Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine what drives Chinese customers to be fascinated about luxury fashion: marketing or themselves. The objectives of the research included investigating the buying trends of Chinese customers in terms of luxury fashion, to determine the factors driving Chinese customers to purchase luxury fashion, and to make relevant recommendations to the companies in the luxury fashion industry in China. The study was done targeting the Chinese luxury fashion industry, which means that the research respondents were drawn from China. Mixed methodology was used where primary data was collected for analysis and the appropriate research instrument utilised was a questionnaire and interview questions. The study adopted a structured questionnaire that had 10 questions and an interview transcript with 9 questions. Copies of the questionnaire and interview questions are attached in the appendices. The questions were subjected to a reliability and validity test to ensure that respondents understood the intended meaning during the actual study. The respondents in the study were selected using simple random technique. In total, a sample of 100 respondents was identified to be part of the study. However, upon distribution of the questionnaires, only 83 were completed satisfactorily for use in the analysis. The questionnaires had been distributed through the internet. Before filling the questionnaires, participants were required to read and sign a consent form acknowledging voluntary participation. Three interviews were conducted after obtaining consent from a student, freelancer, and sales assistant. Analysis of the quantitative data was done through Microsoft Excel using descriptive analysis. On the other hand, interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The key finding is that consumers of luxury fashion products in China are influenced by symbolism and not the marketing activities of companies. Numerous recommendations for future research have been made such as what domestic Chinese luxury brands can do to gain increased market share.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 7
1.1 Rationale 7
1.2 Aims and Objectives 8
1.3 Methodology 9
1.4 Chapter Outline 10
Chapter 2: Literature Review 11
2.1 What is Luxury Fashion? 11
2.2 Luxury fashion in key markets 13
2.3 Luxury Market in China 15
2.3.1 How luxury brands first entered into China market? 18
2.4 The Marketing Strategy of Luxury Brands 18
2.5 The marketing strategy of luxury brand in China 20
2.5.1 Online Marketing Strategy in China Market 21
2.5.2 Luxury brand offline marketing strategy in China 24
2.5.3 The localism of marketing campaign 25
2.6 Chinese Consumers’ Luxury Fashion Behaviour 27
2.6.1 Chinese Culture and History 27
2.6.2 Chinese luxury fashion consumers 28
2.7 Conclusion 29
Chapter 3: Methodology 30
3.1 Research design and methodology 30
3.2 Philosophy 31
3.3 Deductive vs Inductive 31
3.4 Research Approaches 32
3.5 Qualitative and Quantitative Data 34
3.6 Data collection and analysis 35
3.7 Research ethics 37
Chapter 4: Research Finding 39
4.1 Questionnaire Analysis 39
4.2 Thematic Analysis 54
Purchase of Luxury Goods 54
Buying Behaviour 54
Self-actualisation 55
Wealth and Luxury Fashion Items 55
Special Edition Luxury Brands 56
Givenchy Boutique 56
Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Discussion 57
Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations 62
References 64
Appendices 69
Questionnaire 69
Interview Questions 71

List of Tables
Table 1 Gender 39
Table 3 Age 41
Table 5 Buying Luxury Products 42
Table 7 Luxury Purchase during Special occasion 44
Table 9 Collection of Chinese New-Year edition 45
Table 11 Factors Influencing purchase of luxury 47
Table 13 Friends and family influence on buying luxury 48
Table 15 Luxury vendors collaborating with favourite celebrity 50
Table 17 Significance of owning a luxury item 51
Table 19 Increasing price of luxury items 53
Table of figures
Figure 1 Growth in the Luxury Market 13
Figure 2 Top 10 Luxury goods companies by sales 14
Figure 3 Chinese luxury market vs the rest of the world 17
Figure 4 Demand Estimate of Chinese luxury goods 21
Figure 5 Growth of Online outlets 22
Figure 6 Contribution of Physical stores 24
Figure 7 Research Onion 30
Figure 8 Gender 39
Figure 9 Age 40
Figure 10 Purchasing Luxury Products 42
Figure 11 Luxury Purchase during Special occasion 43
Figure 12 Collection of Chinese New-Year Edition 45
Figure 13 Factor leading you to purchase luxury 46
Figure 14 Influence of friends and family to buy luxury 48
Figure 15 Collaboration with Favourite Celebrity 50
Figure 16 Importance of having a luxurious good 51
Figure 17 Increasing price of luxury items 52

Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Rationale
In the last decade, the Chinese luxury goods industry has been on the rise with enormous business opportunities. While the market capacity is increasing, the consumers in China have both awareness and spending power features that have seen a continuous improvement for the demand on luxury fashion (Statista, 2015). Nevertheless, a number of components remain unclear for the luxury fashion companies such as the attitudes of the consumers as well as the lack of domestic brands that can compete with those from foreign countries. The rise in the luxury industry has been contributed by the growth of the Chinese economy (Statista, 2015). The global luxury goods market is composed of items such as cosmetics, fashion, drinks, watches, handbags, and jewellery and among others. In 2016, the global personal luxury market was valued at 249 billion Euros (Statista, 2015). In the recent years, the Chinese consumers have been leading in shopping for luxury. Despite experiencing a weaker currency and the tidying on gifting, the Chinese luxury market has remained stable (The Economist 2014). By 2015, estimates already showed that China’s sales value of individual luxury goods were approximately 18 billion Euros ranking 3rd after America and Japan (Statista, 2015). Nonetheless, considering that wealthy Chinese consumers often travel in foreign countries to purchase luxury goods, the contribution these consumers have on the global luxury market is higher than the domestic consumption (Statista, 2015). The luxury goods market dominating in China is the store-based retail. The current trend in the Chinese luxury market is that shoppers are now attracted to purchase luxury items from online shops compared to physical stores.
While the luxury market has been experiencing growth in China, companies operating in the industry have to deal with the cultural challenges such as offering gifts and purchasing power differences of the Chinese consumer (Li, Li, and Kambele 2012, p. 1516). According to Li Li, Li, and Kambele (p. 1516) China is largely considered to have a culturally collectivist environment where their identities puts emphasis on group welfare and social relationship over individualistic needs. Additionally, the Chinese consumers show more concern on positional value consumption and hence they pursue comprehensive values related to the different fashion brand (Li Li, Li, and Kambele (p. 1517). At the same time, Chinese consumers are known to emphasise on social value brands more than other nations (Li, Li, and Kambele 2012, p. 1518). Customers use brand names and material as a method of enforcing their social identity. Luxury goods in the Chinese culture are tools for increasing distance from other groups in the society as well as a method to identify with peers well known of equal and same social status (Zhan, and He 2012, p. 1452). Thus, luxury fashion is used as a measure of social class (Zhan, and He 2012, p. 1452). Nonetheless, social class, age, constant travel, and education influence individual cultural orientations. Chinese consumers are also associated with being heterogeneous (Zhan, and He 2012, p. 1452). As a result, if a luxury brand appears to have similarities with the consumer’s cultural orientation, the customer is likely to develop positive attitudes and beliefs towards making a purchase. The middle-class group in China is growing and has significantly led to the growth of the luxury fashion industry. Often, most of the consumers lack knowledge and depend on recommendation from fashion experts (Zhan, and He 2012, p. 1453). Based on the information provided, it is critical to conduct a study that investigates what drives Chinese customers to be fascinated about luxury fashion.
1.2 Aims and Objectives
The main objective of the research project was investigating what drives Chinese customers to be fascinated about luxury fashion.
The specific objectives of the research included:
• To examine the purchasing behaviours of Chinese consumers in the luxury fashion industry.
• To investigate what are the factors driving Chinese customers to purchase luxury fashion products.
• To make relevant recommendations to the companies in the luxury fashion industry in China.
1.3 Methodology
In the study, a mixed methodology was adopted where both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilised in the collection of primary data. The instrument used for quantitative data gathering was a questionnaire with 10 questions. On the other hand, an interview transcript with 9 questions was used to obtain qualitative data. Both instruments have been attached in the appendices. All the questions had been subjected to a reliability and validity test through seeking approval of their appropriateness from the supervisor and conducting a pilot study respectively. A reliability and validity test helps to ensure that the quality and structure of the questions in the questionnaire are standard, relevant, and understandable by potential research participants. The data obtained from a pilot study is not included during the actual research. The questionnaire had a filter question that asked the research participants if they had bought an item considered luxury in the last 12 months, which was important in ensuring data was eligible and useful to analyse. The respondents in the research were chosen through simple random technique. In total, questionnaires from 83 respondents are used in the data analysis. The questionnaires were distributed through the Internet. Before administering the questionnaires, the research participants were required to fill and sign a consent form, a critical ethical consideration component. Analysis of the data collected was done through Microsoft Excel, which enabled presentation of data through charts and graphs. Consequently, descriptive analysis was used to give meaning into data while thematic analysis identified, analysed, and reported patterns emanating from the three interviews conducted from a student at the University of East Angela, a freelancer, owns a company in China, and finally, a sales assistant at Givenchy Boutique in China.
1.4 Chapter Outline
The research project was divided into five chapters that included introduction, literature review, methodology, research findings, data analysis and discussion, and finally, conclusions and recommendations. First, the researcher utilises secondary data information to define luxury fashion and the industry in China in addition to explaining theories related to the topic. Primarily, secondary data has been used in the literature review and methodology chapters. On the other hand, primary data was used in chapter four and making suitable conclusions and recommendations.

Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 What is Luxury Fashion?
Luxury fashion goods include accessories, apparel, shoes, watches, handbags, jewellery, as well as perfumes. The display or use of any particularly branded product is supposed to bring prestige to the owners irrespective of any other functional utility (Roll 2016, p.88). According to Amatulli, De Angelis, Costabile, and Guido (2017), consumption may be categorised into four main segments: basic (for normal prosperity and growth), necessary (for maintenance of life), luxury (difficult to have, limited supply, or extremely expensive), and affluence (not necessary for prosperity and growth). The notion insinuates that the scarcity of material and the elevated price of luxury exist.
Luxury goods have become part of the social protocol where self-worth and self-identity are determined by brands that an individual wears (Balmer 2015, p.176). Consumers have increased probability of paying more for luxury brands because they have unique characteristics like craftsmanship, premium quality, reputation, exclusivity and recognisability (Manlow 2016, p.24). Current studies show the perspective of luxury fashion goods as the prestige consumption behaviour.
Luxury fashion elevates the social status of an individual as well as their symbolic value. People buy luxury fashion because of their symbolism, for instance, wealthy people buy them so that they display their wealth and attain a superior social status (Batt et al. 2017, p.560). Consumers that prefer elevated prestige possess a higher regard for the brands because they desire to have a higher role in society. The brand name is the symbol of their identity especially in collectivistic countries like China. Collectivistic societies puts emphasis on the goals and needs of a group as a whole before an individual’s desires and needs.
Historically, people became influenced by the power of excess and gratuitousness. For instance during the Roman times, a specific legislation was formed in order to limit luxurious spending by people (Antola 2017, p.54). The growth of the Roman Empire led to the people being influenced by luxury and they became accustomed to simple indulgences. The rest of the world followed suite and prosperity and wealth was only shown through luxurious fashion and accessories.
During the middle ages, regions like Britain perceived that possessing something expensive or unique was an offense specifically for individuals considered to occupy the low class in the society. For instance, clothing attained more attention because the rules were normally introduced with the stipulation of which class was allowed to wear certain garments (Canziani et al. 2016, p.45). By the 20th century, the demand and democratisation for luxury items increased, but in World War 2, people were incapable of affording or accessing luxury. As a result, brands focused on small items like perfumes, handbags, scarves and shoes. For instance, Louis Vuitton, focused on railway passengers and designed luggage bags which best attained the needs of the clients (Silvestri 2015, p.60). The luxury that we have today has been largely contributed by historical events. Silvestri (2015, p.60) noted that today’s consumers want goods that emotionally appeal to their experiences while maintaining the strong ideals of the ethics and sustainability of society. As a result, companies such as Gucci want to put evidence in their operations and quality by ensuring that “Made in” is not just another slogan but a term which necessities the involvement of consumers to appreciate the organisation’s product both immaterial and physical parts (Silvestri 2015, p.86).
2.2 Luxury fashion in key markets
Globally, the new luxury consumer that is of interest to fashion companies is the millennial. The primary reason for this according to Deloitte (2017, p.8) is that compared to other luxury consumers, millennials are highly affected by digital influence where 42 percent of their purchasing has been through mobile devices or computers. In comparison, Baby boomers share is 28% and 35% for Generation X (Deloitte 2017, p.8). Overall, the luxury industry is composed of nine key segments where three; personal luxury goods, luxury hospitality, and luxury cars are estimated to control 80% of the global market. In 2017, the luxury market experienced a growth by 5% which equates to about 1.2 trillion Euros as shown in the figure 1 below (D’Arpizio, Levato, Kamel, and Montgolfier, 2017).

Figure 1 Growth in the Luxury Market
Source: D’Arpizio, Levato, Kamel, and Montgo (2017)
The market is largely dominated by sale of luxury cars while luxury experiences remained attractive as the sales of wines and high-end foods continued to grow. In 2017, the personal luxury goods segment reach a high of 262 billion Euros after receiving a boost from the revived buying by customers from China both abroad and at home. The Chinese consumption of luxury items bounced back from a slow growth in 2016 the catalyst being rapid emergence of a middle class and increased confidence from the customers (D’Arpizio, Levato, Kamel, and Montgo 2017).
In Japan, the market for personal luxury experienced a growth of 4% driven by a strong currency in addition to the travellers from China. At the same time, the Europe market grew by 6% reaching 87 billion Euros in sales making it the most valuable region for luxury items. On the other hand, the United States market experienced slow growth estimated to be 2% equating to 84 billion Euros (D’Arpizio, Levato, Kamel, and Montgo 2017).
Some of the global brands dominating the luxury market include Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Burberry and Bulgari. In each of the luxury segment, there are numerous brands that dominate the global market. According to Deloitte (2017), top ten luxury goods organisations by sales in the world are shown in the figure 2 below.

Figure 2 Top 10 Luxury goods companies by sales
Source: Deloitte (2017)
2.3 Luxury Market in China
China has emerged as the biggest economic power worldwide especially during the past few years. High-income groups have increased and which means that China is becoming the ideal market for global luxury goods (Canziani, Watchravesringkan, and Yurchisin, 2016, p. 43. Furthermore, Chinese consumers have superior maturity levels a factor that has influenced the way they purchase luxury goods and has diversified their requirements in relation to luxury or other related services (Canziani, Watchravesringkan, and Yurchisin 2016, p.43). Luxury goods companies have become attracted to the Chinese market due to factors such as continuous growth of China’s economy. As a result, China is ranked top in the consumption of luxury fashion goods, and the market prospect is still growing (Liu 2015, p.24). From a historical perspective, the Chinese people lack adequate information about luxury fashion goods. Furthermore, there is minimal research on the topic because the emergence and growth of luxury fashion goods in China is still at the beginning stage.
Generally, luxury represents the high-end merchandise lifestyle that has triggered increased consumption of luxury goods (fashion) in China today (Antola 2017, p.36). According to Calefato (2014, p.24), China has experienced growth of the middle class which has made the country the globe’s fastest growing market in the luxury fashion industry. It has proved to be a promising market for luxury fashion especially with the current saturation in the American and European markets.
The market capacity and business opportunities in China’s luxury goods sector are immense; Chinese consumers possess high spending power as well as consumer awareness and there is a high demand for luxury goods (Zenk 2017, p.56). Nonetheless, even though there is a growing demand for luxurious items in the Chinese market, the industry is still relatively new. For instance, many of the consumers do not understand the luxury goods well enough and their attitudes towards this emerging market are yet to be explored.
The symbolic interaction theory defines China’s yearning for luxury fashion as the manner where the focus of the consumers is on the external social needs rather than internal individual needs (Atwal and Bryson 2017, p.111). The symbolic value normally elevates status within the Chinese societies meaning that they may be purchasing luxury fashion so that they can rise in social status; this is very vital to them.
Even though significant growth of luxury goods consumption has been seen in China, it is seemingly connected to their economic and societal trends (Batt et al. 2017, p.547). Therefore, the growing demand for luxury goods and brands will assist in protecting the luxury brands companies’ profits which are otherwise suffering from the shrink of the market from the rest of the world.
The United States and Europe regions are seen as the traditional luxury sales markets; however, Asia has gained recognition as the fastest growing market within the area (Manlow 2016, p.30). In specific, China is ranked second in terms of the largest luxury market right after Japan. In the figure 3 below, China’s market for luxury items has been compared to other region such as Europe, America, Asia, Japan, and the rest of the world.

