Investigating Pakistan Consumers Buying Behavior for International Luxury

Fashion Brands

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Luxury and Fashion Management Department in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Fine Arts in Luxury and
Fashion Management
at
Savannah College of Art and Design
Sobia Hamid

Atlanta, Georgia

September 2014

Robert Kline Committee Chair

W.Patrick Fulbright Committee Member

Yami Joshi Committee Member

TABLE OF CONTENT

Contents Page No

List of Figures 1

Abstract 4

1. Introduction 5

1.1 Background 5

1.2 Establishing Information Gap 8

1.3 Preliminary Problem 9

1.4 Aim of the Research 9

1.5 Objective of the Study 11

1.6 Research Question 12

1.7 Delimitations 12

2. Overview of Pakistani Fashion Market 14

3. Theoretical Framework 20

3.1 Luxury 20

3.2 Consumer Buying Behavior 21

3.3 Consumer Buying Decision Making Process 21

3.4 Limited Decision Making 22

 3.5 Extensive Decision Making 23

3.6 Impulsive Decision Making 23

4. Research Methodology 24

4.1 Data Collection Method 25

4.2 Research Tools 25

4.3 Sampling Methods 26

4.4 Participants Selection Interviews 26

4.5 Research Sample 27

4.6 Questionnaire Distribution 27

4.7 Pilot Test 28

4.8 Method for Analyses 28

5. Primary Research Finding 29

5.1 Unstructured Interview Findings 29

5.2 Questionnaire Findings 33

6. Analysis 48

6.1 Types of Buying Decision 48

6.2 Need Recognition 54

6.3 Information Search 58

 6.4 Evaluation of Alternatives 61

6.4.1 Personal Clothing styles and cultural influence 61

6.4.2 Other Influential Factors 66

6.4.3 Product and Brand Attributes 68

6.4.4 Perception of Luxury and International Brands 70

6.5 Purchase 75

7. International Luxury Brands 79

7.1 Motivation for Internationalization 83

7.2 Factors Important for International Retail Expansion 86

7.2.1 Factors Within a Firm 86

7.2.2 Host Country Related Factors 88

7.3 Four Generic types of failures 92

7.4 Reason for Success 94

7.5 External Success Factors 96

7.6 Summary 99

8. Conclusion 102

9. Limitation and Suggestions for Further Research 105

 9.1 Appendix 1 107

9.2 Appendix 2 111

10. List of Refrences/ Bibliography 121

LIST OF FIGURES

Page No
3.1 Consumer Buying Decision Process 22

5. Questionnaire Finding 33

5.1 Figure 5.1 34

5.2 Figure 5.2 35

5.3 Figure 5.3 35

5.4 Figure 5.4 36

5.5 Figure 5.5 38

5.6 Figure 5.6 38

5.7 Figure 5.7 40

5.8 Figure 5.8 41

5.9 Figure 5.9 42

5.10 Figure 5.10 42

5.11 Figure5.11 43

5.12 Figure 5.12 44

5.13 Figure 5.13 44

5.14 Figure 5.14 45

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 5.15 Figure 5.15 46

5.16 Figure 5.16 47

6. Types of Buying Decission 45

6.1 Figure 6.1 49

6.2 Figure 6.2 50

6.3 Figure 6.3 50

6.4 Figure 6.4 52

6.5 Figure 6.5 55

6.6 Figure 6.6 56

6.7 Figure 6.7 59

6.8 Figure 6.8 62

6.9 Figure 6.9 64

6.10 Figure 6.10 65

6.11 Figure 6.11 65

6.12 Figure 6.12 66

6.13 Figure 6.13 70

6.14 Figure 6.14 71

6.15 Figure 6.15 75

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6.16 Figure 6.16 76

6.17 Figure 6.17 77

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Investigating Pakistan Consumers Buying Behavior for International Luxury

Fashion Brands

Sobia Hamid

September2014

Abstract

Currently there has been negligible amount of research done on consumer buying behavior for

international luxury fashion brands in Pakistan. The study is aimed at finding out the Pakistani

consumer buying behavior and decision making process. The results of my empirical findings

based on questionnaires, interviews, and secondary research are analyzed by using the traditional

model of consumer buying behavior and decision making process. Important factors that affect

the consumer buying behavior at each stage of the decision making process will be highlighted

and discussed in this report. We will also take a look at the current luxury market existing in

Pakistan and doing a brief study of our neighbors India and their increasing luxury market. This

research is based on the analysis of pre-requisites, for luxury brands, for retail expansion along

with success and failure factors to ensure a triumphant venture in the Pakistani market. The study

also looks at the external and internal environmental factors that would affect the

internationalization of fashion company into Pakistan.

The report serves to be an informational framework that could help international luxury fashion

brands wanting to enter the luxury fashion market in Pakistan.

4
1. Introduction

1.1 Background

There has been a significant amount of research done on consumer behavior in fashion and

particularly in the luxury fashion market. One can find a lot of research done on both the western

consumers and the Asian consumers. Most of the research done for the Asian consumers include

countries like China, Thailand, India and Japan, but there is a very negligible amount of research

done for Pakistani consumers in the field of consumer behavior for luxury fashion and even

consumer behavior in fashion generally for that matter. One of the most important factors that

differentiate Pakistani consumers from other luxury fashion consumers around the world is the

availability of luxury fashion in Pakistan.

There is no single foreign luxury brand operating in Pakistan therefore the awareness is very low

on the mass level. However, there are private boutiques who are selling luxury brands like Prada,

Armani, Dolce and Gabbana; to name a few. Another factor that is unique to Pakistan is the

extremely unequal distribution of wealth and polar difference in the lifestyle of the people. These

factors that make Pakistani consumers different will be further elaborated as the study moves on.

The fact that Pakistani consumers were not studies makes most of the research on luxury fashion

consumer behavior, not so applicable in the Pakistani market.

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International luxury brands are reluctant to invest in Pakistan, partly because of our image

problem and partly due to the lack of data to base prediction and returns on investment.(Arora

2011)

This industry has created a market within Pakistan, its been noted that it has created new

windows for development and growth for the designers and brands, therefore creating

employment opportunities for the upcoming young fresh graduates. There is a luxury fashion

market existing in Pakistan, but it is focused on bridal and formal wear. We will discuss this in

detail as we continue to study the market. In the 1980s the fashion industry and the market was

highly influenced by the introduction of cable tv. Moreover, by the middle of 19902 and the

start of the21st century there were countless designers coming up and stepping into the fashion

world.

The emergence of the new creative and artistic designers modified the fashion and trends of

Pakistani customers. The designers defined the future fashion progress and upcoming styles for

the people. They changed the culture of Pakistani fashion, so the fashion industry and market

went through a state of transition. The customers showed a difference in their tastes, choices and

even lifestyles; they got more fashion aware and adapt to new latest fashionable trends. As the

customers and the market of Pakistan were getting more and more energetic towards the variety

of designs and style, this motivated and encouraged the designers to form the fashion industry

more strongly and make the customers loyal towards them.

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There was intense competition among the fashion designers, each and everyone competing and

growing ahead of each other. This awareness of fashion and exclusivity has not only benefitted

the local fashion industry but also has created a lot of potential for the foreign luxury brands to

explore the Pakistani market. ( Shauket & Tariq 2009)

Media also played a great role in awaking todays consumers. It gave consumers access to

numerous new sources. As consumers started looking at the internet and televisions it provided

them additional knowledge of general better lifestyles along with fashion, something other then

what they were bring told by designer brands. With the help of internet they started reading

blogs, using social networking websites- which till now continues to update the consumer of the

current fashion scene from across the globe.

Due to the awareness level of the demand for updated products has increased immensely and

people want to be ranked at the same level when being compared to consumers in America and

Europe. Although there are no brand ambassadors in Pakistan associated with the luxury brands,

the consumers are still keen to buy their products and boast about them among their peers. But

these factors all show signs of hope and growing development of luxury fashion in Pakistan.

There should be greater awareness of availability of luxury goods and safer investments be made

in Pakistan, so that the luxury brands can enter the Pakistani market and cater to the growing

demand for luxury products.

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1.2 Establishing Information Gap

A huge information gap lies when it comes to the studies done on Pakistans luxury fashion

market. As discussed above, this is one of the factors why foreign luxury brands hesitate to

explore a market with such potential and considerable size. As I have discussed the available

information in the previous part, it has been noticed that the research that has been done, focuses

on the purchase patterns, economics and social indicators to draw out opinions about the

consumer response to luxury fashion and their perceptions about it. The existing research

certainly also highlights the key attributed of the consumer behavior regarding luxury fashion.

Having said that, I feel there is a need for a lot more questions to be answered in order to provide

an informational framework that could enable an international luxury brand to invest in Pakistan.

I believe that it is very important to understand the consumers and other dynamics of this market.

It is of utmost importance to understand the behavior of Pakistani consumers at each stage of the

decision making process while buying international luxury apparel brands and the factors that

influence their buying behavior towards international luxury brands. It is also of importance to

understand how International Brands can better cater to the Pakistani market. All these problems

are to be addressed and as of know this area has not been really researched about in Pakistan. It

is also important to find out that how the trend of social system influences the consumption

patterns, perception of the people towards luxury in itself and foreign brands, and how the

economic factors affect their behavior towards buying foreign luxury brands. The existing

8
research and studies also lacks to establish some concrete facts about the emotional factors and

associations such as belonging, appreciation and acceptance in the society and Status

consciousness and thats how these factors play a role in consumer behavior and decision making

process.

1.3 Preliminary Problem:

Despite the fact the figures reveal that Pakistan could be a huge potential market for luxury

brands, a lot more factors have to be studied to develop a framework of information that would

motivate and attract the foreign luxury brands to explore this market.

The lack of information about consumer behavior, habits and purchase patterns, regarding

luxury fashion products, has been identified the major problem. It is pertinent to find out the

lifestyle patterns of the target market and also the local taste in fashion that differs from the

western consumers taste. The awareness about fashion and international luxury brands among

the local consumers also remains as one of the areas that needs to be understood and

addressed.

1.4 Aim of the Research

I have chosen to investigate the consumer behavior regarding foreign luxury fashion brands in

Pakistan, consumer intentions and their behavior at different stages of the decision making

process towards the purchase of foreign luxury brands. The aim is to investigate and research

that despite the fact that no international luxury brand has no physical presence in Pakistan, what

9
makes the Pakistani consumers still buy these brands, what are the factors that influence and

motivate or attract them to buy foreign luxury brands and what attributed do they associate with

international luxury brands in terms of price, quality and fashion forwardness.

It will also be of interest to find out the social and cultural factors that positively or negatively

affect the consumer behavior in terms of international luxury brands. There are only very few

multi-brand stores in Pakistan that import and sell the foreign luxury brands. Other than that

Pakistani consumers either import these luxury brands from abroad or they do purchase them

when they go abroad for traveling.

It is also pertinent to mention here that only a small percentage of Pakistans can afford to

purchase luxury brands, but since the overall population of the country is nearly 200 million, it

still ends up being a big percentage of market share for any foreign luxury brand. I also want to

look into the matter in terms of the spending patterns for consumers and what makes them pay

higher prices, since these brands when imported in Pakistan cost much more than what they

actually cost if bought in other countries.

This is intended to frame out a research that in the future can help to understand the luxury

fashion market in Pakistan. The research will be useful for businesses and entrepreneurs who

wish to bring international brands to Pakistan through collaborations or licensing and also for

international luxury brands wanting to enter the Pakistani luxury fashion market. It is intended

that this research could be used to better serve the consumers while understanding their decision

making process and behavior towards international luxury brands thus benefiting brands or

retailers.

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The research is conducted in order to study in deep the consumer buying behavior towards

luxury foreign brands. After going through the paper, the companies interested in investing in

Pakistan can be sure whether to invest or not in a country like Pakistan. The foreign companies

can gain insights for making important marketing decisions and to test the market feasibility for

their brands.

1.5 Objectives of the Study

From all the discussion done above and the identification of the problem, I have set following to

be the objectives of our study. With these objectives in mind, I would further continue the

research to establish and fulfill the information needs.

1. To investigate the consumer buying behavior regarding foreign luxury fashion brands in

Pakistan.

2. Consumer intentions and their behavior at different stages of decision making process towards

the purchase of foreign luxury brands.

3. What are the factors that influence and motivate consumers to buy foreign luxury brands?

4. What attributed do they associate with international luxury brands in terms of price, quality

and fashion forwardness.

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1.6 Research Questions

1. How and which factors influence the Pakistani consumers buying behavior towards

international luxury brands at each stage of buying decision making process?

2. What are the characteristics of consumer Buying behavior in Pakistan for luxury fashion?

1.7 Delimitations

The research on consumer buying behavior in Pakistan is based on unstructured interviews,

questionnaire surveys, secondary research and some existing knowledge I had from being a

fashion student in Pakistan. The results are solely applicable on Pakistani market and the results

do not show the overall consumer buying behavior of Pakistani consumers, but only of the

consumers who were identified as the ones as luxury fashion consumers.

The study only focuses on the consumers buying behavior and decision making process till the

purchase stage and post purchase behavior has not been discussed. As there has not been a lot of

research done on the Pakistani luxury fashion market before; this report only serves a purpose to

give highlights of consumers buying behavior and decision making process towards international

luxury fashion brands in Pakistan.

Due to the shortage of time and resources the research has been conducted only in Lahore. As

this city is the second largest city of Pakistan, home to Pakistans fashion and textile industry,

12
holds a multi ethnic population and is the second highest GDP per capita in Pakistan. The

research is limited to only 125 respondents and could have been done with more people if there

was more time, which would have given more accurate and authentic results. Also, this study is

focused on the consumer buying behavior and decision making process towards foreign luxury

brands only and there is possibility that consumers would respond in a different manner to other

product categories.

