Luxury Consumption in China

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International Journal of Marketing Studies; Vol. 4, No. 6; 2012 ISSN 1918-719X E-ISSN 1918-7203 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Love for Luxury, Preference for Counterfeits –A Qualitative Study in Counterfeit Luxury Consumption in China Ling Jiang1 & Veronique Cova2 1 s Faculty of Applied Economics, Aix-Marseille University, Aix en Provence, France IAE Graduate School of Management, Aix-Marseille University, Aix en Provence, France Correspondence: Ling Jiang, Faculty of Applied Economics, Aix-Marseille University, Aix en Provence, France. Tel: 33-6-5283-4488. E-mail: ling.jiang@univ-amu.fr Received: August 7, 2012 doi:10.5539/ijms.v4n6p1 Abstract The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of luxury counterfeit consumption by using the theories of luxury. This study is an interpretative qualitative research in which the social and personal meanings of luxury counterfeit consumption are explored. Both luxury and counterfeit provide a successful meaning transference. A good counterfeit can be regarded as the substitute good of luxury, which provides social meanings (conformity/status seeking/face saving), whereas it may also operate on a personal level (brand experience/fashion/adventure). The process of purchasing and consumption is fun and enjoyable due to the illegal nature of counterfeit. The research aspires to shed light on the essence of counterfeit in a brand perspective. Keywords: counterfeiting, brands, consumer behavior, China 1. Introduction How often do you see a dubious Louis Vuitton handbag or a pair of Prada sunglasses on sale in the street markets? The significant growth of luxury consumption over the past years has been accompanied with a dramatically rise of counterfeit. Consumer decisions to purchase fakes instead of originals have developed into a worldwide crisis. The counterfeit market is responsible for
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