Figure 3 Chinese luxury market vs the rest of the world
Source: D’Arpizio, Levato, Kamel, and Montgo (2017)
The fashion products are supposed to convey the social status of the individual as well as the symbolic value (Roll 2015, p.40). Whenever fashion goods incorporate luxury brands, they transform to a symbol of wealth. Most people consume the luxury goods because of their symbolism; the wealthy people normally consume conspicuous goods so that they can show their wealth and attain a high social status (Calefato 2014, p.54). Thus, the purchase of luxury products represent a type of conspicuous consumption.
Many of the Asian consumers buy luxury goods so that they can gain social recognition as well as affirm their status in the society a behaviour caused by cultural influences that focus on status and hierarchy (Zenk 2017, p.60). In comparison with other societies, the Chinese society is strongly guided by higher roles. The Chinese people buy luxuries conspicuously so that they can display their status and wealth in order to accommodate the societal expectations. Furthermore, they concentrate on luxury branded goods that have popular logos (Amatulli, De Angelis, Costabile, and Guido 2017, p.45). Chinese consumers in the middle class category associate having luxury goods with a symbol of becoming members of the elite social circles and thus luxury brand names which are recognised by other people may be important in terms of the effect they have on the consuming luxury fashion goods in China.
2.3.1 How luxury brands first entered into China market?
Luxury consumption in China was started years ago especially by the upper class a feature that surpassed the western world. Traditionally, the Chinese society has an elite class, which assisted the emperor to help in the country’s management (Antola 2017, p.56). Over the years, there have been many generations of Chinese and they have been immensely influenced by social upheavals emanating from the formulation of Chinese Republic. Consequently, luxury brands from Europe and America started investing in the highly lucrative market.
Louis Vuitton ventured into Chinese market in 1992 and was soon a popular brand primarily because of Chinas’ growing economy. Louis Vuitton entered the market at the right time which further cemented the dominance of Western luxury brands in the Chinese market. Other than Louis Vuitton, there are numerous brands that operate in the Chinese luxury fashion market and include Cartier, Burberry and Bulgari. Of importance to be aware is that despite the significant growth of luxury goods consumption seen in China, it is ostensibly connected to their economic and societal trends (Batt et al. 2017, p.547). Therefore, the growing demand for luxury goods and brands will assist in protecting the profits of luxury fashion companies’ which are decreasing from the shrink of the market in other parts of the world.
2.4 The Marketing Strategy of Luxury Brands
The marketing of luxury items is different from other products in the market (Kapferer, and Bastien 2012). The critical aspect is that marketing of luxury brands often is focused on the luxury. In other words, the focal point is on the quality, the happiness, the sheer opulence, and the prestige associated with these kinds of products. Marketing of luxurious products involves the exclusion of audiences who are unqualified in addition to targeting ads using the level of income (Kapferer, and Bastien 2012). Using the luxury strategy of marketing helps the organization develop the highest brand value. When utilizing the luxury strategy to market products organisations should know that luxury sets its own price, advertising is not done to sell, the client should feel dominated, a rise in demand should not be responded to, luxury is not competitive and hence no need for positioning and finally, prices should go up occasionally (Kapferer, and Bastien 2012).
Companies marketing luxurious brands should be aware that consumers of fashion products are less interested with showing off as they are more concerned about a product’s attributes rather than the brand’s glamour (Chrysostome, and Molz 2014, p. 245). Organizations in the fashion industry are required to provide an excellent service and a product line that is strong. Fashion brands should design VIP programs and unique marketing events for a few customers rather than mass marketing. Marketing managers of fashion companies should understand seven segments of the luxury industry for maximum effectiveness (Chrysostome, and Molz 2014, p. 245). These segments include targeted marketing, diffusing strategies, local content, local manufacturing, store formats, rapid expansion, use of local partners, quantitative study of the intended market location, having sale associates at the sale point. Marketing fashion luxury products requires brands to be innovative as it allows targeting the right customers without having to incur huge resources. Many luxury customers know what they want and considering the price of the product does not push them away from purchasing, the aim of the company should be to make them aware of the brand’s availability in a certain region (Chrysostome, and Molz 2014, p. 246). Details such as location of a physical store offering luxury products should be well communicated to the target customers. Moreover, when marketing, a sense of exclusivity should be exercised such as using email for communication or having exclusive VIP club members who get access to new products before official launch. Importantly, marketing tactics should have aspiration content.
The consumption of luxury products can be explained through the self-concept theory. In other words, the concept of the self determines the extent to which an individual appeals to certain luxury products. Through the self-concept theory, consumers can establish a relationship with the brands forming a self-brand connection (Bhar, and Kyrios 2016, p. 8). The connection becomes more robust when the marketing messages used and the reality of the product usefulness assists the customers achieve objectives endeavoured by ‘self.’

2.5 The marketing strategy of luxury brand in China
The Chinese market consists of customers who have varying demands and purchase motivations and hence the need for the fashion luxury brands to implement market segmentation and identify their target sales group as the main marketing strategy (Liu 2015, p.88). Once a company develops the final marketing segment, they determine the value of the customer as well as the enterprise. The Chinese market is divided into smaller segments in which the deciders make up the target group. Alternatively, deciding the value of the consumer is significant when distinguishing the market as well as making the market offering within the target group’s mind. The increasing demand for luxury fashion will continue to be experienced and as shown in the figure 4 below, estimates shows that the industry is not declining soon.

Figure 4 Demand Estimate of Chinese luxury goods
Source: APLF (2011)
2.5.1 Online Marketing Strategy in China Market
Shopping online has quickly become the focus in the Chinese luxury brand market. The Chinese consumers spend more time collecting and searching information about the products and brand while comparing reviews on what they want to buy. In China, there are different social networking sites which usually offer reviews of luxury brands and they include RenRen, Youku, or Kaixin and many more. The most crucial marketing strategy for luxury fashion brands is working with the social media platforms so that more access can be available to respond and monitor online conversations among or with consumers. Luxury fashion brands in China recognised the significance of identifying and engaging the influential fashion blogger an important step towards providing awareness among the population on matters fashion because they have a significant impact and they act as brand ambassadors. As shown in the figure 5 below, selling luxury items online continues to evolve notwithstanding the presence of physical stores.

Figure 5 Growth of Online outlets
Source: D’Arpizio, Levato, Kamel, and Montgo (2017)
Songer (2014, p.87) argues that the luxury brands have to refrain from normal forms of marketing like using fashion magazines. Nonetheless, it is of importance to maintain brand presence in all media to reach untapped market. In China, there is need to have online marketing strategy because most potential luxury fashion consumers can be reached easily. Online marketing influences the lower middle class and attains them as potential luxury consumers in future. Importantly, most Chinese consumers buy luxury fashion to confirm their social success and accomplishments.
Digital marketing has led to the expansion of the customer base and is considered more effective in terms of advertising because a larger scope of the public is reached; this simplifies interaction between the consumer and the company. Decisively, a customer may take more time navigating through luxury brands in the website so that they can know more about the product. In China, luxury fashion brands like Gucci have launched websites that display their products and allow users to purchase them online. This has increased their visibility and popularity in the online platform and more consumers are opting to do online shopping. Utilising such strategies stands as the most appropriate way to compete with local online retailers such as Taobao which is one of the world’s biggest e-commerce website. While foreign luxury brands have an upper hand emanating from the nature of the Chinese consumers to gain competitive advantage, they require marketing tactics that increase their online visibility similar to Taobao.
E-commerce has become more popular especially since luxury fashion brands have created attractive and highly informative websites to attract consumers to purchase their goods online. Luxury fashion brands write reviews of all their products individually so that they can entice the Chinese consumers to purchase their products (Liu 2015, p.88). Luxury firms like Armani, Gucci and Burberry have successful e-shopping websites that provide unique service when customers are purchasing the luxury products.
In China, there are different social networking sites which usually offer reviews of luxury brands and they include RenRen, Youku, or Kaixin and many more. Armani, Gucci and Burberry have successful e-shopping websites that provide unique service to customers purchasing their luxury products online. The most crucial marketing strategy for luxury fashion brands is working with the social media platforms so that more access can be available to respond and monitor online conversations among or with consumers. Luxury brands have identified the most popular social media sites in China and are conducting rigorous advertisements through them. Luxury fashion brands are using celebrities and social media influencers from China to promote their brands and this has proven to be successful because more consumers are purchasing their products (Zenk 2017, p.87).
2.5.2 Luxury brand offline marketing strategy in China
Luxury brands like Cartier are conducting both offline and online marketing strategies. It has invested heavily on creating social media content and films which continuously run across social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube (Calefato 2014, p.67). There have been recent trends which have prompted luxury fashion brands to invest more in event marketing so that they can impress the consumers in China. This means there is no more confinement to product displaying or launching new stores; luxury brands are expanding their creative abilities with different events like art exhibitions, galas and experiential walk-through (Balmer and Chen 2015, p.180). As the figure 4 below shows, physical stores play a critical role in contributing towards sales despite the online stores gaining share.