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2. Overview of Pakistani Fashion Market

The fashion market of Pakistan is in the nurturing stages at the moment. It is being updated and

altered as so as the designer equips the customer with new trends and styles. However the entire

credit isnt only going to the fashion professionals, but also to the majority of the fashion

oriented customers and people who have been instrumental in motivating the stylists and fashion

designers in moving ahead (Nisar, 2004 cited by Shaukat, Azhar and Tariq 2009). The fashion

industry has seen a fast well developed surge from the 1980s into the 21st century, transforming

from an ordinary traditional tailor culture into a radical fast paced fashion design houses.

This position of the fashion designers in Pakistan is partly in debt to the fashion institutions like

The Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD) and The Pakistan Fashion Design Council

(PFDC). These two organizations have served as a platform for the designers to get together and

present something outstanding to the consumers of Pakistan.

PIFD has played a keen role in educating the layman about fashion and also giving a rise to the

prospective young designers and enabling them to earn a respectful name in the fashion market.

Some of the well produced and crafted designers of PIFD include Maria B, Hassan Sheharyar

Yasin, Deepak Parwani and Maheen Khan, to name a few. These designers have played a crucial

role in transforming the fashion industry of Pakistan into a more competitive luxury oriented

market. They are considered most reputed and famous designers in Pakistan, who are responsible

for polishing the existing fashion industry.

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The Pakistan Fashion Design Coucil has been set up by 25 of the top designers to create a way to

amalgamate the fashion styles and trends of various designers. They have also created an

international level platform where designers can present their work to both domestic and

international consumers.

Pakistan is slowly becoming a very attractive market for the apparel brands. Many European and

American brands have already introduced themselves in Pakistan or are planning on entering the

market very soon. For examples brands like Levis, Nike, Reebok, Next, Mothercare, Monsoon

has seen success in the Pakistani market and are planning on increasing their presence in the

country. Over the last decade or so, Pakistan has seen a culture change.

The globalization, or as Pakistani call it Americanization of the society is changing the attitude

and the lifestyle of people, especially in main urban cities of Pakistan. Due to the abnormal

growth of electronic media, people are becoming more and more aware of new trends, fashion

and is rapidly trickling down to the masses.

There are certain indicators that would reveal that how complex and different Pakistan is when it

comes to the consumer spending patterns, all which is mainly due to extremely unequal

distribution of wealth in the country. First nine months of fiscal year 2010-2011 saw production

of television sets jump 28.6%, whereas automobile production increased by 14.6% according to

Economic Survey of Pakistan 2010-2011.

From July 2010 to March 2011, production of cars, light commercial vehicles and two and three

wheeler vehicles grew by 16.4%, 20.5% and 12.6% respectively. These figures confirm the

15
return of Pakistans appetite for consumers durable after a significant drop from 2007-2008 to

2008-2009. On the other hand all the economic indicators show a decline in the economy, for

examples Pakistan faces very serious crises of energy shortages, continuing militancy and

political violence which has led to economic instability in the past and continues to be a reason

of concern for the coming years. These facts, if taken in concern, indicate that Pakistani

consumers, especially the top 10% are very resilient to the economic decline and are likely to

show a continuous growth in their spending pattern, especially on items that are labeled as a

luxury. (Defense. Pk. 2011)

Religion and social/ethical issues play an extremely important role in the fashion industry of

Pakistan. The designers have to market the products and designs keeping in mind the trends and

mindsets of the people. Many of the consumers, especially women still follow the Islamic way of

clothing, however, there is a certain percentage of consumers who have adapted the so called

western style.

The group of people who have adopted the western style are labeled as fashion innovators, since

they are the first ones to follow the western fashion trends. But considering that Pakistan is still

going through an ideological crisis due to the recent Taliban influence in smaller towns of

Pakistan, the fashion industry in Pakistan is treading very lightly regarding what kind of clothes

they introduce. The designers and brands have to keep in mind the various limitations of certain

consumers, who might have the spending power but are more conservative than the others. They

have to keep in mind the ethics, culture and religious barriers.

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The year 2011 started with an economic depression (Defence. PK.2011) however fashion and

luxury goods market accounted for 12.9% of total retail value in Pakistan showing an incredible

10% increase. Which is contradicting with the economic condition of Pakistan, however, one has

to realize that the sector of the public that spends money on luxury items might be negligible

currently but is increasing slowly. Mainly due to increasing awareness among the consumers.

The consumer group that had the money mostly belong to rural areas and werent aware of

luxury brands. These consumers would spend money on buying gold or real estate.

The recent trend in spending money on travel, luxury heritage brands is increasing day by day.

The younger generation is more aware of what trend the western world is following. Another

important factor is the introduction of cable across the country. This has made western television

and media accessible to people in Pakistan. With shows like Gossip girl and 90210 Beverlly

Hills being a hit shows, many of the younger generation have started following them.

Keeping all this in mind, there seems to be a future for luxury goods in Pakistan, ignoring the

economic and political instability as well as the falling value of the rupee and high inflation

levels. The value of prestige that comes from buying luxury items in Pakistan may be higher than

the western countries, as the importance of a status and class is much higher than the western

society. Pakistan has 22.3% people below the poverty line (CIA world fact book, 2012) but the

10% of the highest income group spends about 30.2% of the total national spending. This shows

the unequal distribution of wealth that Pakistan would a good prospect for luxury items in the

fashion industry.

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Overall, Pakistans luxury goods market has a great potential in the future to advance. Consumer

spending remains high in Pakistan at US$75 billion, which is 40% of GDP (Newnations.com). A

lot of this is due to increase in remittance from Pakistani people living in America, Europe and

Middle East. In many cases the remittance sent is for families living in Pakistan, thus increasing

consumer spending. With the Dollar and Euro are going strong against the Pakistani Rupee, this

means that families receiving remittance have a larger amount of money to spend than before.

This translates into purchasing of luxury items like high-end cars along with fashion items,

which might seem at odds with the general state of the economy.

Big companies who want to enter Pakistan knows the importance and role of Pakistan Fashion

industry. Recently Porsche joined hands with the fashion designers in Pakistan for its global

launch of Porsche Macan. Porsche conducted an event which was a celebration of luxury

lifestyle, bringing together, Polo, Fashion and Porsche. The event was attended by the designers,

socialites and media personality as well as national Polo players and fans. The event was called

Porsche Polo Diaries Fashion Show, which was just one of the several activities planned by

Porsche Pakistan to reveal the Porsche Macan. Speaking about the Porsche Polo Diaries Fashion

Show, Ansa Hasan, Marketing Manager at the Porsche Center Lahore said:

In line with Porsches global philosophy of luxury, glamour and innovation and in celebration

we have drawn from our now iconic Porsche Style Diaries campaign theme. For this prestigious

showcase, we have engaged Pakistans leading designers to create a diverse capsule collection

revolving around the themes of lifestyles and fashion. Lifestyle and Fashion have always been

18
synergetic and at the Porsche Center Lahore we celebrate this synergy of spirit with the Porsche

Style Diaries Fashion Show.

Overall, Pakistans luxury goods market has a great potential in the future to advance, it might

not be as developed as of Europe or America or even China, but there are positive signs in the

current market for luxury brands to make their mark in Pakistan. With the potential of the

Pakistani luxury fashion market, local specialty boutiques like Mens Store, Be-Smart and

Famous Brands-names synonymous to luxury retail outlets- took advantage of the awareness of

people and became pioneers. They have played a major part in contributing towards the trends

wearing foreign luxury fashion brands in Pakistan. These specialty boutiques have met the needs

of consumers from many different social and ethnic groups by providing a wide variety of luxury

brands and products. (Fashion Central PK 2011).

With the inclusion of these high end luxury brands in Pakistan, the awareness of the general

public has immensely increased. People are becoming more fashion forward as well as quality

conscious and expect finest material and craftsmanship not only from international luxury brands

but also from local designers. These boutiques are working in a very volatile market, considering

the economic condition of Pakistan, but they see a bright future for themselves in the luxury

market and are considering expanding further in this sector. Despite all the inflation, depressed

real estate prices, a near bankrupt government and rising security problems, companies are still

taking Pakistan as a lucrative market for high end luxury business. Asim Buksh, the owner of

one of the pioneer Muli-Brand Luxury retail store/boutique Mens (MENS) Store says:

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 I dont watch Tv and I dont read the newspaper. Pakistan at the end of the day is a $350

billion dollar market. Now if you want to look at it purely as this is happening and that is

happening, so there is no business to be done, then that is your personal perspective. I look at it

as a $350 billion dollar market and I want a share of it. (News Line,2009)

3 Theoretical Frameworks

The study will be done using the concepts of luxury and the traditional theories on consumer

buying behavior and decision making process. Due to the limitation of time, only the major and

most important theories to be used in the study will be highlighted. The theories will be used in

detail during the analyses of primary research.

3.1 Luxury

There are different groups of people who interpret the concept of luxury in their own manner

according to their own emotions or state of mind. (Kendall, 2009, p. 375). Some define it as the

beauty of object, excellence of products while the some refer to luxury as a concept of

creativity, and the beauty of the object. Whereas, another group of people will states that

luxury item is the one that has some kind magic and is never out of fashion. There is also a

group of consumers who believes that luxury is characterized by a feeling of belonging to a

minority or a small group of owners. (Kapferer, 1998 cited by Schroeder & Morling, 2006). To

20
summarize, one can then say that the luxury products are those that appeal to the emotions and

state of mind of any individual, which could be a diamond ring or a black plain Chanel dress

(Kendall, 2009, p. 375).

3.2 Consumer Buying Behavior

The term Consumer Behavior is described as the behavior of an individual when he undergoes

the process of selecting a product, and the interaction he has with the products while purchasing

those products. The behavior of every individual varies from situation to situation. In some

situations, the consumer is only the purchaser and not the user. Purchasers are those individuals

who actually buy the product and but not necessarily use it. Example: buying gifts for family or

friends. Whereas users, are those who might not purchase the product themselves, but are the end

use of the product. Example they receive a perfume from a friend and use it for personal use. In

this situation the friend is the purchaser and the receiver is the user. (Solomon & Robolt, 2009,

p.38 )

3.3 Consumer Buying Decision Making Process

The traditional model of buying decision making process (See Figure 3.1) is based on 5 basic

stages, namely 1) Need Recognition, 2) Information Search, 3) Evaluation of Alternatives, 4)

Purchase and 5) Post Purchase stages. When a consumer intends to buy a product or a brand, he

or she goes through a rational series of stages to come to a conclusion. This kind of process takes

place where consumers are highly involved in the decision and the overall decision has a high

perceived risk or consequence, either monetarily or psychologically (Solomon & Robolt, 2009,

21
p.367). There are certain factors that affect the consumer behavior at each stage of the decision

making process which would be explained and analyzed later in the chapter analysis.

Figure 3.1: Consumer Buying Decision Making ,Process.

( Source: Solomon & Robolt, 2009)

3.4 Limited Decision Making

Limited Decision Making occurs when consumers need to obtain information about an

unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category. This kind of decision requires a moderate

amount of time for information gathering, however, consumers still go through all of the five

stages of the traditional decision making process. (Majumdar, 2010, p.46).

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3.5 Extensive Decision Making

Extensive Decision Making takes place where infrequently bought products are in

consideration. These decisions carry a high degree of economic, performance, psychological

risks. Examples include luxury products, cars, homes, computers, education. Consumers spend a

lot of time acquiring information and deciding. Information from the internet, media, friends and

relatives, store personnel, etc. In this type of decision making consumers extensively go through

all six stages of the buying process (Majumdar, 2010, p.46).

3.6 Impulsive Decision Making

Impulsive Decision making is done when consumers make unconscious decisions about buying a

product. It is based on an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment action triggered by product display or

point-of-sale promotion (Piron1991, p. 512). This kind of decision takes place as a result of

either of the following situations which are then followed by respective behaviors of the decision

process. (Rook & Hoch 1985, p. 23-27).

1) A sudden and spontaneous desire to act accompanied by state of urgency,

2) A state of psychological disequilibrium in which a person can feel temporarily out of control,

3) The onset of conflict and struggle that is resolved by an immediate action,

4) Minimal objective evaluation as a result of emotional influence being dominant

5) A lack of regard for the consequences.

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4. Research Methodology

The research is a combination of both Secondary and Primary research. The secondary research

has been gathered which is relative to the identified problem and will be used in this report later

in analyzing findings and to give an overview of the market in discussion. The Primary research

approach utilized is both the exploratory and descriptive research. Descriptive research is more

specific and focused than exploratory research. Descriptive research is intended to produce clear,

well-founded answers to few questions or specific factual information, while exploratory

research is conducted because a problem has not been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps

determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects. (Bryman,

2011)

The aim of the exploratory research is to get in-depth insights of consumer beliefs and attitudes

and for that matter unstructured Interview format was chosen, which is the most convenient

approach is when one is looking for qualitative data. This enabled us to explore more out of the

respondents beliefs, attitudes and behavior. The descriptive approach was utilized to further

elaborate and cross check the results of the exploratory research. Questionnaire survey method

was chosen for this purpose. The data collection methods were chosen accordingly. (Bryman,

2011)

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4.1 Data Collection Method:

The secondary data is the information that already exists and has been collected from then

internet and relative books. All the secondary data that has been used is referenced accordingly.

The study used a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.

Qualitative research enabled us to explore attitudes, behavior, emotions and experiences, as it

made possible to get an in-depth opinion from participants. Qualitative research was used as the

basis of quantitative research (refining the research questions for applying it to a large group).

Quantitative research focuses on smaller group so through quantitative research, the general

market knowledge was gained. In this way, we benefited from the strengths of each approach

and minimized their respective limitations. Therefore the research approach is triangulation. This

approach facilitates to counteract the weaknesses in both qualitative and quantitative research.

