Consumer attitudes towards brand extensions of designer-labels and mass-market labels in Hong Kong

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the difference in consumer attitudes towards fashion brand extensions (FBEs) between designer labels (DLs) and mass-market labels (MLs) in Hong Kong. The authors investigate in depth the factors that would affect consumers' evaluations towards FBEs with respect to the two target groups of fashion brands. In addition, comparisons between the attitudes of male and female consumers are also conducted. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents a piece of empirical research. A consumer survey with a respondent size of 211 and an interview with a brand operations manager of an international designer label in Hong Kong are conducted. Findings - The results reveal that consumers possess more complicated attitudes when they evaluate brand extensions of DLs. To be specific, the findings reveal that consumers' intention to evaluate the extended products in DLs is not significantly affected by the product quality perception. For MLs, the concept consistency of the extended category does not significantly influence the consumers' attitudes in terms of their evaluations of the new product. On the other hand, image projection and product quality appear to be more important in affecting female consumers than male consumers with respect to their attitudes towards DLs and MLs. Research limitations/implications - The sample size, which is relatively small, is a major limitation for this research. Practical implications - In this paper, the authors propose some managerial insights and suggestions to fashion marketers in terms of establishing proper brand extension strategies for DLs and MLs. The interview with a local company's brand manager further provides some additional industry insights. Originality/value - This paper explores, via a consumer survey and a company interview, how consumers in Hong Kong react to FBEs of DLs and MLs. The potential differences and similarities between the attitudes of male and female consumers are also explored.