Figure 6 Contribution of Physical stores
Source: D’Arpizio, Levato, Kamel, and Montgo (2017)
There is an assumption that even though a digital or print ad may promote the luxury item, brands still need to attract more clients to their stores; this means that social events help consumers experience the brand (Atwal and Bryson 2017, p.113). Luxury fashion brands are using celebrities and social media influencers from China to promote their brands and this has proven to be successful because more consumers are purchasing their products (Zenk 2017, p.87). Influencers are very important in attracting customers to purchase luxury fashion products. Luxury brands like Gucci and Armani have come to the realisation that Chinese influencers have to take part in the marketing strategy because it guarantees a Return on Investment (Cignitti 2016, p.98).
Luxury fashion companies in China focus more on recalling their traditions, lifestyle, history, calligraphy and maximise on traditional patriotism in China. Some Chinese consumers prefer discreet items but emphasise more on the Chinese culture which is currently incorporated in the branding and fashion products presented in China (Roll 2016, p.111). Most luxury fashion brands use special collections especially ones that are related to important events in China so that customers can be attracted to purchase them. In China, social status is important and during important events it is important for the people to display their status in society through luxurious clothing and accessories.
2.5.3 The localism of marketing campaign
In the recent years, the luxury consumers in China have become the focus of luxury brands worldwide. By the year 2015, Chinese clients represented 31 percent of the world’s luxury purchases, closely followed by Americans who represented 24 percent while the Europeans represented 18 percent (Wittig, Sommerrock, Beil, and Slbers 2015, p.67). Such statistics have prompted luxury goods companies to spread to China a move that has seen the Chinese market flooded with prominent logos and glitzy stores. Nevertheless, for a long time now, the aspect of localism of marketing campaign has not worked in the Chinese market. The ‘buy local’ mantra has not been effective in luxury fashion items. The aim of localism is have customers accept the collective effect of spending locally produced luxury items. Many Chinese consumers of luxury products prefer to purchase from international brands because they believe their products are quality and more authentic (The Economist, 2014).
Chinese luxury consumers are constantly on the rise a trend that has been contributed by the intensifying household incomes within China. Richer Chinese households are considered to be the main drivers of luxury fashion demand and this makes them the essential target for the different luxury brands (Calefato 2014, p.90). On the other hand, the middle class is growing fast in China and this comprises of households that have incomes ranging between 9,000 to 34,000 USD; this is a rapidly growing consumer category in China which has drawn more focus from the global brands (Som and Blanckaert 2015, p.89). These characteristics of the luxury market in China are making it impossible for the localism idea to work. Consequently, many domestic luxury companies are struggling to convince local consumers why they should purchase their products.
The new entrants mostly inhabit towns, use their purchases as their symbols to show that they are going up both the financial and social status, spend more income on luxury, and aspire to reach a higher status (Roll 2016, p.120). Irrespective of the fact that the middle-class consumers do not spend as much as the wealthy ones, they represent a larger percentage of the consumers such that they influence China’s luxury spending. According to Cignitti (2016), 500 million people in China represent the middle class and this is projected to increase by 2022 to 550 million in case the population numbers remain constant.
The luxury customers in China are relatively younger than the American or European consumers. For instance, 45 percent of the luxury Chinese customers are below 35 years meaning that they are 14 years younger than European consumers and 25 years younger in than the American consumers (Atwal and Bryson 2017, p.118). Thus, luxury consumers in China average 33.1 years and over 80 percent of then vary between 25 and 44 years of age (Canziani et al. 2016, p.44).
2.6 Chinese Consumers’ Luxury Fashion Behaviour
The behaviour of the luxury Chinese consumer consists of self-pleasure, conformity and conspicuousness (Wittig, Sommerrock, Beil, and Slbers 2015, p.98). They do not have a need to self-express themselves like their Western counterparts but care more about the symbol of their status. This is because they are greatly influenced by their traditional culture and this motivates the luxury consumers.
2.6.1 Chinese Culture and History
In comparison with other societies, the Chinese society is strongly guided by higher roles. The Chinese buy luxuries conspicuously so that they can display their status and wealth in order to accommodate the societal expectations. Furthermore, they concentrate on luxury branded goods that have popular logos (Amatulli, De Angelis, Costabile, and Guido 2017, p.45). Chinese consumers in the middle class are desperate to be recognised as elite members in the society that signifies the changing culture that has been guiding consumption by wealthy people and hence, the continued demand for luxurious international products with a widely known brand name (Amatulli, et al., 2017). In particular, these individuals are located in second tier cities but seek to spend larger amounts of their income on luxury as a method of displaying their financial and social status rather than being influenced by the culture (Roll, 2017). In addition, most of the middle class consumers of luxury items are young people seeking to imitate the Western culture (Roll, 2017).
2.6.2 Chinese luxury fashion consumers
Significantly, Chinese luxury consumers are constantly growing and this has been contributed by the rising household incomes within China. Richer Chinese households are considered the main drivers of luxury fashion demand and this makes them the essential target for the different luxury brands (Calefato 2014, p.90). On the other hand, the middle class is growing fast in China and this comprises of households that have incomes ranging between 9,000 to 34,000 USD; this is a rapidly growing consumer category in China, which has drawn more focus from the global brands (Som and Blanckaert 2015, p.89). Luxury fashion elevates the social status of an individual as well as their symbolic value. People buy luxury fashion because of their symbolism, for instance, wealthy people buy them so that they display their wealth and attain a higher social status (Batt et al. 2017, p.560). Consumers that prefer high prestige possess a higher regard for the brands because they desire to have a higher role in society. The brand name is the symbol of their identity especially in collectivistic countries like China.
Chinese luxury consumers can also be defined based on their attitudes and purchasing behaviours towards fashion products. First, some customers consider luxury to be functional which means that before purchasing the person makes pre-buy surveys to ensure they get the best lasting item. The decision to buy is based on rational analysis instead of emotions. Secondly, there is the group that feels luxury products is a form of reward and hence will always go for conspicuous items. The rising consumer demand for luxury items in China can also be explained through Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Human beings will always develop some need and once it is met another arises (Xiao-hui, 2006). According to Maslow, the needs of human beings are hierarchal physiological needs，Safety needs, Social needs, the need for respect and the need for self-realization (Xiao-hui, 2006). In the same scenario, Chinese purchasing psychology is reflect when buying luxury fashion items. As China continues to experience development of cultural and social economy, lowly level needs of people are achieved with variance in satisfaction. People now have higher needs to achieve and certainly higher ability to meet them. Existence of international luxurious brands in China has allowed customers to achieve the higher needs (Xiao-hui, 2006).
2.7 Conclusion
In conclusion, the literature section of the dissertation provides for a review of the global luxury fashion market as well as the Chinese market. The global luxury market consists of various segments such as personal luxury goods, luxury hospitality, and luxury cars among others. Personal luxury goods control the largest share of the industry globally. The demand for luxury items in China has been increasing in particular because of the emerging middle class who seek to differentiate themselves from other members of the society. In terms of sales, China is the largest market for luxury goods. The marketing strategy for luxury items is often different from other products which means that luxury companies have to adopt digital marketing strategies to achieve improved sales in the Chinese market.

Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Research design and methodology
Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009) used the research onion below to show the sub-sections of research design and methodology.