(Bryman, 2011)

4.2 Research Tools

The research used the following research techniques:

Unstructured Interviews

Surveys / Questionnaire

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4.3 Sampling Methods:

The sampling technique we exercised was non-probability sampling. Furthermore purposive

sampling was adopted as by using this approach. Samples were selected by keeping the purpose

in mind, by using this approach i selected the sample of the specific predefined groups that i was

seeking. I.e. group of people (Male and female) that could actually afford luxury fashion. This

was done through using existing contacts, friends and family. This also led to snowball effect as

these people were then asked to introduce me to more people that belonged to the desired sample

specifications to take part in this research survey. This method reduces the chances of error and

high level of variability in the results and thus allows conducting a focused study to address the

problem. By doing this I was able to minimize the chances of error. (Bryman, 2011)

4.4 Participant Selection for Interviews:

The convenient sampling method was adopted for this purpose of choosing participants in these

interviews. The participants were accessed through common friends and were asked to take part

in this research. This was done not only to be sure that the interviewee belonged to the desired

sample of the population, but also because this approach gave me a level of comfort and ease to

discuss in depth the problem and get an insight into the respondents attitudes, beliefs and

behavior. As discussed earlier, that Pakistan is a status conscious society, interviewing an

unknown person would have not have given me accurate information about the responses and if

they were close to reality or just a projection of a false status.

26
4.5 Research Sample

Questionnaire Sample Size: 125

Interviews Sample Size: 8

Age Group: 20 50

Social Classes: Upper-Middle and Above ( income group :Rs50,000 to Rs300,000 and

above) this group has been chosen only because these are the ones who can afford to have

luxury fashion brands. People were chosen from the area they were residing in. People

from upscale locations who has the highest property rates were chosen.

Geographical Areas: Urban Posh areas of Lahore, Pakistan.

Interests in luxury fashion

Distribution method: Delivery, self administered, collection and email.

4.6 Questionnaire Distribution

The distribution method used was self administered and delivery & collection (Burns & Bush,

2007). In the self administered questionnaires, I conducted the research in places like high end

restaurants, Boutiques, Spas and Beauty salons and Cafs. During the delivery and collection

section, the questionnaires were distributed in different areas of Lahore to people that had

already identified as being the ones who could afford luxury fashion. It is also pertinent to

mention that the sample included people not fragmenting them according to professions, but

27
based on their household income, since the family system is integrated into Pakistan society and

the social status of the overall family determines ones behavior regarding the disposal of money.

4.7 Pilot Test:

The Pilot test was carried out to refine the questionnaire and sample size for the pilot test was 20,

the errors and areas of confusion were dealt after the pilot test (Burns & Bush, 2007).

4.8 Method for Analysis

The analysis is based on the traditional theories on Consumer Buying behavior and Decision

Making Process. The analysis is a combination of empirical findings from the interviews and

questionnaires and the theories that already exist in the luxury perceptions, consumer buying

behavior and decision making process. The analysis also reflects the findings of the secondary

research. The aim is to establish how Pakistani consumers behave and are characterized while

fitting them into the traditional consumer behavior and decision making model.

28
5. Primary Research Findings

5.1 Unstructured Interview Findings

For unstructured interviews I selected certain topics to be discussed to gain an insight of the

consumers. Later on the results were then more specifically applied to a larger sample of people

to check if their responses were coherent. This approach leads to the designing of a questionnaire

which was more precise and descriptive. In total 8 consumers and 2 industry representatives

were interviewed at different timings and occasions to get an insight of their personal view about

fashion in order to gauge their shopping patterns.

The interviews were conducted in an unstructured manner and the discussions was kept casual

with all these individuals. Since the purpose of conducting interviews was to develop a

framework for qualitative research through questionnaires, and the final analysis is more based

on the questionnaire findings. I will discuss the salient features of the interview results in the

latter sector. (See Appendix 1 for interview Guide)

When asked about the meaning of luxury, I got mixed answers. Everybody had their own

individual opinion about luxury. For some individual luxury was all about high quality products,

while for others luxury meant rarity and exclusivity of that particular product. Some thought the

quality or exclusivity of the products didnt really matter, but the brand image was the most

important factor. For these consumers buying an expensive branded item was a luxury in itself.

Farzana Bari, a famous socialite in Lahore, when asked to give her opinion about what she

29
thought was a luxury product, she said For me luxury is something which no one else has worn

before and is exclusive

The majority of the interviewees perceived luxury products as expensive, high end products and

according to them the brands justified their price. They believed that if the brands are providing

them with something so unique and luxurious than they deserves to charge higher prices.

Although majority believed that even though brands justified their prices, they still did not like

the overpricing of products when they come back to Pakistan. They were willing to pay the

higher price of a bag they bought in New York, but when it came to spending money on a local

designer in Pakistan, who might have the same quality and is as luxurious, they are hesitant or

even in most cases unwilling to part with their money.

From the interviews, it seemed that the foreign luxury brands fulfill different needs of different

individuals. For example, for some it was all about holding a good quality, unique product which

was fulfilling their need for uniqueness, some were just buying to project a certain lifestyle,

while others were buying to be appreciated in the society they belong to which in return was

fulfilling their need for power and appreciation.

Participants of the interviews were very much satisfied with the quality, price and designing of

the international brands, but the major issue that almost all the participants mentioned was that

of the outdated range from which they had to buy products. They said that the suppliers have

never stock the complete updated range in the shops. Every time they go to buy something they

have a very limited choice to pick from. Since most go abroad during summer vacations, many

30
do not get to see the full range in the store. Mainly because either the spring collection is coming

to an end and the fall collection is yet to be introduced. Saba Khan, a housewife, said:

If some unplanned wedding or function pops up where I must go, since online shopping is still

not a norm here. Eventually I end up buying from the local stores who are stocking foreign

brands. However, personally I prefer to buy shoes and bags from abroad.

When individuals were asked about their selection of products from foreign brands keeping in

mind the culture of the country, almost all of the men said that they had no issue with wearing

what these foreign brands had to offer in terms of clothes and their designs, however, only few

women agreed with the men, whereas majority was of the opinion that the clothing style of

international brands were not to their liking mainly due to religious and cultural elements.

However, all of them agreed that they like the accessory part of the international brands, which

included handbags, shoes, sun glasses, costume and fashion jewelry. They said that although we

hang out in the crowd where nobody would raise fingers at us, but we still are raised in this

country and prefer to wear something in which we also feel comfortable walking around in front

of other men.

When inquired about their decision making process, as to what element of a brand or product

attracts them to it. The majority of the consumers said when they are buying a product locally,

only then do they think and evaluate their buying decision before making the purchase because

it is an expensive product and the value of the product. They, however, mentioned that when

they are on vacation most of their buying decisions are impulsive and dont think twice before

31
buying an expensive product. One major reason for this impulsive buying decision is that when

they are on vacation, especially in cities like NewYork or London, they feel that the products

they buy and see are from the new season and wont be able to buy them later if they miss out

now.

It is more like impulsive buying decision mixed with urgency that if they miss out on they might

not be able to purchase it later on. Few of the participants also mentioned that since they are in

the vacation mode they end up buying items that they might not use in the future. Haseeb

Akram, a freelance graphic designer in Lahore, said:

When I go abroad for vacations I have also been given money by my parents, and this money is

extra money other than what I have earned, so when I dont have a limited budget to shop since I

dont really think too much before picking up something I like, until or unless I have already

planned it from Pakistan that I will buy

When asked if the economic conditions of the country influence their purchasing decisions. Most

of the individuals said it hasnt really affected their purchasing, since they are still earning a

good amount of money and are able to afford luxury items once in a while. In the end when the

consumers were asked if they would start shopping more from Pakistan if the luxury brands were

to bring their updated range in stores.

Everybody was very overwhelmed with the idea and said that if the current range in stores would

be same as those in New York or London than they are willing to pay the same amount as what

they pay when they buy from abroad, and wouldnt object to buying from Pakistan.

32
One of the interviewees, Amna Tallal, a lawyer answered:

Of course! I think I would be the happiest person to buy locally so at least that way I will save

the overweight luggage fee I pay at airports every time, and then I can buy another pair of shoes

from that money

The results of the interviews were used to develop a questionnaire to thoroughly investigate the

consumer buying behavior and decision making process of Pakistani consumers for international

luxury brands.

5.2 Questionnaire Findings

This chapter analyses the findings of the questionnaire against each question. For all the

questions serve an important purpose and were designed to investigate into a particular

characteristic of the consumer behavior. By asking questions in a direct and easy manner, I was

able to analyze the finding in a more concise form.

A total of 125 questionnaires was distributed and each questionnaire has 24 different questions.

Some questions served the same purpose, but are positioned at different places to re-confirm and

see if the responses relate and authenticate each other.

The first five questions are related to the demographics of the respondents and include

investigation about their age, gender, education, profession and monthly income. The results of

these findings will be used as the study goes further into the analysis part. The following are the

33
findings of all the questions starting from question 6. To read the complete questionnaire: (See

Appendix ).

Q6. What is your preferred clothing style?

When the consumers were asked about their preferred clothing style, 56.80% of men and women

preferred western clothing style, 27.20% had the liking for eastern clothing and only 16% of the

people were of the opinion that they would prefer fusion clothing (See Figure 5.1). From this we

can see that the majority of the respondents prefers western and fashion clothing.

7. Which of the following is true for you?

a) Usually I am the 1st one among my peers to try out new fashion.(Rist Takers)

34
b) I dont follow fashion I make my own fashion statement.(Trend Setters)

c) I follow the prevailing trends(ongoing).(Fashion Followers)

Figure 5.2

35
Out of the total respondents for the questionnaire 39.20% defined themselves as risk takers, in

which the maximum belonged to the age group under 20, 10.40% defined themselves as trend

setters, the majority belonging from age group of 31-35, and approximately 50.40% rated

themselves as followers of the prevailing trends. This group was from age group of 36-45 and

above. (See Figure 5.2 &5.3)

8. Luxury for you means to be something:

When the consumers were asked about how they perceive luxury fashion goods, (See Figure 5.4)

58% stated that luxury fashion goods are something rare and exclusiv to them, 19.20% stated it is

36
something expensive for them and 24.80% stated that they consider these goods luxurious as

they are famous among their peers and family members and also around the world.

9. What western luxury fashion brand do you like the most? (You can write more than one)

This was an open ended questionnaire and respondents were asked to mention names of the

brands they liked the most, a few common luxury brand names were mentioned such as Louis

Vuitton, Georgio Armani, Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Rolex, Cartier, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana,

Hermes, Bvlgari, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, Fendi, Parada, Chloe. Some also

mentioned Michael Kors, Coach as well as high street brands like Zara, Mango, Next and Diesel,

which they considered luxury brands as well.

10. How often do you purchase products from International luxury fashion brands?

When asked about the purchase frequency of luxury products, individual having income from

300,000+ were the ones who purchased most often, followed by individuals of income bracket

200,000-299000. Individuals having income ranging from 150,000-199,000 and 100,000-

149,000 purchased often too, and individuals having 50,000-99,000 said that they rarely

purchased luxury fashion products (See Figure 5.5)

Purchase frequency distributed by Income groups- ( All figures are in Pakistani Rupees)

37
It is clear that the purchase frequency goes up as the income goes up which was very predictable,

but the fact that people from the lower income groups also shop, weather rarely needs to be

discussed in the chapter covering analyses.

11. How is your purchase frequency affected in the last 5 years considering the instable and

declining economic conditions of Pakistan?

38
When the consumers were asked if the economic conditions in Pakistan have affected their

disposable income or changed their purchase frequency, a major chunk of 80.80% were

indifferent, i.e. they said it has not affected their purchase pattern and only 19.20% said they

have started spending less on luxury fashion products. (See Figure 5.6)

12. What was the last luxury fashion product that you purchased? Please also mention the

brand name.

When asked about the last luxury product they had purchased, respondents had very varied

answers such as LV scarf, Rolex watch, LV and Gucci Bags, Versace sunglasses, Dior makeup,

Channel jewelry, Michael Kors and Coach Bag, some also mentioned a jacket or top from Zara,

next and Mango as purchase of their luxury products.

13. When you go for shopping a luxury fashion product, which of the following statements

is true for you:

a) I usually have already decided what product and what brand I want to buy.(Extensive

decision making)

b) I know what product do I need, I would go to the market and choose from the available

brands and the merchandise.(Limited Decision Making)

c) I really dont know what I want and usually my decision is purely impulsive(Impulsive)

39
The consumers were asked about their buying behavior towards luxury fashion goods, (See

Figure 5.7) 32.80% identified that they have limited decision making, 20% identified that they

have an extensive decision making and 47.20% had an impulsive decision making behavior

towards luxury fashion goods.

14. Rate the following in terms of their importance while buying International Luxury

branded products. (1 as the least important and 5 being the most important)

Price Design Quality Brand image Exclusivity

After taking the average of the overall ratings, we found out that respondents have ranked

exclusivity to be the most important, followed by brand image as the second most important

attribute. The design of the product was considered as somewhat important, whereas the quality

40
and price were considered as the least important factors that consumers consider while making a

purchase of an international luxury fashion brand.

15. Rate the following attributes of the international luxury fashion brands available in

Pakistan. (1 as the least appropriate and 5 being the most appropriate)

Price Quality Design Updated Range

Respondents were of the opinion that the luxury fashion brands available in Pakistan had the

same quality as of products available abroad, the design and the price are also justified and

appropriate for them but when asked about the updated ranges, they marked it as least

appropriate

16. Do you think that luxury fashion brands justify their price?

When the consumers were asked if the prices of luxury fashion products are justified or not, (See

Figure 5.8) 32.80% strongly agreed that they are justified, 25.60% agreed, 30.40% were

41
indifferent they neither agreed nor disagreed, however 11.20% disagreed completely. The results

show that most of the Pakistanis think that luxury brands justify their price.

