Temporary brand–retailer alliance model: the routes to purchase intentions for selective brands and mass retailers

ABSTRACT

We investigate a common but under-studied practice, the temporary alliance between a selective brand and a mass retailer, online or offline. Using a before-and-after methodology, we show how the attitude towards the new offer of a selective brand at a mass retailer plays a central mediating role. It is influenced by brand–retailer fit and product-category fit. It influences purchase intention towards the new offer, attitude changes towards the selective brand and mass retailer, and therefore purchase intention towards the brand and retailer. We also reveal a counterintuitive direct negative route from product-category fit to changes in purchase intention towards the retailer. To offer important managerial implications, we break out results for two selective brands and two types of mass retailers.

KEYWORDS:

• Brand–retailer alliance
• temporary alliance
• new offer
• attitudes and purchase intentions
• brand strategy
• retailer strategy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ http://www.closermag.fr/mode/news-mode/la-redoute-et-courreges-s-associent-pour-une-collection-capsule-159469

² http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/french-mail-order-catalogue-teams-up-with-three-hot-designers-2143859.html

³ http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2007/09/10/carrefour-fait-appel-au-couturier-max-azria-pour-dynamiser-ses-vetements-tex_953335_3234.html

⁴ These online mail-order companies were click-and-mortar, evolving quickly towards pure players. Les 3 Suisses has been a pure player since 2014. La Redoute and Les 3 Suisses carry ‘full price’ merchandise. They represent high stakes for selective brands. The increase of online luxury goods revenues was estimated to be 25% in 2012, with ‘full-price’ sales accounting for 67% and ‘off-price’ merchandise 33%. See: eMarketer, Global Luxury Goods Ecommerce Market Soars, 2 May 2013,http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Global-Luxury-Goods-Ecommerce-Market-Soars/1009858

⁵ As a manipulation check, we measured the upmarket positioning for both brands on a seven-point scale and found significantly different ratings for the two brands (mean _Kenzo = 5.72, mean _Kookaï = 4.29, t = 17.8, p < .001).

⁶ As a manipulation check, we measured the degree of selectivity for both channels on a seven-point scale; they had significantly different ratings (mean _{Mail order} = 4.29; mean _Hypermarket = 2.48; t = 13.24, p < .001).

⁷ The questionnaires were administered to all MBA students in the class, men and women, with a specific questionnaire for men (these were automatically deleted since they did not belong to our research population).

⁸ The results of a t-test demonstrate that the 40 snowball gathered participants were not significantly different than the other participants with respect to familiarity with the brand (t = .239, p = .812) and with the retailer (t = .207, p = .836), involvement in the apparel category (t = .416, p = .678) and age (t = .593, p = .554).

⁹ For example, the 10 dimensions associated with the upmarket brand Kenzo are expensive, quality, young, original, warm colours, stylish, elegance, woman, pleasure, and fashion; for hypermarkets (low selectivity mass retailers), they are groceries, self-service, basic products, large quantities, crowds, for everybody, wide choice, shopping centres, economical and practical.

¹⁰ A brand–retailer alliance model, following Arnett et al. (2010) or Simonin and Ruth’s approach (1998) is Model 3 without direct relationships between fit variables and changes in brand and between retailer attitude and purchase intentions.

¹¹ When we deleted the direct relationships between brand–retailer fit and product fit with changes in attitudes and purchase intentions, this version of Model 3, based on the same principles as the Arnett et al. brand–retailer alliance model, fit less well than Model 1 (Table 3).

¹² In Figure 1, each variable bears a number (e.g., 1 for brand–retailer fit along associations). We report the results using these numbers. For example, β₁₃ refers to the estimated coefficient for the relationship from brand–retailer fit (1) to attitude towards the new offer (3).

¹³ Model 1 could be enough to show the routes followed from brand–retailer fit and product-category fit to purchase intentions, with total, direct, and indirect effects, following Baron and Kenny’s approach (1986). But, the alternative models illustrate both the classical alliance models (Model 3) and the effects of the mediators. Bootstrap procedures, following Preacher and Hayes’s analyses (Zhao, Lynch, & Chen, 2010) with the different routes and mediation effects, gave identical results.

¹⁴ The differences are due to the different strengths of the relationships. Brand–retailer fit (β₁₃ = .336, p < .001) and the attitude towards the new offer (β₃₄ = .415, p < .001) have stronger impacts on the route to changes in purchase intentions for the upscale brand, while product fit (β₂₃ = .341, p < .001) and change in attitude towards brand (β₅₆ = .477, p < .001) have stronger impacts for the midscale brand (Appendix 3).

¹⁵ The variances explained (not reported in Appendix 3) are for: Attitude towards the new offer, 23.1% (Kenzo) versus 20.9% (Kookaï); purchase intention towards the new offer (42.2% versus 40.9%); change in attitude towards brand (20.4% versus 8.3%); and change in purchase intent towards brand (20.6% versus 26.2%).

¹⁶ The difference of product fit between the two major online mail order companies is not significant (4.37 for La Redoute and 4.20 for Les 3 Suisses, on a 7-point scale, t = .811, p = .418), while the difference is significant for Hypermarkets at p < .1, and very significant between online mail-order companies and hypermarkets at p < .001.

¹⁷ Attitude and purchase intentions were measured on a 1–7 Likert scale.

¹⁸ On the online Carrefour’s site, customers find both new and second-hand prestigious brands as, at a low price. See, videdressing.com, or http://www.videdressing.com/femme/c-c5988.html#uc/c-c5988.json

¹⁹ http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/mode/la-redoute-collabore-avec-courreges_1250730.html

²⁰ In order to control for familiarity, objective familiarity was also assessed, using a measure adapted from Alba and Hutchinson (1987). The results were identical to Simonin and Ruth’s findings (1998).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lydiane Nabec

Lydiane Nabec is a Maître de Conférences in marketing at the Univ Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay and the University Vice-Rector for digital policy. She holds a Ph.D. in marketing from the Université Paris Dauphine and her research explores brand management, distribution and retailing, and consumer behaviour. She belongs to the Réseaux, Innovation, Territoire et Mondialisation (RITM) research centre. Her research has been published in academic French-speaking journals such as Decisions Marketing. This article is based on a study by Lydiane Nabec. [email protected]

Bernard Pras

Bernard Pras is a Professor of marketing at the Université Paris Dauphine and at the ESSEC Business School. Former President and founder of the French Marketing Association (AFM: Association Française du Marketing), he has published numerous articles on consumer behaviour, marketing strategy and international business that have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Marketing Research, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Southern Economic Journal, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, etc.

Gilles Laurent

Gilles Laurent is a Professor of marketing at INSEEC Business School. Gilles Laurent is the winner of the EMAC Distinguished Marketing Scholar Award 2012. He has been Editor of the International Journal of Research in Marketing and also served as Vice-President Publications of EMAC. He works on a variety of topics in consumer behaviour, brand management, and the statistical analysis of market behaviour. Gilles Laurent has published in major journals including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Management Science and International Journal of Research in Marketing. [email protected]