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The Power of Fragrance Branding A study on in-store fragrance branding from a consumer

perspective applied to the German fashion retail mid-market brands Massimo Dutti and Scotch & Soda

V Martin Zirfas V

University of the Arts London London College of Fashion Presented to attain the title of: Magister Artium (Master of Arts) Course: Strategic Fashion Marketing Course Leader: Dr Lynne Hammond Tutor: Eva Schwarz ID: ZIR11342462 Date: 28 November 2014

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Abstract Purpose In a changing world of demanding consumers and the increase of online competition, brands try to innovate the in-store shopping experience. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the impact of fragrance branding in the in-store environment and to analyse how the brand perception of German retail mid-market brands (Massimo Dutti and Scotch & Soda) is affected by their use of fragrance in-store. Therefore the topics of experiential retailing, sensory branding as well as consumer brand perception are specifically researched. This dissertation focuses on the German mid-market and serves the purpose to generate substantiated recommendations and trigger further research in the field. Research design/methodology/approach In addition to the secondary data gathered from the literature, primary research was carried out in order to mine data that is relevant for the German market. This research study utilised a qualitative research approach, using three sources of qualitative data, in order to explore the topic from different perspectives. In this study an exploratory case study approach was taken, investigating the use of fragrance branding in-store. As examples two fashion mid-market fashion brands were chosen: Massimo Dutti and Scotch & Soda. The case studies were supported by data from store audits, materials analyses and semi-structured interviews with consumers. Store audits were chosen to gather a comprehensive picture of the retail environment. Hereby special attention was paid to store atmospherics as well as to sensory cues. The materials analyses were carried out in order to understand fragrance as a product in branding. Semi-structured interviews were utilised to provide current insights into the brand perceptions of German consumers influenced by the in-store fragrance. The data was triangulated with the findings of the literature review in order to answer each research question. Findings The research findings demonstrated that the in-store environment and fragrance in particular have an impact on the brand perception of consumers. Based on the concept of experience creation in-store, six different experiences were identified: individual, positive, coherent, vivid, surprising and the en passant experience. The findings also indicated that fragrance as a product creates strong impressions in the mind of the consumer. It adds to the overall concept as a sensory component in order to immerse the consumer in a holistic experience, which creates memorability. Fragrance complements uniqueness and individuality to these experiences and therefore can be considered as an effective and powerful variable in in-store branding. Limitations Although this dissertation provides valuable and in-depth insights into fragrance branding it is limited in terms of scale and scope. Due to time constraints this paper lacks a quantitative perspective on the topic. Furthermore, it is influenced by the nature of German consumers

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and does not allow comparisons between different market segments due to the targeted market of the brands assessed. However, this paper provides a substantiated basis for further research in the field. Originality/value This study provides important and valuable insights into the topic of fragrance branding related to fashion retailing in Germany. Findings address the gap between secondary and primary research in terms of fragrance branding in the in-store environment of mid-market fashion brands. Therefore, this study is original and adds to the current literature. Additionally, the recommendations are of value to fashion brands in terms of the retail environment. Keywords Fragrance branding, experiential retailing, German mid-market, consumer brand perception, Massimo Dutti, Scotch & Soda Paper type Dissertation