17. Where do you usually buy luxury fashion products?

(See Figure 5.9) The consumers were even asked from where do they shop for their luxury

fashion products from, 58.40% said they shop from abroad and 41.60% said they buy them

locally from stored where they have stocked luxury brands, in Pakistan.

18. Which statement best describes your behavior for luxury products.

42
The available statements were not given to consumers in the direct context, but we used

statements that indirectly explained the mentioned terms. (See appendix 2 for questionnaire).

When the consumers were asked to describe their Personality, behavior for luxury fashion goods,

42.6 % labeled themselves on the basis of Need for Uniqueness, 33.4% labeled themselves as

on the basis of materialism and 24% labeled on the basis of Need for Power. (See Figure 5.10)

19. What Influences you to buy a particular luxury product or brand?

Out of all the consumers, when they were asked what influences them to buy a luxury product or

a brand 18.40% stated the brand image influences them, 10.40% said fashion forwardness, 16%

said celebrities attract them, 21.60% said friend and their social circle affects their mindset while

33.60% said their social status influences them to buy them. (See Figure 5.11)

43
20. Which of the following is a true reason for you to buy a luxury fashion product

When the consumers were asked to state the true reason for them buying any fashion, luxury

product, 8.80% said they buy to feel a sense of belonging to a particular group, 16.80% said they

feel self confident by buying them and 74.40% said lifestyle projection.(See Figure 5.12)

21. Do you think if your favorite luxury brand is made easily accessible in Pakistan, If

there are more means of purchasing luxury brands in our country, such as more retail

stores and online shopping service, would it increase your purchasing frequency?

44
When the consumers were asked if there were more retail outlets and online shopping services

made available in Pakistan for fashion and luxury brands, will it affect their purchasing

frequency; 58.40% strongly agreed to it, 20.80% agreed 11.20% were of no idea neither agreed

nor disagreed and 9.60% disagreed with the idea. (See Figure 5.13)

22. Which of the following statement describes your stance on the purchase of a luxury

fashion product online?

The consumers were asked about how they would want to and how they buy fashion products

and the mode of purchase, 12% preferred online shopping, 80% believed that shopping from a

physical POS is better and 8% were totally indifferent. (See Figure 5.14)

23. How does Pakistani culture and values affect your purchase decision for international

luxury brands? (Please leave this question if you are a male)

a) It does not affect me at all, I buy whatever is in fashion internationally.

45
b) I take into consideration the social norms and make sure that the garment is not too body

reveling.

The results show that majority (64.8%) was of the view that the cultural norms do not affect their

purchase when it comes to the international luxury brands; however a significant amount of

respondents (35.2%) said that they do consider the cultural aspect while they are shopping luxury

brands. The following figure 5.15 graphically explains the results.

24. Your source of information about international luxury fashion brands is/are: (You can

select more than one option)

a) Internet and Social Media

b) Family and friends

c) Magazines and other promotional medium

d) Visiting stores

46
Figure 5.16 explains that the majority of Pakistani draw out their information about international

luxury brands either through the internet and social media (49%) or by visiting the stores (34%).

However, they draw very less information or give less importance to the information that flows

through family and friends (11%) and Magazines and other promotional mediums. The reason

behind Pakistani getting less information from magazines is because of the fact that since no

brand is operating in Pakistan, there is rarely any information about their products in Pakistan

rather the magazines are stuffed with advertisements and information about the local designers.

47
6. Analysis

To analyze that how different factors affect Pakistani consumer behavior regarding luxury

fashion at each stage of the buying decision making process, I will be using the traditional model

of buying decision making process which is based on 5 basic stages:

1) Need Recognition

2) Information Search

3) Evaluation of Alternatives

4) Purchase and Post Purchase stages (Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p.367).

As the research question states, the main aim is to find out how and what factors influence, affect

Pakistani consumers buying behavior at each different stage of buying decision making process.

I will go through each one of these stages till the purchase decision and analyze these factors

while using our research findings and relative theory.

6.1 Types of Buying Decision

From the research, I analyzed that Pakistani consumers were involved in three kinds of decision

making process. But the difference was related to the location of purchase. This difference in

behavior was identified in the interviews as well, but the results of the Questionnaires further

validate this finding. Results from question number 13 show that 32.80% identified, they have

48
limited decision making, 20% identified that they have an extensive decision making and

47.20% had an impulsive decision making behavior towards luxury fashion goods. (See Figure

6.1)

But these results do not show the correct picture of the consumers decisions. When these results

were compared to the results of Question number 17, which inquired about their location of

purchase, I found that there is a direct relationship between the location of purchase and type of

decision that Pakistani consumers make. Before I can establish a relationship between the type of

decision and the location of purchase, lets look at the figures regarding the purchase location of

most respondents for international luxury brands. Figure 6.2 shows the result of Question

number 17, which inquires the purchase location from respondents.

49
In the figure above, you can observe that most of the respondents buy their luxury fashion

products from abroad. If we compare and analyze the relationship between the purchase location

and the type of decision, we get the following Graph (Figure 6.3).

The graph (Figure 6.3) shows that when people are shopping abroad, an overwhelming

percentage is involved in making impulsive buying decisions, whereas when analyzing their

50
behavior while they are shopping in their own country, I realize that they are either involved in

Extensive decision making or in the Limited decision making. Since I am investigating the

consumer behavior of Pakistani consumers for international luxury brands in terms of providing

an informational framework for the foreign brands who would want to invest in Pakistan, I will

briefly discuss this exception in behavior when consumers go abroad for shopping.

Lets first understand what impulsive buying behavior is and why does it occur. Impulsive

Decision making is done when consumers make no conscious decision about buying a product. It

is based on an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment action triggered by product display or point-of-sale

promotion (Piron1991, p. 512). This kind of decision takes place as a result of either of the

following situations; which are then followed by respective behaviors.

1) A sudden and spontaneous desire to act accompanied by state of urgency,

2) A state of psychological Instability in which a person can feel temporarily out of control,

3) The onset of conflict and struggle that is resolved by an immediate action,

4) Minimal objective evaluation as a result of emotional influence being dominant or

5) A lack of regard for consequences (Rook & Hoch 1985, p. 23-27).

If we analyze the behavior of Pakistani consumers when they are buying abroad, we find out that

it is mostly because of three of the above situations:

1. A sudden and spontaneous desire to act accompanied by state of urgency.

51
 2. Minimal objective evaluation as a result of emotional influence being dominant.

3. Lack of regard for consequences

While making such a purchase, the consumer does not go through all the stages of the traditional

buying decision making model, but as soon as the customer encounters the product that attracts

them or they desire, they directly jump to the purchase (See Figure 6.4). This can be supported

by the responses I got in interviews.

When asked of the respondents about their buying behavior abroad, they said that sometimes

they dont really need the product, but since they like it while shopping for other products they

buy it just for the sake of it. One major reason of them buying more from abroad was that, first

they get the products from the updated range, secondly according to them, they are abroad for a

limited time, so instead of thinking too much about certain product they just go ahead and buy

something they like, as they might not be able to get it in Pakistan later on and also the fact that

they might not be sure about when will they visit the store again. Some also said that since they

52
usually go overseas for vacations and when they are in their vacation mood sometimes they end

up buying things they might not use more than once. Haseeb Akram, a freelance graphic

designer in Lahore had to say about his decisions making process that:

When I go abroad for vacations I have also been given money by my parents, and this money is

extra money other than what I have earned, so when I dont have a limited budget to shop from I

dont really think too much before picking up something I like, until or unless I have already

planned it from Pakistan that I will buy

This was an account on how Pakistani consumers shop when they go abroad, but the major focus

of research is to analyze their buying behavior in Pakistan. As the results show that most of the

Pakistani consumers when they buy luxury products in their home country are either involved in

the Extensive decision making or Limited decision making. In both decision making types,

the consumer goes through all six stages of the traditional buying decision making model, but

with slight differences depending upon the level of involvement and the amount of information

that the consumer already has before the decision making process starts also that in limited

decision making consumer spends less time going through the whole process. (Majimdar, 2010,

p.46)

We will discuss all the stages of the decision making process in detail. We will also analyze how

Pakistani consumers behave at each stage and what are the factors that affect their decision

making process.

53
6.2 Need Recognition

Need recognition occurs whenever a consumer sees a significant difference between his or her

current state of affairs and some desired or ideal state. The consumer perceives that there is a

problem to be solved, which may be simple or complex. In the first place consumer can identify

either of two types of problem, namely need recognition and opportunity recognition. Need

recognition is when a need for a particular product arises whereas opportunity recognition occurs

when the need goes beyond the physical product and demands some psychological achievement

(Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p. 370).

When we talk about luxury fashion, it is usually the opportunity recognition that stimulates a

purchase decision process. At this stage the need recognition of the consumers is based on

several factors like his or her personality, set of beliefs, values that create psychological and

hedonic needs. (Solomon & Robolt, 2009). Consumers are both emotionally and rationally

driven. It implies that the consumers at the same time make purchase decisions based on their

rational thinking and emotional drive because purchase experiences are directed by the pursuit

of fantasies, feelings and fun.( Bernd Schmitt 1999, cited Holbrook and Hirschman 1982)

Apart from just having the basic needs, the majority of the Pakistani consumers feels Hedonic

and Psychogenic needs. Hedonic needs are those needs which a consumer relies on the product

to meet their needs for excitement; self-confidence, fantasy, etc. Whereas Psychogenic needs are

needs such as power, need for affiliation or status (Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p. 125).

54
Results for Q#18 and Q#20 (See Figure 6.5 & 6.6) identify the needs that stimulate the purchase

decision in most of the Pakistani luxury fashion consumers. The two questions were asked in a

different manner to find out the true need that encourages Pakistani consumers to buy luxury

fashion. When the consumers were asked to describe their Personality, behavior for luxury

fashion goods, 42.6 % labeled themselves on the basis of Need for Uniqueness, 33.4% labeled

themselves as on the basis of materialism and 24% labeled on the basis of Need for Power.

However, when the consumers were asked to state the true reason for them buying any fashion,

luxury product, 8.80% said they buy to feel a sense of belonging to a particular group, 16.80%

said they feel self-confident by buying them and 74.40% said lifestyle projection.

55
The upper class of the segment that spends a good chunk on foreign luxury brands apart from

satisfying their need for self-confidence and excitement spend to meet their psychogenic needs.

They spent large amounts of money to be associated with a certain group of people and to be

considered a respectable or person with higher status in the society. This not only satisfies their

need for materialism i.e. owing a luxurious, expensive product, but also meeting their needs for

affiliation, power, and uniqueness.

Need for affiliation demands a person to be in the company of other people. This need is

relevant to products and services that are consumed in groups to be associated with the group and

to feel as a part of that group. Need for power demands one to control ones environment.

Many products and services allow consumers to feel that they have mastery over their

surroundings. (Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p. 130) Majority of the Pakistani men or women when

purchasing high end luxury cars or designer bags, the motive behind the purchase is to be the

prominent figure who possesses the power of that certain group. Similarly need for uniqueness

56
requires a consumer to idealize ones own individual identity. This need is satisfied with

products that match up to the consumers distinctive qualities. (Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p. 131)

Apart from satisfying their personal needs, the majority of consumers dress to express a certain

personality which they aspire to be. The majority of men and women in Pakistan dress to project

a certain lifestyle or personality, although it might not be their own actual personal statement or

personality, but to fulfill their need for affiliation they dress in a certain manner.

According to Solomon & Robolt, (2009, p. 137) the clothes somebody wears tell a lot about that

person or you can tell a lot about a person by the clothes he she wears. In a society like

Pakistan, where individuals are respected by the material wealth and status, material goods play

an important role in many peoples lives, this phenomena is called materialism. Materialism

refers to the importance people attach to the worldly possessions. The affluent members of the

society have become very materialistic and in order to gauge the worth of the individual people

usually assess it by the amount of wealth of material goods any individual possesses. (Solomon

& Robolt, 2009, p. 148)

Thus, it can be concluded that the two major needs that evoke Pakistani consumers to purchase a

luxury product are the need for uniqueness and the need for lifestyle projection or affiliation.

Any international brand that intends to invest in Pakistan should target these needs of the

consumers through their marketing plan to secure a place in their consideration set.

57
6.3 Information Search

As consumers identify or recognize the need, they quickly indulge themselves into acquiring

adequate information about the products and the brands to define for themselves a set of

alternatives to be considered for purchase, this stage is called as the pre-purchase information

search, however the information search starts with the existing information that consumers

already possess in their consideration set, this concept is called the internal search. (Solomon &

Robolt, 2009, p. 371).

As far as awareness is concerned, it has been observed that Pakistani consumers are well aware

of the international luxury fashion scene and the major players. Results of Q#9 of the

questionnaire when consumers were asked to write down the names of their favorite international

luxury brands, following are the names that topped the list: Louis Vuitton, Georgio Armani,

Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Rolex, Cartier, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Hermes, Bvlgari, Burberry,

Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, Fendi, Parada, Chloe including Zara, Mango, Next and Diesel,

which they considered luxury brands as well. This set of information that the customers possess

is based on the prior experiences.

It has been observed that Pakistani luxury fashion consumers keep going through a process

called ongoing research. Ongoing search takes place when consumers or shoppers are keen to

gain knowledge of the updates in the market, they keep visiting stores or look for information

from available sources continuously just to keep themselves up to date (Solomon & Robolt,

2009, p. 371).

58
Even though the options for the shoppers are very limited in Pakistan, they keep searching for

information just for the sake of being considered as an updated fashion user in the society, but

these behaviors infect effects their shopping behavior since it provides them with a to (TOO)

much information that could trigger a purchase decision at any time in the future.

Results for Q#24 (See Figure 6.7) show that the majority of Pakistani consumers draw their

information about international luxury brands either through the internet and social media (49%)

or by visiting the stores (34%). However, they draw very less information or give less

importance to the information that flows through family and friends (11%) and Magazines and

other promotional mediums.

