively through digital platforms – make the city brand travel and evolve.

FASHION LUXURIOUSNESS IN ADVERTISING: THE ROLE OF MADE IN ITALY AND HERITAGE ON THE NEW FACE OF LUXURY

Serena Rovai,Silvia Ranfagni 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2020 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2020 No.11

LUXURY BRAND BUILDING AND REBRANDING THROUGH DIGITALISATION: THE CASE OF ITALIAN BRANDS IN CHINA

Serena Rovai,Dennis Valle 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2016 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2016 No.7

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate how a luxury brand may be affected by the variables associated to a new market entry as the Chinese and how those new market variables are integrated in the process of rebranding in the new geographical context. In doing so, the paper will review the existing literature in the field and following three derived propositions through a qualitative approach, it will analyse the successful brand strategy of three Italian luxury brands. The luxury brands considered in our investigation are three international ones with a specific consolidated brand heritage and with a multisectorial positioning. The methodological approach chosen in the analysis is the case-study method (Yin, 1984) with the specific purpose of focusing on a particular phenomenon instead of generalising (Schramm, 1971). Following the case-study methodology, this paper will explore and analyse the specific luxury brand building and rebranding process adopted by three Italian luxury brands to enter the new market and specifically through the digitalisation of the brand. The abstract will report a summary of one case as a reference sample. The empirical research will evidence the positive impact of digitalisation for successful luxury branding and rebranding in entry market strategy and justify its adoption in the exclusive luxury sector by the socio-cultural context-related factors of the new market. It will provide specific orientations and recommendations as well as best practices for luxury corporations on the specificities of branding and digitalisation of luxury in China. The research will show a successful model path for luxury branding when entering the Chinese market and the key impact of the “luxury digitalisation” strategy - usually associated to high accessibility - with respect to a traditional “luxury retailing” strategy - associated to the exclusivity of the luxury sector. Introduction The increasing interest in luxury brands in the fast growing economies of Asia, with particular attention towards China, has supported the growth of the luxury market in the last years. China, the global second largest economy, with the global largest consumer market, has reached a role of an undisguisable strategic leader in the luxury market. Far from theexponential double digit growth rates characterizing China’s growth in the past decades - as high as 14.2% in 2007 – at the moment it is entering a different phase of growth. A recent trend is tending to see China as the source of a multiplicity of diversified aspects impacting the global luxury market scenario – despite the fact that luxury industry market situation is not simply China related. The ongoing Chinese growth in the last decade has been associated with a decrease in European and US markets. In addition to this, further issues have negatively affected the market grow more related to Chinese market specificity. Chinese exponential luxury market growth has negatively influenced the exclusivity aura associated to luxury goods and consequently disrupting non-Chinese luxury customers and Chinese top spenders luxury brands orientation. In relation to the economic crisis in consolidated markets, international luxury brands have focused their interest towards fast growing economies. As a result, global brands have focused their attention on attracting fast growing economies with a specific growth in affluent consumers interested in foreign brands and in an augmentation in global consumption (Le Monkhouse et al., 2012). As a consequence, China has attracted much attention by significantly contributing to balance the sales decline in consolidated economies that in 2013 accounted for 28% of the €212 billion global luxury consumption (Schiliro, 2013). In the new luxury oriented Chinese context, local shoppers have started to become brand aware of what they were in the past and with a specific focus on luxury fashion brands (Bruce & Kratz, 2007). However, it would be too limited to simply consider that the volumes of the market and focus on luxury brands is resulting only from consumer intentions to purchase luxury brands. A multiplicity of factors and in particular context related factors affecting shoppers luxury brand perception and luxury goods purchasing experience must be considered and as a consequence those context related factors that may affect the branding process itself. China's culture is different from Western cultures (Henriksen, 2009), and thus, Chinese luxury consumption may not follow the trends of the Western world. The Chinese perceive luxury brand value in terms of China's unique cultural background and as a consequence of the Chinese economic development, the Chinese luxury lifestyle is gradually evolving and beginning to show its own distinct characteristics. Although prior research related to luxury examines different cultures and markets such as the US, Indian, European, the Chinese luxury context and its impact on luxury brand when entering this market have not been examined sufficiently. Literature review Luxury Brands, Rebranding and the Chinese Context Literature teaches us that “luxury” is used to denote the main category of highly prestigious brands (Vigneron & Johnson, 2004). In the same way, luxury brands are related to wealth, exclusivity and power and are related to the fulfilment of nonessential desires (Brun et al., 2008 and Dubois and Gilles, 1994). “Luxury brands” comprises highly quality, expensive and nonessential goods and services that are symbols of rarity, exclusivity, prestige, and authenticity in for their consumers and they can provide highlevels of symbolic and emotional value (Tynan, McKechnie, & Chhuon, 2009). Vigneron and Johnson (2004) and later Wiedman et al. (2007) defined the concept of luxury as the physical and psychological values provided by prestige of luxury brands and consequently highlighting the symbolic and conceptual dimension associated to luxury. However, it was evidenced how the dimension is strongly associated to the cultural values and to the social environment by considering luxury goods representatives of individual and social identity (Vickers & Renand, 2003). These elements of exclusivity, prestige, rarity as well as individual and social identity are the key values distinguishing luxury from nonluxury brands (Tynan et al., 2009). In the same perspective, Kapferer (1997, p. 334) highlighted the importance of those luxury brand values in evidencing that brand memory and brand values should not be abandoned when the brand is revised suggesting that rebranding is an incremental process in contrast to a radical change. The Digitalisation of Luxury Brands and the Chinese