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18 May 2006
Taipei
According to the latest global online study by ACNielsen, as many as one fifth of Internet users worldwide confess to buying international designer brands and nearly half claim that many of their friends buy them. However, the perception that designer brands products are overpriced is quite prevalent across the globe – by consumers in the US – and not many are convinced the quality of designer merchandise is significantly higher than that of ’other’ brands.
“Our survey findings indicate that international designer brands may need to better demonstrate their value and quality if they are to appeal to consumers in developing and mature markets globally. At the same time, though, people seem to be willing to pay extra for the certain social status these brands project,” says Jennifer Tsai, Executive Director of Consumer Research, ACNielsen Taiwan.
Given the relatively low penetration of designer brands - a quarter of Internet Users in Latin American claim to buy them, the world’s highest, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific – the sales opportunities for Designer Brands are there, with one third of Internet users globally thinking that designer brands are not just for the fashion-conscious, and 60 percent associating them with social status (Table 1)
“The aspirational nature of Designer Brands makes them highly sought after in fast growing-markets where people are increasingly finding themselves with more disposable income and are are looking to buy an ‘image’ that will better project their growing social status,” said Ms. Tsai.
Attitudes towards luxury brands differ worldwide
In Europe, the cradle of fashion, wearing designer brands is considered the norm. Less than a third of Europeans, especially in such countries as the Nordics, Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries of Greece, Italy and Turkey, claim designer brands to be for fashion followers only. At the other end of the scale, the French, British and Dutch are among those least likely to indulge themselves with designer labels.
In the developing markets of Latin America, Asia, South Africa and the UAE, however, designer brands represent fashion and superior quality. Half of respondents in these countries think these brands are for fashion followers, and up to 40 percent believe they offer superior quality.
You can’t beat the real thing when it comes to designer brands
Encouragingly, nearly half the world’s internet population unanimously agreed that imitation designer merchandise is not as good as the real thing.
North Americans are the world’s most skeptical when it comes to designer brands, though, with only 18 percent believing they surpass their non-designer counterparts on quality. As many as 36 percent of Internet users in North America – twice more than in any other region – believe that imitation designer brands are just as good as the real ones.
Interestingly, the greatest percentage of people who believe designer brands offer significantly higher quality over their non-designer alternatives hail from Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Turkey – all countries where many of these fashion houses are likely to outsource their production to! (Table 2)
Latin America and Asia the most promising regions for designer accessories
According to the ACNielsen survey, shoes, sunglasses, wallets, handbags and belts are the most ‘sought after’ designer accessories, but preferences for the type of accessory differ strongly across regions (Table 3).
In addition to shoes and sunglasses which are among the top two most favored accessories across all regions led by Latin America, wallets are more preferred in Asia Pacific and South Africa and handbags rank third for Europeans and Belts for Latin Americans.
In their shoes
Outside Latin America, luxury shoes are the most popular choice in Belgium and the Netherlands (75%), Turkey (72%), France and the UAE (71%), Thailand (74%) and Philippines (67%).
Another bright but challenging prospective market is Russia – notorious for charging among the world’s highest prices for luxury brand goods – scoring number one with 81 percent of their Internet users who would aspire to buy designer shoes if money was no object versus one third who are currently buy them.
“Russia is certainly a must-be place for fashion houses, with its burgeoning middle class and their love of new and fashionable clothes,” Tsai added.
According to the ACNielsen study, 70 percent of Russian Internet users claim to spend their free cash on new clothes. It is more than in any other country surveyed and one half times more than the next nation most spending on this item - Spaniards.
Other Asia Pacific countries most likely to go for a pair of branded shoes if money were no object are Philippines, Korea and Indonesia.
Sunglasses
One doesn’t need to look too far to see where the greatest opportunities are to market designer sunglasses - it’s in sun-baked countries like the UAE, Greece, South Africa and Turkey, where over a half of respondents claim to buy designer sunglasses.
Additionally, South Africa leads the world with the number of Internet users aspiring to buy sunglasses if money were no object (69%). Latin American countries along with South Korea, Philippines and New Zealand would also be the target of sunglasses campaigns with over a half of respondents there buying designer sunglasses if they had the money to spare.
Reach for your designer wallets in Asia
Nine of the top 10 countries ranking with the biggest number of consumers buying or most inclined to buy designer wallets hail from Asia (45%). Interestingly, Asians also outscored all other nations as the world’s biggest money savers, according to an earlier ACNielsen online survey which asked consumers what they do with their spare cash after covering essential living expenses.
In the Nordics, Eastern Europe, Germany, Austria, the US and the UK, a designer wallet does not seem to add a lot to its owner’s social status, judging by the fact that, on average, only 10 percent are buying luxury wallets in these countries, and only twice as many aspire to buy them.
Belts – it’s a wrap
For a luxury brand marketer betting on belts sales, Mexico, UAE and Argentina would be the priority countries to consider, with up to half of Internet users there claiming to buy luxury branded belts. In Asia Pacific, India, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines also present big opportunities ranking among the world’s top ten countries most after branded belts.
Russians wouldn’t mind a designer belt either, with a third of respondents aspiring to their purchase if money was no object.
The Japanese, Austrians, Finns and dwellers of the Pacific countries and Eastern Europe seem to resist designer belts, as well as shoes. Only 10 percent on average in these countries say they buy belts.
Handbags, briefcases, stationery
Handbags, briefcases and stationery items, like palm-pilot or mobile phone holders, pens, etc., are the most popular in Asian Pacific and Latin America.
Price may be one of the four marketing P’s that fashion houses should pay attention to when marketing luggage. The ACNielsen survey has found that, whereas an average of seven percent of Internet users worldwide buy designer luggage now, a quarter would buy them if money were no object.
The ACNielsen Global Online Survey, the largest twice-yearly survey of its kind, is aimed to gauge consumers’ current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions, current major concerns and attitudes and opinions to a variety of issues. The most recent wave of the survey took place in November 2005 and polled over 23,500 consumers – regular Internet users – in 42 markets in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific region, Africa (Republic of South Africa) and the Middle East (UAE).
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com.
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