The reason behind Pakistani getting less information from magazines is because of the fact that

since no brand is operating in Pakistan, there is rarely any information about their products in

Pakistan rather the local magazines are stuffed with advertisements and information about the

local designers. People who do use magazines as a source of information usually are the ones

59
who have subscribed to international fashion magazines like Vogue and Elle which certainly is

not a common practice for the majority.

The figures, doesnt only describe that Pakistani luxury fashion consumers are constantly

involved in an ongoing information search process, but also reveals the sources of information

that the consumers rely upon. It is clear that as far as information gathering is concerned,

consumers either use the internet and social media as a tool for information search or they rely

on the first hand information that they gather themselves by visiting stores. Visiting stores and

indulging in window shopping is a common practice in Pakistan.

Since the country does not have many sources of entertainment like cinemas or clubs or for that

matter any sports because of the law and order situation, you would see the highest amount of

people are at restaurants or food courts of shopping malls at after work hours. Another reason for

consumer indulging into such an extensive search is because of the fact that a high monetary risk

is involved in the purchase of a luxury product, especially in Pakistan where the brands are not

operating and the multi-brand stores import these luxury products incurring high amounts of

import duties, making these products even more expensive for Pakistanis as compared to if they

buy them from abroad.

So it can be concluded that most of the consumers rely on Impersonal or Market Dominated

Sources of information. Whereas, it is evident from the research that consumers do not rely on

the information that comes from the personal sources like friends and family. (Solomon &

Robolt, 2009, p. 372)

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6.4 Evaluation of Alternatives

At this stage consumers evaluate and judge different factors, which are both tangible and

intangible product attributes and many other dimensions like social status, their fashion

personality, their clothing style, etc. While making a choice out of the evoked set of alternatives

that they have in their consideration set as a result of the information search process (Engel,

Blackwell & Miniard 1995, p. 208). These factors are called the determinant factors (Solomon,

2009, p. 379). We will now look into the different determinant factors that play a role at this

stage when Pakistani luxury fashion consumers are evaluating the alternatives.

6.4.1 Personal Clothing, Style and Cultural Influence

Personal clothing style is identified as the very first determining factor that affects the

consumers evaluation of alternatives. Pakistan is an eastern society and the majority of the

people like to dress in the eastern or traditional style of clothing. This is one of the reasons that in

recent times we have seen a growth in the local fashion industry and designer brands in eastern

and traditional clothes. But this is not the case with the consumers of luxury fashion, even now

the majority is interested in wearing western clothes.

A reason for this is that the top 10% of the elite group in Pakistan are also the people who have

maximum exposure to the western world as they travel frequently. Results to Q#6 show that

56.80% of men and women preferred western clothing style, 27.20% had the liking for eastern

clothing and only 16% of the people were of the opinion that they would prefer fusion for their

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clothing. From this we can see that the majority of the respondents prefers western and fusion

clothing. (See Figure 6.8)

The results show that there is a greater inclination towards the western style of clothing. Fusion

is Pakistani context is considered something that is western but does not clash with the local

norms and values of the culture. According to (Solmon & Robolt, 2009) Culture is the

accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms and traditions among members of an

organization or society Culture plays a vital role in influencing the consumer behavior of any

society.

Especially in a country like Pakistan, which is very rich in their culture and norms, a lot of

importance is given to cultural values and the buying decisions are heavily based on those.

Cultural influence on the consumers is based on social structure of the individuals. Social

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Structure is the way in which the orderly social life is maintained. This includes the domestic and

political groups that are dominant within the culture (Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p.55).

This was not a concern in the male respondents as we found out in interviews that the majority of

the male population in urban areas of Pakistan dresses in western attire and society at large is

less conservative on the way males dress up however this was a concern shown by the female

respondents in the interviews. Consequently, we placed a question in the questionnaire that

would investigate about the percentage of women who feel that culture influences their decision

in buying a particular luxury fashion product. Pakistan is a relatively conservative society at

large and is highly influenced by the religious values. With Muslims in majority and constituting

97% of the total population (CIA World Fact Book), Islamic values remain dominant. Even

though the population that is considered as the potential market for luxury fashion is considered

to be very liberal and western in their lifestyles, but the overall structure and norms of the society

still affect their decisions.

Results for Q#23 show that the majority of women (64.8%) is of the view that the cultural

norms do not affect their purchase when it comes to the international luxury brands; however a

significant amount of respondents (35.2%) said that they do consider the cultural aspect while

they are shopping luxury brands (See Figure 6.9). The only concern that we identified during the

interviews was that the clothes should not be too much body revealing and that is how they see

fusion clothing as something western that does not reveal the body too much The following

figure 6.9 graphically explains the results.

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Another factor that influences the personal clothing style is the fashion personality of a person. It

depends on the level of fashion forwardness of the consumer. Pakistan is not a very

experimenting society and the fashion always trickles across from the west. People are not very

keen to experiment with clothing and even the consumers who are looked upon as risk takers are

the ones who try out a new fashion that has already been established in the west.

But to know this is very important for the luxury brands that would want to invest in Pakistan so

that they can allocate their merchandise accordingly. (Figure 6.10 and Figure 5.11) show that

Out of the total respondents for the questionnaire 39.20% defined themselves as risk takers, in

which the maximum belonged to the age group under 20. 10.40% defined themselves as trend

setters and people from the age group of 31-35 were the most in the trend setters, and

approximately 50.40% rated themselves as followers that they follow fashion as whatever is

going on as the prevailing trends that were mostly from the age of 36-45 and above.

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It is seen that the level of fashion forwardness has a direct relationship with the age. We see that

as the age bracket goes up. As we see that the young people ranging from teens to people in late

20s are willing to take risks and try out new products and at the same time the older age groups

are less likely to take risks and would want to play safe and wear clothes that are tried and tested

by the society and given the status of current fashion. So it can be concluded that that Pakistani

65
consumers at large are not very experimental and tend to be on a safer side when it comes to

clothing.

6.4.2 Other Influential Factors

In interviews when respondents were made to talk about everything that might influence their

decision to buy a particular luxury fashion brand, majority highlighted the factors like brand

image, their social status, their friends and social circle, celebrities and fashion forwardness that

a brand portrays. When then applied this finding to a larger sample of consumers through

questionnaires to see which one of them is considered most important by the Pakistani luxury

fashion consumers.

Results of Q#19 show that 18.40% of the respondents stated the brand image influences them,

10.40% said fashion forwardness, 16% said celebrity and media attracts them, 21.60% said

friend and their social circle affects their mindset while 33.60% said their social status influences

them to buy them. (See Figure 6.12)

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From these results, we can identify that the top three factors that influence Pakistani consumers

to make a decision in favor of a particular brand is due to the social status that particular brand

represents about 33.60%, Friends and social circle and social pressure is 21.60% and Brand

image of a particular brand makes about 18.40%.

The motivation behind the purchase and display of clothes or any other product not only to

enjoy it, but rather for letting others know that we can afford it or we posses it, is known as status

symbols (Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p.253). Pakistani consumer perceives foreign brands to be

more superior in every aspect compared to the national brands (Shaheen.N, 2008 cites Iyer and

Kalita, 1997 & Kinra, 2006). So the majority of the individuals who purchase luxury products

not only buy them to satisfy their needs, but also to prove that they have bought the most

superior and exclusive product to maintain a high status in the society.

In order to maintain a high social status, it is observed that Pakistani luxury fashion consumers

indulge into a Conspicuous Consumption which is a desire to have a prominent evidence of

their ability to posses luxury goods (Solomon & Robolt, 2009, p.254). By flaunting their

expensive and luxury possessions they not only get acceptance or higher status in society, but

also looked upon as Fashion or status ideal.

Whereas Social Pressure also influences the Pakistani consumers as shown in the results of Q#19

(See Figure 6.21). Social pressure is the power of peoples liking and decisions and how they

influence the decisions or behavior of other individuals. A lot of consumers these days are

buying not only the products they choose, but things that they think their peers or other

individuals would approve of. This social pressure leads them to buy from luxury brands, as

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mentioned earlier not only to show off, but to be associated to a certain social class. (Solomon &

Robolt, 2009, p.279)

6.4.3 Product and Brand Attributes

Consumers consider sets of product attributes by using different rules depending upon the nature

of the product and the importance of the decision. Consumers usually set two different kinds of

decision rules at this stage, namely non-compensatory and compensatory decision rules. When

consumers are going through the phase of deciding on non-compensatory decision rules, a

certain attribute is given the importance and if the product or brand falls short of that attribute,

the brand or product is eliminated from the consideration set.

In compensatory decision rules the product or brand attributes can make up for each other i.e. if

the product falls short on one attribute, other attributes can make up for it (Solomon & Robolt,

2009, p.380-381). It has been observed that Pakistani luxury fashion consumers have set non-

compensatory decision rules when they approach towards deciding on the product or brand

attributes. However, they have set certain rules and each attribute is placed at a certain level of

importance and a combination of all these attributes leads to a decision.

Such decision rules could be categorized as heuristic conjunctives, where consumers tend to set a

minimum acceptable cutoff for each attribute and chooses the alternative that matches the

minimum standard off all attributes (Majumdar, 2010, p.29). From the interviews we identified

five different attributes that the consumers base their decisions upon. These factors are price,

quality, design, brand image and exclusivity.

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Results of Q#14 show that consumers have ranked exclusivity to be the most important fact,

followed by brand image as the second most important attribute. The design of the product was

considered as somewhat important, whereas the quality and price were considered as the least

important factors that consumers consider while making a purchase of an international luxury

fashion brand. This concludes that the consumers are very less sensitive when it comes to the

prices of luxury products. As mentioned earlier that Pakistan is a country with a very unequal

distribution of wealth and the top 10% have wealth in abundance (Aurora, 2011), the price of a

luxury product does not make a huge impact rather what they are looking at is the brand image

and exclusivity of the product that will make them stand out in the society.

This shows that luxury fashion consumers have quite a lot discretionary income. Discretionary

income is the money available to a household after necessities are paid for (Solomon &

Robolt, 2009, p.233). These people have a lot of discretionary income at their disposal which

they are using to satisfy their needs, whereas there are also a few individuals found in the society

who like to spend money on luxury products despite the fact that their pocket money doesnt

allow them to spend that much The results of Q#11(See Figure 6.13) validates this behavior that

When the consumers were asked if the declining economic conditions in Pakistan have affected

their disposable income or changed their purchase frequency, a major chunk of 80.80% answered

that it has not affected their purchase pattern and only 19.20% said they have started spending

less on luxury fashion products whereas none of the respondents answered that they have

stopped spending on the luxury products.

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6.4.4 Perception of Luxury and International Luxury Fashion
Brands

Since we are discussing the consumer feelings about luxury fashion brands, it is important to first

understand Pakistani consumers perception of luxury. It is important because at the stage of

Evaluation when they form an Evoked set of brands and products available, their perception of

luxury highly affects this process. From the unstructured interviews we found out that consumers

perceive luxury to be something that is rare and exclusive, expensive or famous. We then applied

our research on a larger sample through questionnaire and tried to find out a more precise

consumer response towards their perception of luxury.

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Results of Q#8 show us that the majority of Pakistani consumers (56%) believes that luxury is

something rare and exclusive, however a significant amount of them also believe that luxury is

something expensive(19.2%) or something that is famous(24.8 %) (See Figure 6.14). These

results are very coherent with what consumers said about their needs to buy luxury fashion.

Earlier in the chapter covering need recognition, the two main needs identified were the need for

uniqueness which relates to the perception of luxury being something rare and exclusive and the

second need identified was the need to project a certain lifestyle which completely relates to the

perception of luxury being something expensive or famous.

Over the last few years the perception of luxury in the west has changed from materialism costly,

exclusive products in time and aspiration, making luxury more reachable and democratized.

Affordable luxurious products are strengthening their appeal as consumers are satisfying their

need for regular treats and indulgences in their lives.

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Having said that, the concept or perception of luxury for a Pakistani consumer is totally different

from what the basis definition of luxury is followed in todays western world. The society is

heavily influenced by the western world and cast system which has greatly influenced the

consumption patterns of people living there. Since the western world has great influence on them

so the majority of the people think that something coming from the west is considered luxury.

(Shaheen.N, 2008 cited Burki & Muhammad, 2008)

The definition of luxury brand is formed on a different basis in Pakistan what a society makes

any commodity as luxurious and how famous it gets here. There are two types of luxury brands

in Pakistan: premium and super premium. The fashion brands that may include Next, Mango,

Zara, Charles and Keith, Diesel and Vincci as the affordable economic brands around the world,

they are categorized as premium products in Pakistan and available to only a few people at high

prices in Pakistan (Aurora, 2011).

This is also evident from our research, since in Q#9 and Q#12 of the questionnaire when people

were asked to write down their favorite international luxury brands and the last international

luxury brand that they purchased following were some of the common names that topped the list,

Louis Vuitton, Georgio Armani, Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Rolex, Cartier, Versace, Dolce and

Gabbana, Hermes, Bvlgari, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, Fendi, Parada, Chloe

including Zara, Mango, Next and Diesel.

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The fact that the list contains names like Zara, Mango, Next and Diesel validates the results and

gives an idea of how mass market brands in the west are considered luxury brands in Pakistan

only because of the rarity factor.

As Jean Nol Kapferer mentions in his article The two business cultures of luxury brands,

there are two visions of luxury. One sect relates luxury with rarity while others do not. For

instance, the author has mentioned that Vuitton makes 40 per cent of its sales in Japan. Most

office ladies carry or will carry a Vuitton handbag. Now the commercial success of Vuitton is

such that exactly the same luxury item is bought by thousands of people. Such diffusion would

rapidly dilute brand equity anywhere in the Western world (Kapferer, 1998 cited by Schroeder &

Morling, 2006, p.62-63).

