The exploration of brand extensions within the context of masstige, and thus the blending of premium characteristics with mass accessibility, is crucial in understanding evolving market dynamics. The trend of addressing the segment between mass and luxury has particularly gained traction in the fashion industry, where mass brands are successfully venturing into higherend markets. The comprehensive analysis of this phenomenon requires a differentiation between two prominent strategies: vertical extensions, i.e. qualitymodified product lines, and cobranded extensions with luxury brands. Both achieve remarkable success in industry practice, yet the latter particularly sees limited coverage in academia where the focus remains on vertical extensions by luxury brands. In addressing these gaps, this thesis assumes the mass brand’s perspective in studying the differential effects of the strategies’ impact on willingness to payunder the influences of perceived fit, brand attitude, and perceived quality. The main studythereby employed an experimental design embodied in cocreated animated sneaker product pages for the differential strategies, including the quantitatively validated brands Zara and Shein. The results confirm the potential of upward extensions in attracting masstige customers. They thereby further highlight the significantly higher willingness to pay associated with cobranded compared to vertical extensions, the latter, if so, only to be applied for lowquality parent brands, emphasizing the importance of quality assessments from a managerial perspective. The results further suggest segmentation potential and emphasize the marketing need of highlighting the fit of the extension to positively affect attitudes, unlike the frequent practice of accentuating the surprising misfit.
| Date of Award | 3 Jul 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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| Supervisor | Paulo Romeiro (Supervisor) |
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- Brand extensions
- Masstige
- Vertical extensions
- Cobranding
- Mass brands
- Luxury brands
- Willingness to pay
- Perceived fit
- Brand attitude
- Perceived quality
- Fashion industry
- Mestrado em Gestão e Administração de Empresas
From mass to masstige: a study between vertical extensions and cobranded extensions’ impact on willingness to pay
Mielczarek, V. A. (Student). 3 Jul 2023
Student thesis: Master's Thesis