Market In the western countries, the elder people mainly compose luxury customers, while luxury consumers become younger (about under 40 years old) in China. The increasing number of middle-level class has been the main force of online luxury consuming. The consumption concept of younger customers are huge different from that of traditional customers. Solomon (2009) expressed that customers’ behavior is a dynamic concept because they are influenced by the outer factors and inner elements (Solomon, 2009). A survey from McKinsey & Company indicates that there are almost 90% of Chinese Internet users living in tier1, tier2 and tier 3 cities have enrolled in a social-media site and Chinese people can be regarded as the world’s most active social-media population, around 91% of respondents telling they visited a social-media site in the previous six months, followed by 70% in South Korea, 67% in the United States and 30% in Japan (Chiu, Lin, & Silverman, 2012). The Chinese social and cultural context is increasingly becoming “digitally savvy” and Chinese citizens are more likely to gain information from Internet when they would make shopping decisions. First Proposition Indirect orientation for the first proposition comes from Vickers and Renard (2003) conceptual development that evidences that the conceptual dimension of luxury is strongly influenced by cultural elements and by the social context. Consequently it derives that the digitalisation of luxury as a part of the social and cultural variables of contemporary Chinese consumers’ market will be conceptualised in the rebranding process for luxury brands when entering the Chinese market. Second Proposition Specific support for our second proposition comes from Kapferer (1997) theory highlighting that successful luxury rebranding has to keep least certain core brand elements to have a proper transition from the existing luxury brand to the revised luxury brand in the new Chinese market. The digitalisation process for rebranding will evidence the core elements kept as a part of the brand heritage and identity.In the re-branding process new market segments may be touched or even new markets (Kapferer, 1997). Successful luxury rebranding may require meeting the needs of new market segments. As a consequence, in our third proposition it is assumed that new attributes to the brand may be required to satisfy the new market and in particular the Chinese digitally savvy” segment. These principles of rebranding applied to our Chinese luxury context refers to the existing literature relating to re-create the brand vision to entry the new Chinese market. Research questions and methodology This research aims to analyse the impact of cultural and social variables of a new market, the Chinese one, in the redefinition of a luxury brand and in particular: - the evolution towards a new digital orientation as a response to the needs of the new customer segments - the specific socio-cultural characteristics of the new Chinese market customer segments In order to provide specific responses from the field, the empirical research methodology is based on the case analysis method (Yin, 1984). The luxury brands cases considered in the research have been kept anonymous in order to keep the confidentiality of the data collected and consequently referred as A, B and C. It has been based on interviews carried out in China and in Europe with the management of the luxury brand, with a sample of its customer segments and also on the published data of the corporation. The Case of an Italian Luxury Brand in China The A case: Rebranding through Digitalisation for Successful Entry in the Chinese Market Out of the three cases, A is an Italian global luxury brand with an established brand image and heritage internationally. Its positioning as authentic luxury brand worldwide specifically focus its image on exclusivity, originality and innovative design. China, which was entered lately with respect to the other geographical markets in their global strategy, has now become clearly the main focus. Its entry strategy has been oriented towards a progressive reinforcement of relations between brand and market, in particular in relation to the digitalisation of the market and its consumption mode. The brand started opening the main flagship store in the Mainland China capital Beijing and following with the fashion centre Shanghai at the beginning of 2006. After a few years of gradual expansion and monitoring of the market evolution, the brand can nowadays count on a consolidated flagship store network adding value to the brand awareness. Counting on the younger Chinese luxury market segments, the brand had a remarkable immediate growth in the market as a result of its brand core values and image as well as of its own digitalisation of the brand development strategy. The growth and consolidated positioning allowed the brand to start a brand expansion strategy by introducing the cosmetics line in department stores after clothing and apparel and perfumes. Conclusion A luxury brand focused on a specific rebranding as entry strategy for the Chinese market through the integration between the socio-cultural variables associated to the local context and the core components of the brand. A transferred the brand to the Chinesemarket by maintaining its own young style and image, specifically suitable for the young Chinese luxury market. In the initial phase of the Chinese market entry, A focused on reinforcing the brand image and awareness in the local socio-cultural context by developing their retail and distribution in particular by having key premium locations, fundamental to communicate the brand identity and core values. However, the retailing network was not perceived as sufficient to create “a social buzz” in the Chinese young socio-cultural context that is specifically influenced by digital media in this geographical environment. The analysis of the brand and its entry strategy in China have clearly shown that they entry and kept expanding in China from first to third tier cities and to different targeted segments by developing an intelligent digitalisation of the brand. Starting from developing a Chinese version of the brand name, A brand modified its brand name as a main strategy to giving meaning to the brand in the Chinese socio-cultural context, as well as emphasizing the heritage of the brand and creating a strong position in the mind of the Chinese consumer and creating a strong advantage in the digital search positioning. Furthermore, in analysing the market socio-cultural digital trends and the decreasing reach of conventional media and the increasing one of the digital ones, A decided to focalise on a diversified use of digital media in their entry strategy - through online video advertising and the growing digital out of home as well as local search engine as Baidu or local social networks, BAIDU Sina.com Wechat Youku and in particular online influencers and BBS, Bullet Board Systems – by clearly choosing to rebrand through the digitalisation of their luxury brand in compliance with the socio-cultural variables and trends of the market. The sample case will be reported and the model path for branding and rebranding in the Chinese context will be presented.