Figure 7 Research Onion
Source: Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009)
Fisher, Buglear, Lowry, Mutch, and Tansley (2010), explained that a complete and all-rounded thesis should have both sources of data collection which include the secondary and primary methods. The primary objective of the researcher is to show past information and data as well as demonstrating the current knowledge of a research question. In this study, the researcher deemed it essential to use both primary and secondary sources providing a broader analysis of what drives Chinese customers to be fascinated by luxury fashion.
3.2 Philosophy
From the research onion, the first layer is the most significant especially when viewing the study from a philosophical approach. Based on the research done by Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009), research philosophy is known to have relevant hypothesis emerging from study strategies and techniques used as part of the research’s design. Data and information collection, analysis, and presentation by the researcher are a phenomenon known as philosophy according to Burrell and Morgan (2017). There are three types of epistemological approaches related to a research’s philosophy and include realism, positivism, and interpretivism. The positivist approach is mostly used in a situation when the study has observable realities which are socially related. Moreover, the method can also be used in the following scenario; when the researcher needs to find out the causes of social or business facts or events through reasoning logically. According to John and Johnson, (2010), the researcher emphasises on the use of a positivist approach since it utilises highly structured methodologies and gives opportunities to enable more replications in the research. Moreover, the statement was backed up by Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009, p. 106) who said that positivism allows the researcher to quantify observations which result in statistical analysis. Thus, the researcher preferred the approach since it is more applicable to use in quantitative research.
3.3 Deductive vs Inductive
Deductive and inductive methods tend to be different in regards to the type of study conducted by the researcher. Often, it happens because the inductive approach requires theory development due to the ability to observe empirical data (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill 2009). A qualitative study that involves the use of interview in data collection is known as an inductive study. Inductive logic and qualitative methods are used in a study with a purpose of understanding a particular objective which is essential to the researcher based on the social context of the study. However, the approach is not related to the research or project which was examined.
The deductive approach is significant to the research such that when specific ideas from the project are considered true, the conclusion is derived from these ideas and consequently regarded as authentic. The deductive approach is concerned with the relationship between theory and research where the two are interchangeable. For purposes of the study that investigated the reasons as to why Chinese customers are fascinated about luxury fashion, the researcher used the deductive approach since it is less rigid and is more structured in comparison to the inductive method. The deductive approach can reduce premises and the number of theories which could be derived from the research.
3.4 Research Approaches
In various studies, there are numerous research strategies used by the researchers with the aim of achieving success. These strategies include grounded theories, action research, sectional studies, participative enquiries and case studies among others (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill 2009, p. 106). These strategies can be used for three purposes in research and include explanatory, exploratory and descriptive. Based on the nature of this study, some of the approaches named were not used in the research because the researcher deemed them inappropriate. In conducting the investigation, the researcher considered the use of survey method accompanied by the exploratory approach.
In research involving human beings, the survey approach is useful since it includes questions which enable the researcher to extract data from specific individuals. In the study, the survey obtained information from Chinese customers in China and its environment. The internet was a significant tool used for gathering data since the research was conducted in various part of the country. According to the experience of many scholars, the survey method is preferred since it increases the knowledge of the researcher in many fields including social research. The researcher used interviews and questionnaires as the primary method of data collection. The researcher attached a blank questionnaire and a copy of the research transcript in the appendices. By the use of survey interviews and questionnaires, the researcher was able to assess opinions, feelings, and thoughts of the Chinese customers. The questionnaires and interview transcript had questions on various issues which the researcher felt were essential for the study to understand why Chinese customers were fascinated by luxury fashion. The simple random technique was used to distribute the questionnaires among the respondents.
The use of both questionnaires and interviews in one single research is advantageous because of the wide range of information that is collected for analysis and making valid conclusions on the topic under investigation. Many aspects and issues have to be considered when setting up and designing questionnaires. These issues include the questions asked and the length of administration among others. Moreover, the surveys include other items that are related to data analysis and interpretation to ensure that there is adequate data yielding. While questionnaires are considered to be quantitative tools, they can also be used to collect qualitative data. However, in the current study, qualitative data was collected through three different interviews of Chinese consumers of luxury items. Additionally, questions asked in the surveys seeks to inform the researcher of specific facts and opinions regarding the study. By using the exploratory research approach, the researcher was able to understand how luxury fashion fascinates Chinese consumers. The main reason for using exploratory research is to understand particular facts of an area which has never been researched or was partially studied in the past. The most significant advantage of using an exploratory approach is that people cannot generalise the results quickly. The exploratory research finds out how the participants associated with each other in regards to the questions asked and the issues which involve or concern them. Nonetheless, the primary aim of using this research is to learn the present situation of something and making suggestions or an investigation without having clear expectations.
The survey research can be defined as an approach in which data is collected by giving specific questions within a particular sequence through a structured questionnaire and interview transcript to respondents who are chosen to represent people living in a particular area. One of the most prominent variations between the questionnaires and surveys is that the research involves large-scale interviews with specific questions and procedure. Blaxter, Hughes, and Tight (2010) observed that literature review could be associated with a survey concept in which the study questions are not accepted or approved by the respondents.
3.5 Qualitative and Quantitative Data
Quantitative research varies from qualitative research since it uses surveys, predetermined instruments, and experimental studies while collecting research data. The primary focus of quantitative research is the collection and analysis of data which is also quantified by the research. The study done by the researcher majors on a mixed methodology where both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used in the collection of unquantifiable and quantifiable data respectively. The mixed methodology helped in the collection of primary data. On the other hand, the researcher gathered secondary data for the literature review from some secondary sources including reports, articles, company reports, conference proceedings and newspapers.
Grinnell Jr and Unrau (2013) noted that qualitative and quantitative research methods have similarities that include; both approaches have proved to be a success when showcasing ideas and assumptions. These assumptions are reviewed based on tests or analysis. Moreover, the procedures give the researcher new methods for modifying, substantiating or clarifying the assumptions. Qualitative and quantitative study methods evaluate and observe data or information which can be used to generate new ideas or hypotheses. The utilisation of a mixed methodology in the present study was critical in ensuring a more precise understanding of the research problem was provided. By having a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative methods, the researcher gained in depth and breadth of corroboration and understanding while having to offset the weaknesses when a single method could have been in use. Among the most beneficial features of having to use mixed methodology is the possibility of triangulation (Grinnell Jr and Unrau 2013). Triangulation is the usage of dissimilar means such as data sources and methods to investigate one phenomenon in this case what drives Chinese customers to luxury fashion. Finally, a mixed methodology is useful in helping to make findings generalisation.
3.6 Data collection and analysis
Primary data is the data collected with the involvement of the researcher in the study and is also known as the first hand or raw data. Bryman and Bell (2015, p.8) stated that primary data is defined as the data given to solve issues at hand. In the research, questionnaires were issued to the respondents through the internet and a copy is attached in the appendices. Moreover, the research used the simple random technique to identify the respondents involved in the collection of primary data through the questionnaires. In addition, interviews were conducted to increase the range of primary data gathered.
One of the most significant advantages of using primary data is that it allows the researcher to be involved and take control of the data collection process. Information given during the research is essential, and therefore, the researcher ensures that it is quality data as they are part of the process (Bryman, and Bell 2015, p. 10). The data was collected by the use of structured questionnaires and interviews as provided in the appendices. The researcher used a pilot study which involved individuals who are not part of the research to answer the questionnaires before issuing them to the actual respondents. A pilot study is a mock research conducted before the actual study. The pilot study was used as a test for validity and reliability of the questions in both the questionnaire and the interviews to avoid any unnecessary issues such as respondents misunderstanding the intended meaning. Furthermore, the pilot study helps in minimising syntax errors, language and spelling errors and improving the general quality of the questionnaires. However, the results derived from the pilot study are not included in the final research results since the questions and answers are just used to refine the questionnaire before issuing it to the actual participants.
The analysis of quantitative data was done through descriptive statistics. Descriptive data analysis is used to provide a description of the basic features of the data collected. Descriptive analysis provides simple summaries about the measures and the samples. Together with graphic analysis, they form a background to quantitative data analysis (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill 2009). When using descriptive analysis, the researcher simply describes what the data shows and hence, different from inferential statistics which seeks to make conclusions which extend beyond the data collected. The researcher through this type of analysis presents quantitative descriptions in a form that is more manageable. The researcher used Microsoft Excel to code the quantitative data as it gives many options for data presentation. Analysed data was presented through percentages, graphs, and charts.
On the other hand, interview data was analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis helps in examining and recording patterns or themes from the qualitative data. A theme is a presentation of a certain patterned response from the data and has relation with the research questions (Guest, MacQueen, and Namey 2012, p. 79).
3.7 Research ethics
The participants are significant in the research. Therefore, the researcher had to follow specific ethics to ensure that they are not oppressed in any way. The researcher was advised to follow all the ethical considerations while conducting the study. These research ethics included; asking for permission from the University’s Committee to carry out the research. Nevertheless, this was done after filling an ethics form, which shows the professionalism of the researcher while conducting the study. The investigator also gave a specific duration in which the study was to be carried out and the objectives of the study. The information enables the researcher to show their commitment towards surveying in the right manner (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill 2009, p.168). Another ethical consideration done by the researcher was obtaining consent from the respondents. The respondents were notified after selection using the random sampling technique to sign the consent form, which made them official participants for the study. Signing the consent form is shows that the respondents joined the research willingly. However, before this was done, the researcher informed the participants and explained to them everything concerning the study including it will be used for academic purposes only. The respondents were also given a chance to ask any questions regarding the study questions or the study itself. Since participation in the survey was voluntary, the researcher informed the respondents that they had withdrawal rights before the data was collected for analysis (Bryman, and Bell 2015, p. 20).
Confidentiality and privacy of the researcher’s identity are ethical research values which should be considered during the study (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill 2009). Similarly, there should be anonymity of the participant’s identity. Therefore, the researcher excluded the names of participants during interviews and similarly the questionnaires provided no space to write names as shown in the appendices. Bryman and Bell (2015) noted that the researcher should be the only individual authorised to have access to the personal information of the respondents. Additionally, the collected data retrieved from the study should be locked to enhance confidentiality. Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009, p. 168) noted that any data obtained from the research should be identified and marked confidential, to ensure that only authorised individuals only access it.

