Luxury fashion in China: creating a brand identity to reach the Chinese market

Abstract

Brand naming for the Chinese markets remains a challenge to Western brands. The paper aims to analyze the fashion luxury branding strategy in China. A name is a brand identity vehicle that needs to be legally available for use, suitable for different languages as the brand expands, and designed to create a bond with consumers. The first part of this study examines the most effective strategies for Western companies in the Chinese market, the advantages and disadvantages of each approach compared to the other entry strategies, and what changes happened in the Chinese market after the spread of COVID19. This section also contains some Chinese grammar notions, essential to understanding the hidden reasons behind the importance of brand naming in China.

The second part explains what brand naming is, and why is it so important, especially in countries like China. When Western brands decide to gain customers' attention and increase brand awareness in the Chinese markets, they must face a huge linguistic barrier. There are many reasons why a foreign brand must have a Chinese name. For example, a Chinese consumer generally uses Chinese brand names when looking for brand information; a Chinese name can make the verbal identity linguistically appealing and tempting to the target market. Most importantly, a brand name embodies the brand's culture, values, personality, and vision, therefore if a brand decides not to find a Chinese name, it risks being perceived as an international brand that is distant from Chinese consumers.

Finally, the third part of the paper provides the branding strategies used by Western companies, with some examples of fashion luxury one.