Fashion flagship stores: Characteristics, brand types, and consumer responses

Abstract

This study explores the characteristics of fashion flagship stores from the consumer's viewpoint, examines the differences by brand type in the flagship store characteristics, store experience, in-store emotion, and the post-visit brand response, and compares those of the flagship store with other stores of the brand. Flagship stores of the four brand types including luxury, SPA, retail, and national brands were selected for the online survey. Data from 537 respondents who visited and selected one of those stores were analyzed. Five factors including facility/service, scale/product lines, brand identity, location, and publicity were extracted from the characteristics of flagship store. There were differences in the perceived flagship store characteristics by brand type; The luxury and retail brands were more highly perceived in facility/service comparing to the SPA brand. Store experience and brand response were also different by brand type; Perceptions of the luxury brand were also higher than of the SPA brand. Overall, consumer responses to the luxury brand were higher than to the SPA brand. Consumer responses to the flagship store were higher than to other stores of the same brand. The study discusses further implications.