Chapter 4: Research Finding
The analysis below is based on a questionnaire that has been attached in the appendices. Data is analysed using descriptive statistics.
4.1 Questionnaire Analysis
Question 1: What is your gender?

Figure 8 Gender
Source: Author
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 34 41%
Female 49 59%
Table 1 Gender
Source: Author
The study wanted to find out the gender of all participants involved in the research. From the results on the bar graph above, it is clear that the study involved 83 participants. Moreover, the results show that the researcher considered using more females than males in the research. The males were 34, a figure which differed from the females with 15 members since the females involved in the study were 49. Additionally, these figures represent a percentage of 41 for the males and 59 for the females. Thus, the researcher collected data more from the female gender than the male gender and hence the difference of 18% between the two.
Question 2: What is your age?

Figure 9 Age
Source: Author
Age Frequency Percentage
Under 18 0 0
18-25 28 34%
26-35 18 22%
36-45 11 13%
46-55 13 16%
56-65 7 8%
Over 65 6 7%
Table 3 Age
Source: Author
The researcher wanted to know the ages of the participants involved in the study. Therefore, the respondents were classified into various age groups to make the tally easier and efficient. The results were shown in the chart above where most of participants in the study belonged to the age group with 18 to 25 years of age. Thus, the study recruited more youths who were 28, represented by a percentage of 34. Additionally, this age group was followed closely by another group of youths aged 26-35 years. The participants in this age group were 18 represented by a percentage of 22. Other participants involved in the study had ages between 36-45 being represented by a percentage of 13. The respondents available in this age group were 11 according to the results from the chart above. Moreover, the study did not involve many aged people where the age group with 56-65 years had only seven participants with a percentage of eight. Nevertheless, the lowest number of respondents belonged to the age group of over 65 years with only six respondents represented by a percentage of seven. Therefore, it shows that the researcher preferred more young people in the study than the older ones as evidenced by the results from the chart above.
Question 3: In the last 12 months, have you bought an item that could be considered to be luxury (Clothes and accessories are over £250, beauty products are over £50)

Figure 10 Purchasing Luxury Products
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
No 34 41%
Yes 49 59%
Table 5 Buying Luxury Products
Source: Author
In this question, the researcher wanted to know whether the respondents had been involved in the purchase of luxurious items in the last 12 months with examples of clothes worth £250 or more and beauty products worth over £50. According to the results from the bar above, most of the respondents acknowledged that they had bought luxurious items in the past year. These respondents were 49 showing that most of the participants had a similar opinion on the study question although the decision was not unanimous since there was a high number of respondents with a No answer. Respondents who gave the alternate answer (No) were 34. Additionally, the figure varied from the “Yes” respondents with 15 members. In terms of percentages, the highest percentage belonged to the respondents who said they had bought luxurious items having 59% of the total 83 participants involved. Moreover, the respondents with a ‘No’ answer had a percentage of 41 according to the results above which shows that that the two answers varied with a percentage of 18 among the respondents. Consequently, it is clear that the respondents were not influenced to make decisions since they gave answers according to their situations.
Question 4: Would you like to make luxury purchase when it is a special occasion, like anniversary, birthday, and traditional festival?

Figure 11 Luxury Purchase during Special occasion
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
Very likely 15 17%
Likely 21 24%
Neither likely nor unlikely 36 40%
Unlikely 11 12%
Very unlikely 6 7%
Table 7 Luxury Purchase during Special occasion
Source: Author
The researcher wanted to know whether the respondents could make a luxurious purchase when there is a special occasion such as traditional festivals, birthdays or anniversaries. From the results on the bar above, most of the respondents did not have a concrete answer on what they wanted since the largest percentage gave the ‘neither likely nor unlikely’ answer. These respondents were 36 which was the highest response converting into a percentage of 40 This answer was followed closely by the respondents who said that it was likely to buy luxurious items for big occasions. The participants were 21 representing a percentage of 24. Moreover, some respondents were confident on their decision saying that it was very likely for them to do as asked by the study question. These respondents were 15 which represents 17% of the total participants. With a combined percentage of 31 for respondents who said it was likely or very likely, it is safe to say that most participants felt the need to buy expensive items on special occasions. However, not all the participants had a positive feeling about the study question. There were respondents who said that it was unlikely for them to buy expensive items. These respondents were 11 having 12% of the total while those who felt that it was very unlikely to purchase were 6 representing 7%. The two combine to form a percentage of 19 showing that few respondents had a negative opinion on the case.
Question 5: How do you feel about the collection of Chinese New-year edition which launched by foreign luxury brands?

Figure 12 Collection of Chinese New-Year Edition
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
I am really excited about that, and will definitely buy them. 21 25
I like it, but not sure for purchasing 36 44
Some of the international luxury brands did not understand the Chinese traditions very well, and they are not conform to my aesthetic. 26 31
Table 9 Collection of Chinese New-Year edition
Source: Author
The respondents were asked how they felt about the collection of Chinese New-year edition launched by foreign luxury brands. From the results above, most of the participants liked the collection but they were not sure whether they were to go for the purchase. The respondents who gave this answer were 36 representing a percentage of 44 depicting that even though most of the respondents liked the collection, they may not have bought them due to their own reasons which may include lack of cash among others. Other respondents felt that some of the international luxury brands did not understand the Chinese traditions very well, and they did not conform to their aesthetic. From the results above, these participants were 26 translating to a percentage of 31 that meant that these respondents did not make the purchase since they felt that the brand did not uphold their custom. The figure was closely followed by participants who felt that they were over excited about the collection, and would definitely make the purchase. The respondents were sure about these products and were certain that they would buy them. These respondents were 21 making a percentage of 25.
Question 6: Which is the most important factor leading you to purchase luxury?

Figure 13 Factor leading you to purchase luxury
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
Enjoy to have luxury and the service of purchase. 17 18
Luxury is a kind of symbol to present social identity 23 25
Luxury items have better quality and more delicate design 37 40
The limitation of luxury fashion makes me feel more special 16 17
Table 11 Factors Influencing purchase of luxury
In this question, the participants were asked to name the most important factor leading to the purchase of luxury. 17 respondents said that they enjoy having the luxury and the service of purchase. These respondents form a percentage of 18 out of the 93 participants involved in the study. Additionally, the highest number of respondents acknowledged that luxury items have better quality and more delicate design. The respondents were 37 forming a percentage of 40 which means that most of the participants buy luxurious products due to their quality and unique designs. Twenty-three participants forming a percentage of 25 said that luxury is a kind of symbol to present social identity. However, the lowest number of participants in the study felt that limitation of luxury fashion makes them feel more special. The respondents were only 16 with a percentage of 17. According to the results above, most of the respondents have varying factors which lead to their purchase of luxury.
Question 7: Do you agree about that if your family or friends have a luxury item, you will also want to get a luxury item?

Figure 14 Influence of friends and family to buy luxury
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
Strongly disagree 5 6
Disagree 17 20
Neither agree or disagree 22 27
Agree 26 31
Strongly agree 13 16
Table 13 Friends and family influence on buying luxury
Source: Author
The results above represent the responses from 83 participants involved in the study when asked whether they agree that they have the urge to get a luxury item due to family or friends having them. Most of the participants agreed to the study question saying that they are influenced by friends to buy some luxurious items. These respondents were 26 forming a percentage of 31. Moreover, these respondents were joined by others who strongly agreed combining the percentage of all participants who agreed to the statement to 47%. The participants who strongly agreed formed a percentage 16 which leads to a figure of 13. However, there were participants who disagreed to the statement and to be precise they were 17 which represents a percentage of 20. Moreover, other five respondents strongly disagreed with the same statement equating to percentage of six. Therefore, the total number of participants who disagreed was 22 with a percentage of 26. However, it is clear that most participants agreed to the statement compared to the number of those who disagreed. From the results, there were other respondents who neither agreed or disagreed to the statement. This means that they did not have a concrete opinion on the side they supported. These respondents were 22 forming a percentage of 27.
Question 8: If a luxury brand collaborate with your favourite celebrity, would you like to consider for purchasing?

Figure 15 Collaboration with Favourite Celebrity
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
Yes, definitely!