This physical rarity of luxury brands has also played an important role about the perception of

luxury in Pakistani consumers mind. People take brands like Zara, Mango and Diesel as luxury

products because of their rarity in the country. When a few individuals bring Mango or Zaras

products from abroad and similar some other people bring LV or Armani with them and use

them in the country the rest of the people think of all the brands in the same manner as some

luxury products and aspire to buy those products.

As all of these brands are not available and the country and when people bring them from

abroad, they generalize all the brands and since it is something rare, rarity being one of the

characteristics of luxury, they automatically associate most the western fast fashion brands with

high end luxury products. So it can be concluded that the perception of luxury by Pakistani

consumers is at large drawn out of the rarity of the product or brand and hence anything that is

73
rarely available is considered as luxury in Pakistan, which has brought brands like Zara, Mango

and next in the consideration set of the consumer while evaluating alternatives for a luxury

product.

Earlier I explained how Pakistani consumers perceive luxury and what brands do they consider

to be falling within the luxury criteria. Now we will examine the perceptions that Pakistani

consumers have about the products of foreign brands available in Pakistan. Results to Q#14

show that consumers think that the luxury fashion products available in Pakistan have

appropriate price, quality and designs, however, they were not satisfied with the product range

available.

They were of the view that the ranges are not updated as compared to what they see on the

internet and during other research. This is because the multi-brand stores in Pakistan import

these products from different locations around the world and hence have to pay import duties on

the products, to reduce their cost and make sure that the final retail price still remains believable,

they tend to buy ranges from the last season at lower prices or discounts and sell them in

Pakistan.

Ahera Mathew, former buying executive of Mens Store, a pioneer in luxury fashion retailing in

Pakistan said: We had to make sure that the price doesnt get too high, secondly we were

always aware about the fact that people do not have much choice and they will certainly buy

whatever is available, in the end the bottom line is profit maximizing. So it can be concluded

that people trust foreign brands for quality and design and at the same time think that these

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brands justify their prices. Results of Q#16 show that a majority of Pakistani luxury fashion

consumers agrees that foreign luxury brands justify their prices. (See figure 6.15)

6.5 Purchase

This is the stage where the consumer finally takes the purchase decision. In the last stage

consumer has evaluated all the alternatives in their considerations set and have made a decision.

At this stage Pakistani consumers have been observed to be affected by the availability factor.

When consumers were asked if their purchase frequency will increase if luxury brands are made

available in Pakistan, with more options and ease to purchase, results of Q#21 (See Figure 6.16)

show that 58.40% strongly agreed to it, 20.80% agreed 11.20% were of no idea neither agreed

nor disagreed and 9.60% disagreed to the idea.

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This shows that consumers have positive intentions and that their purchase frequency will

positively increase if international luxury brands are brought in Pakistan. One of the interviewees

said, Of course! I think I would be the happiest person to buy locally so at least that way I will

save the overweight fee I pay at airports every time, and then I can buy another pair of shoes

from that money.

Talking about providing the consumers with convenience of purchase, and more point of sales,

we also wanted to investigate if the consumers were willing to shop online for the luxury

products, the results showed that Pakistani consumers are not too willing to purchase luxury

products online. Results of Q#22 (See Figurem6.17) show that 12% preferred online shopping,

80% believed that shopping from a physical point of sale is better and 8% were totally

indifferent.

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Luxury products are expensive and involve a lot of monetary risk, secondly luxury products are

not like fast fashion products with shorter Lifecycle but they are to be kept by the consumers for

a longer period of time. It is the experiences that tend to form the behavior of the consumers.

Secondly the exclusive physical shopping experience has been traditionally paired with the

luxury brands, thus classically conditioning the consumers to think in that way (Tony Hines and

Margaret Bruce 2007).

Pakistani consumers are of the view that they wanted to go and have a look at the product and at

the same time make sure that they bring the product back home with them after they have paid

for it. Moreover, as we discussed earlier that going out for shopping has become a source of

entertainment in Pakistan and consumers do not want to trade off their act for entertainment with

online shopping.

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So this can be concluded that even though consumers highly rely for online sources of

information in Pakistan, they certainly have not opened themselves for online purchase of luxury

fashion products, hence the brands and companies that would want to invest in Pakistan should

put more focus on physical store environment and customers in-store experience.

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7. Introduction of International Luxury Brands in Pakistan

Todays business world has become a fast paced industry. We communicate quicker than ever

and are constantly seeking for news. Because of the technological developments we are able to

travel, see and connect with the entire world. By being able to connect and get information from

all over the world easily and in a short span of time, our vision of the world gets broader and the

world becomes smaller as our national and cultural differences level out. This phenomenon is

called globalization (Trauth, 2013). Because our lives are in a fast pace movement, we seem to

seek the news all the time. This is applicable to fashion, food, electronics, travelling, among

other things. Especially the developing society like Pakistans is consuming more and more

goods because of this need for new things in life. It seems that todays world gets bored easier

and therefore needs entertainment 24/7.

Pakistan society is being introduced to all things internationally and are becoming more and

more attracting for them. The consumers in Pakistan aspire to be more like western society,

especially when it comes to fashion and luxury items. They want to carry the same brands and

live the same lifestyles as of the people they see in movies and on television. Not only are they

highly influenced by the western society, but also the Bollywood/ Indian media. India has always

been very closely linked with the Pakistani society. With the recent increase in the luxury items

in India and how mainstream it is becoming , more and more Pakistani consumers want the same

brands.

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Retail can be best defined as the sales of goods and services from companies or individuals to the

end-user (Wikipedia, 2012). Retail can be the sale of food, durable goods such as electronics or

consumable goods such as clothing.

Within retail, there are many different environments to sell or buy the goods. They are luxury

retail stores, department stores, warehouse stores, variety stores, specialty stores, discount store,

convenience stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, mall and E-retailers (online retailers). The

choice for a specific retail environment depends on the concept and strategy of the company or

individual, as well as on the retail market they behave in. Within retail, companies or individuals

can differentiate themselves from the competition by meeting the needs of a niche or creating it.

A niche is a narrowly defined customer group.

Niches tend to have specific needs, therefore the companies or individuals shape their retail

environment and/or assortment to meet these needs (Rabolt, N. And Miler, J., 2008). Luxury in

Pakistan has a very niche market, but that niche market can easily rival the upcoming luxury

market in other developing countries. The consumers who have the money in Pakistan, are

spending more and more on luxury items including fashion.

Fashion companies, whether high street or luxury brands, with more than one retail outlet are

commonly called fashion chains. Examples of fashion chains are Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren,

Gucci, and high street brands like H&M, Gap, ZARA and Uniqlo amongst many others. Most

fashion chains sell only store brands or private brands.

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While national brands are sold in many stores, private labels are found only in one store - the

store that created them - and they lend a sense of identity to the retailerStore brands and

private brands are produced and named by the retailer that sells them. Store brands literally carry

the name of the store. (Rabolt and Miler, 2008)

Due to globalization, consumers see and know about worldwide fashion trends. They seek out

new things from all over the world and like to have new items frequently. Fashion trends seem to

come and go at the same fast pace as our lives today. Because of the consistent urge for new

items, some premium companies and luxury fashion companies are operating like fast fashion

companies and try to respond to this need with constant delivery of new garments and

accessories. Fast fashion is a relatively new term used today in the retail industry referring to

,fashionable items that dont last long in the stores (Rabolt and Miler, 2008). Fast fashion is

known for its on-trend pieces, and brands like Armani is known for its fast fashion. Because of

the quick change in fashion preferences, customers now have a huge variety of items that they

can spend a fortune on an item and remain ahead in the fashion world(Zarroli, 2013).

With globalization, the retail business became international. Retail stores seem to expand across

the border more. For the companies or individuals, knowledge about these foreign countries can

be gained quickly because of the fast information exchange possibilities like the Internet.

Expansion can be seen as the process of growing. International expansion is seen as a company

becoming bigger across borders and can be taken as a natural growth of the company. An

explanation of globalization is when international expansion is seen on a worldwide level

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(Plato Stanford, 2010). Globalization and the fast-paced lifestyle make the customers worldwide

craving for new fashion on a daily basis. Here arises the opportunity for fashion companies to

expand.

Due to the current financial turmoil, expansion can also be a crucial decision to keep the business

profitable. Fashion retail chain might need expansion to be able to sell and keeping their brand

image on a competitive level. Rising competition can also be a vital reason for a fashion

company to expand, in order to keep competing. Retail internationalization provides numerous

benefits to the new market like transfer of technology, trading relationships, economic health and

cultural and social norms (Nicholas, 1995). From the 1990s onwards, fashion companies have

proven to be the most upbeat, successful and thriving category amongst international retailing

businesses (Doherty, 2000), (Fernie, et al., 1997).

For a lucrative, but a niche market like Pakistan, my suggestion is introduction of premium high

fashion brands like Michael Kors, Coach, Tory Burch, Kate Spade or Ralph Lauren. A brand that

is not too high end for the consumers of Pakisan, yet accessible to many. We will now look at

different scenarios for a brand that would consider investing in Pakistani market. We will

analyze the reason for success and failure and what motivates a brand to expand.

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7.1 Motivations for Internationalization

1) Primary reason for expansion

Above all, the main reason behind the expansion is the growth in revenue and eventually profits

(Evans, et al., 2007), by having more successful stores. It is easier to grow sales by having more

stores rather having more sales from the same store (Dawson, 2001). The brands want to capture

the gap in growing markets, which other companies have not yet tapped into.

2) Push and pull factors

The authors Treadgold and Davies (1988) and Alexander (1995) describe the reasons for

international retail expansion as push and pull factors. The push factors motivate the company to

look for international opportunities. An attractive situation or growing market in the host

country is a pull factor for international expansion.

3) Expansion out of home market

According to (Sternquist, 2007), retailers expand out of their home markets either to take

advantage of a growing market, to expand their investments or/and to expand globally if local

expansion is hindered due to local government policies. Also, if there is intense competition at

home (Douglas and Craig, 1992), if there is a financial crunch in the home market (Treadgold,

1988) or at the least to enjoy the first-mover advantages. Similar issues of expansions have been

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discussed along with new retail formats like acquisitions and mergers, advanced communication

and information technology available to retailers and low entry barriers in foreign markets

(Kaynak, 1993; Treadgold, 1990; Walters, 1994). For a premium brand like Michael Kors or

Ralph Lauren, they would enjoy the first mover advantage by investing in Pakistan.

4) Global appeal of the brand

Another very strong factor for international expansion is the global attraction of the fashion

brands that has created a worldwide demand due to the feel and look of the brand in terms of

products, pricing and marketing. In their remarkable writing, Moore and Fernie (2004) comment:

An increasing number of retailers no longer confine their trading activities in the home market.

For example, fashion retailers, such as the Gap, Michael Kors, Coach, Burberry, Gucci, Escada,

Ralph Lauren, H&M, Benetton, Mango and Zara, have recognized the international appeal of

their brand image, product ranges and merchandising methods and have sought to exploit these

advantages through the development of extensive international retail store networks.

5) External motives of expansion

In 1970, Hollander mentioned that one of the major reasons for international expansion can be

the political factors and policies in either the home or the host market (Hollander, 1970). This

point advocates regulative dimension of Institutional Theory of International expansion, which is

concerned with legalities, laws like store opening hours, store size, pricing, architectural

requirements, etc. and governmental policies that include a strong rule of Law which is

connected to fair governance and strong judiciary systems (Huang and Sternquist, 2007).

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 6) Dunnings Eclectic model of Internationalization

The reasons for expansion can also be studied by using Dunnings eclectic model (Dawson,

1994). According to Dunning, firms would internationalize if they have

1. Ownership advantage like any innovative products, business method or competitive edge

for example like Gucci. Owning a strong brand itself is a great reason for expansion, for

example Burberry, Michael Kors, Zara and Body shop (Dawson, 2011)

2. Location advantage that is concerned with the host market offering a benefit in terms of

retail locations, growth or other market opportunities.

3. Internalization advantage regarding business and when the firm likes to keep the policies

inside and does not share it with partners.

According to research from Evans, et al. (2007), vision and direction of the company,

achievement of global business efficiency and respond to the competition are critical motives for

international expansion.

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7.2 Factors important for International Retail Expansion

Brands, in todays world, have to experience internationalization sooner or later. It can be the

ultimate growth strategy for the retailers struggling in current or home market. However, going

abroad means opening a new Pandora box that has certain pre-requisites and require specialties

within the firm.

7.2.1 Factors within a firm

Management related factors

Above all, company specific assets are the first things required to grow internationally. This

involves the skills and effective and efficient management for a smooth functionality in the

newer markets (Moore and Burt, 2007). These skills can be different for different fashion

retailers and can grow into competitive advantages being unique.

Researches done earlier on retail internationalization refer to merchandise, retail store type,

selection of 4Ps (marketing mix) and distribution and supply chain strategies as the hard core

assets of a company experiencing expansion (Dawson, 1994), (Park and Sternquist, 2008),

(Picot-Coupey, 2006).

Strong brand equity

The second factor notified by (Moore and Burt, 2007) is Brand Equity, which is the reflections of

consumers thoughts and knowledge about a certain brand and how this influences them to chase

that particular brand and buy from it (Kendall, 2009).

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Well-built brand equity when combined with exclusiveness, design brilliance and globalized

image, makes a strong differential advantage in the international fashion market (Lu, et al.,

2009). Brand equity is a sum of assortment that carries various product types, the pricing strategy

of the brand with desired, perceived value, marketing and promotional activities carried out, a

place where the products are sold, services provided in the shop and on the floor experience.

Financial strength of the company

Financial strength is another important factor to consider before planning international

expansion. Top of the line costs that will be incurred to reach out to other markets include

product buying and logistics, marketing related activities, real estate (agent fee, rents), hiring of

the staff for the new setup (Moore and Burt, 2007; Jernigan and Easterling, 1990).

Previous International experience

The prior International experience holds a great value since this experience would make it easier

for the firm to understand the forthcoming complexities in terms of business setup regarding

dealings with the agents, hiring relevant staff, store operations and cultural variances (Doherty,

2000). Luo (2001) describes this prior international experience as an intangible asset of the firm.

From the authors of the Nordic model (Johanson and Vahlne, 1990a) comes the theory that firms

can use their experience from certain markets, to generalize this in part to other markets as well.

This can be across industries and countries. Here the cognitive dimension of the institutional

theory places an important role that is concerned with organizational decisions that are based on

their past practices. Firms shall either follow the previous successful practices like entry mode

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and retail format while expanding into new markets (Huang and Sterquist, 2007) or shall imitate

the successful retailers (Haunschild & Miner, 1997). For brands like Michael Kors, Ralph

Lauren, Coach and Tory Burch can learn a lot from their expansion in the Indian market. India

has a much faster growing luxury market than compared to Pakistans, but culturally both

countries are real close. The business etiquette in both countries are real similar as are the

consumer preferences.

7.2.2 Host Country Related Factors

External environment factors

While considering expansion with successful reach and journey, it is important to take note of

factors such as the economic health of the host market, laws and legislations regarding business

setup and conduction, especially related to retailing, political situation of the country, norms in

the society and culture (Lu, et al., 2009). As mentioned by Sternquist (2007), The biggest

consideration for a company entering a foreign market is the basis of an economic system.

Inflation, unemployment rates, disposable income, and saving rates have an influence on retail

health and viability. Retail sales are a barometer for economic change.

These economic indicators give a perspective of countrys micro and macro-economic health.

Economic prosperity as one the first factors for retailers to consider when looking for potential

expansion. Alexander (2007).

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According to De Mooij and Hofstede (2002), for possible retail expansion the attractiveness of a

foreign market is in close relation to its wealth (national income) and the size of the market. For

expanding retailers the size of the population is not relevant, nor is the population growth. What

is crucial is the spending power of the population in the entering country. Alexander (2007)

Culture and psychic distance

Cultural proximity and distance holds a very important value in terms of differences and

similarities between home and host market (Agarwal & Ramaswami, 1992). Understanding the

host market culture and societal norms play a great role in the eventual success. Catering to the

people having a different culture is a complex task for fashion retailers to take up (Lu, et al.,

2009). Studies on psychic distance have suggested that the internationally expanding companies

prefer to enter those countries first that are geographically or culturally closer to the base home

market. (Johanson and Vahlne, 1994; Moore and Fernie, 2004; Waarts and Van Everdingen,

2006; Robinson and Clarke-Hill, 1990). However, with increasing consumer base in BRIC

countries and other developing countries, have forced brands to sit up and take notice of these

lucrative markets.

The psychic distance includes elements such as language differences, management practice,

education and industry development (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). Burt (1993) and Davies and

Finney (1998) state that neighboring countries do not need to be necessarily culturally close.

The gained knowledge will reduce the psychic distance. Another option to reduce the psychic

distance is for firms to imitate the behavior of the existing business relationships in the target

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market. Imitating their behavior can lead to less difficulties dealing with competition in the

destination market.

Similarities in culture, society and norms can give way to an early entry into the host market

along with high control entry mode like wholly owned store (Gatignon and Anderson, 1988; Kim

and Hwang, 1992). Thus, UK retailers have favored Ireland; French retailers have favored

Spain; and Japanese retailers have favored Hong Kong and Taiwan (Sternquist, 2007). Hence

some sort of localization might be required by the retailers entering new markets in terms of the

marketing mix to adjust according to the host market psychographics.

Laws and Legal regulations

Last but not the least, local government laws and regulations either demote or promote foreign

retailers and that is why they are of intrinsic value and worth. These legislations can have a

strong impact on a retailers investment and therefore should be studied in detail before

internationalization (Lu, et al., 2009). Government and retail industry policies such as location

planning, leasing, renting, store space and opening hours will definitely affect the retailers

performance (Huang and Sternquist, 2007). Other considerations for expansion towards a new

market are site acquisition, different consumer tastes, hiring staff and recruiting processes as well

as the language barrier in the host market (Alexander, 2007). Pakistan, due to its current image in

the international market, has changed their laws governing international companies and brands.

In order to encourage international investment, they are making their policies and laws flexible

for international brans.

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Host Market Related Factors

These factors deal with hard-core constituents in the retail market, which is in this case, high end

premium fashion retail. Agarwal and Ramaswami (1992) pointed out that competition in the

market, growth pattern and potential, and return on investment are important measures to take

care of for a successful international business.

Market potential

In terms of market potential, the size of the market and its growth is taken into consideration (Lu,

et al., 2009) that is linked to the amount of resources the retailer is ready or able to put in

(Brouthers, et al., 2000). Any business from the day one, strives for profits and return on

investment, therefore profitable growth in the new markets is a major reason for investment and

pursuing international expansion.

Competition in the host market

Market share by the competitors is another important factor to understand and deal accordingly.

Additionally competitors activities and strategies need to be carefully watched in order to

compete in a smarter way. According to the bargaining power theory, more the competitors in

the market higher will be the competition.With increasing competition, the resources for retail

location, marketing and distribution channels will be limited. (Lu, et al., 2009). For premium

high end brands or luxury brands, there is no direct local competition. The local luxury fashion

brands in Pakistan are primarily focused on Bridal wear or evening wear. There is, so far no local

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designer that is focusing on handbags or accessories. The only competition the brands would get

is from multi brand stores, such as Mens Store or Be Smart.

Retail market conditions

Retail market distance is another factor beside cultural distance and can be stated as either the

variation between home and host retail market conditions especially concerning customer choice

or the retail practices. Some sort of adaptation might be required to have the product assortment

in line with customer values and choices like Mcdonald's had to eliminate meat products while

launching in India (Huang and Sternquist, 2007). This is the normative dimension of Institutional

theory that is concerned with norms like laws for counterfeiting and piracy, intellectual property

rights and transparency in property laws (Evans, et al, 2007). For a market like Pakistan, any

luxury or premium brand wanting to invest in Pakistan, need to keep in mind, that since its an

Islamic state, western clothes would not be successful. They need to focus more on shoes,

handbags, eyewear, cosmetics and other accessories.

7.3 Four generic types of failures

Mellahi, et al., (2002) gave us the concept of retail failures on two grounds as previously

mentioned, that are; external issues related to the industry (industrial organization) and internal

causes which are connected to the firm (organizational studies). Benito (1997) talks about the

reasons of exit and failures in international market by the retailers.

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1. Market failure

Combining the work of Benito and Mellahi, et al., Burt, et al., (2003), gave a new concept to the

failures involving four important variables. According to them, in any market a failure can occur

due to market related factors like dwindling demand and eventually profits due to structural

market changes (economical, political and social). Closure of numerous Lousie Vuitton retail

outlets in China and Uniqlo in UK in 2003 are a few examples where these brands faced

shrinking economies or they expanded way too fast.

2. Competitive failure

Secondly, failure can be faced simply because of highly competitive playground. The business

operations of a certain brand, when do not compete in a market, can create a lot of problems.

This might happen due to unclear, careless and short-sighted competitor study before entering

the market. Marks & Spencer faced this situation in Canada, where they experienced immense

competition and which was not well-studied and evaluated before launch.

According to Davies (2005), competition is affected by external forces and affects market entry

and structure. Support to local brands from the Government in the form of subsidies is a very

common reason for failure of new coming international retailers in such a competitive scenario.

3. Operational failure

Failure can occur due to misfit business practices and operations by the international retailer,

even if they are highly successful in the home market. It also includes an extreme focus of

management on pre-existing activities, less attention to the companys strengths and weaknesses

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and other similar factors (Mellahi, et al., 2002). The business structure is not supportive enough

for the successful international venture. Sephoras failure in Japan is due to misfit retail format

that was based on the notion of self-service that was against the norms of the target market

(Huang and Sternquist, 2007).

4. Business failure

Last but not the least, complexities in the home market can cause great difficulties to manage

things in the international arena. Changes in the management in the home market or sudden

quick changes of vision by the shareholders can give rise to such situations causing business

failure.

7.4 Reasons for Success

Successes in international retailing cannot and should not be taken as the opposite of failures and

vice versa. Since the end result of internationalization is a constituent of multi-faceted

dimensions, therefore both, the reasons for success and failures should be studied in detail.

1. Intention of the company

Above all, the intention of international expansion is of real value regarding whether a firm takes

expansion as a core and important action for overall success or is the expansion just a side kick

(Moore and Wigley, 2007). According to them, success in the home market is very different than

in an international market and it is not necessary that the same level of product, image, branding

and practices shall enjoy fame and success internationally. Moore and Wigley (2007) give an

account of an unnamed internationally successful retailer from the UK who undertook foreign

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expansion not only as a side project, but a hardcore strategic move formulating a business model

that was utterly important for commercial growth.

2. Experienced management team

Experienced management team is yet another crucial factor of success. Personnel who is well

versed and have experienced practice in internationalization know the great deal of international

business management. The selection of partners, merchandise, retail format, marketing and

business operations in an international arena require sufficient knowledge, hands on practice and

expertise (Moore and Wigley, 2007).

3. Internal company factors

These factors play a decisive role in the success of an international retailer. Firms departmental

structure and functioning for finances, financial strength, distribution, marketing, sales,

production, logistics, retailing, administration, partnership selection (agent, franchisee, licensee,

joint venture etc.) and above all senior and central management focus encompass the critical path

for success (Moore and Wigley, 2007).

Proactive opportunistic fashion retailers are likely to be more successful in expanding

internationally. Proactive opportunistic fashion retailers can be identified by their innovative

approach towards both product and brand as they achieve a competitive differential advantage

through their marketing strategy. Wigley and Moore (2005)

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7.5 External success factors

The factors in external environment include an in depth understanding of the host market in

terms of its political, economical, social & demographic, technological conditions. All these

should favor and should be in line with the companys product line, marketing activities,

financial targets and growth and support systems. The firm must be appealing to the target

market and influence them,creating opportunities and niche in the market (Treadgold, 1989). In

order to be successful, retailers need to conform to the culture of the customers in the expanding

market (Dawson, 1994). The success of a retailer in the market demands conformation or

surpassing the cultural and societal norms like convenience, price value for money, store

environment, product selection, service, quality, sales promotion, trust, community building and

self satisfaction (hedonism)

1. Vision of the company

Short and Long term approach define the success of the planned initiatives and their

implementation. In their seminal research, Moore and Wigley (2007) found that companies

having a far-fetched effective plan and their efficient implementation with the help of well

thought of and established partners are highly successful.

2. Partner selection

Selection of partners in the form of agent, franchisee, licensee or joint venture should be done

with respect to the partners previous experiences and the establishment. Here the notion of

brand understanding is very important and only that partner is found to be successful who has

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managed international expansion of such a firm previously. Partners financial strength, industry

contacts, understanding of leases and property rights, detailed know how of the judiciary and

legal systems, retail location, expertise and management is of real value (Moore and Wigley,

2007). Very important thing to note here is that the successful companies keep ultimate control

of partnership with them and do not extend it to the partners by managing agreements.

The three most important things among many others for international success are:

a) Brand

The brand equity, image and products should have an international appeal with such an

assortment and quality that is desired in the foreign market.

b) Distribution

The channels of distribution, retail formats and number of distribution sites should always be in

accordance with the companys image in terms of managing exclusivity and mass appeal along

with positioning.

c) Retail operations

Retail store format, location, architecture, product, image and staff should gel in together

extremely well for the unanimous brand appeal.

3. Differential advantage

An important point and a distinct reason for success in the form of differential advantage which

is a unique competence based either on people (store personnel), merchandise (products),

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technology, market segmentation or positioning strategies. Duke (1991) These differential

advantages, introduced into the new markets, has been regarded as attention evokers for the

company (Cavusgil, 1982; Wiedersheim-Paul, et al., 1978).

The researchers Simpson and Thorpe (1995) suggest that the differential advantages could

include product, lifestyle, image and niche characteristics. These suggestions for differential

advantages are included in their well-known PLIN-model. According to Dukes research

differential firm advantages are a must have for successful operations in international markets.

Excellent and outstanding customer service is a strong competitive advantage. The total brand

presentation, including product design, quality and marketing support is critical for success of

the expansion. For a true success, differential advantages are needed at both supply side (internal

operations) and demand side (customer and market) (Lees and Worthington, 1989).

Retailers should bring in something new and add value to the market and in their offering in

order to attract customers (Treadgold and Davies, 1988; Kacker, 1985; Jackson, 1976). It is

about creating a niche. According to some researchers, it is, however, very difficult to sustain the

competitive or differential advantage achieved on the basis of technology since it can be easily

imitated (Duke, 1991; Ford, 1990).

4. Operational knowledge

Operational knowledge is yet another differential advantage that a firm can have in an

international setting. This can be in terms of financial monitoring and control along with supply

chain and other factors (Williams, 1991). Williams research shows that it is the differentiated

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marketing activities that give differential advantage and ultimately lead to success for the retailer

in international market. It is the actual competitive edge to define, create, implement and manage

the differentiated and effective marketing mix that is lined with customer preferences and

consumer culture (Cook, 1986; Cavusgil, 1983; Chistensen & Gertner, 1987; Levitt, 1980).

Because of a diffusion of cultures, retail internationalization has a fair chance to succeed. With

an increasing number of people travelling, increased prosperity and immigration one can see

more worldwide common trends in clothing, food, relationships and other characteristics of our

lives. The current western fashion trends influence people in the entire world (Rabolt and Miler,

2008).