40 48
Maybe
31 37
No, not at all
12 15
Table 15 Luxury vendors collaborating with favourite celebrity
Source: Author
The respondents were asked whether they would consider purchasing items if their luxury brand collaborated with their favourite celebrity. The chart above represents the responses of 83 respondents towards the study question. The results show that the highest number of participants agreed to the statement. These participants were almost half the number of total respondents involved in the study. Additionally, they formed a figure of 40 which translated to 48%. This means that the celebrities attracted these customers to buying the product. However, there were participants who were not sure where they stood in this question saying that they might consider purchasing or not. The participants who were not certain formed a percentage of 37 which translates to a figure of 31. The study also included respondents who completely disagreed with the study question under study saying that they would not make the purchase at all. These participants were few forming a figure of 12 with a percentage of 15.
Question 9: How important is having a luxury item in your life? Please rate from 5 to 1 as the most important to the less.

Figure 16 Importance of having a luxurious good
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
1-Less Important 8 10
2 14 17
3 23 28
4 17 20
5- Most Important 21 25
Table 17 Significance of owning a luxury item
Source: Author
The study wanted to know how important luxury items are in the life of participants and how they rate them. The researcher acknowledged that the ratings should be from one to five where one is the less important and 5 is the most important. Therefore, from the results above, the lowest rating was one where only eight participants with a percentage of 10 rated. The highest Rating was three where 23 participants with percentage of 28 voted. This meant that the rating was fair according to most participants. Moreover, there were 17 respondents with a percentage of 20who gave a rating of four. Finally, 21 participants gave a rating of five, which means that the luxury items were most important in their lives. These participants had a percentage of 25.
Question 10: Do you agree about that the increasing price of luxury makes you want to buy luxury as early as you can?

Figure 17 Increasing price of luxury items
Source: Author
Frequency Percentage
Strongly disagree 16 19
Disagree 13 16
Neither agree or disagree 26 31
Agree 10 12
Strongly agree 18 22
Table 19 Increasing price of luxury items
Source: Author
The participants were asked whether they agree that increasing the price of luxury makes them to buy them earlier where 28 respondents agreed with the statement. The participants who agreed were 10 while those who strongly agreed were 18. Therefore, this represents a percentage of 12 and 22 respectively. Other participants did not opted to be neutral with the statement. These participants were 26 giving a percentage of 31. However, the respondents who disagreed with the statement were 35% of the total. Therefore, those who disagreed were 12 with a percentage of 16 while those who strongly disagreed were 16 with a percentage of 19. From the results above most of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed although for those with specific opinions, participants who agreed were more.

4.2 Thematic Analysis
The themes provided below have been derived from the interviews conducted with three Chinese luxury consumer respondents specifically a student, a freelancer, and a sales assistant. A copy of the interview questions is attached in the appendices.
Purchase of Luxury Goods
The interviews depicted that purchase of luxury fashion items among the Chinese consumers is common and often influenced by various factors such as price or preference. For example, the interviewed student revealed that the frequency of purchase might be monthly or annually. The amount spent on luxury depends on the wealth accumulated. Thus, there is a difference between what a student can purchase as luxury and what a businessperson can buy. Additionally, the student revealed that luxury products increased prices with a small percentage and hence would not make a haste decision.
Buying Behaviour
Students or the millennials can shop online but businessperson would rather go to physical stores. According to the student interviewee, “I usually shopped online, like Net-a-porter, Farfetch, and mytheresa for clothing.” However for the freelancer, “I only shopped in store, and sometimes when I go travel, I will shop in foreign countries. I don’t shop online.” The sales assistant confirmed that millennials in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai purchased luxury fashion more commonly. Additionally, the interview with the sales assistant depicted that the reason why many Chinese millennials were fascinated with luxury is that they have rich families and can afford purchasing expensive fashion items. Other reasons that emerged included influence by celebrities and the need to compare themselves to other people including friends or adults. Nevertheless, the student interviewee felt that social comparison did not influence their luxury purchase decisions. On the other hand, to the student, social media played a big influencing role particularly when originating from celebrities. “I feel like Celebrity power has huge impact on young people to buy luxury in China.” Some of the brands that the interviewees will purchase from include Loewe, Maison Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton among others.
Self-actualisation
According to the student interviewee, sometimes buying luxury is for self-actualisation motivated by the service offered by the fashion brands. For instance, buying online is convenient and has a fast delivery. The sales assistance was in full agreement that Chinese consumers of luxury items lacked own taste and hence self-actualisation playing a huge role when making decisions.
Wealth and Luxury Fashion Items
The interviews revealed that there is a huge relationship between buying luxury fashion and wealth. For the older Chinese, the reason they are fascinated with luxury is because they can afford and these items represents their status in the society. The freelancer interviewee agreed to wealth being a major contributor to buying luxury items specifically cars. “It is like a kind of identity,” the freelancer says on how they want to present their wealth to other people. Additionally, the sales assistant agreed that half of the Chinese consumers of luxury show-off their wealth by purchasing these items for self-fulfilment.
Special Edition Luxury Brands
The student felt that this was more of a marketing strategy where they offer limited products which will be rare and unique in the market after final sales. However, the student stated that many foreign brands launching products of the Chinese New Year lack creativity because of lack of awareness on the Chinese culture. Purchasing of luxury items in special occasions is a high likelihood for the interviewees for instance Xmas or Black Friday.
Givenchy Boutique
The boutique operates in China, and according to the interviewed sales assistant, the largest target market for the business include young people between 18-30 years. The sales assistant stated that the top sellers are those items which have signature logo and print on it. The trend can be attributed to, “In my opinion, I feel like my clients want to buy something which can be easily recognized by other people.” The most effective persuasive strategy of selling luxury fashion products is celebrity direct or indirect endorsement.

Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Discussion
The results depict that majority of the respondents were female customers of the luxury products. Moreover, many of these participants were young Chinese consumers. Nevertheless, the researcher did not hesitate to involve the older generation. Having a majority young people in the research with a mixture of other older adults was intentional on the part of the researcher. Considering that the luxury fashion market in China has been evolving in the last decade as the economy of the country grew, it was critical to have dissimilar opinions on what are the main driving factors that make Chinese customers be fascinated about the luxurious items. Most of the young people are the primary targets of many foreign fashion companies often because of the influence by western world. Young people globally compared to older individuals have a sense of luxurious fashion; nevertheless, they are highly limited by resources to spend. On the other hand, the older generation fascinated about luxury fashion have enough wealth to make purchases of their choice. Travelling overseas is a major factor that influences the behaviour of older people towards fashion. Zhan, and He (2012, p. 1452) observed that wealthy people in the society are ensnared on luxurious goods as a method to separate themselves and be identified as unique social class. Therefore, as the findings show that more female and young people were part of the study combined with other ages ensures that diversified opinions are used for strong conclusion. According to Ngai and Cho (2012, p. 2-3) one of the rare characteristic within the luxury fashion industry in China is that most of the consumers are the youth.
The study findings portray that in the last 12 months, majority of the respondents had made a purchase that could be considered luxury a trend which shows the popularity of luxury fashion in China. According to Horton (2016) China still leads in matters to do with luxury. An aspect that makes the country attractive for the global fashion companies is presence of a younger, sophisticated generation of consumers who have dissimilar tastes, consumption habits, and aspirations which all are shaping China’s luxury landscape. Many of the young people in the country are well travelled, educated, and obsessed with tech-savvy making them emerge as the new market that fashion companies are targeting (Horton 2016). Horton (2016) says that a decade ago, scores of Chinese were only aware of two types of wine, the white and red and the demand for luxurious items was at its’ beginning. According to some sceptics, Chinese can react negatively to the luxurious fashion market whether wealthy or not. Nonetheless, today, shoppers from China are nearly half of the global luxury industry where they provide invaluable demand to the various brands in different segments.
The number of respondents who would want to make a purchase of a luxury item when it is a special occasion, like anniversary, birthday or traditional festival was equal to the participants whose response was neutral. Nonetheless, the respondents who were unlikely to purchase a luxury product were less. The finding depicts the changing attitudes and behaviour towards buying luxury items in China. High likelihood and undecided individuals in relation to being able to purchase luxury reflects the relationship between the buying behaviour among the Chinese and the growth in the economy (Yi, Yuan, and Kumah 2013, p. 18). For nearly 20 years, China has been experiencing an economic growth of 9% which despite challenges happens to be the fastest in the world. While China’s per capita income remains low, the budding entrepreneurs as well as a middle class that is emerging to be affluent is becoming the primary force of the nation’s luxury industry. Chinese luxury customers can be classified into wealthy individuals who are in search of a personalised service and constantly avoids the public. The wealthy category of consumers makes frequent visits to the stores retailing the luxurious items to purchase the most recent models as well as popular products. Often people in the wealthy category are not worried by the price of the product. The second category includes the office workers turned middle class who will spend huge amounts from their salary to purchase a highly expensive luxury product. In China, survey shows that the group consists of people aged between 20 to 40 years compared to 40 to 70 years in America and Europe.
The current trend in the country informed the finding where the respondents reported a mixed feeling on the collection of the Chinese New Year edition which was launched by foreign luxury brands. Many of the respondents felt that they liked the products but were not sure if they would make a purchase. At the same time, a sizeable number of the participants stated that some of the international luxury brands did not understand the Chinese traditions very well, and they did not conform to their aesthetic. Finally, the least respondents but at the same time a high number were excited about the launch and would definitely make a purchase. The mixed responses reflect the changing trends and attitudes towards luxury brands by most of the population in China. Years ago according to Horton (2016) the Chinese society treated luxury goods as a symbol for status and wealth. However, today, consumers in China are buying luxury products to attain personal enjoyment. As depicted in the research done by Wang, Sun, and Song, (2011, p. 346) Chinese consumers of luxury can be classified into three groups, the democratic, the elitist, and the distant. The existence of such classifications explains the difference in the thinking towards purchasing luxury items. Wang et al. (2011) a consumer is grouped as an elitist if they purchase the product for purposes of self-actualisation as well as for reasons of social comparison. On the other hand, if a consumer believes that a certain luxury is of good quality they have a less likelihood of being in the distant group. One belongs to the distant group if they have tendency to buy luxurious products for others (Wang et al. 2011).
The findings of the study also revealed that one of the factors driving Chinese consumers to purchase luxury products is the believe that the products had a better quality and more delicate design compared to others. The second most selected response was that luxury was a symbol that presents social identity. The study results can be associated with the conclusion made by Vigneron and Johnson (2004) who identified perceived uniqueness, perceived conspicuousness and perceived quality as the critical factors that influenced the luxury consumption in China. Majority of respondents in previous studies have indicated that owners of luxury brands have good taste of the various items and hence their longing to own them. According to an article in the Economist, China has been addicted to luxury goods as consumers are considered widely valuable (The Economist 2014). One of the reasons China is becoming a popular market for international luxury brands is a guarantee of quality and authenticity features that many consumers look for before making a purchase (The Economist 2016). Largely, the trend has seen the increase of American and European luxury fashion companies in the Chinese industry. At the same time, bragging is another factors that drives Chinese consumers to spend huge amounts of money on branded luxury products bearing labels such as “Made in Italy.” Many of the middle class still associate having luxury items as a way that depicts one has made it in life.
Majority of the respondents from the findings agree to the statement that they get lured to purchase a luxury item if their family members of friends are in acquisition of a similar product. Therefore, influence from members of family and close friends is a factor that contributes to the fascination about luxury products by the Chinese customers. According to Lu (2008) typical Chinese cultural motives and values associated such as the culture of gift giving and going abroad to purchase luxurious products. These and other prevalent factors among the society in China continue to influence the consumer purchasing behaviour. The Economist (2016) notes that slow down of the Chinese economy and crackdown on lavish gifting and corruption slightly tempered with the luxury market which had been growing with double digits. Majority of the respondents were of the view that if a celebrity they adored was used to market a specific brand they would likely make a purchase. In particular, the finding can be related to the high number of young people who were recruited to be part of the study. Compared to the older generation, many young Chinese in the middle class are influenced by celebrities from the United States or Europe and hence, they are easily convinced to purchase luxury products that these personalities endorse. In addition, on the question examining the importance of the respondents having a luxury product in their life, majority of the research participants approved to the statement. In other words, having a luxurious item was of importance to many. Finally, increasing the price of luxury commodities made consumers seek to purchase the item before further increases as a precautionary measure. As stated earlier, the Chinese luxury market has different groups of consumers where some are wary of the prices and some do not notice of any change in prices because they are wealthy. However, for many youths and middle class, price is always a factor and they would rather use less to purchase a luxurious item. Importantly, Chinese luxury consumers are largely influenced by factors that fashion companies do not control.

Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations
In conclusion, the aim of the research project was investigating what drives Chinese Customers to be fascinated about luxury; marketing or themselves. The findings clearly show that factors that are uncontrollable by the fashion companies influence the luxury consumers in China. Thus, what drives customers to be fascinated about luxury products in China are themselves. In other words, the culture in China plays a big part in influencing consumers to purchase luxury items. For instance, consumers of luxury products in China seek to own luxury products and at the same time, they are largely influenced by friends and family members. It is of importance for many to own a luxurious item as it helps in differentiating the social class. The drive to the enthralment being themselves explains why many foreign luxury fashion companies have been successful in the Chinese market more than domestic companies. Domestic luxury fashion companies have experienced slow growth as luxury enthusiasts give little attention to what they have to offer.
The successful completion of the study was faced by numerous challenges. One of the limiting factors is the scope where the participants were selected from the China. Secondly, time schedule was a factor that limited the study. Due to time limitation, the researcher was not able to use a mixed methodology where both qualitative and quantitative data is collected. Currently, only quantitative data was gathered and would have been significant to conduct a few interviews with professionals in the industry and some brand owners to further understand what drives the fascination towards luxury items in China. Finally, a budget was a limiting factor and hence not many respondents would have been recruited for the study. In future, a similar study using a mixed methodology can be significant. Moreover, future researchers can investigate how the Chinese luxury fashion market compares to other industries in Europe or America.
Based on the findings future researchers can consider some of the following recommendations. First, a research on the why domestic luxury brands are unable to compete with the foreign brands would be effective. Future researchers can do such a study to understand the challenges that local luxury companies face and what options are available to change the current trend. Secondly, future research can be done to determine issues that foreign luxury brands face in the Chinese market. Moreover, a research can be conducted in another region such as Europe or America for purposes of comparing what different luxury customers are driven by. Future researchers can also use different methodology such as qualitative methods to examine the same topic. Future researchers can also investigate the entry barriers to the luxury fashion market in China or another region in the world such as Japan.
Finally, based on the research findings, new foreign or domestic luxury fashion brands seeking to trade within the Chinese market should develop products for the young people or millennials. Targeting young people in the Chinese luxury fashion market will provide brands with an opportunity to survive in the competitive industry by making adequate sales. Understanding the preferences and consumer buying behaviour of the millennials will offer luxury brands a competitive advantage. The Chinese luxury fashion industry is changing rapidly and brands should invest in research and development activities who outcomes encourage adoption of innovative ideas.

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Appendices
Questionnaire

Interview Questions

Interview 1:
Interviewee Information:
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Occupation:
Nationality: Chinese
1. Did you buy luxury goods? How is the frequency?

2. What is your budget for buying luxury items? And where it came from?
3. Usually, what kinds of luxury fashion items you will spend most money on? (brands)
4. Do you agree that sometimes when you purchased some well-known luxury brand items is for self-actualization?
5. Do you think luxury can present people’s social identity?
6. Dose social comparison affect you to purchase luxury?
7. Is there any other people who influences you to buy luxury?
8. As we all know, the price of luxury increases every year, is that will influence to purchase luxury as earlier as you can?
9. For some special occasion, will you be more likely to purchase luxury?
10. How do you think about Luxury brand launched special edition to cater Chinese traditions recently, like launching special items only for Chinese New Year?

Interview 2:
Interviewee information：
Gender: Male
Age: 52
Occupation: Freelance, own a company in China
Nationality: Chinese

1. How is your income? In general, how much money did you spend on luxury in a year? (Including cars, wines, and watches..)
2. How is your shopping behavior for luxury? Like how often? And usually buy what kind of items?
3. How is your past living standard? I mean when you were a child/teenager, how is your life style? Did you buy any luxury in your teenage?
4. Do you remember what is your first luxury item? And how much you spent on it?
5. What changed your lifestyle? What element influences you begin to purchase luxury?
6. Do you agree that you purchase luxury to present your wealth?
7. Why do you want to present your wealth to others?
8. Will you purchase luxury in some special occasions?
9. Do you agree that purchasing luxury is a kind of investment, due to the increasing price of luxury?
Interview 3
Interviewee information：
Gender: Male
Age:36
Occupation: Givenchy Boutique Sale assistant in China
Nationality: Chinese

1. How is the popularity of Givenchy in China? Which is the largest segmentation?

2. Is it a very common in China, that Millennial in China buying luxury?

3. What factor do you think lead Chinese millennial became fascinating with luxury?

4. Which style are the top sellers in your store?

5. How do you think of this phenomenon, what factor may lead this happen?

6. Do you think self-actualization is the key factor affect Chinese to be fascinating with luxury?

7. Do you think Chinese luxury consumers present their wealth through purchasing luxury?

8. Are Chinese luxury fashion consumers always more likely to purchase something with obvious logos? How do you think about this phenomenon?

9. What is your strategy to persuade your customers to make the purchase decision?