7.6 Summary

Internationalization of retail has been under regular study and scrutiny since 1970s. The financial

debt crisis that prevailed in 1980s (GRIPS, 2010) gave a new dimension to all the businesses.

Before that, the great depression was the aftermath of the World War I and II, and made the

businesses grow out of their home market. A bail out in the form of expansion, initially within

the home market and later cross-border, was considered as the remedy by various retailers in the

food and non-food industry (Dawson, 1994).

However, international expansion has been pursued with a certain or a definite set of agendas

being the core motives. The primary reason remains to be the profit enhancement (Evans, et al.,

2008). Push factors from within the home market in terms of growth limitation or certain

restriction and pull factors of the host market like lower entry barriers, less competition or a

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growing economy play a pivotal role in expansion (Treadgold and Davies, 1988; Alexander,

1995).

Reasons alone for internationalization are not enough for a successful venture; they have to be

coupled with certain factors within a firm, host country and the retail market within that country.

Above all the brand power itself encapsulating product types, pricing strategies, promotional

tactics and selling space is an important feature. This all needs to have a certain standardized

system, that is replicable in various settings across different countries for the same look and feel

of the brand. However the brands do need to change and adapt, because of cultural reason of any

country. A strong brand needs a visionary and a well-built management as the intangible asset

(Moore and Burt, 2007) that has prior international experience.

Crucial to mention here is the financial strength of the firm with the developed systems that can

be implemented in various markets with a strong check and balance. Secondly, while selecting

the host country; it is of core importance to evaluate the economic stability, technological status

and political system so that the external factors can be managed with the given sources of the

firm (Sternquist, 2007). Important to mention here is to deeply observe the culture in the society

and its relationship to the products being sold as well as marketing tactics that are planned to be

used (Moore and Fernie, 2004). Last but not the least is the specific market related factors within

a country like market potential, growth, laws and regulations and competition.

Amidst of what all has been discussed earlier, it is important to realize the factors of failure in

internationalization. Above all, it is the failure on part of the firms management to carry out

business operations successfully either from the parent market or within the host market with a

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partner (Etgar and Moore, 2007). It can be the operational failures in the system that does not

support the international operations (Burt, et al., 2003). Exchange rate variance was one of the

strong reasons for Marks & Spencer failure internationally (Burt, et al., 2002). With reasons for

failure being taken care, success demands a strongly built road map of the experienced team

(Moore and Wigley, 2007) with a defined and achievable vision utilizing firms core competency

(Duke, 1991) and strengths.

International retail expansion is a combination of arts and science where a company needs to

evaluate its current position with respect to given resources in all aspects of management,

planning, design, procurement, supply chain, finances, personnel, information technology and

administration etc. The idea for internationalization is then paired with the available resources to

be utilized in the new market for a successful long run implementation that creates an enticement

in the market and generates profitable sales and builds strong brand equity.

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8. Conclusion

The research was done to analyze and understand the consumer buying behavior at different

stages of the buying decision making process. After the analysis of the consumer market, it is

important to understand the various reasons for any international brand or company wanting to

expand into the Pakistani market. The aim was to highlight the prominent factors that affect

Pakistani consumers buying decision towards international luxury brands and understand what

drives a brand to enter a new market and whether it would be a success or not.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze the market for luxury brands in Pakistan

and internationalization of international Premium or Luxury fashion retailers in the Pakistani

market. This research evaluates the possibilities and potential for expansion from a companys

perspective by carving a niche or adding value to the market, keeping in mind the target audience

and Pakistan market situation.

In general, it can be concluded that the Pakistani luxury fashion market has a high potential but

still unexplored. Following are some of the highlights of what was discovered during the study.

Pakistani luxury fashion consumers are involved in three kinds of decision making. It was

found that when they purchase luxury fashion products from abroad, they are mostly

involved in the Impulsive decision making, due to lack of time which creates a sense of

urgency, availability of discretionary money and lack of regard for the consequences. On

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 the other hand the same consumers when shopping in Pakistan is either involved in the

Extensive decision making or Limited decision making. In both decision making

types the consumer goes through all six stages of the traditional buying decision making

model.

The two major needs that evoke Pakistani consumers to purchase a luxury product are the

need for uniqueness and the need for lifestyle projection or affiliation.

Most of the consumers rely on Impersonal or Market Dominated Sources of

information. Whereas it is evident from the research that consumers do not rely on the

information that comes from the personal sources like friends and family.

Even though the population that is considered as the potential market for luxury fashion

is considered to be very liberal and western in their lifestyle,s but the overall structure

and norms of the society still slightly affect their decisions about clothing where eastern

norms and Islamic influence is dominant.

Pakistani consumers at large are not very experimental and tend to be on a safer side

when it comes to clothing.

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 Luxury consumers are almost unaffected by the economic depression and are not price

sensitive at all.

Perception of luxury by Pakistani consumers is at large drawn out by the rarity of the

product or brand and hence anything that is rarely available is considered as luxury in

Pakistan.

Pakistani luxury fashion consumers have certainly not opened themselves for online

purchase of luxury fashion products; hence the brands and companies that would want to

invest in Pakistan should put more focus on physical store environment and customers

in-store experience.

The results in general are expected to help international brands to get an insight on the Pakistani

luxury fashion market if they want to enter it. Since no research on this particular segment in

Pakistan has been done before, we expect that this would provide an informational framework

for international brands. The research also provides prospects for further research into this

particular market segment.

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9. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research

The aim of the research was to find out the consumers buying behavior towards luxury brands.

This study only focuses on Pakistani consumers and cannot be applied in any other region of the

world. During the research a lot of factors were touched upon on which further research could be

done. As in the research it has been discussed about the consumers different buying behavior

when shopping abroad, this topic could only be slightly discuses and it is itself a big area for

further research and due to time constraints it was not possible to further investigate that issue.

Furthermore, a whole research can be done on Pakistani consumers buying behavior when

shopping abroad vs. when shopping locally. Another topic that can be further discussed which is

very close to our research topic, but again could not be explained in the research due to time

constraints and interest of the research, is the consumers buying behavior towards local luxury

brands available in Pakistan.

As mentioned in the discussion in the thesis report that Pakistan being an Islamic Republic state,

the clothing style of the majority of the population is very different from that worn by western

consumers and due to that they have a big local luxury market of traditional clothes ( i.e. Shalwar

Kameez.) to be studied and explored. The research also does not explore the Pakistani consumer

buying behavior for fashion in general; rather this research is only focused on exploring the

consumer buying behavior for international luxury brands.

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Further research on Pakistani consumer buying behavior regarding fashion in general and fast

fashion could also be done in future. Lastly, as this research highlights the important factors that

influence the buying behavior of Pakistani consumers at each stage of the buying decision

making process, the research does not go into deep details of each stage, in future a further

research on each of the individual stages of the buying decision making process of Pakistani

consumers could be done.

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Appendix 1

Interview Guide

Role of Interviewer:

An interviewer enables that the dialogue or discussion between the interviewer and interviewee

functions effectively. This involves carefully taking into account scope, purpose, and length of

the discussion. While conducting the interview, one interviewer within us was in Pakistan so she

conducted the interviews. The role of the interviewer was to create safe dialogue space and to

help to dig deeper around important information said by the interviewee. When the discussion

was in process, and if it slowed or strayed from the topic at any point, then the interviewer knew

when to step in and she easily brought back the topic under discussion. If any important message

was delivered by the interviewee then the interviewer helped in expanding that discussion.

Discussion guide for the interviewees:

An unstructured discussion guide was also developed, setting the framework for, what questions

and issues to be asked and discussed with the interviewee. Some ground rules were also set that,

to make sure that interviewee gave as much information as he or she could in that limited time,

and also to maintain the flow of the discussion as it enabled to get more out of the session.

107
Conducting the Research:

The notes of the interviews were taken down, highlighting the important points of the discussion

and also indicating the interviewee if they need to further inquire or ask some particular issue or

follow up questions.

Introduction:

All the interviews started with a little introduction about the aim and purpose of the report. The

interview sessions were both casual and formal depending on the relation with the interviewee.

In the introductory session of the interview every interviewee was appreciated for taking out

his/her time and were informed about the general pattern of the questions.

Establishing the Agenda:

After the introduction, the aim of conducting the interviews established, and it was explained

what this discussion will be all about. The interviewees were also informed that they might be

quoted in the report.

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Controlling the discussion:

The interview started with general questions, like the meaning of luxury then it narrowed down

to more specific questions. The discussion followed a logical pattern, starting from general

discussion then moving on to foreign luxury brand, then the motivating factors to buy foreign

luxury brands, then getting feedback on personal experiences and preferences and in the end

taking feedback about purchase frequency if foreign brands came to Pakistan, The topic was

general so it was easier to get the interviewees view on different issues.

Closing the session:

In the end the interviewees were thanked once again for their time genuine answers.

Topics of Discussion:

What Is Luxury for You

Perceptions about foreign luxury brands

Needs that a Foreign luxury brand full fills

Motivating factors to buy a foreign luxury brand

Attributes associated to luxury brands

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 Luxury Fashion and culture (as to what about the clothes that clash with our culture)

Buying behavior and decision making process (rational or impulsive/local or abroad)

Economical (ECONOMIC) aspects

About the available merchandise of foreign luxury brands in Pakistan.

Purchase frequency if brands come to Pakistan

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Appendix 2 ---------- Questionnaire

1. Age:

a) Under 20

b) 21- 25

c) 26-30

d) 31-35

e) 35-45

f) Above 45

2. Gender

a) Female

b) Male

3. What is your education level

a) High School/College

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b) Bachelors Degree

c) Masters Degree

d) PHD

f) Others:

4. What is your profession?

a) Student

b) Employee

c) Businessman/ Businesswomen

d) Housewife

e) Others (Please write in the given space)__________________________________

5. Monthly income. (Please write your net family income if you are a student)

50,000-99,000

100,000-149,000

150,000-199,000

200,000-299,000

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300,000 and above

6. What is your preferred clothing style?

a) Western.

b) Eastern.

c) Fusion.

7. Which of the following is true for you?

d) Usually I am the 1st one among my peers to try out new fashion.

e) I dont follow fashion I make my own fashion statement.

f) I follow the prevailing trends(ongoing).

8. Luxury for you means to be something:

a) Rare and Exclusive

b) Expensive

c) Famous

d) Other (Please Explain)__________________________________________________

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9. What western luxury fashion brand do you like the most? (You can write more than one)

10. How often do you purchase products from International luxury fashion brands?

a) Very Often/Once or twice a month

b) Often/ once in two or three months

c) Not so Often/ once in four to 6 months

d) Rarely/ once in a year

11. How is your purchase frequency affected in the last 5 years considering the

instable political and economical (ECONOMIC) conditions of Pakistan?

a) I spend less on luxury fashion products now.

b) It has not affected my purchase frequency, it is same as before.

c) I rather spend more on luxury fashion products now.

d) I have stopped purchasing luxury fashion products

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12. What was the last luxury fashion product that you purchased? Please also

mention the brand name.

13. When you go for shopping a luxury fashion product, which of the following

statements is true for you:

d) I usually have already decided what product and what brand I want to buy.

e) I know what product do I need, I would go to the market and choose from the available

brands and the merchandise.

f) I really dont know what I want and usually my decision is purely impulsive

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14. Rate the following in terms of their importance while buying International Luxury

branded products. (1 as the least important and 5 being the most important)

1 2 3 4 5

Price

Design

Quality

Brand Image

Exclusivity

15. Rate the following attributes of the international luxury fashion brands available in

Pakistan. (1 as the least appropriate and 5 being the most appropriate)

1 2 3 4 5

Price

Design

Quality

Brand Image

Exclusivity

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16. Do you think that luxury fashion brands justify their price?

a) Strongly agree

b) Agree

c) Neither agree nor disagree

d) Disagree

e) Strongly disagree

17. Where do you usually buy luxury fashion products?

a) Mens Store

b) Be Smart

c) Famous Brands

d) Abroad

e) Other. (Please explain)________________________________________________________________

18. Which statement best describes your purchasing behavior for luxury products.

a) The desirability to possess a high quality, exclusive piece of product or garment.

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b) I want to purchase something which I can brag about to my friends and colleagues and

feel authoritative.

c) If my peer and family use luxury brand to make social relationships with others I am

more likely to purchase luxury brands to make gift exchange.

d) In order to be irreplaceable one must always be updated and different from others.

19. What Influences you to buy a luxury product or brand?

a) Brand name

b) Design/Fashion Forwardness

c) Celebrities and Media

d) Friends/Social Circle

e) Your

20. Which of the following is a true reason for you to buy a particular luxury fashion

product?

a) Sense of belonging to a particular group

b) Self confidence

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c) Guaranteed quality

d) Lifestyle projection

e) Exclusivity and uniqueness

21. Do you think if your favorite luxury brand is made easily accessible in Pakistan, If

there are more means of purchasing luxury brands in our country, such as more

retail stores and online shopping service, would it increase your purchasing

frequency?

a) Strongly agree

b) Agree

c) Neither agree nor disagree

d) Disagree

e) Strongly disagree

22. Which of the following statement describes your stance on the purchase of a

luxury fashion product online?

a) I prefer buying online because it saves time and is convenient

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b) I do not trust online shopping for such expensive products and prefer buying it from a

physical point of sale so that I can thoroughly examine the product.

c) It doesnt matter to me as long as I like the product.

23. How does Pakistani culture and values affect your purchase decision for international

luxury brands? (Please leave this question if you are a male)

c) It does not affect me at all, I buy whatever is in fashion internationally.

d) I take into consideration the social norms and make sure that the garment is not too

body reveling.

24. Your source of information about international luxury fashion brands is/are:

(You can select more than one option)

a) Internet and Social Media

b) Family and friends

c) Magazines and other promotional medium

d) Visiting stores

Thank you very much for taking your time out to fill this questionnaire!

120
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